By: Brayden Peters
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bisons were taken out of the game early, falling to the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-3 in their first meeting since 1997. In that year, Bisons manager Casey Candaele was a second baseman for Buffalo. Omaha recorded eight hits between the first and second innings and three of them were home runs.
"You know, they're a good team," Candaele said. "They won the first half... and from the looks of their lineup, they, you know, can hit some home runs."
It all started with Nick Loftin singling out to left field to drive in John Rave to help the Storm Chasers take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Rave got walked to make it to first. The bats were alive for the Storm Chasers in the first, as Brian O'Keefe hit a three-run dinger that just got over the glove of left fielder Will Robertson to jump to a quick 4-0 lead.
Buffalo prevented the onslaught from lasting any longer in the inning thanks to Bisons starting pitcher James Kaprielian. He struck out three straight batters after giving up five straight hits.
The Storm Chasers batting stayed hot in the second inning. O'Keefe homered again out towards left field to record a two-run dinger. Ryan Fitzgerald then proceeded to hit a home run of his own out towards the bullpen in right field to increase the lead to 7-0.
After the two home runs, O'Keefe was kept in check the rest of the game. He was struck out three times and was ejected from the game in the ninth inning, after arguing with the home plate umpire Edwin Jimenez over a foul tip strikeout call.
In two innings pitched, Kaprielian gave up eight hits, seven runs in which four of them were earned and two walks while striking out three batters. The three homers' tonight ties for the most amount of home runs Kaprielian has given in up in a game in his career. To go along with that, the eight hits are the most he has allowed in a game this season with Buffalo. He was given the loss for tonight.
The Bisons' bullpen held their own, shutting out the Storm Chasers after the second inning. The bullpen threw 11 strikeouts while giving up just two hits and a walk. Paxton Schultz and Braydon Fisher combined for six strikeouts with both of them recording three apiece.
"I mean, all of our relievers did a great job," Candaele said. "So, our guys came in and shut them down for the entire game after the first two innings., and they did a great job. I mean, they've been throwing well out of the bullpen."
Schultz currently leads Buffalo in strikeouts with 93 and has pitched the most innings with 73.4 on the season.
"I mean, you know, when something happens, he always takes the ball, he goes out there and, I mean, he has quietly put together a really solid year," Candaele said. "And I mean, I hope people are noticing, because he comes into tough situations. He usually comes in where something bad has happened, when we've given up some runs, and he's got to go out and shut down everything and keep us in the game. And he has done a stellar job of that."
Buffalo's offense recorded a total of seven hits in the game. Alan Roden was the only Bison to have a multi-hit game. He went 2-for-3 at the plate, in which one of his hits was a double. Roden also added a run and two RBI onto his name.
Good discipline in the batter's box from Nick Raposo helped Buffalo avoid the shutout. With the bases loaded, he was walked by Omaha starting pitcher Alec Marsh to cut the deficit to six runs.
The Bisons began to claw back into the game as Roden hit a double in the sixth inning to drive in Joey Votto and Luis De Los Santos. Votto walked to get on base while De Los Santos recorded a double, which extends his hitting streak to nine games. Roden tried to run from second to home after Robertson singled but was thrown out at home plate by left fielder Nelson Velazquez.
Buffalo's offense was quiet the rest of the way, as the Storm Chasers were locked in defensively until the last pitch. Omaha's closing pitcher Evan Sisk threw three strikeouts in the ninth inning to secure the 7-3 win for the Storm Chasers.
With the loss, the Bisons fall to a 56-64 overall record and are 19-27 in the second half. Buffalo also falls to ninth in the IL East and are down 0-1 in the series against Omaha. As for the Storm Chasers, they improve to a 75-44 overall record and are now 26-20 in the second half. They remain in first place in the IL West.
Buffalo will hope to tie the series up when they host the Storm Chasers Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. Trenton Wallace (0-1, 6.00) will be given the start at pitcher for the Bisons. As for the Storm Chasers, Daniel Lynch IV (7-1, 3.57) will start on the mound.
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