5/24/09

Herd 5, Clippers 3

In his first 10 days as a Bison, Javier Valentin has been nothing short of fantastic.
The veteran first baseman continues to hit and drive in runs for his new team. His RBI-single in the sixth inning of Sunday's contest helped the Bisons pull ahead of the Clippers in a 5-3 victory from Coca-Cola Field.

The win gave Buffalo a split of their much-anticipated four-game showdown with Columbus.

Valentin joined the Bisons on May 14, signing a minor league contract with the Mets. After spending each of the last six seasons in the bigs, Valentin gave the Bisons lineup an instant jolt.

From his first at-bat with the Herd- a home run on May 15 against Gwinnett - to his clutch hit on Sunday, Valentin had been the biggest run-producer in the lineup. He has hit .333 as a Bison, with seven of his 10 hits driving in runs.

Valentin was the perfect batter for Buffalo to have up in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 2-2 tie with the Clippers on Sunday. Hot-hitting Cory Sullivan led off the frame with a single and moved to second base when Fernando Martinez grounded out off the foot of Columbus starter Tomo Ohka. Valentin then lined a 2-1 pitch right up the middle to score Sullivan from second.

The Bisons added insurance in the seventh inning, scoring a pair of runs due in large part to a throwing error from Clippers reliever Vinny Chulk. After doubling, Jesus Feliciano scored when Chulk threw away Jon Malo's sacrifice bunt. Malo then scored on a wild pitch

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