In the epitome of passive offense, the Herd completed a 9th-inning comeback courtesy of a meltdown by Pawtucket's pitching staff. Heading into the final frame up 5-4, the PawSox relief corps needed three quick outs in order to take the early series lead.
After PawSox reliever Clayton Mortensen retired the first two Bisons batters of the inning, it looked like all was well for Boston's finest prospects. Even when Buffalo center fielder Matt Den Dekker was able to reach base courtesy of an error by Pawtucket 1B Lars Anderson, there was little cause for concern for fans at McCoy Stadium.
From that point forward, Pawtucket's fortunes would take a turn for the worse - and not because of Buffalo's bats. First, Mortensen issued a walk to Buffalo 2B Josh Satin, sending Den Dekker to second base. That would be all for Mortensen, clearing way for Garrett Mock to take the mound.
If anything, Mock's fortunes were even worse. First came a walk to Valentino Pascucci (surprise, surprise), leading to the classic gut-wrenching baseball scenario: 9th inning, bases loaded, two outs, down by a run. The scenario where the next batter's outcome means almost everything to the final result.
Next up was Matt Tuiasosopo, and Mock walked him - tying the game 5-5, with the bases still loaded. Then another walk, to Rob Johnson - and another, to Fred Lewis. Five consecutive two-out walks, turning a 5-4 PawSox lead into a 7-5 Bisons edge. Needless to say, not an expected occurrence.
Buffalo would add another run for good measure - courtesy of a Josh Rodriguez RBI single - and the Bisons lead was 8-5, heading into the bottom of the 9th. All-Star closer Fernando Cabrera came in to close the deal, inducing two pop-outs and issuing a walk before ending the game with a strikeout of fellow IL All-Star Ryan Lavarnway.
Not a standard win, but the Herd will take it.
Jeremy Hefner got the start for Buffalo and struggled, allowing four runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work. After Buffalo had taken a 4-1 lead in the top of the 5th, Pawtucket responded with four runs in the bottom of the 5th to gain the 5-4 edge. The PawSox maintained the lead into the 9th, but couldn't close the deal.
The division foes get right back at it Friday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.
Bisons Notes: Garrett Olson was credited with the win for Buffalo, pitching 3 innings of flawless relief. Working the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings, Olson allowed no hits and no walks...The Herd went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving 13 men on base...Four Bisons had multi-hit efforts Thursday (Lewis, Rodriguez, Den Dekker, Satin).
No comments:
Post a Comment