Chiefs outlast Bisons, 2-1, in pitchers' duel

The Syracuse Chiefs snuck past the Buffalo Bisons 2-1 in a Friday-night pitcher's duel at NBT Bank Stadium. Irving Falu provided the game-winning home run for the second straight evening. Jaron Long threw seven strong innings allowing just one run and striking out seven. 

Buffalo (34-39) kicked off the scoring in the top of the second inning against Long. After a Mike Ohlman strikeout led off the inning, Raffy Lopez doubled on a sharply hit ground ball down the right-field line. Following a groundout from Gregorio Petit, Shane Opitz plated Lopez on a single into left field, putting the Bisons up 1-0. Opitz attempted to stretch the hit into a double, but was thrown out by Alejandro De Aza.
Syracuse (25-46) wasted no time responding in the bottom half of the second. Back-to-back singles from Clint Robinson and Falu led off the frame. De Aza then grounded into a fielders' choice started by starting pitcher Mike Bolsinger which allowed Robinson to advance to third. In the next at-bat, Spencer Kieboom continued his torrid stretch at the plate, slapping a single into left field, scoring Robinson and tying the game at 1-1. Kieboom is 7 for 19 with two walks in six games with the Chiefs.
In the seventh inning, the hero from Thursday night's walk-off victory, Falu, stepped to the plate with another chance to provide more late-game heroics. With the count sitting at 0-2, Falu walloped a high line drive off Glenn Sparkman into the right-center-field gap. The ball clipped off the top of the wall and bounced over for Falu's fifth homer of the season and his second in as many nights.
The Chiefs' pitching staff was sensational in the victory. The 25-year-old Long allowed one run on five hits and fanned seven batters in seven innings of work in just his second Triple-A appearance of the season. Erick Fedde, the Nationals' top pitching prospect according to Baseball America, followed Long's strong outing with one of his own, inducing three consecutive ground balls in a scoreless inning in the eighth. Austin Adams struck out a pair in the ninth, closing out the game, and picking up his second save of the season.
The Chiefs and Bisons play the third of a four-game series Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. from NBT Bank Stadium. Greg Ross takes the mound for Syracuse opposite left-hander Brett Oberholtzer for Buffalo.