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The RailRiders’ climb back up the division standings has been impressive. But reaching the top in these final two months won’t be easy.
One of the teams in the way, Buffalo, has proven to be a tough obstacle this week, using a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning to pull away for a 7-4 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday at PNC Field.
The teams traded two homers apiece through the first five innings, with Ronald Guzman pulling the RailRiders (52-50) even at 4-4 with a two-run shot in the fifth.
But Nick Podkul answered in the top of the sixth with his second long ball of the night to put the Bisons ahead for good. Podkul had also snapped a 2-2 tie in the in the fourth with a two-run homer off of RailRiders starter Matt Krook.
The decisive homer came against veteran reliever Richard Rodriguez, who took the loss.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre erased three deficits on the night but could not pull ahead. Miguel Andjuar hit his 12th homer of the season to make it 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Oswaldo Cabrera knotted it at 2-2 in the third on a sac fly, and Guzman’s seventh homer tied it again in the fifth.
Buffalo got some insurance in the ninth with an RBI triple by Chavez Young and an RBI single from Cullen Large.
The RailRiders brought the tying run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the ninth after an Armando Alvarez double and a Tyler Wade walk. But Guzman, Estevan Florial and Cabrera went down in order to end the game.