Cooper's Slam Not Enough in 9-6 Defeat
Young hit his 300th Minor League home run and Charlotte held on to defeat Buffalo, 9-6, from Knights Stadium. The win gave the Knights three victories in the four-game series with the Bisons.
Young entered the 2006 season with 293 home runs, 47 of which came in 2004 and 2005 with the Bisons. He hit homer #299 to propel Charlotte to an 8-5 victory over the Bisons on Friday. The milestone home run #300 gave Young's new team a 2-1 lead in the 1st inning. With two outs and Jorge Velandia on second with one of his three doubles on the day, Young jumped on the first pitch he saw from Bisons' starter Brian Slocum and drove it deep to left-centerfield.
Charlotte struck again for three runs in the 3rd inning and then built an 8-1 lead in the 6th thanks to a three-run home run from Jerry Owens. That's when the Bisons used the long ball to get back in the game.
Marte led off the 6th inning with his sixth home run of the season. The blast marked the third consecutive game Marte has gone deep for the Herd.
Buffalo then loaded the bases in the 8th inning without the benefit of a hit. Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch and Jason Dubois and Marte drew walks off Knights' reliever Boone Logan. Then with two outs, Cooper launched an 0-2 pitch to deep right-centerfield to pull the Bisons to within 8-6.
Cooper's homer was his fourth of the season and the Bisons' fourth grand slam of 2006. Einar Diaz, Franklin Gutierrez and Dubois have all hit slams this season.
On Monday, Dubois just missed a dramatic home run that could've brought the Herd all the way back. After the Knights made it 9-6 heading into the 9th, Dubois flew out to the warning track with a couple of runners on base for the final out of the game.
Brian Slocum (0-1) took the loss for Buffalo. He worked three batters into the 3rd inning before being ejected for hitting Young with a pitch. While the hit batsman came the plate appearance after Young's home run, it's questionable that Slocum would've hit him on purpose to load the bases in the 3rd with nobody out of a 2-1 game.
Vic Darensbourg, Tom Mastny, Rob Bell, Edward Mujica and Ben Howard all pitched in relief for Buffalo. Mujica's 1.2 shutout innings extended his streak to 22 consecutive outings without allowing an earned run.
Heath Phillips (8-2) earned the win for Charlotte as he allowed two runs in seven innings of work. Javier Lopez pitched the 9th inning for his 12th save of the season.
The Bisons are now off to Durham for a four-game series with the Bulls. The set begins Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. with Jake Dittler getting the start for Buffalo. Don't miss Countdown to Bisons Baseball on WECK 1230 AM or WSPQ 1330 AM, starting at 6:40 p.m.
BISON NOTES:Ryan Garko drove home his 40th run of the season when his ground out scored Franklin Gutierrez in the top of the 1st inning...Joe Inglett has now hit in five straight games. He has averaged. .476 (10-21) over the stretch...Gutierrez became the second Bison to reach 10 stolen bases on the season. Ben Francisco leads the team with 14 steals.