Bisons ride second-inning burst to edge WooSox 4-3

Four runs in the second inning were enough for Buffalo, but only after the Bisons had to prove they could live with a one-run lead all the way to the finish. At Sahlen Field, Buffalo beat Worcester 4-3 on Thursday night behind an early burst that set the terms and a tense closing stretch that made every pitch matter.

Josh Rivera, Carlos Mendoza and Ryan McCarty all drove in runs in Buffalo’s decisive second inning, turning a game that could have settled into a grind into a quick scoreboard advantage. The Bisons did not need a long power surge or a steady stream of traffic. They cashed in when the chance arrived, built a cushion and then asked the rest of the night to come to them. That matters in Triple-A, where a club that scores once in bunches and then manages the game well can keep control even when the opponent starts to nibble back.

Worcester did exactly that, chipping away later and keeping the outcome uneasy. But Buffalo never fully lost the script because the second-inning outburst changed how the game unfolded. With the lead in hand, the Bisons could work through the middle innings without being forced into constant emergency mode, and the pitching and defense held together long enough to preserve the edge.

The result pushed Buffalo to 21-21 and gave the club a 4-1 stretch over its last five games, a sign that the mixed start is beginning to settle into something steadier. That kind of one-run-plus win can matter as much as a blowout in a season that turns on small runs of form, especially against a division opponent like Worcester.

For Buffalo, the night was less about padding a lineup card and more about closing a door. The Bisons got the separation they needed in one inning, then showed they could protect it when the game tightened late, which is the sort of finish that can travel well through a long homestand.