Lack of offense follows Bisons
Herd opens homestand with loss to Charlotte
A travel-weary group of Buffalo Bisons proved to be easy marks for right-hander Jack Egbert and the Charlotte Knights Saturday night at Coca-Cola Field.
Egbert (6-2) dominated the Herd for eight innings as the Knights took a 4-1 victory in the opener of six-game homestand. The 6-foot-3 Rutgers University product gave up only four hits, one an infield dribbler, as he threw 65 of his 99 pitches for strikes, did not issue a walk and struck out seven.
The lone Bisons run came on Chip Ambres’ solo home run in the first.
“That was a pretty good start, but Mr. Egbert settled down after that. You have to tip your hat to him,” said Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell. “He did a good job of locating his pitches. He didn’t leave many pitches out over the plate.”
It was the 14th time the Herd scored none or just one run in 41 home games this season.
The Famous Chicken, who entertained the announced crowd of 10,045, seemed to pack more energy than the Bisons, who looked a little heavy-legged after coming home Saturday morning after playing Friday night in Georgia. The team had a 3:30 a. m. wake-up call in order to catch its flight from Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, and then connect in Philadelphia.
The pitch: Ward has three leadoff
Fast fact: The 5-6-7 batters in Charlotte’s
Next game: vs. Charlotte, 1:05 p. m.
“You can’t make excuses like that. You just come out and play the game,” said Oberkfell, who chose instead to blame his team’s problems on being a “little overanxious” at the plate and the pitching effectiveness of Egbert.
Interestingly, the Famous Chicken had to make the same trip from Lawrenceville, Ga., after entertaining the fans at the Bisons- Gwinnett game Friday night. And, the Knights traveled from Charlotte Saturday morning. Still, the Bisons looked like the team that was a little slow and out of focus.
“It was frustrating for everybody,” said losing pitcher Brandon Knight (4-7), who lasted until the sixth inning but certainly was more effective than his previous start when he allowed seven runs and eight hits against the Knights last Monday in Charlotte.
“I was absolutely awful in that game,” said Knight, who felt a lot better about how things went Saturday night because he was keeping the ball down, was getting ground ball outs and walked only one batter.
However in five of the six innings he started, Knight found trouble by giving up leadoff hits — three of them to veteran Daryle Ward, a nemesis to Knight.
Things were rocky for the Bisons even before the first pitch when National Anthem singer George Harb’s microphone malfunctioned. Things did not go much smoother for the Herd after that.
The Bisons hit only three balls out of the infield against Egbert in the first four innings. One was the home run into the screen in left by Ambres in the first inning to get the Herd off to a 1-0 lead. It was Ambres’ fifth of the season, second with the Bisons.
Lefty Jon Switzer came out of the bullpen to get the final two outs in the sixth, then pitched perfect seventh and eighth innings in his first appearance since returning from the New York Mets on Friday.
A double play got Egbert out of a minor jam in the fifth inning.
“I thought we might have had something going and then they turned the DP,” Oberkfell said. “That was a big key in the game.”
After that, Egbert set the Bisons down in order the next three innings. Randy Williams pitched the ninth for the Knights, striking out the side after a leadoff walk.
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