The Bisons split a double header with the Rochester Red Wings a night ago. Deck McGuire took the mound in game one of the affair as the team looked to claw their way back to the .500 mark. Unfortunately despite a strong start the Herd still fell 6-3.
McGuire looked dominant in the first four innings as he only allowed two walks and no runs. Unfortunately things went south from there. He managed to work through six innings which was critical with a depleted bullpen, but he gave up six runs four of which were earned. He lost his command a bit leaving his sinker up and over the plate which is of course a recipe for disaster. The Red Wings strung together six hits in the last three innings to overcome the three run deficit they faced.
The three run lead the Bisons had was earned off the bat of Brad Glenn. His first inning bomb kept the team alive, but the offense went cold from that point on. Glenn has been hitting the ball hard since his call up getting the barrel on seemingly every pitch he swings at. He has now eclipsed the 100 at bat mark for the season in Buffalo, and is hitting a remarkable .377 with a 1.001 OPS.
In the second game of the double header Raul Valdes took the ball. He did a great job to get through 5 innings after throwing over 50 pitches in the first two frames. He managed this while on an 80-85 pitch limit. Valdes worked his way out of a great deal of trouble allowing eight base runners but only two runs in his five innings of work. This turned out to be good enough behind a balanced offensive attack from the Herd. The team came away with a 7-3 victory to earn the split. This was the first start of the season for Valdes, but with the return of Liam Hendriks and eventually Sean Nolin he may not get another for a while.
Brad Glenn was again the offensive hero as he notched another three hits and two RBI's for the Bisons. With the return of Kevin Pillar and Anthony Gose from Toronto plus Glenn from the DL the Bisons now have a much deeper stronger lineup. The offense which had been struggling finally has the pieces to take advantage of the opportunities they have been getting.
Now midway through the season the Bisons have a much different looking roster then they started with. The entire pitching rotation has changed, and with the all of the call-ups the lineup has taken a much different shape as well. This does not however mean the team is in bad shape. In fact there is now a surplus of good hitters especially in the outfield where a five man rotation can be expected. According to manager Gary Allenson some guys may be unhappy with the playing time they get out there. I would expect to see Pillar, Gose, Darin Mastroianni, and Glenn getting the most time with Adron Chambers filling in.
P.J. Walters will make his first start of the season for Buffalo today as the team concludes the five game set with Rochester. Again the team will be looking to get back to .500 and stay relevant in talented IL North division.