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Then the bullpens got involved.

Buffalo Bisons righthander Tobi Stoner left after six innings staked to a 3-0 lead against Charlotte Knights righthander Lucas Harrell, who also lasted six frames in his Triple-A debut.

And while the Herd was able to score two runs in each the seventh and eighth innings, Charlotte battered a quartet of Bisons relievers for 12 runs on 15 hits in the eighth through tenth innings to claim a 12-7 win.

The Knights’ five-run 10th inning came against Tim McNab (2-2), who had allowed four earned runs all season. Eddie Kunz, who had yielded nine earned runs all year, was the ninth-inning victim as Charlotte scored four times to forge a 7-7 tie.

The visitors started their rally with three runs in the seventh against Kyle Snyder and Jon Switzer.

“I’m speechless,” said Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell. “It’s very shocking to give up 12 runs in three innings. I thought we had the game under control.”

Extra innings became necessary only after the Bisons had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with one out, but saw Chip Ambres and Emil Brown strike out in back-to-back at bats.

Ambres’ out came on an appeal after a clear check swing, and the first strike against Brown sent Buffalo hitting coach Bill Masse over the edge. He was ejected by home plate umpire Damian Beal and engaged in a classic face-to-face, head-bouncing tirade.

“I’m not going to blame the umpires for 12 runs in three innings,” Oberkfell said. “But they did not have a good ninth inning.”

As if the Charlotte comeback wasn’t surreal enough, a quick but torrential downpour halted play for 16 minutes in the top of the 10th.

When the delay began, the Knights had the bases loaded. After play resumed, Miguel Negron came through with an RBI single and Norris Hopper followed with a two-run knock. Former Bisons Eider Torres added a two-run single one out later.

Before the slugfest began, it looked like Stoner – making only his third Triple-A start – would prevail against Harrell, who posted an 8-3 record with a 3.25 earned run average at Double-A Birmingham. The two were teammates last year in the Arizona Fall League.

Harrell allowed nine hits and walked three in six innings while living up to his reputation as a ground-ball pitcher. He posted a gaudy 2.60 groundout/flyout ratio at Double-A, and the Bisons flied out only three times while grounding into 11 outs.

But Harrell also had the leadoff batter reach base five times. In the first, he was able to avoid trouble by starting a double play. But in the second, a Javier Castillo double came around on an RBI single by Wilson Valdez.

In the fourth, Buffalo added two runs to take a 3-0 lead and Stoner continued to pitch efficiently. He yielded just four hits and three walks. Despite being held without a strikeout, he picked off a runner at second base in the third inning and was the beneficiary of two other sterling defensive plays which caught runners at home plate.

As for the six-inning pitching battle between Stoner and Harrell, the Buffalo starter said: “You don’t think about who’s out there and his experience. And I’m not pitching against him, I’m pitching against the hitters. My job was to get outs, and I wanted to get as many outs as I possibly could with the least amount of pitches as I could.”

………

Cory Sullivan had four hits for the third time this season. Emil Brown added three hits to match his season-high.

Four Knights had three hits apiece – Negron, Hopper, Josh Kroger, and Wilson Betemit – to key a 19-hit attack, the most against the Herd this season.

The Bisons left 16 men on base, their most since stranding 16 in a 14-inning contest last August 21 against Norfolk.

………

Earlier Monday, New York Mets assistant general manager John Ricco announced that Oliver Perez, the injury-addled lefthander who was signed to a three-year, $36-million contract this past offseason, will be rejoining the Herd for a rehab start on Friday against Rochester.

That night already promises to be a big one for the Bisons organization, as it is the team’s annual Independence Eve celebration with a post-game performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Perez earned a win by allowing only two hits and a walk in five innings for the Brooklyn Cyclones on Sunday, adding six strikeouts. He has already made one rehab appearance with the Bisons, striking out five in a 4 1/3- inning stint against Lehigh Valley on May 26.