BUFFALO- The Buffalo Bisons took a 4-1 win against Indianapolis on Thursday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field, thanks to a Dwight Smith Jr. RBI double in the seventh inning.
Smith Jr.'s winning hit came shortly after a line drive double to left field by Rowdy Tellez. Batting the first Tyler Glasnow pitch he saw, the Bisons outfielder sent a ground ball to right field. The Indians had trouble fielding the ball as centerfielder Austin Meadows deflected it. The double was the twentieth of the season for Smith Jr.
Getting the Herd on the board to start the day was Jon Berti in the first inning. Berti was patient in the leadoff spot and took four straight balls from Tyler Glasnow to get to first base. With Michael Saunders at the plate Berti then used his speed to steal second base and an at bat later made it to third with another stolen bag. Teoscar Hernandez was able to bring the Bisons second baseman home thanks to a groundout to third to get an early one-run lead.
Adding an important insurance run later on in the seventh for Buffalo was Alex Monsalve. To bring Smith Jr. home from second, the catcher sent a grounder towards second base for an RBI single and gave the Herd a 3-1 lead. Michael Saunders also tacked on a home run with a solo shot to centerfield in the eighth frame.
The Indians' lone run of the day came at the top of the seventh to knot the game up. Erich Weiss used a fly ball to centerfield to haul in a triple and Gift Ngoepe batted a sac fly to Roemon Fields to bring Weiss home.
The Bisons used four arms to turn in a good pitching performance. The strong effort began with four innings of Joe Biagini on the mound. The righty yielded two hits and a trio of walks before heading to the dugout for the rest of the game. The Indians only had one really good shot at putting runs up on Biagini's watch in a bases-loaded jam before the Bisons pitcher managed a groundout to end the inning. Carlos Ramirez continued his AAA success with a scoreless two-inning outing. John Stilson and Leonel Campos closed out the game. Stilson gave up a single run in his appearance.
With the win, Buffalo takes the series with Indianapolis 2-1. On Friday the Herd will begin a three-game set with Gwinnett beginning at 7:05 p.m. Southpaw T.J. House (9-11, 4.27 ERA) will work the mound for Buffalo coming off of a strong 7.2 inning start at Toledo. Kris Medlen (4-6 4.86 ERA) will get the start for the G-Braves.
