Buffalo Bisons (13-19, 5th(-6.0), North) – RHP D.J. Carrasco (0-1, 6.00)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (18-12, 1st(+0.5), North) – RHP Andrew Brackman (2-1, 5.19)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 (7:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field

 TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13         Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in the second game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). The Herd has lost three straight games, including a 6-2 decision last night in the series opener with the Yankees. The Bisons split a four-game series split with the Louisville Bats to begin this homestand.

VS. YANKEES: The Bisons are 1-3 against the Yankees this season. After beginning the season series with a 4-0 win over the Yankees on April 13 at PNC Field, the Herd has lost a three straight to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yanks are 14-6 in their last 20 games here at Coca-Cola Field.

HEY MR D.J.: RHP D.J. CARRASCO will make his third start with the Bisons tonight. The righty is still getting lengthened out after pitching primary out of the bullpen for the Mets to begin the year. Carrasco worked a season-high five innings in a no-decision to Louisville on Thursday. In that outing, he allowed three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

ON THE MEND: RHP BOBBY PARNELL has joined the Bisons as part of his major league rehab assignment. The righty was placed on the disabled list by the Mets on April 21 with numbness in the middle finger of his right hand. Parnell pitched a scoreless inning last night with a walk for Single-A St. Lucie of the Florida St. League.

NOTHING NEIU: INF LUIS HERNANDEZ brings a six-game hit streak into action tonight. Hernandez has hit .350 (7-30) with two doubles and three runs scored since May 3. It’s the infielder’s second, six-game hit streak of the season. Hernandez also hit in six straight, April 21(2)-26 (.364, 8-22)

BISONS BITS: The Bisons hit into a season-high four doubleplays last night. The Herd has hit 10 twin-killings in six games this homestand and a league-worst 30 this season…Going 0-4 last night, KIRK NIEUWENHUIS failed to reach base for only the second time this season…INF RUBEN TEJADA has started all 32 Bisons games this year…OF RHP CHRIS SCHWINDEN ranks fifth-best in the International League with a 2.00ERA.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (15-20) lost to the Rockies, 2-1, last night from Colorado.  Former Bison INF IKE DAVIS had two of New York’s five hits and is now averaging .299 this season. LHP  CHRIS CAPUANO fell to 2-4 after allowing two runs in 6.2 innings of work. Mets face the Rockies again tonight at 8:40 p.m.

For the second time this season, the Bisons saw how Jorge Vazquez can control a game with not one, but two swings of the bat.

The Yankees first baseman hit a pair of home runs -his second multi-homer game against the Herd in 2011- in a 6-2 victory over Buffalo on Monday night from Coca-Cola Field. Both blasts were solo shots off Bisons newcomer Brian Sweeney in his first start with the club.

Sweeney breezed through the first inning with a pair of strikeouts. But Vazquez greeted the 36-year old righty with a deep drive to left-centerfield in the second inning to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the early advantage.

Then with two outs in the third inning, Vazquez hit another home run, his 11th of the season, to straight away centerfield. This blast cleared the old centerfield wall and gave the Yankees a 4-0 edge.

Vazquez homered twice and drove in three runs in another 6-2 win over the Bisons, this one on April 14 at PNC Field.

Justin Maxwell followed Vazquez’s second blast with his league-leading 12th home run of the season for a 5-0 lead.

To his credit, Sweeney battled through the end of his six innings of work. The righty had eight strikeouts and retired nine of the last 11 he faced. Sweeney was pitching in his first game since an April 29 start for the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League.

Buffalo scored solo runs in the third and seventh inning and brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. With the bases loaded, Mike Nickeas hit into a 1-2-3 game-ending doubleplay.

BISONS NOTES:Dale Thayer pitched two perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts…Fernando Martinez hit a solo home run in the seventh inning for his second longball of the year…Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 0-4, failing to reach base for only the second time this year.

TO SUM IT UP: Jorge Vazquez and Justin Maxwell combined to hit three homers for Scranton/WB against Bisons starter Brian Sweeney in a 6-2 series opening win for the Yankees… Sweeney, signed on Friday by the Mets, struckout eight in his first outing over six innings.

FAST FACTS: Brian Sweeney became the Bisons 10th different starter in the first 32 games… Kirk Nieuwenhuis failed to reach base for just the second time this season (32 games), of which he has hit in 26 games… Fernando Martinez belted a leadoff HR(2) in t he seventh, one of two hits… 18 of the Bisons 23 HR this season have been solo shots, the other 5 HRs have been 2-run long balls… Salomon Manriquez collected his first multi-hit game with a 2-3 performance… Luis Hernandez third inning single extended a personal best hit-streak to 6-straight games (7-20)… Since going 9-19 over the span of 4-games, Ruben Tejada is 0 for his last 12 at-bats, lowering his average from .301 to .274…

Buffalo	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Tejada, SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.274
Feliciano, J, LF	3	0	1	0	1	0	1	.256
Nieuwenhuis, CF	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.304
Martinez, F, RF	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.283
Evans, N, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	0	2	.214
Nickeas, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.059
Hernandez, Lu, 2B	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	.198
Pascucci, DH	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	.193
Manriquez, S, 1B	3	0	2	1	0	0	1	.346
Totals	30	2	6	2	3	3	16
BATTING HR: Martinez, F (2, 7th inning off Mitchell, D., 0 on, 0 out). TB: Feliciano, J; Martinez, F 5; Hernandez, Lu; Manriquez, S 2. RBI: Manriquez, S (2), Martinez, F (6). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Evans, N. GIDP: Nickeas 2; Tejada. Team RISP: 1-for-4. Team LOB: 4. Buffalo IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Sweeney (L, 0-1) 6.0 7 5 4 0 8 3 6.00 Thayer, D 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.29 Acosta 1.0 1 1 1 3 1 0 3.09

Monday, May 9, 2011 (7:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (13-18, 5th(-5.0), North)
RHP Brian Sweeney (NR)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (17-12, 1st(+0.5), North)
RHP D.J. Mitchell (0-2, 2.82)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in the first game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). The Herd is coming off a four-game series split with the Louisville Bats were Buffalo won the first two games but dropped a pair over the weekend. The Bisons have now split the first five series they’ve played at Coca-Cola Field.

VS. YANKEES: The Bisons are 1-2 against the Yankees this season. The Herd lost a three-game set at PNC Field, April 13-15. Buffalo has struggled here at home against the IL North rival of late. The Bisons haven’t won a series at Coca-Cola Field over the Yanks since earning a three-game sweep, June 27-29, 2008. Since then, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is 13-6 in its last 19 games in Buffalo.

NEW STARTER: RHP BRIAN SWEENEY will make his Bisons debut tonight. The 36-year old was signed by the Mets on Friday after opening the season with independent Somerset. Sweeney was the Patriots’ Opening Day starter and earned the win with eight strikeouts over seven innings. Sweeney split the 2010 season between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma after pitching for three seasons in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters.

NOTHING NEIU: OF KIRK NIEUWENHUIS has reached base in 30 of the Bisons 31 games. The outfielder sports a .420 on-base percentage that is the sixth-best in the International League. The only game he failed to reach base was an 0-4 performance on April 27 in Rochester that ended his 16-game hit streak. Nieuwenhuis is also tied for the most doubles in the IL with 12.

ROSTER MOVE: Just prior to yesterday’s game, the Mets selected the contract of LHP PAT MISCH. This is the southpaw’s second promotion to New York. In four total starts with the Herd this year, Misch is 0-2 with a 6.46ERA with 11 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work.

BISONS BITS: RHP BRIAN SWEENEY will be the 10th different starting pitcher used by the Bisons this year in 32 games…INF LUIS HERNANDEZ has hit .353 (6-17) over a five-game hit streak….RHP CHRIS SCHWINDEN ranks fifth-best in the International League with a 2.00ERA.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (15-19) lost to the Dodgers by a 4-2 score yesterday. Former Bison C RONNY PAULINO has two more hits and an RBI to raise his season average to .474. INF JOSE REYES hit his N.L.-leading sixth triple in the loss. New York begins a six-game roadtrip with an 8:40 p.m. start in Colorado tonight.

Louisville starter Matt Maloney had it all working on Sunday afternoon against the Bisons…on the mound and at the plate.

The Bats’ southpaw pitched seven shutout innings -and had three hits- in an 8-0 victory over the Bisons on Sunday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field. Todd Frazier added three big hits of his own as Louisville earned a split of the four-game series.

Maloney made the big pitches when he needed to. The Bisons put the lead off runner on in four of the first five innings, but the southpaw got three groundball doubleplays to end any early threat. Maloney then retired the final nine batters he faced, four via the strikeout.

Todd Frazier provided all the offense that Maloney and the Bats would need with a pair of home runs. The third baseman led off the second inning with a blast to left field off Herd starter Casey Fossum. He then took reliever Justin Hampson to deep right centerfield with an opposite field two-run shot.

In the ninth, Frazier also doubled home a run and scored for a third time to seal the victory.

Buffalo had just five hits in the loss. Fossum had one of them, his second hit of the year.

The Bisons will welcome in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Monday for a four-game series at Coca-Cola Field.