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BUFFALO, N.Y. — The RailRiders offense continues to be inconsistent.
One night after piling up 17 hits, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was held to just two on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Field as the RailRiders lost 3-1 for their sixth straight road loss and their fifth loss in the last seven games.
The setback coupled with Rochester’s 5-1 win over Pawtucket drops SWB’s lead in the International League North Division to five games with nine remaining in the regular season. The team’s magic number to clinch it’s first division title since 2012 remains at five.
After Buffalo scored the first run of the game on a solo home run by Dalton Pompey in the third inning to take a 1-0 lead, the RailRiders answered right back in the top of the fourth when rehabbing Yankee Dustin Ackley (1 for 2) went deep for a solo shot of his own to tie the game at 1-1.
Optioned from Toronto earlier in the week, the Bisons MVP candidate Matt Hague continued his torrid season giving Buffalo a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run shot, his 11th of the season. Hague’s longball came against Caleb Cotham (2-2), who tossed a pair of innings in relief of starter Eric Wooten.
Wooten pitched the first five innings allowing five hits and one run; he didn’t walk any and struck out four.
The RailRiders other hit was a single by Kyle Roller, who has been red-hit lately. With his 1 for 3 performance, Roller is now 14 for 37 (.378) over his last 11 games. The hot stretch came after a period after the All-Star Game when he had just five hits in 56 at-bats.
Buffalo starter Jeff Francis (6-3) kept the SWB bats silent with 13 groundouts and six strikeouts in eight innings pitched.
The RailRiders and Bisons play the second game of their three-game series this afternoon at 1:05 when lefty Chris Capuano (1-1, 1.93) takes the hill for SWB and will be opposed by RHP Chad Jenkins (8-4, 2.93).
Bisons 3, RailRiders 1
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Gamel lf`4`0`0`0
Refsnyder 2b`4`0`0`0
Ackley rf`2`1`1`1
Dugas ph/rf`1`0`0`0
Pirela 3b`3`0`0`0
Judge cf`3`0`0`0
Romine 1b`3`0`0`0
Roller dh`3`0`1`0
Petit ss`3`0`0`0
Graterol c`3`0`0`0
Noel pr`0`0`0`0
Totals`29`1`2`1
Buffalo`AB`R`H`BI
Pompey lf`4`1`1`1
Berti dh`3`1`1`0
Hague 1b`4`1`1`2
Hassan rf`4`0`1`0
Burns 3b`3`0`2`0
Ochinko c`3`0`1`0
Heisey cf`3`0`0`0
Diaz ss`3`0`1`0
Kawasaki 2b`3`0`0`0
Totals`30`3`8`3
RailRiders`000`1o0`o00`—`1
Buffalo`001`020`00x` —`3
E: Burns (15). DP: Bisons 1, RailRiders 2. LOB: Bisons 4, RailRiders 1. HR: Ackley (1), Pompey (1), Hague (11). SB: Noel (8).
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Wooten `5.0`5`1`1`0`4
Cotham (L, 2-2)`2.0`3`2`2`1`1
Bailey`1.o`0`0`0`0`1
Buffalo`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Francis (W, 6-3) `8.0`2`1`1`0`6
Tepera (S,3) `1.0`0`0`0`0`0
Umpires: HP: Robert Moreno. 1B: Jeremy Riggs. 2B: Sean Barber. 3B: Ian Fazio
T: 1:49. Att: 8,810