The Buffalo Bisons dropped the final game of the series with Lehigh Valley 7-1 on Thursday afternoon. The Bisons’ run came from Wily Mo Pena’s shot in the ninth.

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Argenis Reyes extended his team-best hitting streak to nine games with a eighth inning double.

The Bisons finish the homestand 3-5 and fall in 3-of-4 to the IronPigs. Buffalo embarks on their first 8-game road trip, stopping first in Durham and then Norfolk.

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In a torrential downpour the bottom of the ninth inning was halted for an 1:10 rain delay while the Bisons were down to their final out. Three minutes later, the game was over and the IronPigs picked up a 5-3 win.

READ: The whole game story.

The Bisons look for the split of the series Thursday at 1:05 p.m. against Lehigh Valley. The ballgame will be broadcast on SportsNet New York, the TV home of the Mets. The game will be broadcast locally on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.

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TODAY’S GAME: This evening, the Buffalo Bisons face the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the third game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). The set is tied 1-1 as Buffalo won 8-7 on Monday and the IronPigs collected a 2-1 win last night. The Herd is 3-3 so far on this eight-game homestand. After Thursday, the Bisons will leave for Durham on their first eight-game roadtrip of the season.

HOME COOKIN’: Tonight will be the Bisons 31st home game of the season. The team has only completed 13 games on the road (three postponements). After tonight’s game, the Bisons will have played 70% of their games this season at Coca-Cola Field.

THE REY TO GO: INF Argenis Reyes enters tonight’s game on a seven-game hit streak -tied for the longest by a Bisons player this season. Since May 19, Reyes has averaged .321 (9-28) with two runs scored and five RBI. Reyes has actually reached base in nine straight games for Buffalo, a stretch that goes back to May 17 (.305, 11-36, 4BB).

SECRET VALENTIN: INF Javier Valentin has reached base safely in eight straight games. Since May 18, the veteran has hit .370 (10-27) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, four runs scored and seven walks. Overall, Valentin has failed to reach base in only one of his 11 starts with the Bisons.

IN A PINCH: INF Michel Abreu scored the Bisons lone run last night with a pinch hit home run to lead off the 8th inning. The last Bisons player to hit a pinch hit home run was OF Jason Cooper on July 16, 2006 in Indianapolis. Abreu also had a pinch hit RBI-single in Monday’s win and now has three of Buffalo’s four pinch hits this season.

F-MART: OF Fernando Martinez got his first major league promotion yesterday and went 0-3 with an RBI-ground out and two strikeouts for the Mets. Martinez left the Bisons as the team leader in virtually every offense category, including average (.291), home runs (8) and RBI (28). Martinez also led the International League with his 25 extra-base hits.

The Bisons were knocked off 2-1 by Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night. Oliver Perez made his first rehab start with Buffalo, tossing 88 pitches in 4.1 with five strikeouts and allowing five walks.

READ: The game report

The series is tied 1-1 as the Bisons and IronPigs return to action Wednesday, 7:05 p.m.

The series finale is at 1:05 p.m. Thursday and broadcast on SNY, the TV home of the New York Mets.

The New York Mets have placed outfielder Ryan Church on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to May 23rd, with a right hamstring strain. The Mets also have placed infielder Jose Reyes on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to May 21st, with tendinitis behind his right calf.

To complete the Mets 25-man roster, the team selected the contract of outfielder Fernando Martinez from Buffalo (AAA) of the International League. New York also acquired infielder Wilson Valdez from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations.

Martinez, who originally was signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2005, began the season with Buffalo and was hitting .291 (48-165) with 22 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, and 28 RBI through his first 42 games of the season. The 20-year-old outfielder is hitting .337 (31-92), with 17 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 20 RBI over the course of 24 May games. The Santo Domingo, DR native had a seven-game hitting streak and was leading the International League with 25 extra-base hits at the time of his promotion. Martinez went 2-6 (.333) in five Spring Training games with the Mets in 2009.

Valdez, who turned 31 on May 20, was hitting .198 (24-121) for Columbus (AAA) of the International League with 17 runs scored, one double, six RBI and five stolen bases in 41 games.

The 5-11, 170-pounder split the 2008 year between the Korean and Japanese League swiping 17 combined bases. He hit .256 with one double, one home run, eight RBI, and four stolen bases in 29 games for Yakult in Japan while batting .218 with nine doubles, one triple, one home run, 16 RBI, and 13 stolen bases in 47 games for Kia of the Korean League.

Valdez played in 41 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2007, batting .216 with two doubles and seven RBI.

In 111 major league games, he has hit .211 with 10 doubles, two triples, one home run, and 20 RBI with the White Sox, Mariners, Padres, and Dodgers.

Church is batting .272 (34-125) with seven doubles, one home run, and eight RBI in 39 games while Reyes is hitting .279 (41-147) with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, 15 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 36 contests.