vs. PAWSOX – The Bisons and Red Sox have just played six of the scheduled 16 games to this point in the year. The Bisons begin the four game set in Pawtucket Friday night and have six games scheduled in five days at Coca-Cola Field August 21-25. The two clubs are scheduled to play 10 games in a span of 13 days!

The Bisons lead the season series against Pawtucket, 4-2. Buffalo swept of a rain-shortened two-game series over the PawSox at Coca-Cola Field, April 14-15. Dating back to last season, the Bisons have now won nine of their last 14 meetings with the Red Sox. The Herd faced Pawtucket for their home opener and four times overall for the event, beating the PawSox 5-2 on April 5, 2001 and 10-8 on April 3, 2003. Pawtucket earned the 6-4 win last year in the Home Opener on April 9. This season, RA Dickey and the Herd beat the PawSox 8-2 on April 14 downtown.

PITCHING PROBABLE’S: BUFFALO AT PAWTUCKET:
Fri. 7:05 pm RHP Dillon Gee 11-7, 4.75 vs. RHP Ramon Ramirez 2-3, 5.20
Sat. 6:05 pm LHP Michael Antonini 1-0, 0.00 vs. RHP Adam Mills 2-8, 5.13
Sun. 1:05 pm Pat Misch 11-4, 3.23 vs. LHP Rich Hill 1-0, 3.08
Mon. 7:05 pm (COX-TV) RHP Fernando Nieve 1-0, 4.26 vs. LHP Fabio Castro 5-7, 4.74

Carlos Delgado – The 17-year major league veteran first baseman who has a career big league average of .280 with 473 HR & 1512 RBI in 2035 games, made his PawSox debut on Monday as the DH in Scranton/WB going 0-for-3. Delgado, 38, was signed by the Red Sox to a minor league deal last Saturday and activated on Monday to officially begin his comeback from two surgeries on his right hip that have kept him out of action since May of 2009. Carlos has hit at least 30 HR in 11 different seasons including a career-high 44 homers for Toronto in 1999 followed by a monster 2000 season for the Blue Jays when he hit .344 in 162 games with 57 2B, 41 HR, and 137 RBI.

Dustin the Wind? – There are several media reports floating about that injured Red Sox All-Star 2B Dustin Pedroia will be sent to Pawtucket for an injury rehab assignment this weekend at McCoy Stadium when the PawSox host Buffalo on Saturday at 6:05 pm and Sunday at 1:05 pm. Pedroia has been on Boston’s disabled list since June 26 with a fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot suffered when he fouled a ball of his left foot while batting in the 3rd-inning on June 25 in San Francisco. He was hitting .292 in 73 games for Boston at the time of his injury along with 24 2B (T1st in the American League), 12 HR & 41 RBI and was also T4th in the AL in runs scored (52) before going on the DL. He played all 73 of his games at second base and had made only 2 errors all season (May 20 & June 6). Pedroia, the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVP, has a career average of .305 in 554 games with the Red Sox (666-for-2183) since being called-up to Boston from Pawtucket in August of 2006.

Rehab Central – Pedroia would join an illustrious list of Boston players to rehab with the PawSox this season including: Josh Beckett, Boof Bonser, Clay Buchholz, Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury (twice), Jeremy Hermida, Jed Lowrie, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Mike Lowell.

Streak Busted – The PawSox ended their 4-game losing streak Tuesday night with their 6-5, 11-inning win at Scranton/WB. The 4-game losing skid (last Friday through this Monday) immediately came on the heels of a 3-game winning streak (August 2-5). Pawtucket also recently suffered a 4-game losing streak from July 23-26 and a 5-game losing skid from July 17-21. The Sox have still not won more than 3 straight since their season-high 6-game winning streak from May 11-16 (which all came at McCoy). What Have You Done for Me Lately – The PawSox are 7-8 in their last 15 games after dropping 9 of their previous 10 games from July 17-26. However, the Sox have still lost 22 of their last 35 since July 4.

A Series Situation – The PawSox are 7-11-15 in their first 33 series this season (7 wins, 11 losses, and 15 splits thus far). Pawtucket had just a 7-17-19 series record last season. The PawSox won just 2 of their final 23 series last year dating back to
late-June. So, the Sox have now won 9 of their last 55 series in over a year span.

Home vs. Road – Pawtucket is 20-39 on the road and 31-28 at home. They are hitting .253 on the road (515-for-2032) with 255 runs scored in 59 games (4.4 per game) compared to .251 at home (469-for-1866) with 224 runs scored in 59 games (3.85 per game). PawSox pitchers are faring much better at McCoy thus far going 31-28 with a 3.69 ERA (214 ER in 522.1 IP) compared to 20-39 with a 5.52 ERA on the road (309 ER in 503.2 IP).

Rankings – Pawtucket is presently 13th in the International League with a Team ERA of 4.59 (it was 5.52 on May 2 which was their season-high). The PawSox are up to 11th (after being last for much of July) in Team Batting at .252 after peaking at .261 on May 18. Pawtucket’s .253 average last Friday and this Tuesday was 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).

Northern Exposure – Pawtucket’s final 33 games of the season (from August 5 – September 6) have been or will be all against IL North rivals. The PawSox are 25-29 vs. Northern foes. The Sox finished last season with a losing record against four of their five IL North division rivals (the only IL North club they had a winning record against was Buffalo at 9-7). Pawtucket went 32-48 within their division last season after going 49-31 vs. the North in 2008 en route to winning the IL wild card.

PawSox Short Hops – Lars Anderson has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 games, going 6-for-25 (.240) with 2 2B and 2 RBI. Drove in the only PawSox run last night on a sac fly in a 5-1 loss to Lehigh Valley… Bubba Bell went 1-4 Wednesday night, had 2 straight multiple hit games, going 5-for-9 with 2 2B. In his last 34 games is 41-for-119 (.345) with 5 2B, 3B, 4 HR, and 18 RBI… Daniel Nava went 0-3 Wednesday and snapped an 11-game hitting streak with Pawtucket, during which he went 15-for-46 (.326) with 2 2B and 1 HR. Hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat off of Philadelphia’s Joe Blanton on June 12th. Is 1 of 4 players in history to hit a grand slam in his first at-bat (Bill Duggleby-1898, current PawSox Jeremy Hermida-2005, and former Bison, Kevin Kouzmanoff-2006)…. Josh Reddick ist the current IL Batter of the Week and is 2-for-15 in his last 3 games after a 9-game hitting streak (20-for-42, .476, with 7 2B, 1 3B, and 3 HR). In his last 19 games is 31-for-84 (.369) with 10 2B, 1 3B, and 4 HR… Ryan Shealey is hitless in his last 13 at-bats. In his last 10 games, is 4-32 (.125).

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

In a heavyweight fight between the top two teams in the IL North, the Buffalo Bisons came out victorious over the division leading Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 10-4, on Wednesday night from PNC Field and extended their winning streak to seven games, the longest such streak since 2005.

The win also moved the Herd to within 5.5 games of the Yankees in the North division.

The Bisons did not waste any time and jumped on top of a seesaw battle early 1-0 in the first inning on an RBI base hit by Kirk Nieuwenhuis to score Justin Turner.

After adding a run in the second frame and taking a 2-0 lead, the Yankees plated two runs in the bottom of the second inning evening it up at two.

The Bisons would retake the lead in the fourth after Mike Cervenak and Russ Adams led off with back-to-back doubles to go up 3-2. Later in the frame Michael Barrett would drive in Russ Adams on his second sacrifice fly of the game and doubled the Bisons lead to 4-2.

Buffalo would add a run in the fifth and sixth to go up 6-2 on solo home runs by Nick Evans and Mike Cervenak, who would finish the game 3×5 with three runs scored.

Still the Yankees would not go out without a fight. They scored two runs in the home half of the sixth to cut the Bisons lead to 6-4. However, the Bisons offense would prove too much to handle as the Herd plated four more runs in the final three innings.

In his third start since being sent down from the New York Mets, Bisons starter Fernando Nieve worked six innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits and struck out seven to pick up his first victory with Buffalo.

In the three games on the current road trip Buffalo is outscoring their opponent (Lehigh Valley and Scranton) 24-5.

The Bisons have a chance for their eighth straight win and third consecutive series sweep tomorrow night in the finale at Scranton at 7:05 p.m..

BISONS NOTES: After going 1×23 from July 24 to August 6, Mike Cervenak is now on a four-game hitting streak (7×16)…Cervenak and Nick Evans were each just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle…Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 2×5 with two RBI and now has a hit in five straight and in six of his seven games since joining Buffalo from Double-A Binghamton last week… The Bisons scored at least a run in every inning except the third and ninth.

Buffalo Bisons
62-54, 2nd (-6.5)
RHP Fernando Nieve 0-0, 2.70

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
69-48, 1st (+6.5)
RHP Zach McAllister 8-8, 4.81

Wednesday, August 11, 2010
PNC Field – Moosic, PA

Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in the opening game of a two-game set at PNC Field (7:05 p.m.). The Herd is looking to extend its season-high six-game win streak after last night’s 6-0 victory over Lehigh Valley. The Bisons now trail the Yankees by only 6.5 games in the IL North Division.

RED-HOT HERD: The Bisons have won six straight games and 10 of their last 11. It’s the first time the club has won six consecutive games this season. The last time Buffalo won six games in a row was August 24-30, 2005 when they won seven straight.

BROOMSTICKS: With last night’s victory, the Bisons completed the two-game sweep of Lehigh Valley, outscoring the IronPigs 14-1. The Herd has now swept two straight sets, including a four-game series against Columbus at home, August 5-8. The last time they swept two straight series was from August 27-30, 2005, when Buffalo swept the Red Barons (2G) and Red Wings (2G).

vs. YANKEES: The Bisons are 5-4 this season against the Yankees. The Herd returns to PNC Field for the first time since winning three of four from the Yanks in the first series of the 2010 season. Since rejoining the International League in 1998, the Bisons are 102-98 (.510) against the Yankees.

TO DUDA LIST: OF LUCAS DUDA hit another home run and scored twice last night. The Triple-A rookie has scored a run in 13 of his last 14 games (16 total runs). Duda has also hit in eight straight, with a .414 (12-29) average to go along with two home runs and seven RBI. Since his June 13 promotion, Duda is tied for the league-lead with 31 extra-base hits and a .663 slugging pct.

BISONS BITS: The Bisons’ pitching staff hasn’t allowed an earned run in its last 18.2IP. That stretch goes back to the ninth inning of Sunday’s win over Columbus…INF NICK EVANS has 13 hits in 11 games since his promotion on July 31. Included in those 13 hits are five doubles and one home run…The Herd is 2-0 when RHP FERNANDO NIEVE starts. Nieve was 3-0 in four starts with the club last season (team was 3-1)…LHP PAT MISCH ‘s 150.2IP are the most by a Bison hurler since RHP JIM BROWER threw 160.0IP in 1999.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (56-56) beat the Rockies in 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel last night at Citi Field. RHP MIKE PELFREY bested NL All-Star RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, throwing seven scoreless innings for his eleventh victory. INF JOSE REYES drove home the game’s lone run with a sacrifice fly. New York and Colorado hit the diamond again tonight at 7:10 p.m.

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vs. THE YANKEES: The Bisons are 5-4 against the Yankees this season. Buffalo took three of four in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre from April 8-11 to open the season. The teams then split a four-game set at Coca Cola Field, April 17-20. After eight matchups in the first month of the year, the Herd and Yanks only completed one of the two games slated in July, with SWB earning a 10-7 win at Coca-Cola Field. Buffalo and Scranton/WB have seven remaining tilts before the end of the season. Dating back to last season, the Bisons have won eight of their last 13 matchups with the Yankees.

PITCHING PROBABLE’S: BUFFALO AT SCRANTON/WB:
WED – RHP Fernando Nieve (0-0, 2.70) vs. RHP Zach McAllister (8-8, 4.81)
THUR – RHP Dillon Gee (11-7, 4.75) vs. RHP David Phelps (2-2, 3.29)

MILES WORTH OF WINS: Dave Miley recorded his 1,500th managerial victory last Friday night. Miley reached the milestone in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees’ 2-1 victory over the Norfolk Tides. Miley, 48, improved to 1,507-1,136 during a 19-year Minor League career. He also managed the Cincinnati Reds for parts of three seasons from 2003-05. The Florida native spent 26 seasons in the Reds organization before joining the Yankees in 2006. In four years with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he’s guided the Baby Bombers to the best record in the International League (322-222). He was named IL Manager of the Year in 2007, piloted the Yankees to the Governors’ Cup title in 2008 and a berth in the Championship Series last year.

MR. VERSATILITY: After getting his first big league call up on May 8th and spending over two months with New York, Kevin Russo came back to SWB on July 17th and went 0-5 with a season high four strikeouts. In the 21 games following that first game, Russo has hit safely in 16 with a .281 average (25-89) and hit safely in eight consecutive games after a ninth inning single on Monday night. Russo is hitting .353 (12-34) over his last eight, with 6R, 5 2B, 4RBI, 4BB, 5K, 2SB and a CS. Russo has been SWB’s most versatile player in 2010 playing every position for the Yankees except catcher, first base and pitcher. He has started for Dave Miley all over the diamond playing 21 games at 3B, 13 in LF, 9 at 2B, 5 in CF, 2 at SS, 1 in RF and 1 at DH.

WALKING OFF A WINNER: Jesus Montero gave the Yankees a dramatic 2-1 win with a bottom of the ninth home run on Monday night off Pawtucket’s Robert Manuel. The homer added to Montero’s team leading total (14) and was the fifth walk off winner for the Yankees at PNC Field in 2010 and second against Pawtucket.

LATE HEROICS: Robby Hammock picked up a RBI single in the ninth against Rochester on April 12th in a 6-5 win, Chad Huffman’s ninth inning homer against Louisville leading off the inning was the difference in a 3-2 SWB win, Fabio Castro delivered a wild pitch for the game winner in the ninth in a 4-3 Yankees win on June 21st and five games later on the 26th against Rochester Greg Golson’s sac fly in the 13th inning gave the Yankees a 2-1 win in SWB’s longest game of the season.

WHAT’S LEFT?: The Yankees have 27 games remaining in the regular season and 17 of those will be played on the road. 13 of the Yankees final 27 games will be played against opponents with records above .500 (7 vs. Buffalo, 4 vs. Columbus and 2 vs. Syracuse). Out of the seven remaining opponents (BUF, COL, TOL, SYR, LHV & ROC) the Yankees have winning 2010 records against four: Pawtucket (7-6), Toledo (3-1), Syracuse (9-5) and Rochester (12-2).

Looking back at the Bisons & Yankess season-series:
7/8/10: SWB 10, BUF 7 –
GAME STORY: Yanks snag opener

4/20/10: BUF 11, SWB 7 – GAME STORY: Pridie, Bisons out-slug Yanks

4/19/10: SWB 7, BUF 2 – GAME STORY: Dickey strong, Herd falls

4/18/10: SWB 4, BUF 3 (10) – GAME STORY: Scranton/WB snaps Herd’s streak

4/17/10: BUF 2, SWB 0 – GAME STORY: Gee: 7 shutout, Ks 8 in victory

4/11/10: BUF 4, SWB 1 – GAME STORY: Gee leads Bisons to series win

4/10/10: BUF 2, SWB 1 (11) – GAME STORY: Hessman, Carter blasts give Buffalo win

4/9/10: BUF 7, SWB 6 – GAME STORY: Bisons rally back

4/8/10: SWB 1, BUF 0 – Bisons drop opener, Davis 3-4

The Herd kept rolling by defeating the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 6-0 tonight at Coca-Cola Park.

Buffalo jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first. Nick Evans sent a ball to right fielder John Mayberry and looked as it was going to drop in for a hit. Mayberry tried to save the base hit by diving in an attempt to get the out. Unfortunately for Mayberry he missed the ball on the dive as it rolled behind him, allowing Lucas Duda to score all the way from first.

J.R House then added his third home run of the year when he sent a two-run blast to left field to put the Herd up 3-0 in the second. In the following inning, Duda launched a no-doubter to right field for his 15th home run of the year. The Herd then added two more insurance runs in the eighth to secure the victory.

Duda, the Triple-A rookie extended his hit streak to eight games with his 2-4 performance tonight. He has also scored a run in 13 of his last 14 games and now has 44 RBI in his 49 games with the Herd.

Making his first pitching appearance in Coca-Cola Park since he threw an inning of scoreless relief in the All-Star Game, starting pitcher Pat Misch threw another five scoreless innings in tonight’s outing. The All-Star made light work of his five innings tonight by only giving up two hits and striking out three. Misch is now 11-4 for the year and has tied Dilon Gee for the team lead in wins.

Mike O’Connor, Jose De La Torre and Sean Green then came out of the bullpen to combine for a four-hit shutout, the seventh time the Herd have blanked an opponent this year.

The red-hot Bisons have now won sixth straight game and 10 of their last 11. Their record now stands at 62-54. This is the first six-game winning streak for the Herd since August of the 2005 season when Buffalo won seven straight. They also completed the two-game sweep of the Iron Pigs with the win this evening and now have five series sweeps on the season.

BISONS NOTES: Justin Turner went 2-5 in tonight’s contest to bring his team-leading average to .305 for the year. Turner has been tearing the cover off the ball as of late by hitting 10-27 (.370) in his last six games. The Herd will now take off to Scranton for another two-game series with the Yankees. Fernando Nieve (0-0, 2.70 ERA) will be facing off against Zach McAllister (8-8, 4.81 ERA) to start the two-game set.