BASEBALL
Even Huff not quite enough to boost Bisons
The pregame buzz involved hard-throwing left-hander David Huff, another Buffalo Bisons kid pitcher. Though he certainly lived up to his reputation, the Rochester Red Wings managed to ruin his debut.
Jose Morales’ RBI single in the 11th inning broke a 3-all tie and gave the Red Wings a 4-3 victory over the Herd (28-34) in front of about 9,000 (12,499 tickets were sold) Friday night at Dunn Tire Park.
The Bisons took a 3-1 lead into the top of the ninth when Howie Clark tied it with a two-run home run over the right-field fence off reliever Bubbie Buzachero. Bisons manager Torey Lovullo normally would have tabbed Rick Bauer, who converted 15 saves in 17 chances this season, but he was called up to the parent Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
“We want him [Buzachero] as our closer, he’s going to have to lock down that ninth inning,” Lovullo said. “Despite what you saw [Friday], he’s going to get the ball again.”
The Herd, 3-5 on this eight-game homestand, had a chance to win in the 11th with the bases loaded and Josh Barfield at the plate. But Barfield, who had the game-tying hit in the Bisons’ dramatic 8-7 come-from-behind win against Rochester on Wednesday, struck out swinging against Tim Lahey.
“Anytime you come up a little short, it’s frustrating,” Lovullo said. “Josh is one of our better hitters and the guy just made pitches.”
Huff looked strong in going six complete innings in his Triple-A debut, giving up just one run and three hits despite some pregame jitters.
“I felt like I got lucky,” he said. “I was really excited and [I’m] an adrenaline rush type of guy, but normally I calm down and I’m really relaxed. It wasn’t me [on Friday], but I was happy with the result.”
Huff’s appearance came three days after Josh Tomlin made a spot start against the Red Wings and won, 4-3. Huff was sent back to Single-A Kinston after the game, but the 23-year-old Huff will likely remain in Buffalo for the remainder of the season.
A first-round supplemental draft pick by Cleveland out of UCLA, Huff was often compared to Tom Glavine, Barry Zito and Jeremy Sowers and was expected to move swiftly through the farm system. Huff’s coach at UCLA, John Savage, was also Zito’s pitching coach at USC.
Some Indians officials are pleased by Huff’s recent progress as a reliable strike-thrower with excellent command. With Double-A Akron, Huff posted a 5-1 record with an Eastern League-leading 1.92 ERA.
On Friday, he struck out Tommy Watkins, the first batter he faced, with a fastball. He walked former Bison Darnell McDonald with one out, and fired a fastball by Garrett Jones to retire the side. Huff gave up a double to Howie Clark and a single Randy Ruiz to start the second inning, but got Jose Morales to ground into a double play although Clark scored. Sergio Santos popped out to center to end the inning.
Huff didn’t get into any jams the rest of the way and his fastball consistently clocked 88 to 91 mph.
