Gwinnett Daily Post

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo first baseman Valentino Pascucci drilled a pair of two-run homers off of Gwinnett starting pitcher Yohan Flande, leading the Bisons to a 5-3 win over the Gwinnett Braves in the final game of a four-game series Friday night at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo.

With the win, the Bisons take the season series over the Braves, 6-2.

Just as they did the night before, the G-Braves rolled out to an early lead. Back-to-back solo homers by Stefan Gartrell (9) and Ernesto Mejia (6) with two outs in the first inning gave Gwinnett (25-17) a quick 2-0 lead over the Bisons and starting pitcher Matt Harvey.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the Bisons (25-17) came alive. They loaded the bases with no one out against Flande and scored their first run on a 6-4-3 double play ball off the bat of Vinny Rottino. With one on and two outs, Pascucci came to the plate and belted a long two-run shot to center, giving Buffalo a 3-2 lead.

The G-Braves tied the game at three in the top of the fifth, as Drew Sutton walked with two outs and scored from first on a double to right by Gartrell.

But in the bottom of the fifth, Pascucci delivered the eventual game-winning runs. He ripped a towering two-run homer to left off of Flande with one out, giving the Bisons a 5-3 advantage.

Flande (1-3) pitched 4 innings, giving up 10 hits and five earned runs. He walked two and struck out one. Jason Rice replaced Flande in the fifth and worked 1 scoreless innings with one walk and one strikeout. Anthony Varvaro pitched the final two innings for Gwinnett, giving up three hits and striking out five.

Harvey (4-1) went six innings for the win. He gave up four hits and three earned runs while walking three and striking out a season-high 11. Dylan Owen got the save and went the final three innings, allowing three hits while striking out two.

Both Gartrell and Mejia went 2-for-4 with home runs for Gwinnett. Sutton, J.C. Boscan and Luis Durango each had a hit.

Pascucci was 2-for-4 for Buffalo with the two homers and four RBIs. Corey Wimberly, Matt Tuiasosopo and Josh Satin each had two hits. Fred Lewis paced the Buffalo attack with a 3-for-4 night. Rottino was 0-for-5, ending his hitting streak at 20 games.

The G-Braves move to Rochester for a four-game series against the Red Wings, the Class AAA club of the Minnesota Twins. Game 1 tonight is set for a 7:05. Right-hander Eric Junge (3-3, 3.07 ERA) will pitch for the G-Braves. The Red Wings are scheduled to pitch right-hander Cole DeVries (0-4, 4.18 ERA).