(bisons.com)-On the eve of the longest homestand in the club's modern era, the Bisons wrapped up their final road contest of the month in style. Buffalo put a close to their 10-game trip with a 9-3 triumph over Charlotte at a rain-soaked Knights Stadium on Monday night. Valentino Pascucci homered and drove in three as the Herd improved to 22-16 on the season.
The club will now pack their bags and head back to Western New York for the start of a 16-game homestand on Tuesday. Buffalo will play four games against the Braves, Indians, Yankees and Clippers all before the calendar flips to June. The marathon stretch at home was initially two homestands, but the four-game series versus Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (May 24-27) was moved to Coca-Cola Field with the reconstruction of the Yankees home ballpark.
As if the Bisons were anxious to get home, they made quick work of Monday's contest by scoring six runs in the first two innings. While the first two tallies came on hits by Fred Lewis and Valentino Pascucci, only one was scored conventionally. Pascucci hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season, but before that, Lewis raced home on a throwing error from Osvaldo Martinez after tripling to right field.
Oswaldo Navarro closed out the three-run first by driving in Matt Tuiasosopo for his first RBI with the Bisons. Buffalo broke open the game with three more runs in the second inning on a Lewis RBI-double, a Vinny Rottino single and a run-scoring groundout from Pascucci.
That was more than enough for Jeurys Familia to earn his third consecutive winning decision. The righty fanned seven in five innings of work and allowed just one run on five hits.
Buffalo added single runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings for insurance. Pascucci's single in fourth gave him three RBI on the night and a team-high 25 for the season. The final two Bisons runs scored on wild pitches.
It wasn't all good news for the Bisons on Monday. Before the game, the club learned that infielder Zach Lutz had a broken left hamate. He was placed on the team's disabled list.