From staff and wire reports:
SYRACUSE (AAA): The Chiefs and Buffalo Bisons split a doubleheader on Tuesday in the Chiefs' first two games at NBT Bank Stadium this season. After a 2-0 loss in game one, the Chiefs claimed a 4-3 second-game victory, led by a 4-for-4 performance by Trea Turner.
Buffalo (3-3) got on the board in game one in the first inning. Dalton Pompey and Andy Burns each singled to start the game off Chiefs starter Taylor Hill. Two batters later, after a groundout, Jesus Montero hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Pompey to give the Bisons a 1-0 lead. The Bisons tacked on the lone insurance run in the third. Pompey walked with one out and scored on Burns' double to push the Buffalo lead to 2-0.
The Chiefs flipped the script in game two, getting on the board early. Turner started the home half of the first with a double. Two batters later, he scored from third on a fielder's-choice ground ball off the bat of Scott Sizemore when shortstop Alexi Casilla threw wide of home.
In the top of the second, Buffalo tied the game off left-hander Aaron Laffey, making his first appearance for Syracuse since his All-Star 2014 campaign. Junior Lake started the inning with a triple, and Matt Dominguez' sacrifice fly scored him a batter later.
The Chiefs regained the lead in the third. After a two-out Jason Martinson single, first-year Chief Nate Freiman lined a triple over the glove of drawn-in right fielder Domonic Brown, scoring Martinson. Brian Goodwin followed with a line-drive base hit to center field for a 3-1 advantage.
The two sides traded volleys in the fifth inning. First, Buffalo plated a run against Trevor Gott. David Adams worked a leadoff walk, and two batters later, Humberto Quintero lined a double to right field. Goodwin mishandled the ball for an error, allowing Adams to score.
In the bottom of the inning, the Chiefs put two runners on against right-hander Chad Jenkins, via a leadoff Freiman single and a two-out Jose Lozada walk. Submarine-throwing right-hander Ben Rowen entered to face Turner, who stepped up having doubled once and singled twice in the game. The Syracuse shortstop worked the count to 2-2 before grounding a single into center field, extending the Chiefs' lead back to two runs.
Buffalo rallied in the final two frames. In the sixth, Brown and Montero collected leadoff singles against left-hander Sammy Solis, and two batters later, Brown scored on a groundout by Dominguez. After an Adams walk put a pair of runners on, Solis pumped a called third strike past Casilla to curb the threat.
The Bisons stitched together one further bit of trouble in the seventh inning against Rafael Martin. With one out, Pompey reached base thanks to a bunt single and a throwing error by catcher Jhonatan Solano. After a groundout by Burns advanced him to third, Martin induced a foul pop out to third base off the bat of Brown, sealing the win and doubleheader split.
Syracuse and Buffalo close out their series Wednesday at 1:05. Chiefs right-hander Austin Voth will oppose Bisons right-hander Drew Hutchison. Traditional Opening-Day ceremonies will take place before the game.
HARRISBURG (AA): The Senators improved to 3-1 on the season with a 4-3 win in extra innings over the Binghamton Mets. The two teams combined to go 2 for 21 with runners in scoring position as the pitching dominated on a cold, long night in Binghamton.
Top Nationals prospect Lucas Giolito started and went the first four innings, striking out four and walking three. He allowed just one hit.
With the score tied 3-3 in the 11th inning, Chris Bostick bounced into fielder’s choice with one out. Stephen Perez followed with his double to the wall in right, easily scoring Bostick from first and giving the Senators the lead.
Abel De Los Santos took over in the last of the 11th and walked the lead-off hitter, but retired the next three to earn his first save of the year. Juan Gutierrez notched his first win tossing two scoreless innings before turning things over to De Los Santos.
Both teams used six pitchers and every position player was used except for Brian Jeroloman. Wander Suero, Gutierrez and De Los Santos combined to shut out the B-Mets over the final five innings. The Senators pitching staff held the B-Mets to 1 x 13 with runners in scoring position and struck out 14 in the game.
The Senators scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings with Wilmer Difo driving in Rafael Bautista in the third inning giving the Sens a 1-0 lead. They made it 2-0 when Bautista drove in Adrian Sanchez with a sacrifice fly. After Binghamton tallied three times in the fifth, the Senators tied the game in the sixth when Bostick drove in Kevin Keyes with a sacrifice fly.
The final game of the series and the Senators season opening road trip is Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. The Senators will have RH Austin Williams take the mound against RH Rainy Lara for the B-Mets.
POTOMAC (HIGH-A): In search of a perfect 5-0 start, the P-Nats ran over their first speed bump of the 2016 season, as they fell 6-3 to the Lynchburg Hillcats on Tuesday afternoon. Luis Reyes (L, 0-1) allowed four runs in the bottom of the first inning, a hole that the Nationals could not dig out of.
The first three batters of the day reached for Lynchburg, as Reyes walked a pair and hit a batter. A sacrifice fly by 1B Bobby Bradley made it 1-0 Hillcats, an error by Potomac 2B Bryan Mejia allowed a run to score and made it 2-0, RF Mike Papi’s RBI double made it 3-0 Lynchburg, and a sacrifice fly by CF Taylor Murphy made it 4-0. Murphy later made it 5-0 on a solo home run in the sixth inning.
Reyes calmed down through the rest his outing and allowed just two earned runs, five runs overall, in four innings. The righty surrendered just two hits but walked a Potomac season high five.
Potomac (4-1) finally cracked the Lynchburg pitching staff in the seventh inning. The first four Nationals hitters in the inning picked up a hit, as C Raudy Read doubled, while 3B Drew Ward, RF Dale Carey, and LF Alec Keller all reached on singles. Keller’s RBI single made it 6-1, while 1B David Masters got credit for a sacrifice fly assisted by a fielding error by Murphy in centerfield, that made it 6-2. CF Narciso Mesa made it 6-3 with a sacrifice fly, though the P-Nats left two men on in the frame.
The series wraps up Wednesday night in Lynchburg, as RHP Phillips Valdez (1-0, 1.80) is set to match up with Hillcats’ RHP Mitch Brown (0-0, 5.79). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.
HAGERSTOWN (LOW-A): The Suns scored five times in the eighth and ninth innings and beat the Lakewood Blue Claws 8-7 at Municipal Stadium.
Telmito Agustin led a 12-hit barrage going 3 for 5 with an RBI and a pair of stolen bases. Edwin Lora, Ryan Ripken and Max Scrock all had two hits apiece.
Starter Andrew Lee gave up one run on five hits and two walks in five innings, striking out five. Tommy Peterson got the win, pitching three innings of shutout relief on four hits and no walks with four Ks.
The four-games set concludes Wednesday at 10:35 a.m. Lefty Taylor Hearn takes the hill for the Suns.