By: Brayden Peters
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The bats were hot for the Buffalo Bisons at Sahlen Field as they shutout the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-0. This was Buffalo's ninth shutout of the season which ties Omaha for the most out of any team in Triple-A this season. Buffalo was propelled by a grand slam from Riley Tirotta in the first inning. After Alan Roden was walked with the bases loaded to give Buffalo an early 1-0 lead, Tirotta proceeded to deliver on the grand slam to add insurance to the Bisons' lead, increasing it to 5-0.
"It's great, man," Tirotta said. "...to do it against those guys, you know, it's even better. It makes you feel good...You know, the work that we put in pre-game, to scouting reports, to seeing them off of machines, you know what I mean, to put that into play during the game and at work and you know, it feels great, man."
Joey Votto was absent from Buffalo's lineup Thursday and will continue to be as he declared his retirement on Instagram Wednesday evening. He finished his time in Buffalo with a .143 batting average, six hits, one home run and four RBI. For his MLB career, he finishes with a .294 batting average, 2,135 hits, 356 home runs and 1,144 RBI. He also was a six-time MLB All-Star, 2010 NL MVP and Hank Aaron Award winner, along with being a 2011 Gold Glove winner.
History was also made today, as Bisons reliever Brandon Eisert now has made 138 appearances as a Bison. It ties for first in the modern era for Buffalo.
The Bisons' offense finished the day with five hits, one of which was the grand slam from Tirotta. He ended the day going 1-for-4 at the plate while recording a run and four RBI while striking out once. He now has 40 RBI this season.
"I just attribute it to just my work ethic," Tirotta said. "I think I pride myself and I just want to fine-tune everything every year and make strides every year for the organization, just as I put myself in the best chance possible to be on the field at all times, regardless to where I'm at."
Luis De Los Santos and Nathan Lukes both had two hits. De Los Santos finished his day going 2-for-3 and an RBI. With his performance, he extends his hitting streak to 11 games. As for Lukes, he went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs. Lukes was taken off of the 60-day injured list last Friday after being gone for a majority of the season with a torn UCL in his left thumb.
Jake Bloss got the start for the Bisons on the mound today. He threw three strikeouts while giving up two hits and three walks in three innings pitched. Bloss has still yet to give up a run as a Bison.
"Credit to the coaching staff," Bloss said. "Definitely made some adjustments already that I feel like have helped with the arsenal. Getting a little more depth on the cutter was a recent fix. Stats guys over in Toronto looked at a few things, decided it would be a good fix. Changeup is coming along. So a few adjustments..."
The bullpen backed up the Bisons' defense in the victory as Buffalo's relievers surrendered only two hits and threw five strikeouts. Mason Fluharty and Eisert threw two strikeouts apiece.
The defense held their own for the Bisons. They only allowed the Storm Chasers to get into scoring position twice the whole game and helped retire three straight batters from the fourth to the seventh inning.
Eisert also set a record for Buffalo today. He now has 138 appearances as a Bison, which is tied for first in the modern era for Buffalo.
Buffalo continued to stay active in the batter's box in the second inning. De Los Santos singled to drive in Jonatan Clase to increase the lead to 6-0. Clase got on base after a throwing error was given to second baseman Nick Loftin.
Josh Kasevich helped the Bisons extend their lead even more on a ground out that drove in Lukes in the eighth inning. Lukes got on base after singling.
Omaha was kept in check in the ninth, as three straight batters were retired, sealing the 7-0 win for Buffalo. The win improves the Bisons' overall record to 57-65 and are now 20-28 in the second half. They currently sit in tenth place in the IL East and cut the Storm Chasers' series lead to 2-1.
The Storm Chasers drop to 76-45 overall and are 27-21 in the second half. They still remain in first place in the IL West.
Buffalo will host the Storm Chasers Friday at 7:05 p.m. as they look to tie the series. It is to be determined who will start for the Bisons on the mound. As for Omaha, Chandler Champlain (2-5, 5.36) will get the start at pitcher.
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