Thursday, August 11, 2011 (1:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13

Buffalo Bisons (48-69, 5th(-18.0), North)
RHP Miguel Batista (1-0, 5.00)

Syracuse Chiefs (52-64, 4th(-13.5), North)
RHP Brad Meyers (4-4, 4.06)

TODAY’S GAME: This afternoon, the Bisons host the Syracuse Chiefs for the second game of a two-game set at Coca-Cola Field (1:05 p.m.). The Herd needs a win today to avoid a two-game sweep as the Chiefs won 6-1 in the series opener last night. Buffalo has lost five games in a row since a 5-4 win in 10 innings last Thursday in Pawtucket.

VS. THE CHIEFS: The Bisons are 3-10 against Syracuse this year. The Herd’s loss last night eliminated them from the 2011 Thruway Series as the Chiefs can clinch the Cup with one more win or any Rochester loss this season. Syracuse already has two-game sweeps over the Herd on July 2-3 and August 8-9, both at Alliance Bank Stadium

ON THE BUMP: RHP MIGUEL BATISTA will make his sixth start of the season for the Herd. The veteran is 1-0 with a 3.06ERA in his last three starts with 19 strikeouts in only 17.2 innings of work. In his last start, he allowed three earned runs in six innings of a no-decision last Friday in Pawtucket. Since joining the Herd, Batista has limited right-handed hitters to a .167 (9-54) average with only three doubles and no home runs.

SPIN CONTROL: INF JORDANY VALDESPIN collected hits in each of his first two at-bats with the team. The 23-year old doubled and then singled to go 2-4 in his first ever Triple-A game.  An Eastern League All-Star with Binghamton, Valdespin was promoted yesterday after hitting .297 with 15 home runs and 51RBI for the B-Mets.

CHART CLIMBER: OF JESUS FELICIANO had another single last night and has now hit in 21 of his last 25 games. A Bison for all three years of the Mets affiliation, Feliciano now has 355 hits in his Buffalo career, 5th-most in the modern era. The veteran is 23 hits behind Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Selby (378) for the most in the modern era.

BISONS BITS: INF JOSH SATIN lost his 15-game hit streak last night. He had averaged .383 (23-60) over the streak…RHP BRIAN SWEENEY has posted a 2.89ERA in 10 outings since the All-Star Break (26.1IP, 20K)…If C MIKE NICKEAS had 11 more games at catcher this year, he (40%) and teammate C RAUL CHAVEZ (48.1%) would rank 1-2 in the IL in catcher proficiency.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (58-58) were defeated the Padres by a 9-5 score. INF RUBEN TEJADA had two doubles and C JOSH THOLE finished the night 4-5 at the plate. The Mets host the Padres for game four of their four-game set today at 1:10 p.m.

The Herd lost its fourth game in a row after Syracuse batted around for five runs in the sixth inning of a 6-1 Buffalo loss Wednesday night, the opener of a 10-game homestand at Coca-Cola Field.

“(Starter Dylan) Owen threw the ball well and looked like he was in charge of the game,” manager Tim Teufel said. “And one inning got away from him.

“I think he pitched better than the final score,” Teufel added.

Jhonatan Solano walked with the bases loaded, putting the Chiefs up 2-1 before pitcher Craig Stammen’s ground out drove in another.

Steve Lombardozzi’s second single brought home his second and third RBIs of the night. He later scored the final of a five-run inning on a Jesus Valdez sacrifice fly.

Shortstop Jordany Valdespin led off the home first inning with a double to left field in his first at-bat in Triple-A, but was tagged at third base on a fielder’s choice hit into by Josh Satin.

Valdespin, 23, made his Buffalo debut after hitting .297 with 24 doubles, 15 home runs and 51 RBIs in Binghamton. He added a single in the third, going 2-for-4.

“Valdespin had a couple good hits and after that we just couldn’t get anything going,” Teufel said.

Stammen earned the win over the Herd, allowing an earned run on six hits with six strikeouts to three walks.

Owen (5-6) took the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits with five walks and four strikeouts.

“He was battling with the lower part of the lineup and just couldn’t put anybody away and get that double-play ground ball that he so desired,” Teufel said.

Zach Lutz gave the Herd a 1-0 lead on a line drive homer to left field in the second.

Syracuse manufactured the tying run in the fifth, when Solano reached on a Valdespin fielding error, moved to second on a bunt by Stammen and scored on a Lombardozzi single.

Josh Satin saw his hit streak stop at 15 games with a 0-for-3 night, flying out to deep right field in his last at-bat.

Syracuse’s Roger Bernadina, who went 3-for-3, left the game for pinch runner Jeff Frazier after sliding into second for a double.

Game Notes: The Chiefs, who lead the season series 10-3, swept the Bisons in a two-game series in Syracuse Monday and Tuesday… Valdespin took the roster spot of Jason Botts, who was placed on the disabled list with a right intercostal strain… Satin’s streak fell four games behind Nick Evans’ 2011 team-best 19.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 (7:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet HD 713
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (48-68, 5th(-18.0), North)
RHP Dylan Owen (5-5, 4.72)

Syracuse Chiefs (51-64, 4th(-14.5), North)
RHP Craig Stammen (8-6, 4.82)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Syracuse Chiefs for the first game of a two-game set at Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). Tonight’s game begins the Herd’s second 10-game homestand of the season as they will also host Durham and Toledo. The Bisons are returning home from a 4-5 roadtrip that ended with a two-game sweep by the Chiefs at Alliance Bank Stadium.

VS. THE CHIEFS: The Bisons are 3-9 in their first 12 games against Syracuse this year. The Bisons have scored 19 runs in their three victories over the Chiefs (6.3 runs/game), but only 34 in their nine defeats (3.8 runs/game). Buffalo’s last win against Syracuse at Coca-Cola Field was a 3-2 win in 13 innings on April 8 -the second game of the 2011 season.

DEALIN’ DYLAN: RHP DYLAN OWEN will make his 16th start of the season with the Herd tonight. In his last start, the righty allowed four runs in five innings of a no-decision on August 5 in Pawtucket. Owen has not given up more than five earned runs in a start this season and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 of those 15 outings.

ROSTER MOVE: The Bisons welcome INF JORDANY VALDESPIN from Double-A Binghamton today. The 23-year old averaged .297 with 24 doubles, 15 home runs and 51RBI for the B-Mets and was an Eastern League All-Star. OF JASON BOTTS was placed on the disabled list (retroactive to August 9) with right intercostal strain.

SMOOTH AS SATIN: INF JOSH SATIN brings a 15-game hit streak into today’s contest, over which he has averaged .383 (23-60). He currently has the longest active streak in the International League, four games short of the league high first set by Bisons OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Last night, Satin singled to right and scored in the first inning, giving him 11 runs in 17 games with Buffalo.

BISONS BITS: OF JESUS FELICIANO went 2-5 last night with a triple and an RBI…RHP JOHN LUJAN stretched his scoreless outing streak to five games (6.0IP) last night with two scoreless innings…The Bisons must win tonight and Thursday to remain in contention for the 2011 Thruway Series Cup.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (58-57) defeated the Padres in their second game of a four-game series last night, 5-4. OF ANGEL PAGAN hit a solo home run off of RHP Chad Qualls that started the Mets three-run eighth-inning rally. The Mets look to take game three tonight at 7:10 p.m. from Citi Field.

Alliance Bank Stadium continues to be a place of nightmares for the Buffalo Bisons.
In their final visit to Central New York in the 2011 season, the Herd fell to the rival Syracuse Chiefs, 3-2, in 11 innings. Jonathan Solano’s ground rule ‘single’ with the bases loaded snapped a tie that had lasted for most of the three-hour, 32-minute contest.

Following Tuesday night’s loss, the Bisons are now just 7-17 in 24 games at Alliance Bank Stadium since the 2009 season. Their 2-6 mark this season included a two-game sweep by the Chiefs over the past two nights.

Solano’s ground rule double turned single came with two outs of a strange frame for the Bisons and reliever Mike O’Connor. Steve Lombardozzi led off the 11th with a single. With one out, O’Connor and battery mate Raul Chavez thought they had caught the Chiefs’ infielder stealing second but Lombardozzi was called safe. The Bisons southpaw then didn’t get the benefit of a pair of close two-strike pitches to Chris Marrero and issued a one-out walk.

After a fielder’s choice and an intentional walk to Seth Bynum, Solano lined a 2-2 pitch from O’Connor to right field that fell behind Fernando Martinez and bounced over the wall. Solano needed only to touch first base to win the game, turning his game-winning hit to a ground rule single.

Buffalo built an early 2-0 lead with runs in each of the first two frames. Martinez put the Herd on the board with a two-out single in the first inning to cash in Josh Satin. Jesus Feliciano added his own two-out RBI-single in the second inning.

The Bisons’ bats went silent after that as Syracuse starter Yunesky Maya retired 10 in a row from the end of the third until his night was done after six innings. Buffalo had its best chance to score off the Chiefs’ bullpen in the 10th inning as Jesus Feliciano led off with a triple off the wall in right-centerfield. Eventual game-winning pitcher, Josh Wilkie, followed with a strike out of Satin before getting fly outs from Valentino Pascucci and Martinez to end the threat.

BISONS NOTES:Josh Satin extended his hit streak to 15 games with a first-inning single. The Triple-A rookie has hit in 16 of his 17 games with the Bisons for a .353 average…Pat Misch collected a pinch-hit single in the top of the 11th inning. It’s the first time a pitcher collected a pinch hit in the Mets’ affiliation…Mark Cohoon started for Buffalo and allowed two runs in five innings of work.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011 (7:06 p.m.) – Alliance Bank Stadium
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (48-67, 5th(-17.0), North)
LHP Mark Cohoon (3-7, 6.71)

Syracuse Chiefs (50-64, 4th(-14.5), North)
RHP Yunesky Maya (1-8, 5.44)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Syracuse Chiefs in the finale of a two-game series at Alliance Bank Stadium (7:05 p.m.). This is the final stop for the Herd on its four-team roadtrip that began in Lehigh Valley, Rochester and Pawtucket. The 10-game trip was shortened to nine games with a rainout against the Red Sox this past Sunday. Buffalo is 4-4 so far on the trip.

SMOOTH AS SATIN: INF JOSH SATIN brings a 14-game hit streak into today’s contest, over which he has averaged .400 (22-55). It is currently tied with Norfolk’s Ryan Adams for the longest active streak in the International League. Satin extended his hit streak Monday night with a double off Syracuse’s LHP Tom Milone, for the Herd’s only RBI, and now has 10 hits in 14 at-bats against lefties since joining the Bisons (.714 average).

ON THE BUMP: LHP MARK COHOON will make his 13th start of the season tonight. In his last start on the road against Rochester (August 2), the lefty allowed a season-high seven runs in 4.1 innings of work. Cohoon had seen his ERA drop in his previous eight starts before last week’s outing, going from 10.20 to 6.14. His ERA now stands at 6.71 after his first 12 Triple-A starts.

BISONS BITS: INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI has 78RBI on the season, tied for the 2nd most in the International League…OF JASON BOTTS had two hits and a walk in his return from the DL last night. The former Chief has averaged .318 (7-22) in nine games against Syracuse this year…OF BUBBA BELL also returned from the DL last night and drew a pinch-hit walk.

VS. THE CHIEFS: The Bisons are 3-8 in their first 11 games against Syracuse this year. At 11-14, the Bisons are 5.5 games behind Syracuse (15-7) in the 2011 Thruway Series standings. Rochester (10-15) is in third place, 6.5 games behind the Chiefs. Syracuse won the 2010 Thruway Cup.

ROSTER MOVE: The Mets recalled OF MIKE BAXTER from the Bisons yesterday. In his first big league at-bat, the 26-year old collected a pinch-hit RBI-double. Baxter, who was with the Bisons since July 26, played in 11 games and collected 10 hits, including one home run and five RBI.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (57-57) defeated the Padres in their series opener on Monday night, 9-8. The Mets came from behind by scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Former Bisons INF LUCAS DUDA capped off the rally with a two-run single off Padres’ closer, Heath Bell. The Mets look to take game two tonight at 7:10 p.m.