BUFFALO, N.Y. (Bisons.com) - The key is not being the first to score, it's being the last.
Buffalo had held leads in six straight games, but had just one win over that span. On Sunday, the only advantage they had came on the game's final pitch.
Jordany Valdespin's RBI-single in the bottom of the 10th inning drove home Rob Johnson from second to give the Bisons a 10-9 walk-off win over the Pawtucket Red Sox from Coca-Cola Field. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and earned the club a split of their weekend series with the PawSox.
The Bisons trailed by six runs on two separate occasions on Sunday. Pawtucket held leads of 6-0 and 9-3, but the Bisons stormed back thanks to a big day from Adam Loewen.
Loewen drove in six runs with a pair of home runs. After the PawSox broke a scoreless tie with six runs in the top of the fourth inning off Herd starter Matt Harvey, Loewen hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame. Buffalo added a third run in the inning on one of Zach Lutz' four walks on the day.
The 6-3 deficit grew to 7-3 in the fifth and 9-3 after five and a half. Loewen then launched a grand slam into the Bully Hill Party Deck as part of a five-run sixth inning.
A converted pitcher, it was Loewen's first career grand slam.
The Bisons completed the comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning. With runners at the corners and one out, pinch runner Omar Quintanilla slide hard into second base to break up a potential inning-ending doubleplay.
That set the stage for a dramatic win in the 10th. Loewen walked to lead off the inning -his fifth time on base. Johnson's sac bunt attempt went right back to pitcher Clayton Mortensen, who pivoted and threw to second for the force out.
Although he didn't advance the runner, Johnson made up for it as he stole second on the very next pitch. Valdespin then followed with a line drive into right-center for the game-winning run. The win for Buffalo went to Fernando Cabrera, who worked two scoreless innings. Jack Egbert deserves a nod as well as he retired eight straight batters before Cabrera to keep the PawSox at bay for the Herd comeback.
BISONS NOTES:The Bisons placed reliever Daniel Herrera on the disabled list with a left elbow sprain. Brad Holt was summoned from Double-A Binghamton and allowed three runs in 1.2 innings of work...Josh Satin was also returned to the Bisons. He was placed on the Mets' 24-hour taxi squad as backup if David Wright couldn't go this weekend... Had the Bisons won the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, it would've been the longest nine-inning game in the modern era. The current record of three hours and 49 minutes in a 12-9 win at Norfolk on June 5, 2010 remains the record.
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