In the top of the 5th, with two outs and runner on first, Dustin Martin ripped a hard line drive off the glove of Scranton first baseman Steve Pearce. The deflected ball trickled near the Bisons dugout, allowing Martin to make it safely to first - with Lucas May advancing to second.
Omar Quintaniila was up next, and he took advantage of this bit of good fortune. Quintanilla ripped a hard line drive to the right field corner, scoring Martin and May to give the Bisons a 2-0 lead.
The Bisons went on to beat the Yankees 6-2, snapping a 3-game losing streak and improving to 27-20 on the year. This was the first in a four-game series between the Bisons and Yankees, and the series is unique in that the Herd is playing as the road team. Scranton is playing all its "home" games on the road this year, as its home stadium PNC Field is currently undergoing a renovation project.
Refreshed after a rare Wednesday off-day, the Bisons regrouped to play a fundamentally sound game and make sure the losing streak was halted at three. The Herd made no errors Thursday, after committing three on Tuesday against Indianapolis.
"Overall, I think they looked more refreshed," Bisons manager Wally Backman said. "And they played better. We put that (the last series) behind us, learned from it, and tried to get back on track."
Matt Harvey got the start for the Bisons, and his quality pitching early allowed the Herd to stay in the game despite a lack of early offense. The right-hander retired his first 11 batters and didn't allow a hit until the 5th inning, by keeping the ball consistently low in the strike zone and producing frequent groundouts.
Backman liked what he saw from Harvey for most of the night.
"Very good tempo," Backman said. "He commanded the ball well in the strike zone. I thought he pitched a very, very good ballgame today."
But with the Bisons up 4-0 in the bottom of the 6th, Harvey started to see some trouble. The Yankees started to make more solid contact on Harvey's pitches, with Kevin Russo and Matt Antonelli ripping consecutive one-out singles into left field.
Then Pearce came to bat, and he made amends for his earlier fielding miscue. Pearce drove the ball deep into right-center field, scoring Russo and Antonelli to cut the Bisons lead in half. That would be it for Harvey, and he left the game to a definitive ovation.
Although Harvey wished he could have avoided trouble in the 6th, he was satisfied with the overall outcome. After a few shaky performances to start the year, Harvey has won five of his last seven starts, with the other two being no-decisions.
"I'm a little pissed at what happened in the 6th inning," Harvey said. "But I'm definitely happy with the first five. I'm definitely learning, adjusting, and making the small adjustments."
Elvin Ramirez has been near-flawless this year after being called up to the Bisons on May 4, and he came in to limit the 6th-inning damage. Ramirez was up to the task, forcing fly-outs by Jack Cust and Ronnier Mustelier to retire the side. On Cust's pop-up to shallow left field near the foul line, Fred Lewis made a diving catch after a long run to get the out.
Ramirez made it through the 7th clean despite allowing a walk to Brandon Laird and a wild pitch that sent Laird to second. The effort allowed Ramirez to maintain a perfect 0.00 ERA in Buffalo.
More offensive work in the top of the 6th had given the Herd some room for error. With Josh Satin on second, Jordany Valdespin hit a bouncing grounder between second and third that couldn't be handled cleanly by the Yankees infield. The ball ended up in the outfield, allowing Satin to score and Valdespin to reach first safely.
The Herd was not done. Lucas May was up next, and he ripped a high line drive to the left field wall that allowed Valdespin to score from first. This gave the Bisons a 4-0 lead, along with some breathing room for Harvey and the pitching staff.
The Bisons added more insurance in the next two innings, with Valentino Pascucci knocking an RBI single to left center field in the 7th, and Omar Quintanilla adding his third RBI of the night in the 8th.
Jack Egbert relieved Ramirez to start the 8th, and Egbert closed the game efficiently by retiring all six batters that he faced.
The Bisons and Yankees continue the series Friday, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.
Bisons Notes: The Bisons will play the "road" team again when Scranton returns to Coca-Cola Field for a two-game set August 20 and 21...The last time the Bisons played as the road team at home was Sept. 17, 2004, when the Herd defeated Richmond 6-1 to win the Governors' Cup...Matt Harvey retired his first 11 batters of the evening before allowing a 2-out walk to Steve Pearce in the bottom of the 4th...All six Bisons runs Thursday came with 2 outs...The Bisons scored at least a run in 4 consecutive innings (5th through 8th)
team press release
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