BASEBALL
Fog puts Bisons’ game on hold
Tying run scores on ‘routine’ fly
By David Briggs
NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
Updated: 06/28/08 7:01 AM
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- Buffalo center fielder Brad Snyder makes a catch in the second inning against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
By the ninth inning Friday night at Dunn Tire Park, the Buffalo Bisons were legitimately scared.
At the plate, Chris Gimenez could not see the ball coming out of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Heath Phillips’ left hand. And in right field, Jason Cooper couldn’t see the batter, much less think of trying to track a white ball through a blinding night sky.
An impenetrable fog forced Buffalo’s game against Scranton to be suspended in the bottom of the ninth inning, but not before creating a scene for the ages while costing the home team a sure victory and pushing the Bisons’ season of frustration to new heights.
“Nothing,” Bisons manager Torey Lovullo said, “ceases to amaze me.”
“I don’t think anybody’s ever seen anything like that,” Cooper said. “It was almost impossible to play.”
The game was suspended with the game tied, 1-1, and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Play will resume tonight at 6:05 (Radio 1520 AM) as part of a doubleheader, with the regularly scheduled game starting no earlier than 7:05
p. m.
It was just the second time in Dunn Tire Park history that fog caused a suspension. The Bisons’ game against Indianapolis on May 10, 1992 was suspended in the sixth with the score tied, 1-1, and finished the next day.
The fog was thick for the entire evening, playing a part in most of the game. At various points, Jason Tyner completely lost track of a ball in the left-field sky, the outfielders became invisible from an upper-deck vantage point and the postgame fireworks show was canceled for lack of visibility.
Cooper said he could not see the ball clearly off the bat and had to rely on both the infielders and those in the bullpen behind him to guide him to the right area.
“You couldn’t see,” Cooper said. “Any ball, there was the possibility of it dropping.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to be out there,” Scranton manager Dave Miley said.
Conditions deteriorated even further late in the game. From the press box in the ninth, every player behind the pitcher was fully concealed and no numbers were distinguishable.
It was not much better on the field as the Bisons were trying to protect a 1-0 lead built on six scoreless innings by Dan Reichert and a second-inning triple by Jordan Brown. Jeff Stevens came in during the ninth and retired the first hitter before Matt Carson lofted a ball to deep left field. Tyner normally would have been able to track the ball down, but having little clue where it was, the ball bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.
Stevens then struck out Chris Stewart. With Scranton down to their last out, J. D. Closser hit a routine fly ball to center field. Brad Snyder broke in, then back. Finally, he threw his arms up in bewilderment.
The ball dropped, the game was tied and the Bisons were left to wonder why the game had not been called earlier.
“Whether it was handled well or not, it is what it is,” Lovullo said.
The Bisons got out of the inning, and the game was suspended with two outs, the bases empty and an 0-2 count on Chris Gimenez.
The sight lines promise to be better when he resumes the at-bat tonight.
“We’ve had some real trying moments,” Lovullo said. “We’ll see what we’re made of [tonight].”
