Third-inning explosion sends Buffalo past RailRiders
Jul. 26—The RailRiders couldn't have started better. Estevan Florial, their slugging leadoff man, ripped the first pitch he saw over Sahlen Field's right-center field wall. The herculean shot sailed 411 feet from home plate, and the RailRiders took an immediate lead.
Excuse them if they'd prefer to forget about the rest of their Wednesday afternoon in Buffalo.
The Bisons scored 10 times in the third inning and rocked eight extra-base hits on the way to a 14-2 throttling of their longtime International League rivals.
While Bisons right-hander Bowden Francis settled in after the Florial home run, RailRiders lefty Tanner Tully never seemed to get on track. Although he escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the second inning, he found no route out of that nightmarish third.
The first six Buffalo batters reached safely, with Rafael Lantigua and Tanner Morris capping that run with doubles that combined to bring three runs home. After Tully finally got an out, Cam Eden restarted the rally by pushing a hard grounder down the left field line, past diving third baseman Wilmer Difo, to bring another run in, making it 6-1.
Walking shortstop Ernie Clement with two out finally ended Tully's day after allowing nine hits and walking three while recording a mere eight outs. But Buffalo capitalized further against reliever Aaron McGarity. The mustachioed reliever plunked Davis Schneider with his first pitch, then walked Luis De Los Santos to force in the Bisons' seventh run.
Even when the RailRiders seemed to out of the mess, it only got worse. McGarity got slugger Orelvis Martinez to pop a fastball into right field, but right fielder Franchy Cordero broke back and never recovered on the would-be can of corn. It fell, then skipped past him, allowing all three runners on base to score and giving the Bisons their highest-scoring inning since May 2001.
At one point, 16 of 20 batters reached base safely against the RailRiders.
Schneider homered in the fifth inning and knocked in another run with a double in the sixth for Buffalo, but Morris proved to be the biggest offensive standout. The lefty-swinging designated hitter completed a 5-for-5 performance by lining a two-run homer into the first row of seats in right against RailRiders reliever Zac Houston in the seventh, as the Bisons built a 14-1 advantage.
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