By: Brayden Peters
BUFFALO, N.Y. - It was a quiet day for the Buffalo Bisons as they were taken down by the Omaha Storm Chasers 5-2. Buffalo had trouble on both offense and defense. The offense ended the day with only four hits, one of which was a home run. Buffalo's batters were struck out for a total of eight times as well, all of which came from starting pitcher Daniel Lynch IV. He was credited with the win today, increasing his record to 8-1.
As for the defense, they struggled to catch four fly balls that were able to drop into the outfield. Right fielder Alan Roden struggled on two of them that allowed the Storm Chasers to get two singles. In the fifth inning Cam Devanney singled to center field and it fell where Buffalo's outfield and shortstop Josh Kasevich couldn't reach it. The single helped the Storm Chasers draw in a run.
"We broke back on like three or four pop-up fly balls that, you know, our outfielders thought were hit harder," Bisons manager Casey Candaele said. "If we play those right, those are all outs, and maybe changes the complexion of the game..."
The Toronto Blue Jays' 2021 11th-round pick Trenton Wallace got the start at pitcher for the Bisons today. In 3.1 innings pitched, he gave up six hits, three runs that were all earned and five walks while striking out three batters. The six hits are the most Wallace has given up in a game this season with Buffalo and he was credited with the loss, dropping to a 0-2 record.
Buffalo's bullpen was able to hold their own. Although they gave up two runs that were all earned, along with four hits and a walk, they struck out three batters. Hayden Juenger and Hagen Danner were the only ones to not give up a run, walk or hit. Danner is back for Buffalo after getting activated off of the 60-day injured list. He suffered a fractured hand earlier in the season.
"I can always be better," Danner said. "Working out the kinks, sometimes I feel really solid. Today I felt pretty solid...being back out there since my first outing was a little shaky. My last two have been pretty clean, and it feels pretty good."
Omaha got on the board early in the first inning. With the bases loaded, Brian O'Keefe grounded into a double play that drove in Ryan Fitzgerald to give the Storm Chasers a 1-0 lead. Before the Bisons could get out of the inning, Tyler Gentry hit a two-run dinger out towards left field to add insurance to Omaha's lead.
The Bisons were finally able to get the bats going in the fourth inning. Luis De Los Santos hit a two-run homer to help cut the lead to 3-2. With the home run, he extends his hitting streak to 10 games.
"I just think, you know, if he gets good at bats and doesn't chase pitches, he's much better at the plate," Candaele said. "He's just a solid baseball player and cares about the game and cares about the team, and so he's pretty easy to root for."
Omaha responded in the fifth inning. Devanney's single drove in Gentry, who got on base after recording a double. Fitzgerald then forced a ground out to second base that allowed him to make it safely to first and CJ Alexander to score. Alexander singled to get on base. During the inning, Candaele was ejected from the game.
"I was a little upset earlier, because our player (De Los Santos) got hit by a slider in the foot, which it showed he got hit in the foot, and I was told that he (home plate umpire Ben Phillips) had a good view of it, and he did not get hit," Candaele said. "So I took offense to that...And then it was first and third and the batter bunted on the ball, which was on the replay, which I saw, and he (Phillips) said he didn't bunt at it. And the guy he checked at first said he didn't bunt at it. So, that upset me, and then I went out, I just said a couple things not derogatory to the umpires, and he (Phillips) threw me out."
Both teams were quiet the rest of the way. Buffalo and Omaha recorded a hit apiece in that span, allowing the Storm Chasers to walk away with a 5-2 win and a 2-0 series lead.
Buffalo falls to 56-65 overall this season and a 19-28 record in the second half. They are in eighth in the IL East. The Storm Chasers improve to 76-44 and are now 27-20 in the second half. They remain in first place in the IL West.
The Bisons will try to record their first win in the series when they host the Storm Chasers Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Jake Bloss (0-0, 0.00) will start on the mound for Buffalo. As for Omaha, Dinelson Lamet (6-1, 3.76) will be the starting pitcher for the team.
Commentaires