4/13/12

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 7, Buffalo 5

A home run can change all the momentum of a baseball game. So can a ball that's NOT a home run.
Yankees centerfield Dewayne Wise took a home run away from Valentino Pascucci and ignited his Scranton/Wilkes-Barre teammates to rally for a 7-5 victory over the Bisons on Friday afternoon from Coca-Cola Field. The win gave the Yanks a 2-1 series victory over Buffalo.

The defeat was the Bisons fourth in five days despite the fact the Herd has had a 2-0 advantage in each of those contests. On Wednesday, Vinny Rottino got Buffalo on the board when he doubled home a pair in the bottom of the first inning.

The Bisons kept coming, as Lucas May homered with one out in the second inning to make it 3-0. Josh Satin then singled with one out in the third inning to start another rally.

But that's when the game changed for the Yankees. Bidding for his International League-leading fifth home run, Pascucci launched a moonshot into the gap in left-centerfield. Wise raced to his right, timed his jump perfectly and reached over the wall to bring back the home run.

Even with Buffalo still holding a 3-0 lead, the catch kick-started the Yankees. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored a run in the fourth inning and then four more in the fifth -including a two-run single by Wise- to take the lead. They added insurance runs in the seventh and ninth inning for what turned out to be a 7-5 win.

Jeremy Hefner (1-1) suffered the loss for the Bisons. The righty allowed five runs in 4.1 innings of work. However, only two of the runs were earned.

The Bisons nine-game homestand continues with a 1:05 p.m. start on Saturday against Pawtucket.

BISONS NOTES:Zach Lutz extended his hit streak to eight game with a double in the ninth inning...Lucas May's home run was his first as a Bison. Buffalo's 11 home runs on the young season are second most in the IL...Bobby Scales walked two more times on Friday and has now walked five times in three games this homestand.

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