Greg Allen started the RailRiders' season with a strong beginning, and the rest of the lineup continued with plenty of excitement.
Allen began the game on Friday with a home run to left field, and the RailRiders' offense had 13 hits, including three homers, in a 12-9 victory over the Buffalo Bisons at Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
The RailRiders scored 10 of the 12 runs during the fourth and fifth innings, overcoming a tough start by pitcher Will Warren and taking advantage of the Bisons' bullpen.
Allen's home run on the fourth pitch gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the lead at the beginning, but the Bisons quickly responded by scoring against Warren in the first inning.
Warren gave up five earned runs and only recorded one out before Josh Maciejewski took over.
The Bisons chose Ricky Tiedemann, the top prospect in the Blue Jays system, to start the game. Besides the leadoff home run, Tiedemann performed well in his season debut, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up only one run.
However, the Bisons' relievers were not as effective in quieting the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre bats after Tiedemann was taken out.
In the fourth inning, with the RailRiders trailing 5-1, Caleb Durbin hit a two-run double to left, and Carlos Narvaez brought him in with a sacrifice fly, reducing their deficit to 5-4.
Durbin ended with two hits and three RBI in his first game with the RailRiders.
After the Bisons made it 7-4 in the fourth inning, the RailRiders scored seven runs in the fifth, with home runs from Jose Rojas and Everson Pereira contributing to the big swings. Brandon Lockridge and Narvaez also brought in two runs each, putting the RailRiders ahead 11-7.
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre bullpen effectively supported Warren, with five relievers pitching a total of 8.2 innings and allowing only three runs, one of which was unearned.
Oddanier Mosqueda got the win in relief for the RailRiders, while Bisons reliever Brandon Eisert was charged with the loss after giving up seven earned runs in 0.2 innings.
The RailRiders (1-0) will play their second game against Buffalo on Saturday as part of their three-game series. The game will start at 1:05 p.m. at Sahlen Field.
