Bisons nearly no-hit Worcester in series opening victory

The Bisons may be between homes, but the club continues to find impressive ways to win ball games.

The Herd kept the Red Sox hitless into the eighth inning in a 5-1 series opening win on Wednesday afternoon from Polar Park. Tate Matheny's infield-single broke up the no-hit bid, but by then Buffalo was well on their way to their eight-straight victory.

The Bisons are now 12-1 in their last 13 games and an impressive 45-25 on the season. The team is 20 games over the .500-mark for the first time since ending the 2005 season at 82-62.

Buffalo and Worcester both began the game by getting their MLB rehabbers out of the way. Lefty Tommy Milone, rehabbing left shoulder inflammation, made his fourth consecutive start and sixth appearance for Buffalo put together a perfect first inning. Right hander Hirokazu Sawamura, rehabbing right triceps inflammation, started for Worcester and did the same in the first.

Bisons lefty Zach Logue took over for Milone and worked spectacularly over four relief innings. The lefty allowed no hits, walked just one and struck out eight with a mix of different off-speed pitches. Logue complimented his slider and changeup, which hung in the low 80 mph range, with a fastball that stuck around 95-91 mph.

MLB rehabber Tyler Chatwood and righty Connor Overton took over completed the sixth and seventh inning allowing a pair of walks but no-hits.

Matheny and the Red Sox finally struck for a hit, over Overton, in the eighth on an infield single. The hit turned it three in the inning and ultimately translated it into a run on a Jeremy Rivera groundout.

Bryan Baker checked in for the ninth in a less climactic situation than was hoped, neither a save situation nor a chance to complete a no-hitter, but he delivered the inning and the victory by striking out a pair nonetheless

It took five pitchers for Buffalo to earn the win, but they meshed spectacularly striking out 15, allowed three hits and one run and throwing 7.1 innings to start.

Offensively it was no fireworks show from Buffalo who used soft contact to produce runs.

After Christian Colon reached on an infield single, Cullen Large fought off a fastball inside and flared a single into center field to score Colon in the second inning.

Corey Dickerson made his organizational debut leading off the fourth with more light contact reaching on the rare infield double. He tagged home on a sacrifice fly from Large to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead.

Large has quietly produced for the Bisons in 2021 collecting two RBIs Wednesday to give him 23 for the season, the seventh most on the team. Large’s 53 hits are also the fourth most on the roster.

The bloop hits continued in the fifth. After Forrest Wall and Kevin Smith both doubled on hits that never got behind the outfielders and dropped into the shallow outfield, Dickerson drove home Wall with an infield single.

After the Red Sox got within a run, Buffalo plated a pair of insurance in the eighth. Richard Urena connected on his third hit of the game and the Bisons’ third of the inning to drive home Large before Wall drove Logan Warmoth home on a ground out.

It is no secret the Bisons (45-25) are one of the hottest teams in professional baseball, winners of eight consecutive wins and 12 of their last 13. But during the streak, there has been no secret formula to their victories except consistency in all the different aspects of the game.

They continued to show that consistency Wednesday producing five runs on 13 hits, allowing one run on 11 hits and making no defensive errors.

The Bisons continue their third six-game series of the season against the Red Sox (37-34) Thursday with a seven-inning doubleheader. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 4:35 with lefty Anthony Kay expected to start for the Bisons opposite lefty Stephen Gonsalves.