Mejia Dominates As Bisons Bullpen Holds Off Iron Pigs 4-2

The Bisons defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 4-2, thanks to a wonderful performance by Jenrry Mejia last night.

Mejia was coming off a strong start his last time out, in which he held Pawtucket two just two runs over five innings. This time out against Lehigh Valley, he was even better.

Mejia gave up the first run of the game in the top of the third on a run-scoring groundout. However, he was backed up by his offense in the next half inning. The Bisons responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third, taking a 3-1 lead. First, Lucas Duda hit a home run, a solo shot, to tie up the game. A few batters later it was the struggling Matt den Dekker who came through with an RBI-single to give Buffalo a lead.

Those three runs are all Mejia would need. He held the IronPigs scoreless the next three innings until he was removed from the game. Overall, Mejia allowed just one run on five hits in six innings. He didn’t walk a batter and threw 68% of his pitches for strikes. It was definitely a satisfying outing from Mejia, who has been nothing but impressive since being put back into the Buffalo rotation.

Now, all that was left to do was hold off Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs scored a run in the seventh off Elvin Ramirez, giving up a solo home run to cut the lead to 3-2. However, that’s all Ramriez and the bullpen would give up. Ramirez threw 1.2 innings, C.J. Nitkowski recorded an out, and Fernando Cabrera closed out the victory for the Bisons.

Herd Rumblings: Mejia has allowed just four runs as a starter in 17.1 innings since becoming a starter again. He has also walked just one batter over his last ten innings pitched. On offense, Matt den Dekker had a huge game. After driving in two in the third, he drove in another run in the seventh, giving the Bisons a bit of insurance. Den Dekker finished the game 2-for-4, bumping his average up to .214.Lucas Duda went 2-for-4, including that solo home run. Adam Loewen also had two hits and scored two runs. The Bisons take on the IronPigs again later today at 4:30. Collin McHugh will get the start.