Worcester vs Buffalo Bisons

Worcester struck first in the bottom of the first. Mickey Gasper singled and scored on an RBI single by Romy Gonzalez, giving the WooSox a 1–0 lead.

Buffalo answered emphatically in the top of the second with back-to-back home runs. Peyton Williams launched a two-run shot that scored Nick Goodwin, and C.J. Stubbs followed immediately with a solo homer to put the Bisons ahead 3–1.

Worcester reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the second. Brett Harris scored on a wild pitch, and Romy Gonzalez delivered a two-run double that plated Franklin Arias and Nate Eaton, making it 4–3 WooSox.

Sam Gardner entered in the sixth and retired the side with two strikeouts. His outing proved pivotal.

Buffalo retook the lead for good in the top of the seventh. Sean Keys crushed a two-run homer over the Worcester Wall in right field, scoring Carlos Mendoza to give the Bisons a 5–4 advantage. It was Keys's 11th home run of the season.

Gardner struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh and retired all eight batters he faced across 2⅔ innings, fanning five. He earned the win, improving to 4–4.

Worcester tied the game at 5–5 in the eighth on an RBI double from Mikey Romero that scored Gasper, setting the stage for extra innings.

With the automatic runner on second to start the tenth, Yohendrick Piñango moved to third on a groundout. Munguia then lined a two-run double into the gap, scoring Piñango and Keys to make it 7–5.

Devereaux Harrison retired the WooSox in order in the bottom of the tenth, striking out two, to seal the victory.

Ismael Munguia (Buffalo) — Game-winning two-run double in the tenth. Brought home both runners in scoring position in the most critical at-bat of the night.

Sean Keys (Buffalo) — 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (No. 11 on the season), scored twice including the go-ahead run in the tenth.

Sam Gardner (Buffalo) — Dominant relief: 2⅔ IP, 0 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. Retired all eight batters he faced across the sixth and seventh.

Romy Gonzalez (Worcester) — 3 RBI (RBI single in the first, two-run double in the second). Was at the heart of Worcester's early offensive response.

Peyton Williams (Buffalo) — Two-run homer in the second ignited the Bisons' comeback after falling behind 1–0.

Player of the match: Ismael Munguia — his tenth-inning double decided the game.

Buffalo's three home runs accounted for five of their seven runs, underlining their power-over-small-ball approach. The Bisons bullpen was the difference: after the starter departed, Gardner and Harrison combined for 3⅔ innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts and zero walks. Worcester's bullpen, by contrast, surrendered two earned runs in the tenth — the difference in the game.

Worcester scored four of their five runs in the first two innings but managed just one hit over the final eight frames outside the Romero double. The WooSox offence went cold after the second, a pattern that has plagued them in close games this season.

The Bisons evened the season series and moved to 3–2 in the six-game set at Polar Park. Worcester, chasing Indianapolis for the best second-half record in the International League, fell half a game back after the loss. The WooSox have 31 games remaining (13 at home, 18 on the road).

Buffalo and Worcester conclude the series on Sunday, 16 August at 1:05 p.m. ET at Polar Park. Grant Rogers is scheduled to start for the Bisons.

A classic back-and-forth International League contest decided by the bullpens: Gardner's dominance in the middle innings kept Buffalo within striking distance, and Harrison's clean tenth sealed it. Worcester's inability to sustain offence after the second inning cost them a chance to take the series.