Sean Keys launches two homers, Bisons fall to Cubs in slugfest

Sean Keys hit two two-run homers, but Buffalo lost 18-11 to Iowa at Principal Park as the Bisons and Iowa Cubs turned the game into a June slugfest. Buffalo got four home runs and 11 runs on 12 hits, while Iowa answered with 19 hits and four homers of its own to keep the game out of reach.

Keys did his damage in the sixth and seventh innings, and both swings were two-run shots. His first homer came off a 96.1 mph sinker and traveled 426 feet at 109.9 mph off the bat, while the second left the park on an 87.7 mph cutter and carried 395 feet. He finished 2 for 4 with four RBI and a walk, and his batting average sat at .288 after the game.

The two-homer afternoon was Keys’ second multi-homer game of the season when his Double-A and Triple-A totals were combined, and it pushed his season total to 20 home runs. Buffalo’s lineup gave him company in the power department, with Jonatan Clase going deep in the first inning and C.J. Stubbs adding another homer in the ninth.

Owen Miller, Moisés Ballesteros, Kevin Alcántara and James Triantos each homered for the Cubs, and the home side kept stacking hits until the Bisons could no longer trade blows. Buffalo committed no errors, and Iowa finished with 18 runs on 19 hits to Buffalo’s 11 runs on 12 hits.

The game drew 6,085 at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa, and lasted 3 hours, 7 minutes. First pitch came at 12:12 p.m. in 77-degree, partly cloudy weather with a 12 mph wind blowing out to right field.