4/7/12

Buffalo 2, Pawtucket 1

The Bisons are in the win column.

Buffalo's first victory of 2012 came on Friday night at McCoy Stadium with a 2-1 decision over the Red Sox. Omar Quintanilla's ninth-inning RBI came after some great bullpen work to give the Herd a split of its two-game season-opening series in Pawtucket.
With two outs, Quintanilla came to the plate and worked Pena Jr. to a 2-2 count before lining the fifth pitch of the at-bat into right field for the game-winning run.

Quintanilla's hit gave Buffalo their only lead of the game. Trailing 1-0 since the first inning, the Herd got the game-tying run in the fifth inning when Lutz singled home Vinny Rottino.

The win for Buffalo went to Dylan Owen (1-0), who was very sharp in relief of Triple-A rookie Jeurys Familia. Owen put up 3.1 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits.

Familia worked the first 4.2 innings and allowed just a one run on five hits and three walks. The 22-year old struck out four and threw 95 pitches in his debut with the Bisons.

Fernando Cabrera pitched the ninth inning for his first save of the season. It was Cabrera's first appearance with the team since pitching in 78 games for Buffalo, 2004-2006.

Cabrera saved 44 games with Pawtucket during the 2009-2010 seasons.

The Bisons roadtrip continues on Saturday as the team heads to Rochester for a four-game set with the rival Red Wings. The 2012 Home Opener is on Wednesday, April 11 at Coca-Cola Field against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (2:05 p.m.).

BISONS NOTES:Fernando Cabrera's save was his ninth career save as a Bison. The righty saved five games in 2004 and three more during the 2005 season...Raul Reyes was in the lineup after being promoted from Double-A Binghamton to replace Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Nieuwenhuis is on his way to New York for his major league debut. Quintanilla is the first Bisons player with a last name to begin with Q since outfielder Carlos Quintana played 39 games with the Herd in 19954.

No comments: