Already Buffalo’s RBI leader, Valentino Pascucci padded his total with four more Friday night, pushing the Bisons to an 8-4 win over Rochester at Coca-Cola Field.

For the second night in a row, Buffalo loaded the bases in the first inning for Pascucci on Michael Fisher and Zach Lutz singles and a Fernando Martinez walk. Thursday night, Pascucci walked in a run.

Friday, Pascucci cleared the bases with a long double off of starter Kevin Slowey to left-center field, bringing his team-high RBI count to 54. He earned his fourth RBI on a solo homer against reliever Dusty Hughes in the fifth.

“I think my swing might have looked a little funny because I slipped just a little bit,” Pascucci said of the homer. “But I landed it right on the barrel.”

Pat Misch picked up his fourth win of the year with his sixth quality start.

“He pitched a good game,” Pascucci said of Misch. “He got out of some situations and got us to the later innings.”

The southpaw allowed 10 hits but only three runs over seven innings with no walks and two strikeouts.

“They chipped away, but Pat was really in control of the outing tonight,” manager Tim Teufel said.

A winner of 10 or more games the last three seasons with Minnesota, Slowey allowed three runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and a walk on his major league rehab appearance.

Aaron Bates and Toby Gardenhire each had RBI doubles for Rochester, in the third and sixth, respectively.

Up 5-3, the Bisons tacked on three insurance runs with three two-out hits, including a two-run double by Luis Hernandez and a Jesus Felicano RBI single.

“Right now I’m finding a lot of guys in scoring position,” said Hernandez, who drove in three.

Luis Figueroa, Lutz and Fisher, the top three batters in the Buffalo order, each went 2-for-5.

Rochester’s Jeff Bailey went 3-for-5 with a double.

Dale Thayer needed just one out for his ninth save of the season, striking out his only batter, Chase Lambin, with the bases loaded.

Game Notes: Pascucci also leads Buffalo with 11 home runs… Buffalo leads the season series with Rochester, 6-4, and resumes it Saturday at the Red Wings… Misch’s win marked his 40th start as a Bison.

Friday, July 15, 2011 (7:35 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, WGR Sportsradio 550AM, bisons.com
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13

Buffalo Bisons (39-53, 5th(-15.0), North)
LHP Pat Misch (3-5, 4.58)

Rochester Red Wings (35-56, 6th(-18.5), North)
RHP Kevin Slowey (0-0, 2.45)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons host the Rochester Red Wings in the second game of a two-game series at Coca-Cola Field (7:35 p.m.). The Herd is looking for the sweep following a 5-3 victory over the Wings last night. The Bisons will travel to Rochester for a pair of games this weekend before moving on to Syracuse for four contests starting Monday.

VS. THE RED WINGS: The Bisons are 5-4 against their closest rivals this season. The clubs split a pair of doubleheaders in Buffalo, April 19 and 21 before the teams split a four-game set in Rochester, April 26-29. Eight of the nine games have been decided by two runs or less with the lone exception being the Bisons’ 5-0 win at Frontier Field on April 26.

HERE’S THE DISH: LHP PAT MISCH makes his 13th start of the season and his 40th career start as a Bison tonight. The southpaw has yielded just one earned run and no walks in his last two starts combined, but has a loss and no wins to show for his effort. Since returning from his second stint with the Mets on June 4, Misch is 3-3 with a 3.71ERA in eight starts. In his career with the Bisons, Misch is 15-11 with a 3.73ERA and 165 strikeouts.

BULLY FOR THE PEN: LHP MIKE O’CONNOR has four wins in relief this season and three have come against Rochester. The southpaw has struck out seven and walked none in 6.2 scoreless innings against the Wings this year…Three Bisons relievers top the club with 33 appearances: LHP JUSTIN HAMPSON, LHP TAYLOR TANKERSLEY and RHP DALE THAYER.

NICE EYES: The Bisons drew a season-high 10 walks in last night’s win. INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI had three free passes and now leads the International League with 53 walks on the season. Buffalo has not had a batter finish in the top 10 in the IL in walks since INF Keith Ginter drew 63 walks in 106 games in 2007 and finished tied for 7th most in the league.

BISONS BITS: C RAUL CHAVEZ brings a seven-game hit streak into tonight’s game, over which he has averaged .375 (9-24)…With INF Nick Evans in New York and OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis on the DL, OF JESUS FELICIANO now has the top qualifying average on the Bisons with a .274 mark.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (46-45) announced that they will recall Bisons RHP RYOTA IGARASHI tonight. The reliever will take the roster spot of RHP FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, who was traded to Milwaukee during the All-Star break. The Mets start the second half of their season by hosting the rival Phillies tonight at 7:10 p.m.

The Bisons took advantage of a season-high 10 walks – including six from starter Thomas Diamond – to support major league veteran Miguel Batista in a 5-3 win Thursday night at Coca-Cola Field.

Over 3 2/3 scoreless innings on 64 pitches, Batista allowed just one hit with two strikeouts and a walk.

“Basically I was trying to get the guys to swing,” Batista said. “It was my first start in, I don’t know, three, four years or something so I didn’t have that many bullets to waste.”

Aside for one five-inning start for the Washington Nationals in 2010, Batista last started 20 of 44 appearances with the Seattle Mariners in 2008.

“He looked like a starter, actually,” manager Tim Teufel said. “He was very confident in his ability tonight.”

Despite his age, Batista, 40, said he has motivation and confidence.

“Before I left the (St. Louis Cardinals), I got to talk to Albert Pujols,” Batista said. “And he said, ‘You have better stuff than a lot of 20-year-olds.’

“You hear that from the guy that’s considered the best player in the game right now. It means a lot,” Batista said.

First-inning singles by Michael Fisher and Zach Lutz followed by three consecutive free passes gave the Herd an early 2-0 lead. Valentino Pascucci walked in his team-best 51st RBI while Jason Botts walked for his 16th.

Jake Stevens replaced Diamond after the righty walked Pascucci and Botts again in the fifth. Stevens then allowed a two-run double to Luis Hernandez.

Diamond allowed four runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.

Rochester picked up three runs against lefties Justin Hampson and Taylor Tankersley in the seventh, marked by Jeff Bailey’s triple and a pair of RBI doubles by Rene Rivera and Brandon Roberts, who went 3-for-5.

With Dale Thayer on for the save and Bailey on second, Bubba Bell robbed Brandon Roberts of an RBI double snagging a hard fly ball on the right field warning track.

Southpaw Mike O’Connor threw 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for Batista, earning his fourth win.

Following a 7:35 Friday night game at Coca-Cola Field, the two teams repeat the set with a two-game series starting Saturday in Rochester.

Game Notes: The Bisons reached their previous season high in walks four times… Batista had appeared twice out of the bullpen for Buffalo, allowing four runs in two innings… The Bisons moved to 5-4 against the Red Wings this year. .. Thayer leads Buffalo with eight saves on the season… Former Buffalo Sabres tough guy Andrew Peters threw the game’s first pitch… Thayer leads Buffalo with eight saves on the season.

Thursday, July 14, 2011 (7:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
TV: SNY (SportsNet New York) and TWC SportsNet HD 713
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (38-53, 5th(-15.5), North)
RHP Miguel Batista (0-0, 18.00)\

Rochester Red Wings (35-55, 6th(-18.0), North)
RHP Thomas Diamond (0-3, 8.64)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons begin the second half of the 2011 season with the first game of a two-game series against the Rochester Red Wings at Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). The Herd ended the first half on a three-game losing streak and a 2-4 roadtrip. The Bisons are home for just two games before heading on a six-game roadtrip to Rochester and Syracuse.

VS. THE RED WINGS: The Bisons are 4-4 against the Red Wings this season. The clubs split a pair of doubleheaders in Buffalo, April 19 and 21 before the teams split a four-game set in Rochester, April 26-29. Despite hitting just .209 as a team against Wings’ pitching, the Bisons have outscored their rival, 25-21.

ON THE BUMP: RHP MIGUEL BATISTA will make his first start with the Bisons tonight in his Coca-Cola Field debut. Signed by the Mets on July 5, the 40-year old allowed four runs in two relief outings during the club’s roadtrip (2.0IP, K). A World Series Champion with Arizona in 2001, Batista has pitched in 614 major league games with 10 different teams during his career.

SEVEN HEAVEN: Bisons’ All-Star RHP CHRIS SCHWINDEN needed just seven pitches in a perfect inning of relief in last night’s Triple-A All-Star Game. The righty induced three groundballs in the 5th inning to help preserve the International League’s lead in a 3-0 victory over the Pacific Coast League. It was the fourth straight year a Bisons’ pitcher worked an inning of shutout relief in the All-Star Game, following LHP Rich Rundles (2008), RHP Nelson Figueroa (2009) and LHP Pat Misch (2010).

FIRST HALF NOTES: The Bisons ended the first half of the season at 38-53. The club is 15 games under the .500 mark for the second time in 2011. The Bisons are 23-23 in games decided by two runs or less and 23-25 at home this year. The team has completed 16 comeback wins and four walk-off victories.

BISONS BITS: Thirty-seven of the Bisons’ remaining 53 games are against IL North division opponents, including the next 28 contests…The Bisons (6-8) are 3.5 games back of Syracuse (11-6) in the 2011 Thruway Cup Series. The Red Wings (8-11) are in third place.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (46-45) made some headlines during the All-Star break by trading RHP FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ to the Brewers with cash for two minor league players to be named. In the All-Star Game, OF CARLOS BELTRAN went 1-2 with a single and a run. The Mets are off tonight and will host the Phillies on Friday.

A trio of home runs, including two by Ryan Lavarnway, helped the Red Sox top starter Dylan Owen and the Bisons, 4-3, Sunday afternoon in the teams’ final games before the All-Star break.

Lavarnway broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a solo homer to deep left field, followed by Hector Luna’s solo shot to center.

Former PawSox outfielder Bubba Bell cut the lead to one in the fifth, stealing second before an RBI single by Jesus Feliciano, hitting in the leadoff spot for the fourth time this season.

Owen later gave up a two-run shot to Lavarnway after a disputed call put Matt Sheely on first with a hit by pitch.

Matt Fox, an International League All-Star, held the Bisons to just two hits over 5 1/3 innings, leaving after hitting Fernando Martinez in the side with a pitch.

Martinez stayed in the game and later scored on a double by Jason Botts against reliever Jason Rice following a Valentino Pascucci single. Luis Herndandez cut the lead to one for his 36th RBI on a sacrifice fly to drive in Pascucci.

Jack Egbert, who missed a start Friday with a rainout, pitched out of the bullpen for the first time as a Bison, replacing Owen for a perfect sixth.

Pawtucket closer Randy Williams allowed the potential tying and winning runs on base on a Zach Lutz single and Martinez walk with two outs in the ninth, but got Pascucci to fly out to right fielder Sheely for the final out.

The Bisons next play Thursday July 14th, hosting Rochester at Coca-Cola Field.

Game Notes: Raul Chavez extended his hit streak to seven games with a leadoff single in the third… The Red Sox swept the two-game set and lead the season series, 6-2… Owen had won his last two starts and hadn’t lost since June 20.