Bisons Offense Breaks Through In Series Opener

Buffalo picked up the 6-4 win in the first of a four game set with Toledo last night. The Bisons' offense has been lackluster of late to say the least. Coming into the game, Matt Hague was the only active player with a triple-A home run this season. The team had only hit seven all year, five of which belong to Chris Colabello, who is currently in the big leagues. With that said the lineup was clearly due for a power surge.

Brad Glenn continued to swing his hot bat, smashing a two-run homer in the first to start things off right. This home run broke at 617 at-bat team drought, that had lasted roughly three weeks. A.J. Jimenez added a two-out RBI double in the third, and the Bisons seemed well on their way to a victory.

Scott Copeland cruised through the first three innings, facing just one over the minimum. Overall it was still a solid outing for Copeland, as he earned his third win of the young season, but, he certainly had a fourth inning to forget. A pair of walks and three hits plated four in the inning, giving the Mud Hens a 4-3 advantage. Gary Allenson praised Copeland's work post game, because clearly he did not have his best stuff. He lost control in the fourth, but he battled through it, and he gave the team six strong innings allowing only two baserunners outside of the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Melky Mesa responded with his first home run of the season, a solo shot which tied the game at four. That is where the score stayed until the bottom of the sixth, when Andy Burns knocked in the eventual game-winning runs, with a clutch two-out single. Gregory Infante and Bo Schultz finished the game with three shutdown innings allowing just one combined baserunner. Schultz earned his seventh save of the season.

This was a big win for the Bisons, because even if nobody in the clubhouse will admit it, seeing one leave the ball park had to be relieving for the entire lineup. The pitching staff has kept the Herd relevant to this point in the season, making it that much more important to see the offense play large on a day when the starter struggled.

Game two of the series will be tonight at 7:05 with Randy Wolf facing off against former Bisons starter Thad Weber.