BUFFALO, N.Y. – They trailed once all night. But it came at the worst possible time. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders saw former RailRider and New York Yankee Melky Mesa belt a two-out, two-run homer that just cleared both the wall and Ramon Flores‘ leap in left-center field as the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays) walked it off at Coca-Cola Field on Friday night, 5-4. SWB (47-43) suffered its 12th loss in 16 games while Buffalo (44-45) has won seven of 10.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi confirmed after Friday night’s 5-1 win in Boston Rob Refsnyder will be called up and start at seabed base both Saturday and Sunday. He was not in the RailRiders lineup Friday night.
“He has value,” said Girardi. “We want to see him play.
The RailRiders claimed a 3-0 lead thanks to a sea of singles in the fourth. The five-hit frame included run-scoring blows by Greg Bird and Austin Romine against former SWB Red Baron Randy Wolf. Buffalo scratched out a run against former Bison Esmil Rogers in the bottom of the inning without a knock. Matt Hague began the inning with a bruise, took second on Luke Scott’s walk and advanced to third when Sean Ochinko bounced into a 5-4-3 double play. A wild pitch gave Hague the plate and Buffalo had its first run.
In the fifth, Ben Gamel’s sac fly scored Dan Fiorito for a 4-1 cushion. But Diaz delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI single that made it 4-2 in the seventh, setting the stage for Mesa’s ninth-inning theatrics.
Reliever Nick Rumbelow (2-2) blew a save for the fifth time and took the loss. Bobby Korecky (3-4) earned the win.
The three-game series continues at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday night. Right-hander Diego Moreno (3-0, 2.34) will make a fill-in start for SWB against southpaw Matt Boyd (2-1, 2.37). The RailRiders will give away a special copy of Yankees Magazine to the first 2,500 fans in attendance on Friday, July 24, when the team hosts the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers). For more information please call (570) 969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.
OFF THE RAILS:
The RailRiders suffered their fifth walk-off loss of the season and second in 10 days.
Esmil Rogers left in line for his first SWB win. He gave up one run on three hits (all singles) in 5.2 innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked two.
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