Following last night’s defeat to the Red Wings and seeing their five-game winning streak snapped the Herd looked to start a new winning streak in this afternoon’s game against Rochester. That will have to wait until tomorrow as the Bisons were shut out by the Red Wings 10-0 at Coca-Cola Field this afternoon.

Rochester jumped to an early lead when Trevor Plouffe took the second pitch of the game from Bisons starter Bobby Livingston deep to left field for his sixth home run of the year, giving the Red Wings a quick 1-0 advantage. The Red Wings kept pouring it on by scoring six runs in the first three innings to put the game out of reach early.

Making only his second start since June 13, Livingston (3-9) made an early exit after throwing three innings and giving up seven hits and six runs, five of them being earned. Livingston’s three innings marked his shortest start of the season.

The Red Wings continued to pile on the runs following Livingston’s exit as Rochester put up crooked numbers in six different innings.

While the Bisons pitching staff was getting roughed up by the offense of the Red Wings, Rochester’s pitching staff was holding one of the IL’s most potent offenses to no runs.

Coming into the game tied for third in most runs scored in the IL, the Herd was shutout in this afternoon’s game as they were only able to collect seven hits as a team. The shutout is only the seventh time this year the Herd has been held scoreless.

On the bump for Rochester, Red Wings starter Matt Fox gave his team a quality start when he got through six shutout innings while only allowing four hits.

If there was one positive aspect to today’s disappointing loss it is the fact that center fielder Jesus Feliciano is back in full form. Feliciano went 3-5 today and saw his batting average climb up to .362. Today’s game also marked the first time since Feliciano’s return to the Herd on July 15 that he had a multi-hit game. Feliciano only needs 18 more plate appearances to re-qualify among the league’s leaders.

At .362, Feliciano’s batting average would be 47 points higher than any other player in the IL. If he continues to swing a hot bat like he did today, it’s safe to say by the time that Feliciano qualifies back he will still be back at the top of the IL in batting average.

The loss for the Herd now drops their record to 51-47 while they stand six games back in the IL North. The Red Wings improve to 37-63 after sweeping the Herd in the back end of a home and home series between Rochester and Buffalo.

BISONS NOTES: In his first game back with the Herd since July 15, Justin Turner went 1-4 today with a single in the ninth inning. The Herd will hit the road for the next eight days as they will travel to Toledo and Columbus for a pair of four-game series in both stops. Tomorrow the Herd will take on the Mud Hens when Dillon Gee looks for his tenth win of the season (9-5, 4.51 ERA) as he takes on Andrew Oliver at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

The New York Mets and Buffalo Bisons today announced a two-year extension of their player development partnership through 2012.

Ike Davis, R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, Elmer Dessens, Chris Carter and Bobby Parnell all began the season in Buffalo and have become key contributors to the success of the 2010 Mets. The Mets and Bisons partnership began with the 2009 season, and 12 of the 25 players on the current major-league roster have played for the Bisons since the start of last year.

“The Mets have proven to our organization and our baseball fans that they care about winning and the team they put on the field in Buffalo,” said Bob Rich, Owner, Buffalo Bisons. “The success that many Bisons players have had this season in Buffalo and then in New York has been vital to the success of both teams.”

“We are thrilled with our partnership with the Rich family and how the Bisons are developing players who are making significant contributions at the major-league level,” said Jeff Wilpon, Chief Operating Officer. “Bob and Mindy share our vision of success on the field and our philosophy of helping New Yorkers make a lasting impact in the community.”

The extension allows the Mets to strengthen its ties to New York with minor-league clubs in Buffalo, Binghamton and Brooklyn. The close proximity of the affiliates to the major-league club in Queens expedites baseball operations travel for players, coaches and scouts.

The Mets first partnered with the Bisons in 1963 for three seasons as the team’s affiliate in the International League. The 1964 Bisons went 80-69 and qualified for the International League Playoffs.

On July 3 starting pitcher Ramon Ortiz took the mound in Buffalo against the Rochester Red Wings only to find himself on the losing end of a pitcher’s duel against Red Wings starter Glen Perkins. Facing the Red Wings again today at Frontier Field, Ortiz took part in another pitcher’s duel. This time however he got the best of the Red Wings as the Herd won 1-0.

Red Wings starter Anthony Swarzak played the role of Ortiz’s counterpart today and was on the losing end of the duel as Ortiz showed complete dominance over his seven inning start.

Ortiz tossed seven masterful innings by only giving up two hits and eight strikeouts while not issuing a walk. The Bisons starter also allowed only one base runner to reach scoring position when Rochester shortstop Brendan Harris got to second in the fifth inning.

The Bisons starter attacked the strike zone early and often. While picking up his first win as a member of the Herd, Ortiz threw 84 pitches in his start today with 62 of them went for strikes. Through the first three innings Ortiz could not seem to miss the strike zone as 26 of his first 29 pitches were strikes.

After issuing a single to Red Wings third baseman Trevor Plouffe who was leading off for Rochester, Ortiz then retired the next 12 batters he faced. Following Plouffe’s single, Ortiz did not allow a man to reach base until right fielder Brian Dinkleman knocked a single in to lead off the fifth inning.

While Ortiz was throwing a gem on the mound, his teammates could not drive in any runs to support their starter. The game remained scoreless until the seventh inning. Second baseman Russ Adams led off the inning with his 20th double of the year to put the Bisons in position to drive home a much needed run. Catcher Jean Luc Blaquiere then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Adams over to third to bring up 2009 team MVP Jesus Feliciano with a chance to drive home the go-ahead run.

Feliciano did his job as he lifted a 2-1 pitch just deep enough to left field to score Adams. Following the catch from Red Wings left fielder Matt Macri, he made a good throw home that Feliciano just beat out to give the Herd the 1-0 advantage.

Ryota Igarashi relieved Ortiz in the eighth inning and got through the inning relatively easy barring a single from first baseman Brock Peterson. Manny Acosta then took the hill in the ninth and en route to his fifth save of the year breezed through the Red Wings final three batters to secure the 1-0 victory.

The win for the Herd is their fifth straight, which ties their season high. The shutout is also the sixth time the Herd has blanked their opponent this year. The Bisons are now 51-45 while the Red Wings drop to 35-63.

BISONS NOTES: Mike Cervenak collected three hits in todays game, going 3-4 in the win. In his second game back with the Herd, designated hitter Mike Hessman went 0-4. He will make his return to Coca-Cola Field tomorrow when the Bisons take on the Red Wings in the back end of a home and home series with Rochester. Pat Misch looks for his tenth win of the season (9-3, 3.27 ERA) as he takes on Glen Perkins (3-8, 7.00 ERA) at 7:05 p.m.

Not only did the Bisons win their fourth game in a row on Monday night, they welcomed their most valuable player back to the lineup.

After missing 37 games with a hand injury, slugger Mike Hessman returned to the line up and helped the Herd to a 6-2 victory over the Rochester Red Wings from Frontier Field.

Hessman doubled in his first at-bat in over a month and later drove in his 58th run of the season to give Buffalo the insurance they needed to defeat its closest rival.

Hessman took his swings wearing extra padding on the top of his right hand, but neither that nor the time off slowed the slugger’s torrid early-season pace. He finished Monday’s contest 2-5, starting with a lead-off double in the second inning.

Then in the eighth, with the Herd nursing a 3-2 advantage, Hessman hit a towering pop fly to left. Just in front of the wall, Rochester’s Matt Macri dropped the ball, allowing Luis Hernandez to score.

Three batters later, Hessman scored on Fernando Martinez’s double to make the score 5-2 Bisons. In the ninth inning, the team’s top run producer plated his 58th run of the season with an RBI-single to left.

Hessman had been out since being struck by a pitch on his right hand on June 6 in Norfolk. The Bisons were just 16-21 without their top slugger.

After trailing 2-0, Lucas Duda put the Herd on top in the sixth inning with a two-run home run. For Duda, the blast was his 10th of the season.

Tobi Stoner (5-7) earned the win. The righty allowed just two runs on three hits in six innings of work. He induced double plays in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the Red Wings within reach for the Bisons offense.

BISONS NOTES:The bullpen combination of Brian Bruney, Ryota Igarashi and Manny Acosta kept the Red Wings scoreless over the final three innings of the game…Luis Hernandez finished the game 3-5 with three runs scored…Prior to the game, the Red Wings held a mascot kickball game. Buster T. Bison kicked the game-winning three-run homer to win the contest for his squad.

The Buffalo Bisons today announced that they have activated INF MIKE HESSMAN from the disabled list. The slugger will be active for the team’s game against the Rochester Red Wings on Monday night.

READ: Full team release on Hessman’s return.

Hessman was the International League’s top slugger for the first two months of the season. He was placed on the disabled list on June 10 and missed 33 games with a stress fracture in his right hand. Prior to going on the DL, Hessman lead all of baseball with 57RBI and was tops in the International League with 18 home runs.

On the season, Hessman has hit .287 (62-216) with 17 doubles, 18 home runs and 57RBI in 56 games with the Bisons. His 18 homers still rank tied for 3rd most in the IL while his .616 slugging percentage is just five plate appearances shy of qualifying as the league’s best.