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IL1 Buffalo Bisons

Bisons Defeat Braves in Series Finale

August 9, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


Buffalo Bisons Pitcher Scott Copeland
Buffalo Bisons Pitcher Scott Copeland
(Buffalo Bisons)

As the pennant race begins to heat up, the Bisons were on the other side of a momentum swing. Losers of two in a row, the Herd entered Sunday still in a race, but desperate for a victory. Enter Scott Copeland, one of the hottest pitchers of the second half, to guide the Herd back to winning fashion.

The Bisons took the final game of the series against the Braves with a 2-0 victory to avoid the sweep. It was the Herd's first victory over Gwinnett this season and the teams' first since May 2014. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has yet to play on the day, so Buffalo picked up a ½ game on the RailRiders.

Scott Copeland lowered his team-high ERA to 1.96 in another stellar performance on Sunday. The veteran tossed seven scoreless innings en route to his ninth victory of the season. Copeland allowed eight hits over his start, but he kept Gwinnett from scoring due to consistent pitch placement and effective timing.

Copeland's closest call came in the sixth inning, with Braves positioned at first and second with only one out in the frame. Copeland, however, forced two straight outs to exit the inning unscathed. In the seventh inning, the first two batters reached base for Gwinnett, but a timely out - and an impressive double play to follow - bailed Copeland out of the inning and preserved the shutout.

Copeland has been on a roll since the All-Star break. The team-leader in ERA is undefeated since the break and has held an ERA close to 1.00 during that span. Entering the day, Copeland needed two innings to qualify for the best mark in the International League and did so with his seven-inning performance. If the results stand, Copeland would finish the season as the IL leader in ERA.

It wasn't a tremendous offensive performance like it has been in the past, but the Bisons dud just enough to claim the victory. In the fourth inning, Alex Hassan jumped on a 2-0 fastball and drove it to left field to plate Matt Hague for the first run of the matchup.

Hague had a very standard day: yet another multi-hit performance. He was the one of two Bisons to record two hits in the game. He finished the day with a .349 average while adding his 50th multi-hit game of the season.

Later in the seventh inning, the Herd scored its second run simply by being patient. With runners at first and second, Sean Ochinko and Jonathan Diaz took advantage of a shaken Sugar Ray Marimon, who distributed two straight four-pitch walks, which plated an insurance run.

In the past weeks, the bullpen has had problems locking down the final couple of innings after the starter's departure, but that was not the case on Sunday. Newcomer Ben Rowen and veteran Joba Chamberlain combined for two shutout innings while only allowing a hit during the stretch. Chamberlain notched his second save and secured the Bisons ninth shut out of the year.

After a six-game road trip, the Herd returns to Coca-Cola Field to open a stretch of five games played over four days, beginning Monday. Todd Redmond will take the mound on Monday as the race for the pennant begins to heat up.

Bisons Bits: Munenori Kawasaki was optioned back to the Herd after a brief stint with Toronto ... Sunday was the first time in four games where the Bisons accumulated more strikeouts (5) than walks (4)

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Buffalo Bisons Pitcher Scott Copeland
Buffalo Bisons Pitcher Scott Copeland
   



International League Stories from August 9, 2015


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