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The champagne is staying on ice for at least one more day.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Shelley Duncan delivered a two-out single to tie the game in the top of the ninth, but Luis Rivera answered with a two-out walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift Buffalo to a 4-3 win against the Yankees on Thursday afternoon.
A victory by the Yankees – combined with a loss by Syracuse to Lehigh Valley later last night – would have clinched their third consecutive International League North championship.
Instead, the Yankees will have to wait until at least tonight for a shot at winning the title when they open a three-game series at Rochester. However, the Yankees did clinch a tie for the division when Lehigh Valley defeated Syracuse 8-1 Thursday night. The magic number was reduced to one, meaning the next Yankee win or Syracuse loss would give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the title.
Trailing 3-2, SWB rallied to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning. Freddy Guzman, playing in just his third game with the Yankees since being traded from Baltimore, smacked a one-out single and stole second base. It was Guzman’s second stolen base of the game and his fourth in three days.
Following a flyout by Austin Jackson, Duncan drilled a two-strike pitch for a single to score Guzman and tie the game 3-3. The RBI was Duncan’s 94th of the season, tops in the IL.
The score stayed tied until the bottom of the 10th inning. With one out, Chip Ambres – who smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth –and Jason Dubois hit back-to-back singles off SWB relief pitcher Amaury Sanit.
Reliever Kevin Whelan entered the game to replace Sanit. Ambres and Dubois advanced to third and second, respectively, on a passed ball before Javier Castillo was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Whelan got Robinson Cancel to pop out to catcher Chris Stewart, but Rivera followed with a two-out single to score Ambres with the winning run.
Josh Towers started the game on the mound for the Yankees, but was removed after pitching two scoreless innings. He was not injured. The two shutout innings extended Towers’ scoreless streak to 29 1/3 innings dating back to July 28.
The game marked the SWB debut of pitcher Luke Prihoda. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound right-hander was called up to the team from Single-A Charleston. Prihoda played with the Grand Prairie AirHogs in the Independent League before being signed to a minor league free agent contract by the Yankees in early July.
Prihoda replaced Towers and threw two innings, allowing a run on five hits. He also struck out a batter.
Zach Kroenke pitched three innings, allowing the home run by Ambres, before being replaced by Sanit.
New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner started the game in center field for SWB as part of his major league rehab assignment. Gardner went 0-for-2 in the leadoff spot and played five innings in the field.
HOW THEY SCORED
Buffalo Third: Luis Rivera singled and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Argentis Reyes. Rivera scored on a single by Andy Green. BISONS 1, YANKEES 0
SWB Fifth: Freddy Guzman singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Austin Jackson. YANKEES 1, BISONS 1
Buffalo Fifth: Jesus Feliciano singled. With two outs, Chip Ambres hit a two-run home run. BISONS 3, YANKEES 1
SWB Sixth: Juan Miranda walked, Reegie Corona singled, and Chris Stewart was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Doug Bernie hit a single to score Miranda. BISONS 3, YANKEES 2
SWB Ninth: Freddy Guzman hit a one-out single and stole second. Shelley Duncan hit a two-out single to score Guzman. YANKEES 3, BISONS 3
Buffalo 10th: With one out, Ambres singled and Jason Dubois hit a single to put runners on first and second. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Javier Castillo was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rivera hit a two-out single to score Ambres. BISONS 4, YANKEES 3