STAFF REPORTS
The Bisons split a twin bill to close out the series against the Indians Sunday afternoon from Victory Field. Both games were low-scoring affairs and the much of the run production came in the late innings.
After dropping the first three contests of the series, the Bisons picked up a 2-1 win in Game one of the doubleheader thanks to an RBI-double by Tim Lopes.
In Game two, hits were hard to come by, but the Indians struck for a two spot in the top of the seventh to take the series finale, 2-0.
Game 1: BUF 2, IND 1
The game was knotted at one run apiece after four innings, but Tim Lopes came through with a clutch two-out, go-ahead double in the sixth that scored Darnell Sweeney, who took off on the pitch from first base.
The Bisons bullpen did its job to preserve the late lead. Roberto Osuna threw a scoreless sixth and struck out two while stranding the potential tying run in scoring position.
Justin Shafer then entered in the seventh and notched his ninth save of the season by setting the Indians down quickly in order to secure the victory.
Anthony Alford was back in the lineup after being struck in the helmet by a high and inside pitch Friday night. He initiated a second-inning offensive rush, leading off the frame with a double. Rowdy Tellez beat the shift for a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Then, Darnell Sweeney knocked in Alford on a sacrifice fly.
After making his Bisons debut Saturday night, Billy McKinney put together a 2-3 game with a pair of singles after entering the game in the second inning.
Zach Stewart made his first start in a Bisons uniform. Previously, he had made six relief appearances registering five strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched.
In Game one, he tossed five innings of one-run baseball while striking out three batters. This fine performance set the Bisons up to regain the lead in the sixth, which proved to be the game-winning run.
Game 2: BUF 0, IND 2
Indianapolis narrowly edged out Buffalo in Game two and played small ball in the only inning runs were scored.
The Indians loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh and an infield single by Erich Weiss snapped the tie. Rowdy Tellez fielded the groundball to his right and fired home, but pinch runner Casey Sadler slid in safely on a close play at the plate.
Kevin Newman followed with another infield single to increase the lead to two runs.
The Bisons had a chance to score with two runners aboard and no outs in the bottom of the sixth but could not produce any runs in the inning. In their last turn at the plate, the Herd went down in order.
Hits were not very abundant as both teams failed to record any until the fourth when McKinney singled up the middle. Buffalo was held to a just that one hit in Game two.
Matt Tracy retired the first six batters of the game before he ran into a bases-loaded roadblock in the third. Despite the threat, Tracy exited the inning unscathed after Alford tracked down a deep fly ball to centerfield.
The southpaw struck out four batters in six scoreless innings of work while only allowing one hit.
