Bisons Notebook: Nick Allgeyer attacked hitters and the outs piled up

On then-Pilot Field's first day in 1988, lefty Bob Patterson carried a no-no into the seventh against Denver before it was broken up. Allgeyer was stopped with one out in the sixth on a clean single to left by Iowa designated hitter Trent Giambrone. Allgeyer responded by finishing his outing with back-to-back strikeouts, closing the inning by fanning Brennen Davis with a wicked curveball.

Allgeyer struck out six, walked one and threw 79 pitches (59 strikes). He retired the first 13 batters he faced – and not a single ball left the infield – before issuing the walk to Iowa's Jerad Young with one out in the fifth. 

"I just kept trying to get outs, get ahead early and attack," said Allgeyer, who was 5-5 for the Bisons last year. "We didn't really have any conversation about how long. I'd been built up to I think 70-ish pitches, so I knew it was going to be right around there. Maybe a little bit more. It was good that we got through six innings. It was fun."

Allgeyer said he felt he worked well with catcher Kellin Deglan, especially in inducing a lot of weak contact over the first three innings. He threw the first pitch in all of professional baseball to Iowa leadoff man Greg Deichmann, and it was a weak tapper in front of the plate that Deglan grabbed and threw to first for the season's first out.

"I knew I was in a little bit of a rhythm," Allgeyer said. "Tempo was moving pretty well. Me and Deglan were on the same page, for the most part. I thought my stuff played well today. It always helps when you get ahead early and on the attack you can kind of do what you'd like to do."

Manager Casey Candaele was equally impressed by Allgeyer, who spent a lot time honing his delivery over the winter at home in St. Louis

"He feels comfortable with what he's doing now, very confident with his pitches and he's just going after hitters," Candaele said. "His tempo was tremendous. He got the ball and really and went after them."

Candaele was happy about the Giambrone hit getting the manager out of a bit of a pickle. Allgeyer was coming out of the game at 80 pitches, no-hitter or not. But Candaele knew what the reaction might have been from the crowd of 10,145.

"I would have been yelled at for taking him out of the game, the no-hitter and all that," Candaele said with a laugh. "But he pitched great. He made some adjustments in the offseason with arm slot and some different pitches. So there's a lot more movement."

Herd still waiting on Moreno

Candaele had no update on the status of catcher Gabriel Moreno, but gave hints that the Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect may not be joining the Herd during this six-game series. Moreno reported late to spring training due to visa issues and remains at the Toronto player development complex in Dunedin, Fla. It's likely easier for the 22-year-old to get up to speed there and not deal with early-April cold in Buffalo.

"He's there getting innings in, catching and getting ready to come here," Candaele said. "It's better to be cautious, and make sure that he's ready to play and ready to catch when he comes here. We don't want a situation where he comes in and he has to DH a lot. Let him catch and get the innings there. And when he's ready, he'll be here."

While the Bisons are still waiting on Moreno, the Blue Jays reassigned four players to Buffalo Tuesday afternoon in pitchers Shaun Anderson and Matt Gage, catcher Tyler Heineman and outfielder Nathan Lukes.

Diamond dust

• Mayor Byron Brown and Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Young, a scout for the New York Mets the last two years, were on hand to throw ceremonial first pitches. Young, 52, hit .299 with 27 homers and 100 RBis for the 2004 International League champion Bisons, the last Buffalo team to win a league title. He was at .277-20-78 for the Herd in 2005 as it repeated as IL North Division champions.

• The Bisons and Cubs combined for only eight hits in the game, five by Buffalo. The only player with two was Iowa third baseman Robel Garcia.