Bisons rally from 3-0 deficit to beat Clippers 5-3

The Buffalo Bisons did not need one giant inning to erase a 3-0 hole. They needed a string of sharp at-bats, a defense that kept putting pressure on Columbus, and a bullpen that refused to let the game get away. That was enough for a 5-3 win over the Clippers on Wednesday night at Sahlen Field, a result that pushed Buffalo to 11-11 and dropped Columbus to 11-10.

Columbus landed the first punch quickly. Khalil Watson reached on an error before scoring, Cooper Ingle followed with a two-run double, and Dom Nunez added another run in the second inning to make it 3-0. Buffalo was on its heels, but the response came almost immediately. In the bottom of the second, Riley Tirotta drew a walk and Rafael Lantigua punched an infield single that brought him home, cutting the deficit to 3-1 and giving the Bisons their first real foothold in the game.

That foothold turned into a full comeback in the fifth. Lantigua opened the inning with another hit, Carlos Mendoza followed with an infield single, and the Bisons kept forcing Columbus to make plays on the run. An inherited runner eventually crossed to tie it, and Yohendrick Piñango then lifted a sacrifice fly that gave Buffalo its first lead. It was not loud offense, but it was the kind that stacks up over six months, especially in Triple-A: balls in play, pressure on the infield, and a defense that finally cracked.

The decisive burst came in the eighth. Piñango singled, Charles McAdoo was hit by a pitch, and Tirotta worked a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-3. Buffalo kept the line moving after that, with another infield single extending the inning and Lantigua driving in McAdoo for his second RBI hit of the night and a 5-3 cushion. The Bisons had done the hardest thing in baseball: turn traffic into runs without waiting for one swing to save them.

The bullpen finished the job. Jesse Hahn was the sixth pitcher used by Buffalo and helped bridge the late innings, and Brendon Little struck out the side in a scoreless frame to earn his third win of the season. Buffalo’s staff finished with 14 strikeouts, and that combination of patience at the plate and power in relief mattered just as much as the comeback itself. After Columbus took the opener 5-2 on Tuesday, the Bisons answered with a win that looked built for a long season. Grant Rogers is slated to start Thursday night’s rematch at 6:05 p.m. at Sahlen Field.