BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo Bisons kicked off the second half of their season with two losses to the Worcester Red Sox on Thursday night at Sahlen Field.

Game one started as a pitcher’s duel for the first two-and-a-half innings as there was just one base runner, a walk to Niko Goodrum in the top of the second.

Worcester starter Kyle Barraclough faced the minimum batters through 2.2 innings of work, including seven induced flyouts. Buffalo’s starter, Casey Lawrence didn’t allow his first hit of the night until the top of the fourth.

The Bisons would draw first blood in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI single by Nathan Lukes, his 9^th of the season. Cameron Eden set up Lukes by drawing a walk and stealing second, his team leading 31^st stolen base of the season.

Buffalo’s lead did not last long. The Red Sox finally got their first hit of the night in the top of the fourth courtesy of a single by Nick Sogard, who then advanced to second on a balk by Lawrence. Lawrence then retired the next two batters but walked Goodrum for the second time of the game. Ronaldo Hernandez made him pay with a two-RBI double, giving him six doubles and 40 RBIs for the year.

Worcester would then add to its lead in the top of the fifth thanks to consecutive doubles to lead off the inning. Narciso Crook hit his seventh double of the year and then was driven in by Stephen Scott’s third double and 13^th RBI of the season.

The Bisons would cut the Red Sox lead in half in the bottom of the fifth by scoring in essentially the same way they got their first run of the game. Rafael Lantigua drew a leadoff walk, then stole second for his 12^th stolen base of the season. Tanner Morris eventually drove Lantigua in with an RBI single, giving him 27 RBIs for the year.

Worcester answered right away in the top of the 6^th. Bobby Dalbec was hit on a pitch by Zach Pop and then reached home thanks to Goodrum’s 8^th home run and 36^th RBI of the season. The lead for the Red Sox at this stage was a comfortable 5-2, which is how the game would end. Despite Buffalo having the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 7^th, the Bisons couldn’t get the runs across to affect the outcome. Brendan Nail obtained his second save of the season to preserve the win for Worcester.

Game two was mostly uneventful for the first four innings. The two teams combined for just four hits, all but one of which were singles with the lone exception being Marcus Wilson’s third double of the season to lead off the top of the 3^rd.

Both starting pitchers performed pretty well. For the Bisons, Zach Thompson gave them 5.0 innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts. For the Red Sox, it was a bit more of a collective effort. Chase Shugart gave them 2.0 innings of scoreless ball, just one hit allowed and one strikeout. He then gave way to Andres Nunez, who also pitched two innings of scoreless ball, just one hit allowed and three strikeouts. Tay Scott would additionally provide 2.0 innings of scoreless ball with a strikeout.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, they simply couldn’t contain Worcester’s power. Ceddanne Rafaela’s first homerun and first RBI of the season in the top of the fifth gave the Red Sox the lead and they never looked back.

The top of the sixth saw Worcester hit three additional home runs, including two on back-to-back pitches to blow the game open. Dalbec lead off the inning with his 19^th homerun and 43^rd RBI of the year to double the Red Sox lead. Daniel Palka’s 10^th homerun and 39^th RBI of the season was followed by Narciso Crook’s sixth home run and 20^th RBI of the year.

The Bisons would make things interesting in the bottom of the seventh with four singles and eventually having the winning run at the plate. Spencer Horwtiz got his 35^th RBI of the season while Jordan Luplow got his 23^rd but it was too little too late as the Red Sox earned a 4-2 win.

On a positive note for Buffalo, Otto Lopez had himself a good night at the plate, going 3-4 with a trio of singles. Davis Schneider also drew a pair of walks while Jimmy Burnette pitched a clean seventh inning, retiring all three batters he faced, including two strikeouts.

The two teams will meet back at Sahlen Field for the third game of this six-game series on Friday night.