Bisons notebook
Herd’s Knight gives Bulls that sinking feeling
After his complete game victory over the Durham Bulls, Bisons pitcher Brandon Knight struggled to recall the name of his opposing pitcher.
“Dave? Davis, right?”
On Sunday, it seemed fitting that Wade Davis, the highly regarded Tampa Bay Rays prospect, was an afterthought. It was Knight who exited after nine innings with all the accolades.
Knight (4-5) allowed one run, six hits and struck out seven in the 8-1 victory. The right-hander claimed his first complete game of the season and the first nine-inning job for the Bisons since John Halama’s outing July 22.
And it certainly came at an opportune time. Knight rebounded from his worst outing of the season, a 10-2 loss to the Indianapolis Indians in which he surrendered four home runs and nine hits in four innings.
“You kind of want to get back on a roll,” Knight said. “That was definitely a struggle. . . . It seemed like everything I threw up got hit. It seemed like they knew what was coming. You have to go out there and minimize pitches, throw strikes, get defense involved.”
Knight remained aggressive with his pitches, adding a sinker to his repertoire that kept opposing batters off balance Sunday. In the later innings, Knight’s breaking ball continued to retire batters with consistency.
“I hadn’t been quite comfortable with [the sinker],” he said. “But I made a concerted effort, threw it as hard as I could and got confident with it—I wasn’t just throwing the ball over the middle of the plate. . . . I was just having fun.”
The win also served to help the Bisons gain some momentum in the won-lost department. Knight’s pitching performance locked up a 3-1 record against the IL South-leading Bulls, the first home series the Herd has taken all season.
Knight continued a string of solid performances by the Bisons’ starting pitchers against Durham.
Jonathon Niese worked into the eighth Friday for his first win and Nelson Figueroa threw 126 pitches and got a no-decision in Saturday’s 7-2 loss, tying Knight’s season high for a Buffalo pitcher with nine strikeouts.
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Prior to Sunday’s game, the New York Mets announced the release of outfielder Jason Cooper, the Bisons’ modern era leader in games played (436). He played in only 26 this season, hitting .169 with no homers and four RBIs with the Bisons.
“It’s a tough situation,” manager Ken Oberkfell said. “He needs to get an opportunity to play somewhere. He’ll be fine. It was one of the hardest releases I’ve had to tell somebody.”
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To replace Cooper, the Mets acquired shortstop Javier Castillo from the Chicago White Sox. This season the 26-year-old batted .262 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 47 games with Charlotte. He made an auspicious debut for the Bisons, belting a two-run homer in the eighth inning.
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The Bisons kick off a doubleheader at 5 p. m. today in Syracuse with left-hander Pat Misch (0-0, 6.75 ERA) on the mound. Right-hander Kyle Snyder (1-5, 4.28) will pitch in the nightcap.
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