Bisons top Syracuse, 8-4, for 10th straight victory

The Bisons took another step towards a Northeast Division Title Wednesday night and sketched their name in the record books in the process.

Buffalo matched a modern era team record with their 10th consecutive win, an 8-4 comeback victory over the Syracuse Mets at Sahlen Field. Otto Lopez’s two-run single highlighted a four-run sixth inning that kept the Herd’s perfect September intact.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s game against the Red Wings in Pennsylvania was rained out on Wednesday, so the Bisons magic number is now six for their first division title since 2005. Buffalo still trails the Durham Bulls by two games for the best record in Triple-A East.

While Buffalo scored first for the 10th consecutive game, the team found themselves trailing 4-2 entering the sixth. Nash Knight’s two-out double down the right field line kept the inning going and Logan Warmoth battled back to earn a well-earned walk.

Then with two on and two outs, a miscommunication by the Syracuse Mets seemed to accelerate the momentum of the Bisons rally. Manager Chad Kreuter came to the mound to talk to his starter, Zack Godley and was satisfied by the righty’s desire to remain in the game. However, reliver Franklyn Kilome thought he was coming into the game, and even left the bullpen and began trotting onto the field. The Syracuse outfielders had to tell Kilome to head back to the pen, and when the outfield wall doors had to be open, the delay forced Godley to have to wait before facing outfielder Forrest Wall.

When play finally did resume, Wall beat out an infield single with a slide into first base to load the bases.

Syracuse then decided to go back to Kilome, but Lopez greeted the righty with an opposite field two-run single to tie the game at four.

The inning then began to unravel for the Mets. When Lopez took off to steal second the throw from Mets catcher David Rodriguez skipped between the legs of Orlando Calixte covering the bag and into centerfield. Wall trotted home from third for the go-ahead run. Kilome then uncorked a wild pitch to score Lopez for a 6-4 Bisons advantage.

Buffalo added two insurance runs on Cullen Large’s two-run triple in the eighth inning.

Wall finished a home run away from the cycle in the game. He tripled to lead off the game and opened the scoring when he scored on a Tyler White ground out. He also doubled and walked, reaching base four of the five times he came to the plate.

After a pair of solo home runs from Syracuse’s Jose Martinez in second and fourth, Kellin Deglan tied the game at two with an RBI-double in the fourth as part of his 3-for-5 day at the plate.

Rafael Dolis earned his first Bisons win, but did allow two unearned runs in the top half of the sixth inning. Zach Logue started for Buffalo and allowed two runs on four hits in five innings of work in the no-decision.

The Bisons, who also won 10 in a row during the 2002 and 2004 seasons, look to set a new modern era record on Thursday night with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch against the Mets from Sahlen Field.