RailRiders edge Bisons in extras after Buffalo ninth-inning rally

The Bisons got all the way back to level, then watched Scranton/Wilkes-Barre finish them off one inning later in a 5-4, 10-inning loss Thursday night at PNC Field. Buffalo’s ninth-inning push extended the game, but the deeper cost came earlier, when the Bisons kept working from behind and never fully converted enough of the small chances that might have ended it before extras.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre struck first behind George Lombard Jr., who drew a leadoff walk in his Triple-A debut and later scored on a wild pitch by Austin Voth. Lombard finished 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs and a strikeout, and MLB Pipeline tracked his first Triple-A hit as a 104.4 mph single. That quick start forced Buffalo to chase, and the rest of the night kept narrowing the margin for error.

The Bisons answered in the third when William Simoneit was hit by a pitch and Carlos Mendoza doubled down the left-field line to score him. Buffalo then grabbed its only lead in the fourth, using another walk-heavy inning to set up Josh Rivera’s RBI single to center for a 2-1 advantage. It did not last long. Duke Ellis tripled and scored on Jonathan Ornelas’ RBI single, Yanquiel Fernandez added another RBI hit, and Ernesto Martinez Jr. extended the RailRiders’ edge with a solo homer in the eighth.

Buffalo still found a way to threaten late. In the ninth, Willie MacIver and Rivera sparked a two-run rally that pulled the Bisons even. Rivera doubled to bring Buffalo within one, and Simoneit followed with a triple that put the tying run in scoring position. The play at the plate held the runner and preserved the tie, but it also underscored how close Buffalo had been all night without ever getting the clean finish.

The winning sequence in the 10th was equally tight. Buffalo had the go-ahead run 90 feet away before Ellis made a diving catch to keep the game tied. In the bottom half, Martinez started on second, moved to third on Ali Sánchez’s groundout and scored when Ornelas lined the game-winner to right, sending Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to its second straight win over Buffalo. The teams continued the six-game set Friday with a doubleheader at 5:05 p.m., and radio coverage was scheduled to begin at 5:00 with Pat Malacaro and Dave Popkin.