It's one of the rarest of plays in all of baseball — the triple play.

It's so rare, in the 22-year history of the downtown ballpark in Buffalo it had only happened once.

Until Tuesday night.

The Buffalo Bisons turned a 6-4-3 triple play in the third inning in front of 9,866 at Coca-Cola Field in a 9-6 loss to the Rochester Red Wings. Box score

"I was involved with two others and I think I hit into one in spring training one year," said

Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell, who has 30 years of professional baseball experience on his

resume. "It's very rare. It's pretty cool and pretty neat to be part of."

The game was tied, 2-2, heading to the third inning. Jason Pridie led off with a single and

Dustin Martin drew a walk.

Both runners took off when Steven Tolleson made contact, but Bisons shortstop Argenis Reyes

snagged the line drive. He threw to second baseman Luis Rivera to double off Pridie. Rivera

threw to first baseman Mike Lamb to retire off Martin.

"I didn't really see it unfold because I was running to the base," said Lamb, who was in on a

triple play during his time in Philadelphia. "But when I turned back I saw Reyes laying on the

ground. I knew he had caught the line drive. At that point with the runners running, it's just

take your time and make sure everyone makes good throws. It's an easy triple play and it's

pretty cool."

The last time a triple play was turned in Coca-Cola Field was July 27, 1997, against

Nashville. It was a 5-4-3 ground ball that went around the horn from Jeff Manto to Torey

Lovullo to Richie Sexson.

The last time the Bisons turned a triple play was at Rochester on Aug. 6, 2003, on a liner to

short with the runners at first and second doubled off.

But any Buffalo momentum from the triple play slipped away as the Red Wings scored six runs on

four home runs through the course of the game.

Rochester took a 2-0 lead in the second when Brock Peterson drove a 3-2 pitch to left field

for his 10th home run of the season. The Red Wings got solo shots from Pridie and Danny

Valencia while Matt Marci added a two-run homer in the sixth.

"It was tough. You're not going to win many games giving up four home runs," Oberkfell said.

"[Rochester] is a good hitting team. They're third in the league in hitting, so it doesn't

surprise me. If you make mistakes, they're going to hurt you and that's what we did tonight.

We left too many balls out over the plate."

Rene Rivera drove in three runs for the Herd — two on a double and one on a solo homer

in the sixth.

* * *

Kevin Mulvey, who was scheduled to start for the Red Wings Tuesday, was claimed off waivers by

Arizona before the game and left to join the Diamondbacks for their series at the Los Angeles

Dodgers.

In other Rochester pitching news, left-handed reliever Reid Santos was suspended for three

games by the International League after hitting Reyes in the eighth inning Monday night. The

plunk came after Robinson Cancel was caught stealing third as the Herd held a 6-1 lead.

* * *

The International League released its All-Star team on Tuesday and two New York Yankees

prospects earned awards — Shelley Duncan was the league's Most Valuable Player and

Austin Jackson was the Rookie of the Year. Duncan hit .273 with 29 home runs and 92 RBIs.

Former Bisons Andy Marte (third baseman) and Jordan Brown (outfield) each made the All-Star

team from Columbus. No current Bisons received postseason honors.

* * *

The Herd continues its final homestand Wednesday night (7:05 p.m., TWC13, Radio 1520 AM),

opening a two-game set with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Lefty Adam Pettyjohn (4-9, 4.08 ERA) is

scheduled to start for the Bisons against righty Anthony Claggett (6-7, 2.88). It is Fan

Appreciation Night which kicks off with an open tent party and live music at 5 p.m. There will

be giveaways every half inning with a fireworks show after the game.