By Julia Morris
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| Fans Rounding the Bases for Fan Appreciation Day (c) Julia Morris |
On Fan Appreciation Day at NBT Bank Stadium Monday afternoon, Syracuse Chiefs’ fans were treated to free parking, two-for-one hotdogs
and sodas, and a free t-shirt toss – but not a victory.
The Chiefs (81-62) dropped their final game of the regular
season, losing to the Buffalo Bisons (77-66) by a score of 8-2.
The Bisons had a season-high 20 hits on their way to the win. However, the victory meant nothing except ending the season on a high note as the team did not qualify for an International League playoff spot.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, have more baseball to look forward to as they clinched their first division title since 1989 with a win over the Pawtucket Red Sox (79-65) on Saturday.
The Bisons had a season-high 20 hits on their way to the win. However, the victory meant nothing except ending the season on a high note as the team did not qualify for an International League playoff spot.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, have more baseball to look forward to as they clinched their first division title since 1989 with a win over the Pawtucket Red Sox (79-65) on Saturday.
The Bisons came out swinging to start the game, with the first six batters in the top of the first taking a cut at the first pitch. Their aggressive approach continued throughout the game and proved to
be too much for Chiefs' lefty Aaron Laffey to handle. Laffey came into the game ranked fifth in the
International League in ERA, but he struggled with his command all afternoon, giving up six earned runs and 13 hits over four innings of work. After
the game, pitching coach Paul Menhart said
the Bisons’ approach made it difficult for the Chiefs’ starter to get settled.
“This is a tough day to pitch for anybody because last game of the season they’re ready to call it a day, they’re swinging early, and he didn’t command the baseball down in the zone to get the early outs that we were expecting him to,” Menhart said.
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| Chiefs' pitcher Aaron Laffey Struggled on the Mound (c) Julia Morris |
Laffey loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning before the Bisons’ Matt Hague drove the ball to center field for a base hit that scored Darin Mastroianni and gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second, the Bisons added three more runs. Mastroianni lined a base hit to right to score leadoff hitter Dalton Pompey and give the Bisons a 2-0 lead. Brett Wallace, who had four hits in the game, hit the ball over the head of Chiefs’ left fielder Destin Hood, scoring Mastroianni and Cole Gillespie to increase the Bisons’ lead to 4-0. By the time the 2nd inning was over, Laffey had thrown 46 pitches. Despite Laffey’s poor performance, Menhart says he is confident the Chiefs' starter will be able to bounce back in time for the playoffs.
“He’s been great all year, he’s had a super season and I
don’t see him wavering at all in his next start,” Menhart said.
In the bottom of the second, Hood, who won the game
for the Chiefs on Sunday with a walk-off home-run, picked up where he left off
by lining an RBI double to center to score
Greg Dobbs, cutting the Bisons’ lead to 4-1.
However, that run would be the only one allowed by Bisons’ starting right-handed
pitcher Scott Copeland, who bounced back from his last outing where he allowed
four earned runs in four innings against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
RailRiders. Copeland gave up only three
hits through seven innings of work.
The Bisons continued to swing the bats well and scored twice
more in the top of the fourth inning.
Gillespie hit a sac-fly to center to score Pompey, who led the inning off
with a double and moved to third on a base-hit by Mastroianni. Wallace then hit a liner
to right to score Gillespie and give the Bisons a 6-1 lead. Laffey got out of the inning by
striking out Ryan Schimpf but he would not return to the game.
Right-handed relief pitcher Sam Runion started the fifth
inning for the Chiefs. Runion gave up
hits to the first four batters he faced. Mike
Nickeas led off the inning with a single and Jonathan Diaz followed with a base hit to left that was misplayed off the wall by Hood. Nickeas scored to increase the Bisons’ lead
to 7-1. Pompey then followed with a
single to right field and Mastroianni hit a ball that dropped between left and
center, scoring Diaz and giving the Bisons an 8-1 lead. Runion's settled down after getting out
of the inning, retiring the side in order in the 6th and 7th
innings. The other two Chiefs' relief pitchers, Matt Grace and Rafael Martin, also pitched effectively and held the Bisons scoreless for the rest of the game.
In the
bottom of the 8th inning, right-hander Brandon Morrow, who was pitching in a rehab assignment, came in to relieve Copeland. Morrow was a starting pitcher for the Blue Jays earlier this year but he spent the last three
months on the disabled list due to a torn tendon in his right index finger. Morrow pitched a quick 1-2-3 inning to send the game into the 9th.
During their last at-bats, the Chiefs added a run but it was still not enough to bring the game within reach. Dobbs lined a double to right off Morrow to start the inning. After getting Hood to ground out to short, Morrow was replaced by Bisons' righty Steve Delabar. Delabar gave up a single to Rhymes that scored
Dobbs and cut the lead to six. However,
he would then get both Jeff Howell and Jose Lozada to strike out swinging for the final two outs of
the game.
Even though the Chiefs lost, fans still stood on their feet at the end of the game to give the team a round of applause. International League manager of the year Billy
Gardner said he was not worried about the Chiefs and their performance in the playoffs because the team has been playing at a high level for most of the year.
“I think it was an outstanding season, these guys did a
great job…clinching the division…they stayed at it, they competed all year.”
The Chiefs will face the Pawtucket Red Sox in the International
League semifinal playoff series. The Chiefs and Sox split their regular season series matchup, with each team winning eight games. Even though the Chiefs have home-field advantage for the series, Gardner said he is not underestimating the Sox.
“They’re a good team, it’s going to be a tough series. They’ve
got a lot of players on that club who are very athletic,” Gardner said.
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