Herd Game Notes

TODAY’S GAME:

Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons host the Syracuse Chiefs in the first game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (6:05 p.m.). The Herd is coming off a 1-4 roadtrip to Syracuse and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this past week. That first roadtrip included a three-game sweep by the Chiefs at Alliance Bank Stadium in a rain-shortened series, April 17-20.

HOME SWEET HOME:

Back from their first roadtrip of the season, the Bisons will now play in front of their hometown fans in 24 of their next 34 games. The Herd doesn’t leave Coca-Cola Field for more than 4 games until they head down to Durham and Norfolk starting May 29. The stretch of home games includes the only visits of the year for 4 opponents, Louisville (April 30-May 3), Norfolk (May 8-11), Gwinnett (May 12-15) and Columbus (May 21-24).

F-MART:

OF Fernando Martinez collected two more hits on Wednesday night in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, his sixth multi-hit performance already this season. Martinez leads the Herd with a .291 average and tops all International League batters with eight doubles and 10 extra-base hits. He has hit in eight of his last nine games with the Bisons, averaging .333 (13-39) since April 13.

ANOTHER GOOD KNIGHT:

RHP Brandon Knight will be making his second appearance against Syracuse this year. Last Saturday, Knight struck out eight Chiefs and walked just one in six innings of work. Knight’s 15 strikeouts are one off the team lead (Dillon Gee, 16). As a staff, the Bisons rank 4th in the International League with 111 strikeouts in 13 games.

GLOVE WORK:

The Bisons turned four more double plays over their most recent roadtrip. The team leads the International League with 16 twin killings. Highlighting the infield has been first basemen Michel Abreu and Nick Evans. The two have split time so far this year and both have been perfect in the field.