Buffalo Bisons
69-58, 2nd(-7.0)
RHP Dillon Gee 12-7, 4.84

Pawtucket Red Sox
56-73, 4th(-21.0)
LHP Kris Johnson 4-12, 5.43

Monday, August 23, 2010
Coca-Cola Field – Buffalo, NY

TV: SportsNet New York (SNY)
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Pawtucket Red Sox in the fourth game of a six-game in five-day series at Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). After the Herd won the series opener on Saturday, the PawSox swept Sunday’s doubleheader for the 2-1 series lead. After this series the Herd starts a five-game road trip stopping in Syracuse and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

WILD RACE: The Bisons lost half-a game yesterday in the IL Wild Card race and are now 2.0 games back of Columbus. The Louisville Bats are just a half-game up on the Clippers for first place in the IL West division. Buffalo has 17 games left, while Columbus has just 15 contests to play.

vs. PAWSOX: The Bisons are 7-6 against Pawtucket this season. Even with yesterday’s doubleheader, the Herd is 7-3 in their last 10 home games against the PawSox. The Bisons are 36-27 (.587) against IL North foes this year.

STRIKEOUT KING: RHP DILLON GEE gets his first start since becoming the new Buffalo Bisons’ single-season strikeout king. On August 18, Gee fanned eight Red Wings batters to give him 144 strikeouts on the season. The righty surpassed the previous Bisons record of 137 set by RHP Vicente Palacios in 1990. Gee’s 144 punchouts are 14 more than any other pitcher at the Triple-A level this season. Overall, Gee is 12-7 this year with a 4.84ERA. Gee is 3-0 in his last four starts at home with 30 strikeouts.

HOT HITTER: INF RUSS ADAMS has ten extra-base hits in his last eleven games including two of them in yesterday’s doubleheader. Since August 2, Adams has hit .424 (14-33) with five doubles, a triple, four home runs, 13RBI and a 1.000 slugging pct. For the year, Adams has three more doubles than any Bison and is second to only former INF Mike Jacobs with 39 extra-base hits.

BISONS BITS: C J.R. HOUSE enters tonight’s game with a nine-game hit streak, the longest active streak for a Bisons hitter. During the streak, the catcher is 12-35 (.343) with four runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI…INF RUSS ADAMS hit in both games yesterday to extend his seven game hit streak…LHP MIKE O’CONNOR has 16 strikeouts in 9.2 scoreless innings of relief against the PawSox this season.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (62-62) are back to .500 as they lost to the Pirates yesterday, 2-1. RHP JOHAN SANTANA tossed eight strong innings and allowed just two runs as the hard-luck loser. INF JOSE REYES went 2-4 with a run scored. The Mets have an off-day today as they get ready for a six-game homestand that begins on Tuesday night against the Florida Marlins (7:10 p.m.).

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The potent Bisons lineup took a hit shortly before and also shortly after first pitch on Sunday afternoon. And the day didn’t get much better after that.

Jesus Feliciano was recalled by the Mets just prior to a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Field that saw the Pawtucket Red Sox take two games from the Herd. Justin Turner was injured two pitches into the first contest of the twin bill and could miss significant time with a knee injury.

The day wouldn’t get much better as the PawSox collected wins of 9-2 and 7-5 in an afternoon that also saw Fernando Martinez unable to play the second game with a right knee injury.

Feliciano joined the Mets in Pittsburgh as catcher Rod Barajas was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He left the Herd 16 plate appearances shy of having his .342 batting average qualify as the best in the International League.

His replacement in the top of the order for Sunday’s game one was Justin Turner, but the second baseman didn’t even get a chance to bat. Two pitches into the game, Red Sox leadoff man Josh Reddick hit a grounder to first base that skipped off the glove of Nick Evans. Turner was circling around Evans for back up and when he tried to stop his momentum, his right knee buckled under him.

After the game, Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell said they will reevaluate Turner on Monday to see how he feels.

Martinez played the entire first game, but could be seen nursing his right knee in the field and out of the batter’s box. Oberkfell said he aggravated the knee trying to beat out a doubleplay in the sixth inning. The following inning, Martinez couldn’t chase down a fly ball in the gap. The coaching staff saw and kept him out of the second game against the Red Sox.

Pawtucket won both games in loud fashion. Already leading the first game 2-0, Lars Anderson launched a solo home run past the berm in right centerfield and into the parking lot. Gustavo Molina followed with a two-run shot in the sixth inning and Jeremy Hermida homered over the Heron’s Landing Party Deck as part of a five-run seventh.

Only J.R. House’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh saved Buffalo from being shutout in a 9-2 loss.

The Bisons trailed 2-0 in the fourth inning of game two before Russ Adams tied the game with a triple down the right field line. Mike Cervenak’s sac fly gave Buffalo a 3-2 edge.

Down 5-3 in the sixth inning, Buffalo fought back on Nick Evans’ fifth homer of the season and House’s RBI-double.

But the PawSox scored two in the seventh for the win. Aaron Bates, who hit a mammoth three-run home run off the batter’s eye in the fifth inning, singled home Niuman Romero for the game-winning run in the game’s final frame.

Triple-A Rookie Josh Stinson fell in defeat in game one as he allowed three earned runs in six innings of work. Chad Cordero took the loss in game two.

BISONS NOTES:Nick Evans hit a solo home run in the second game of the doubleheader. He has homered on three straight days for the Bisons and now has five blasts in his time with the team…Russ Adam’s triple was the team’s first triple at Coca-Cola Field since Jon Malo hit one on June 15 against Lehigh Valley…Valentino went 1-3 in the first game, but 0-1 with a pair of walks in game two to see his hit streak end at eight games.

Buffalo Bisons
69-56, 2nd(-6.0)
RHP Josh Stinson (NR)
LHP Adam Pettyjohn 2-3, 5.14

Pawtucket Red Sox
54-73, 4th(-22.0)
RHP Ramon Ramirez 3-4, 5.45
RHP Robert Coello 3-5, 4.37

Sunday, August 22, 2010
Coca-Cola Field – Buffalo, NY

Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: This afternoon, the Bisons host the Pawtucket Red Sox in a doubleheader that’s part of a six-game in five-day series at Coca-Cola Field (1:05 p.m.). The Herd struck first in the series with a 5-4 victory last night. The teams could only play one game of a scheduled doubleheader because of rain. The Bisons are 4-0 on their current homestand

RED HOT HERD: The Bisons have won 17 of their last 20 games for a .850 winning percentage since July 30. The Herd has also won 11 of its last 12 games at Coca-Cola Field, including eight straight going into today’s game. Buffalo is now 13 games above .500 for the first time since July 13, 2007 (51-38).

WILD RACE: The Bisons gained a half game last night in the IL Wild Card race and are now just 1.5 games back of Columbus. The Louisville Bats have surpassed the Clippers for first place in the IL West division. Buffalo has 19 games left, while Columbus has just 16 contests to play.

vs. PAWSOX: The Bisons are 7-4 against Pawtucket this season, including a perfect 3-0 against the PawSox at Coca-Cola Field. Dating back to last season, the Herd is 7-1 against Pawtucket at home. The Bisons have a 36-25 (.590) record against IL North opponents this year.

HOT HITTER: INF RUSS ADAMS has eight extra-base hits in his last nine games. Since August 2, Adams has hit .429 (12-28) with four doubles, four home runs, 11RBI and a 1.000 slugging pct. Adams is now third on the Bisons club with 45RBI on the season.

NEW PITCHER: RHP JOSH STINSON will make his Triple-A debut today for the Herd. The righty is just up from Double-A Binghamton where he was 9-3 with a 4.24ERA in 32 games and 14 starts. As a starter this season, the 22-year old was 7-2 with a 4.82ERA. He was 7-0 in his first 12 starts before losing his last two outings with Binghamton.

BISONS BITS: LHP ADAM PETTYJOHN was 2-5 with a 3.76ERA in eight starts for the Bisons last season…The Bisons earned their 40th win at home last night…LHP MIKE O’CONNOR has 16 strikeouts in 9.2 scoreless innings of relief against the PawSox this season.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (62-61) defeated the Pirates, 5-1, in a rain-shortened affair last night. Former Bisons LHP JON NIESE allowed one run in five innings for the complete-game victory. INF DAVID WRIGHT homered and drove in three. New York looks for the three-game sweep of the Pirates today at 1:35 p.m.

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The Bisons host the Pawtucket Red Sox in a six-game in five-day series at Coca-Cola Field. The Herd is coming off a three-game sweep of the Rochester Red Wings at home with all three games decided in Buffalo’s final at-bat.

The Bisons have won 16 of their last 19 games for a .842 winning percentage since July 30. The Herd has also won 13 of its last 14 games at Coca-Cola Field, including seven straight going into tonight’s game. Buffalo is now 12 games above .500 for the first time since July 14, 2007 (51-39).

vs. PAWSOX: The Bisons are 6-4 against Pawtucket this season. The teams split a four-game set at McCoy Stadium, August 13-16. The PawSox are visiting Coca-Cola Field for the first time since the Bisons first home series of the season. The Herd swept the two-game, rain-shortened series, April 14-15.

Season-Low – Pawtucket’s season record presently stands at 54-72 which marks a season-low of 18-games under .500 for the first time since they ended last season with a 61-82 record. Pawtucket had not been more than 9-games below .500 all season prior to July 20.

Wait ’til Next Year – Pawtucket’s loss Thursday night coupled with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s victory in Columbus officially eliminated the PawSox from any contention in the IL North division. The PawSox have now gone 7 years without a division title since winning the IL North in 2003. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, meanwhile, is closing in on an unprecedented 5th straight IL North pennant (2006 as a Phillies affiliate and 2007-2009 as a Yankee affiliate). The PawSox Tragic Number to be eliminated from the wild card race is down to 2 as any combination of PawSox losses and Louisville wins totaling 2 will keep the PawSox out of the post-season for the second year in a row (the Sox last made the playoffs in 2008). The Sox are a season-high 21-games out in the IL North. Buffalo, meanwhile, is -6 GB of 1st-palce Scranton/WB but only -2 GB of current wild card leader Louisville.

Five and Ten – The PawSox are batting just .219 in their last 5 games (33-for-151) with only 14 runs scored as they have been held to 3 runs or less in 5 of their last 6 games. Pawtucket is hitting .238 in their last 10 games (76-for-319) with 7 HR & 34 runs scored. Sox pitchers are 4-6 with a 4.55 ERA in their last 10 games (44 ER in 87 IP).

Road Woes – Pawtucket has won 3 of their last 6 road games but they have struggled pretty much all season away from home. The Sox have lost 10 of 14 on the road, 17 of 25, and 30 of their last 43 away games since May 19. The PawSox have a 20-40 road record (worst in the league) – currently matching their season-high of 20-games below .500 on the road from July 28. The Sox have 12 road games remaining including tonight’s make-up doubleheader in Buffalo.

Rankings – Pawtucket is presently 13th in the International League with a Team ERA of 4.58 (it was 5.52 on May 2 which was their season-high). The PawSox are 12th (after being last for much of July) in Team Batting at .251 after peaking at .261 on May 18. Pawtucket’s .253 average on August 13 & 14 matched their highest since May 23 also at .253. They were as low as .241 on June 13 which was their lowest since the 4th game of the season (April 11 at .239).

Delgado to DL -1B Carlos Delgado has been placed on the 7-day disabled list (retroactive to August 18) with lower back stiffness. RHP T.J. Large has been activated from the disabled list. Large was placed on the PawSox DL on June 30 (retro to June 28) with a right lat strain. He has been rehabbing with the Gulf Coast Rookie Red Sox since July 21 and in 9 RA there went 0-0 with 1 SV and a 2.40 ERA – 15 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 12 SO. He is 3-1 with a 6.91 ERA in 16 games (15 RA) for the PawSox but has not pitched for Pawtucket since June 25 in Syracuse.

Looking back at the Bisons & Red Sox season-series:
4/14/10: BUF 8, PAW 2
GAME RECAP: Home Opener for Bisons

4/15/10: BUF 3, PAW 2
GAME RECAP: Herd rallies when Dice-K exits

4/23/10: PAW 5, BUF 3
GAME RECAP: PawSox push past Bisons

4/24/10: BUF 4, PAW 2
GAME RECAP: Dickey, Bisons win

4/25/10: BUF 10, PAW 3
GAME RECAP: Jacobs & bats never let up

4/26/10: PAW 5, BUF 1
GAME RECAP: Bisons fall in finale

8/13/10: BUF 9, PAW 4
GAME RECAP: Gee wins 12th, Bisons win 8-straight

8/14/10: PAW 6, BUF 4
GAME RECAP: Win streak stopped by PawSox

8/15/10:PAW 3, BUF 1
GAME RECAP: PawSox pass Bisons

8/16/10: BUF 5, PAW 3
GAME RECAP: Bisons push past PawSox

Buffalo Bisons
68-56, 2nd(-6.0)
G1: RHP Fernando Nieve 2-0, 4.19
G2: LHP Adam Pettyjohn 2-3, 5.14

Pawtucket Red Sox
54-72, 4th(-21.0)
G1: LHP Fabio Castro 5-8, 4.87
G2: TBA

Saturday, August 21, 2010
Coca-Cola Field – Buffalo, NY

Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Pawtucket Red Sox in the first two games of a six-game in five-day series at Coca-Cola Field (5:35 p.m.). This is the Bisons first doubleheader of the 2010 season. The Herd is coming off a three-game sweep of the Rochester Red Wings at home with all three games decided in Buffalo’s final at-bat.

RED HOT HERD: The Bisons have won 16 of their last 19 games for a .842 winning percentage since July 30. The Herd has also won 13 of its last 14 games at Coca-Cola Field, including seven straight going into tonight’s game. Buffalo is now 12 games above .500 for the first time since July 14, 2007 (51-39).

WILD RACE: The Bisons finally gained some ground in the IL Wild Card race. The Herd trails Louisville by just two games after the Bats fell to Syracuse on Friday night, 8-1. The Bisons have three more games (21) than Louisville (18) on the schedule, with one of their three doubleheaders tonight.

vs. PAWSOX: The Bisons are 6-4 against Pawtucket this season. The teams split a four-game set at McCoy Stadium, August 13-16. The PawSox are visiting Coca-Cola Field for the first time since the Bisons first home series of the season. The Herd swept the two-game, rain-shortened series, April 14-15.

HOT HITTER: INF RUSS ADAMS has eight extra-base hits in his last nine games. Since August 2, Adams has hit .429 (12-28) with four doubles, four home runs, 11RBI and a 1.000 slugging pct. Adams is now third on the Bisons club with 45RBI on the season.

LUCKY CHARM: RHP FERNANDO NIEVE is 2-0 in four starts with the Herd this season. With his time in 2009, Nieve is now 4-0 with a 3.92ERA in eight career starts in a Bisons uniform. He won his Herd debut, May 18, 2009 in Pawtucket (6.0IP, 3ER, 7K). Buffalo is 7-1 with Nieve pitches since last year.

BISONS BITS: LHP ADAM PETTYJOHN was 2-5 with a 3.76ERA in eight starts for the Bisons last season…This is the Herd’s first doubleheader since September 4, 2009 when they lost a pair in Lehigh Valley…With 39 home wins, the Bisons are one victory shy of reaching 40 wins at Coca-Cola Field for the first time since 2006 when they were 43-29.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (61-61) earned the 7-1 victory over the Pirates last night. Former Bisons OF CHRIS CARTER went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI. RHP MIKE PELFREY tossed eight solid innings to improve to 12-7 on the season. New York takes on Pittsburgh again tonight with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.

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