Buffalo Bisons vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Lehigh Valley struck first. Tommy Pham worked a two-out walk in the top of the first, and Rafael Marchan followed with a single before Gabriel Rincones Jr. walked to load the bases. Kameron Misner drew a walk to force in Pham, and Dylan Moore hit an RBI single to make it 2-0 IronPigs before Buffalo recorded an out.

Buffalo answered immediately. The Bisons loaded the bases against Alan Rangel in the bottom half, and C.J. Stubbs delivered a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Stubbs put Buffalo ahead for good in the second inning. With Lenyn Sosa on base, Stubbs crushed a two-run homer to centre field — his eighth of the year — and Jay Harry added an RBI single later in the frame, extending the lead to 4-2.

Yohendrick Piñango made it 5-2 with an RBI single in the third. The floodgates opened in the fourth: Rudy Martin Jr. launched a solo homer to centre, his third of the season, and a three-run rally capped by Peyton Williams’ RBI single pushed the margin to 9-2. Buffalo added one more in the sixth on Sean Keys’ sacrifice fly.

Javen Coleman (W) shut Lehigh Valley down after the rocky first, holding the IronPigs scoreless over the next five innings. The Bisons bullpen finished the job with three clean frames.

Stubbs’ two-run homer in the second inning flipped the game completely. Buffalo trailed 2-1 with one out when Stubbs turned on a pitch and sent it over the centre-field wall, giving the Bisons a lead they would never relinquish. The home run added +19% to Buffalo’s win probability and opened the floodgates against Rangel, who would not survive the third inning.

• C.J. Stubbs (BUF): 2-for-3, HR (8th), 3 RBI, 2 runs. Game-high +21% win probability added. His two-run homer in the second turned the game.
• Rudy Martin Jr. (BUF): 2-for-4, HR (3rd), RBI, 2 runs. Solo shot in the fourth capped a four-run inning. +10% WPA.
• Javen Coleman (BUF): W, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 K. Settled in after a rocky first inning that saw him walk three.
• Alan Rangel (LV): L, 3.0 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. Rangel allowed 10 of Buffalo’s 15 hits across just three innings, unable to keep the Bisons off the board after the first.

Player of the Match: C.J. Stubbs (Buffalo Bisons)

Buffalo’s 15 hits were their most in a single game since mid-July. The Bisons went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position and scored in five of the first six innings, a relentless assault that chased Rangel after just three frames. Lehigh Valley managed only 7 hits and struck out 5 times, with their only scoring coming in the first inning. The +21% WPA on Stubbs’ second-inning homer was the largest single-play swing of the game, underscoring how decisively that at-bat shifted control to Buffalo.

The win lifted Buffalo to 62-63 (.496) and gave them a split of the six-game season series at 2-2 (with the August 22 game cancelled by rain). Lehigh Valley fell to 60-64 (.484) and dropped its second straight after entering the series on a five-game winning streak. The Bisons sit 15th in the 30-team International League standings; the IronPigs are 19th. Buffalo’s next fixture is on the road against the Rochester Red Wings, while Lehigh Valley returns home to host the Syracuse Mets.

A clinical demolition from the Bisons, who spotted Lehigh Valley two runs in the first before overwhelming Rangel with a 15-hit assault across the middle innings. Stubbs’ go-ahead homer was the hammer, and the Bisons bullpen made sure the IronPigs never mounted a response. For Lehigh Valley, a series that began with promise (a 5-1 win on 18 August and a five-game streak) ended with back-to-back losses and questions about pitching depth beyond their frontline starters.