Vines Sharp as Stripers Beat Buffalo 4-1

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Darius Vines pitched 5.0 innings of five-hit, one-run baseball for his first career Triple-A win as the Gwinnett Stripers (63-70) defeated the Buffalo Bisons (69-64) 4-1 on Saturday night at Sahlen Field. The Stripers have won back-to-back games for the first time since August 18-19.

Decisive Plays: Rylan Bannon snapped a 1-1 tie in the top of the third inning, lining a two-out RBI single to shallow right field to score Hernan Perez. In the sixth, Pat Valaika walked and Ryan Casteel followed with a mammoth two-run home run (16) down the left-field line for a 4-1 Stripers advantage.

Key Contributors: Vines (W, 1-0) walked two and struck out three in his 82-pitch, 57-strike outing. Relievers Tyler Ferguson (H, 3), Jacob Webb (H, 5), Jesus Cruz (H, 3), and Michael Tonkin (S, 13) combined on 4.0 hitless frames and seven strikeouts to finish the game. Casteel had a game-high two RBIs, while Perez went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.

Noteworthy: Vines, ranked the Atlanta Braves' No. 17 prospect by MLB.com, is 1-0 with a 2.91 ERA (7 ER in 21.2 IP) and .235 BAA in five games (3 starts) since joining Gwinnett. Perez has 11 multi-hit efforts in his last 22 games, batting .384 (33-for-86) with a 1.025 OPS in that span.

Next Game (Sunday, September 11): Gwinnett at Buffalo, 1:05 p.m. at Sahlen Field. RHP Bryce Elder (6-5, 4.64 ERA) for the Stripers vs. TBD for the Bisons. Radio Broadcast: 12:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, September 13): Gwinnett vs. Durham, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. It’s a Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field. Enjoy $2 hot dogs and $1 select desserts, courtesy of Coolray Heating & Cooling.