Tuesday, July 5, 2011 (7:00 p.m.) – Alliance Bank Stadium
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (36-50, 5th(-14.0), North)
RHP Dylan Owen (3-4, 4.39)

Syracuse Chiefs (37-45, 4th(-11.0), North)
RHP Chad Gaudin (0-0, 3.18)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Syracuse Chiefs in the second game of a two-game set at Alliance Bank Stadium (7:00 p.m.). The Bisons need a victory tonight to split the series after the Chiefs’ 4-2 win last night. Tomorrow, the Herd opens a three-game set in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before closing out the first half of the season with two games in Pawtucket.

VS. THE CHIEFS: The Bisons are just 1-4 against the Chiefs this season. The club’s lone victory was a 3-2 win in 13 innings on April 8 back at Coca-Cola Field. Buffalo has dropped three straight to Syracuse and is now just 11-25 against the Chiefs since the 2009 season.

DEALIN’ DYLAN: RHP DYLAN OWEN will make his 10th start of the season tonight. The righty has not allowed more than four runs in a start all season and has allowed two runs or less in seven of his last eight outings. Owen struck out five in a six innings last Thursday to defeat Lehigh Valley. As a starter, Owen has posted a 3.48ERA and 36 strike outs in 44.0 innings of work.

LUIS, LUIS: INF LUIS HERNANDEZ drove in both Bisons’ runs yesterday with a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning. The infielder has four hits in nine at-bats against Syracuse this year, with a double, a triple and three RBI. As a Bison, Hernandez has averaged .343 (12-35) with three triples and seven RBI in nine games against the Chiefs over the past season and a half.

LUTZ RETURNS: INF ZACH LUTZ returned from the disabled list yesterday after missing nine games with a concussion. The third baseman hit .340 (17-50) in 14 games in June with three home runs and eight RBI. Lutz also missed 44 games with a right hamstring injury and a left middle finger injury this year.

BISONS BITS: The Bisons have yet to win a road series this season…OF BUBBA BELL has averaged .357 (15-42) over his last 15 games with four doubles, a home run and seven RBI…After posting a 5.15ERA in June, Bisons starters have a 1.84ERA in their first four July starts…The Bisons are just 13-25 on the road this season (.342 winning percentage).

METS UPDATE: The Mets opened up their West Coast swing whit a 5-2 win over the Dodgers last night. LHP CHRIS CAPUANO earned his eighth win on the year with six innings of two run ball. Five different Mets drove in runs and former Bisons OF ANGEL PAGAN had two doubles. The Mets face the Dodgers tonight at 10:10 p.m.

The Bisons rallied to tie the game in the seventh, but back-to-back Corey Brown and Michael Aubrey home runs reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the frame on the way to a 4-2 Syracuse Independence Day win at Alliance Bank Stadium.

Dale Thayer, who allowed the homers, thought he struck out Brown on a called ball. Home plate umpire Jeff Gosney ejected manager Tim Teufel for arguing the call after the first blast.

Yunesky Maya shut out the Bisons for six innings, but allowed the Herd to load the bases in the seventh, setting the table for Luis Hernandez’ tying pinch-hit two-run single.

After Matt Antonelli moved Steve Lombardozzi from first to third with a double, Jesus Valdez took a 1-0 lead off of starter Pat Misch on a sacrifice fly. Lombardozzi, the leadoff hitter, went 3-for-4.

Over six complete innings, Misch allowed one (two earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Maya allowed his two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking three.

Zech Zinicola struck out former Chief Jason Botts for the final out as part of his first Triple-A save.

Valentino Pascucci went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.

Game Notes: The game took a brisk 2:30 with a starting temperature of 82˚… The Bisons won, 10-2, at Syracuse last Independence Day… Thayer hadn’t allowed a run in four outings since June 25th… The Bisons have dropped four in a row, including the last three against Syracuse.

Monday, July 4, 2011 (6:30 p.m.) – Alliance Bank Stadium
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (36-49, 5th(-14.0), North)
LHP Pat Misch (3-4, 5.34)

Syracuse Chiefs (36-45, 4th(-12.0), North)
RHP Yunesky Maya (1-5, 4.42)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Syracuse Chiefs in the first game of a two-game set at Alliance Bank Stadium (6:30 p.m.). Tonight’s game starts a seven-game roadtrip for the Herd that will take it right to this season’s All-Star Break. Buffalo is coming off a 6-4 homestand, but has lost the last three games.

VS. THE CHIEFS: The Bisons are 1-3 against the Chiefs this season. After splitting a two-game set in Buffalo, April 7-8, Syracuse won a pair of games over the Herd this weekend. The Bisons are 54-52 all time at Alliance Bank Stadium but are just 5-11 over the past two seasons in Syracuse.

THE DISCH: LHP PAT MISCH gets the ball for the 11th time this season. The southpaw struck out a season-high eight last Wednesday in a victory over the IronPigs. Misch has won two straight decisions and is 3-1 with a 3.86ERA in his last five starts. Last season, Misch was 2-0 with a 0.56ERA in two starts against the Chiefs, including a complete-game win on July 7 in Syracuse (5H, 0ER, 6K).

BELL RINGER: In his last 14 games, OF BUBBA BELL has averaged .368 (14-38) with three doubles, a home run, seven RBI and six runs scored. Bell collected his first Bisons’ home run last night with a solo shot in the second inning. On the season, Bell is hitting .310 (9-29) with runners in scoring position.

BOTTS RETURNS: OF JASON BOTTS returns to Syracuse for the first time since playing 80 games with the Chiefs last season. The slugger enjoyed his time at Alliance Bank Stadium last year, averaging .325 (41-126) with a .390 on-base percentage and an .859 OPS in 39 home games with Syracuse. Botts went 1-4 with a double and a run scored against his former team this past weekend.

BISONS BITS: The Bisons have yet to win a road series this season…After today’s game, the only teams the Herd has yet to face on the road this season are Columbus and Toledo…Buffalo defeated the Chiefs, 10-2, at Alliance Bank Stadium on July 4 of last season. INF LUIS HERNANDEZ (3-4, R, 3B, 2RBI) is the only current Bison that played in that game.

METS UPDATE: OF JASON BAY’S RBI-single in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Mets (42-42) to a 3-2 win over the Yankees. Former Bisons INF DANIEL MURPHY had three hits and drove in his 34th run of the season. New York takes to the road and faces the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at 9:10 p.m.

Each of the first six Syracuse batters in the seventh inning scored as the Chiefs batted around and pulled away for a 10-4 win over the Bisons Sunday night during the KeyBank Independence Eve Celebration at Coca-Cola Field.

Corey Brown cleared the loaded bases with a double before pinch hitter Jeff Frazier brought him in with a two-run home run against reliever Taylor Tankersley.

A crowd of 17,454 took in the game before a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert and fireworks show. In its history, the event has drawn in 317,519 fans.

“It was a great crowd tonight: a lot of enthusiasm,” right fielder Bubba Bell said. “It’s always easier to get up for a game when there’s a crowd like that in the house.”

Jack Egbert left his third Buffalo start with the score tied, bases loaded and two outs in the third after 65 pitches. Reliever Mike O’Connor held the runners and the tie, working a Corey Brown groundout.

Syracuse starter Craig Stammen (8-3, 4.19) took the win, allowing three earned runs on eight hits.

In the bottom of the first, Michael Fisher sliced a 2-0 lead in half with an RBI double, scoring Luis Figueroa. Bell tied the game with a solo homer, his first as a Bison, the next inning.

“It’s always nice to get that first one under your belt (with) sporadic at-bats,” Bell said. “It’s really hard to see this time of day. When the game started there’s a lot of sun in the background and it’s all shadows from the mound to home, so I was really just thinking stay soft and in the middle.'”

Figueroa, who went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, pulled the Herd temporarily ahead with a two-out single in the fourth.

O’Connor shut out the Chiefs in the fourth and fifth, but took the loss and allowed the tying and go-ahead run in the sixth on three hits, including Steve Lombardozzi’s second double of the game.

“For a couple innings, he looked good out there,” manager Tim Teufel said of O’Connor. “He couldn’t finish his outing… Overall, we just didn’t hit our spots tonight.”

Over three innings, O’Connor struck out three before Taylor Tankersley took over to finish the sixth.

Game Notes: Egbert returned to Triple-A in June after missing 191 games with “Tommy John” surgery…The Bisons have lost five straight Independence Eve games and are 6-11 in the game.. Fisher went 2-for-4, his 13th multi-hit game of the season.

 

Sunday, July 3, 2011 (6:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet HD 713        
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (36-48, 5th(-13.0), North)
RHP Jack Egbert (0-2, 5.79)

Syracuse Chiefs (35-45, 4th(-12.0), North)
RHP Craig Stammen (7-3, 4.16)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Syracuse Chiefs in the second game of a two-game series at Coca-Cola Field (6:05 p.m.). The Bisons need a win today to split the series after the Chiefs won 6-5 last night. The Herd is 6-3 on this 10-game homestand than ends tonight. Buffalo’s seven remaining games before the All-Star break will be on the road.

VS. THE CHIEFS: The Bisons are 1-2 against the Chiefs. The teams split a two-game series in Buffalo, April 7-8; the first series of the 2011 season. Thirteen of the Bisons’ remaining 60 games this season are against Syracuse (21.7%).

TAKES THE BALL: RHP JACK EGBERT makes his third start with the Bisons tonight. The veteran righty missed 191 games on the club’s disabled list after needing ‘Tommy John’ surgery prior to the 2010 season. In his Coca-Cola Field debut on Wednesday, Egbert allowed three runs in five innings in a loss.

EVANS ALMIGHTY: INF NICK EVANS has 12 multi-hit performances in 17 games since returning to the Bisons from a month-long stint with the Mets. The infielder has hit .486 (17-35) in nine games this homestand and now has the minimum plate appearances for his .329 batting average to qualify as the 5th-best in the International League. Evans’ 26 multi-hit games are 12 more than any other Bisons hitter.

BPO NIGHT: Tonight is the Bisons 17th annual KeyBank Independence Eve Celebration with a post game concert by the Buffalo. The only time they hosted Syracuse on July 3 was during the 2004 season when the Herd rallied from seven runs down to win, 9-8. However, the Bisons have lost their last four Independence Eve Celebrations and are just 6-10 since the event began in 1995.

BISONS BITS: After tonight’s game, only 24 of the Bisons remaining 59 games are at Coca-Cola Field…The Bisons have lost two straight home contests in the game’ last at-bat after starting the year 5-0 at Coca-Cola Field in last at-bat games…A total of 300,065 have attended the team’s July 3rd event since 1995.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (41-42) were defeated 5-2 last night by the cross-town rival Yankees. Former Bisons RHP DILLON GEE lost his second straight after allowing four runs in seven innings. OF LUCAS DUDA finished the game 2-4 with a double and an RBI. The Mets host the Yankees for the series final at today at 1:10 p.m.