Saturday, June 18, 2011 (7:15 p.m.) – Harbor Park
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (28-41, 6th(-14.0), North)
RHP Josh Stinson (3-6, 6.75)

Norfolk Tides (26-41, 4th(-10.0), South)
RHP Chris Tillman (1-1, 4.11)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Norfolk Tides in the third game of a four-game series from Harbor Park (7:15 p.m.). The series is tied at one after the Herd’s 7-4 win on Thursday night and the Tides 9-0 victory last night. Following tomorrow’s game, Buffalo travels to Durham for four games.

VS. THE TIDES: The Bisons are 1-1 against the Tides. The Herd won last year’s season series 6-2 and has won 10 of its last 13 games against Norfolk. Buffalo has been especially good at Harbor Park with a 36-18 record in 54 games at the Tides’ home (.667 winning percentage).

ON THE BUMP: RHP JOSH STINSON will make his team-high 13th start of the season tonight. The righty is looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses during the team’s most recent homestand. In the three starts before those losses, Stinson was 2-0 with a 2.45ERA. In his last road test, Stinson allowed three runs (2ER) in six innings of a no-decision in Charlotte on June 2.

GONE FISHIN’: INF MICHAEL FISHER brings an 11-game hit streak into tonight’s action. The streak is tied with INF LUIS FIGUEROA for the second-longest for a Bison this season (OF KIRK NIEUWENHUIS, 16 games). Since June 6, Fisher has hit .302 (13-43) with three doubles, four RBI and eight runs scored. Since May 29, Fisher has hit in 17 of 19 games with the Herd.

EVANS ALMIGHTY: INF/OF NICK EVANS reached base four times last night with a single, a double and two walks. He had a five-game hit streak when he was promoted to the Mets on May 18 and will now take a seven-game stretch into tonight’s action. Five of the seven games have been multi-hit as Evans has averaged .462 (12-26) with four doubles and four RBI.

BISONS BITS: INF LUIS FIGUEROA saw his 11-game hit streak come to an end last night. The infielder had averaged .405 (15-27) from June 5-16…INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI has 43RBI in 56 games this season, or six more runs driven in than he had in 72 games with the Herd last season…Bisons’ catchers lead the International League with 30 caught stealings and a 39.5% success rate in throwing out would-be base stealers.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (34-36) lost their second straight with a 4-3 defeat to the Angels. Former Bisons OF ANGEL PAGAN had two hits and two RBI for the Mets. LHP CHRIS CAPUANO allowed just two earned runs in six innings but fell to 5-7 on the year. New York hosts Los Angeles again today at 7:10 p.m.

The Bisons fell to Norfolk, 9-0, after the Tides exploded for seven-runs in the sixth inning of Friday night’s game at Harbor Park.

Bisons starter Mark Cohoon worked through the first five-innings allowing one-run and spreading out three-singles and a couple of walks before he got into trouble in the sixth.

Cohoon gave up a leadoff single to Brandon Snyder and then a quick homerun to Jake Fox to put the Tide ahead, 3-0. It was Fox’s second homerun in triple-A in only his sixth game at this level. Cohoon was pulled from the game following the homerun.

Brian Sweeny came in from the bullpen, and started things off by walking Josh Bell. Sweeny proceeded to give up five-runs on three-hits, after walking two batters and striking out two. He left with runners on second and third.

John Lujan entered the game to face Snyder in his second at-bat of the inning. Lujan gave up a single to Snyder scoring two more runs and giving the Tides an, 8-0, lead. After walking Fox, Lujan got Josh Bell to fly out to center-field.

The Tide added another run in the eighth inning for his third RBI of the game. Fox went two-for-three scoring one run in the process.

The Bisons failed to plate a run in the game, only the fourth time in the 2011 season that they have been kept off the scoreboard. The Herd nearly plated a run in the third inning when Nick Evans was thrown out at home.

In the ninth inning the Bisons loaded the bases with two-outs but Jose Diaz managed to get Luis Hernandez to fly out to close out the game.

Game Notes: Michael Fisher extended his hit streak to 11-games while Luis Figueroa failed to get a hit ending his hit streak at 11-games…It was only the fourth time this season that the Bisons have been kept off the scoreboard…The Bisons are now 6-3 in their last nine games against Tides and go to 36-18 at Harbor Park, the home of the Norfolk Tides…Buffalo Pitching walked eight batters in Friday night’s game.

Friday, June 17, 2011 (7:15 p.m.) – Harbor Park
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, WGR Sportsradio 550AM, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (28-40, T5th(-14.0), North)
LHP Mark Cohoon (1-2, 10.20)

Norfolk Tides (25-41, 4th(-11.0), South)
RHP Rick VandenHurk (3-7, 5.21)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Norfolk Tides in the second game of a four-game series from Harbor Park (7:15 p.m.). The Herd struck first in the series thanks to last night’s 7-4 win to open up an eight-game roadtrip. The Bisons will travel to Durham for four games against the Bulls, June 20-23.

VS. THE TIDES: The Bisons are 1-0 against the Tides this year and have now won 10 of their last 13 games against Norfolk. Buffalo has been especially good at Harbor Park with a 36-17 record in 53 games at the Tides’ home. Dating back to 2009, Buffalo has won six of its last eight games in Norfolk.

ON THE BUMP: LHP MARK COHOON gets the start tonight, his fourth outing with the Bisons. The Triple-A rookie has worked five innings in all three of his starts but has lost his last two games. A week ago tonight, Cohoon allowed six runs in five innings in a 12-6 loss to Indianapolis at Coca-Cola Field. The southpaw was 1-3 with a 3.81ERA in nine starts at Double-A.

HUGE RETURN: INF ZACH LUTZ has been on fire since returning from the disabled list on June 10. The infielder has averaged .417 (10-24) with three doubles, three RBI and four runs scored in six games. In 19 total games this season, Lutz has posted a .419 on-base percentage and a .954 OPS. Lutz missed 44 games with a right hamstring strain and a left ring finger injury.

GET FIGGY WITH IT: INF LUIS FIGUEROA continues to pound the baseball. He reached base three more times last night, including his first home run of the season. Figueroa’s 11-game hit streak includes a .405 batting average (15-27) and 12 walks. On the season, Figueroa has 38 hits and 19 walks in only 33 games, good for a .430 on-base percentage.

BISONS BITS: INF MICHAEL FISHER brings a 10-game hit streak into tonight’s game. The Triple-A rookie has averaged .300 (12-40) since June 6…Last night’s contest was the third start in which INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI reached base in each plate appearance. He was also 2-2 with three walks on May 19 in Indy and 3-3 with two walks on June 1 in Charlotte…The Bisons set season highs with six doubles and seven extra-base hits in last night’s win.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (34-35) lost in 10 innings to the Braves last night, 9-8. New York still took two of three from their division rivals. INF JOSE REYES had three more hits and is now hitting .348 to lead the National League by 13 points. Interleague play returns tonight as the Mets host the Angles at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m.

Thursday, June 16, 2011 (7:15 p.m.) – Harbor Park
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (27-40, 6th(-15.0), North)
RHP Chris Schwinden (3-3, 3.34)

Norfolk Tides (25-40, 4th(-10.0), South)
LHP Chris George (2-3, 4.59)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Norfolk Tides in the first game of a four-game series from Harbor Park (7:15 p.m.). Tonight’s game begins an eight-game roadtrip as the Herd will also travel to Durham, June 20-23. Buffalo is coming off a 1-7 homestand that included a four-game sweep at the hands of the Columbus Clippers.

VS. THE TIDES: Tonight’s contest is the Bisons first game against Norfolk this season. The Herd has fared extremely well in Virginia since returning to the International League in 1998. In 13 seasons, Buffalo has lost just one series at Harbor Park (2004: 2-3). Overall, the Bisons are 35-17 at the Tides’ home ballpark, good for a .673 winning percentage. Dating back to 2009, Buffalo has won five of its last seven games in Norfolk.

SCHWING AND MISS: RHP CHRIS SCHWINDEN will make his 12th start of the season, matching him with RHP JOSH STINSON for the team-high. Schwinden leads the Herd with a 3.34ERA and 50 strikeouts. The righty is winless in his last four starts. He’s coming off a no-decision against Columbus on June 11 where he allowed three earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.

EVANS ALMIGHTY: INF NICK EVANS has returned to the Bisons today. He was designated for assignment by the Mets on June 9 after going hitless in eight games with New York (0-12, 5BB). Evans had a five-game hit streak with the Bisons before his promotion on May 18. To make roster room, INF CHIN-LUNG HU was placed on the disabled list with a left hand contusion.

GET FIGGY WITH IT: INF LUIS FIGUEROA enters tonight’s game on a 10-game hit streak. Since June 5, the infielder has averaged an even .394 (13-33) with nine runs scored. During the streak, Figueroa has also drawn 11 walks and now has 18 free passes to only 11 strikeouts in 32 games with the Herd. Figueroa has posted a .458 on-base percentage when leading off an inning.

BISONS BITS: INF MICHAEL FISHER brings a nine-game hit streak into tonight’s game. The Triple-A rookie has averaged .278 (10-36) since June 6…RHP RYOTA IGARASHI has allowed just one run in his last eight outings (10.1IP).

METS UPDATE: The Mets (34-34) shutout the Braves last night, 4-0, to reach the .500 mark. Former Bisons RHP DILLON GEE tossed four shutout innings before the rains came and forced a two hour and 33-minute delay. OF ANGEL PAGAN hit a two-run homer in the win. New York looks for the sweep tonight at 7:10 p.m.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 (7:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet HD 713
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (27-39, 5th(-14.0), North)
LHP Pat Misch (1-3, 5.89)

Columbus Clippers (43-22, 1st(+5.5), West)
LHP Scott Barnes (4-1, 4.21)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Columbus Clippers in the final game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.).The Bisons need a win tonight to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Clippers. Buffalo is now 1-6 on its eight-game homestand which began with a series loss to Indy. After tomorrow’s off-day, the Bisons travel to Norfolk to face the Tides.

VS. THE CLIPPERS: The Bisons have lost the first three games of the season series with the Clippers. Buffalo won the season series in 2010 with six wins in eight games against Columbus. The Herd won’t travel to Huntington Park until August 20 for the second half of this season series.

DISH ON MISCH: LHP PAT MISCH is coming off his best outing of the season. The southpaw allowed one run on eight hits in seven innings to Indianapolis on Thursday afternoon. Misch will be making his 20th career appearance at Coca-Cola Field tonight. He is a career 8-4 with a 3.50ERA and 81 strikeouts in 115.2 innings in downtown Buffalo.

GET FIGGY WITH IT: INF LUIS FIGUEROA enters tonight’s game on a nine-game hit streak. Since June 5, the infielder has averaged an even .400 (12-30) with nine runs scored. Tonight, Figueroa can become the second Bison to reach a 10-game hit streak this season. OF KIRK NIEUWENHUIS had a 16-game stretch from April 11-26.

LUIS, LUIS: INF LUIS HERNANDEZ had a pair of hits and his sixth double of the season last night. The infielder has four multi-hit efforts in his last six games. On the season, Hernandez has 10 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI performances. He drove in five runs on Thursday against Indy.

BISONS BITS: INF MICHAEL FISHER brings an eight-game hit streak into tonight’s game. The Triple-A rookie has averaged .290 (9-31) since June 6…RHP RYOTA IGARASHI has allowed just one run in his last seven appearances and 9.1 innings of work…The last time the Bisons were swept in a four-game series was June 23-27, 2010 in Toledo..OF JASON BOTTS hit his first home run as a Bison in last night’s loss.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (32-34) failed to reach the .500-mark because of a 3-1 loss to the Pirates last night. New York was held to four singles with former Bisons INF DANIEL MURPHY collecting two of them. RHP MIKE PELFREY allowed just two runs in seven innings but took the loss. The Mets face the Braves tonight at 7:10pm.