Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the Bisons rotation was tabbed as the strength of this year’s club. In their second homestand at Coca-Cola Field, the Herd pitchers are delivering on those expectations.

Josh Stinson allowed just two hits in five innings of work as the Bisons topped the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 4-2, on Friday night from downtown Buffalo. Jose De La Torre and Manny Acosta closed out the Herd’s third straight victory.

The Bisons pitching staff has posted a 1.58ERA in the first five games of this homestand, allowing just 26 hits in 40 innings of work.

Stinson kept the solid work going with a gem against the rival IronPigs. The righty allowed just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Lehigh Valley got a run in the second inning, but never really threatened to score more. The I-Pigs did have two runners on base with two outs in the fifth, but Stinson retired pinch hitter Matt Miller on a fly ball to left.

De La Torre allowed a run in three innings of relief work before Acosta pitched the ninth inning for his first save of the season.

The Bisons had plenty of chances to score with runners in every inning. They left 12 men on base, but cashed in four runs. Lucas Duda hit a sacrifice fly and Ronny Paulino singled home Kirk Nieuwenhuis to give the Herd a 2-0 lead in the first.

Nick Evans singled home a third run in the fourth inning and Luis Hernandez cashed in Russ Adams for some insurance in the seventh.

TO SUM IT UP:  Josh Stinson allowed just two hits in five innings of work as the Bisons topped the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 4-2, on Friday night… The righty allowed just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts… Jose De La Torre and Manny Acosta closed out the Herd’s third straight victory… The Bisons had plenty of chances to score with runners in every inning, leaving 12 men on base, but cashed in four runs… Lucas Duda and Ronny Paulino gave the Herd a 2-0 lead in the first… Nick Evans singled home a third run in the fourth inning and Luis Hernandez cashed in insurance in the seventh.

Buffalo	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Tejada, SS	4	1	2	0	1	0	0	.273
Nieuwenhuis, CF	2	2	1	0	3	1	1	.346
Evans, N, LF	5	0	2	1	0	0	6	.211
Duda, RF	3	0	0	1	1	0	5	.171
Paulino, R, C	3	0	2	1	0	1	2	.222
Chavez, R, C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.071
Adams, R, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	.176
Pascucci, 1B	2	0	0	0	2	1	3	.143
Hernandez, Lu, 2B	4	0	2	1	0	1	2	.125
Stinson, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	.000
a-Manriquez, S, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.250
De La Torre, P	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Acosta, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	31	4	10	4	8	7	23
a-Struck out for Stinson in the 5th.
BATTING 2B: Nieuwenhuis (5, Bass), Tejada (2, Stutes). TB: Tejada 3; Nieuwenhuis 2; Evans, N 2; Paulino, R 2; Adams, R; Hernandez, Lu 2. RBI: Duda (2), Paulino, R (1), Evans, N (9), Hernandez, Lu (1). 2-out RBI: Paulino, R; Evans, N; Hernandez, Lu. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Pascucci; Duda 3; Paulino, R. SF: Duda. GIDP: Adams, R. Team RISP: 3-for-11. Team LOB: 12.

Buffalo	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Stinson (W, 1-1)	5.0	2	1	1	1	2	0	7.00
De La Torre (H, 1)	3.0	2	1	1	0	4	0	0.93
Acosta (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1.59

FAST FACTS: Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 1-1 with a single and three walks. The outfielder extended his hit streak to an International League-best 12 games…The Bisons pitching staff has posted a 1.58ERA in the first five games of this homestand, allowing just 26 hits in 40 innings of work… IronPigs manager Ryne Sandberg and shortstop Jeff Frandsen were ejected in the fourth inning after Frandsen took exception to a tag applied to him by Stinson… The game was delayed by 39 minutes at the start due to the threat of weather…

 WHAT’S NEXT: The Bisons will play game 2-of-4 Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Pat Misch returns to the rotation after beign designated for assignment by the Mets last Saturday.  The Bisons homestand continues Sunday at 1 p.m. and concludes at 12 p.m. on Monday.

Friday, April 22, 2011 (6:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (6-9, 6th(-3.5), North)
RHP Josh Stinson (0-1, 13.50)

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (7-7, 3rd(-2.0), North)
RHP Brian Bass (0-0, 4.50)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the first game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (6:05 p.m.). The Herd is coming off a split of a four-game set with the Red Wings that included doubleheader sweeps by both teams. After Monday, the Bisons will leave for an eight-game roadtrip to Rochester and Lehigh Valley.

VS. IRONPIGS: Today’s contest is first between the Bisons and IronPigs this season. The Herd won the season series last year, 10-6, including a 5-3 mark at Coca-Cola Field. The two clubs have split the first 48 games evenly since Lehigh Valley came into existence in 2008.

TODAY’S STARTER: RHP JOSH STINSON will make his 2011 Coca-Cola Field debut tonight. The righty was promoted from Double-A Binghamton on Sunday and lost his first start with Buffalo this year. Stinson allowed six runs in four innings in a defeat in Pawtucket. Last year, Stinson was 2-2 with a 2.57ERA in four last-season starts with the Herd.

GOING STREAKIN’: OF KIRK NIEUWENHUIS has the longest hit streak in the International League this season. The outfielder collected a hit in each game yesterday and now takes an 11-game hit streak into tonight’s matchup. Since April 11, Nieuwenhuis has hit .395 (15-38) with a home run and three RBI. He has also reached base safely in all 15 games this season, tops in the IL.

WALK-OFF WINNER: INF NICK EVANS clubbed his second walk-off home run as a Bison in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader. Evans also won a game on April 12, 2009 in the 15th inning with a two-run shot against Pawtucket. Evans’s two-homer performance in game one was also the second time he accomplished the feat with Buffalo (April 16, 2009 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).

LET’S TAKE TWO: The Bisons completed a doubleheader sweep of the Rochester Red Wings yesterday. It was the Herd’s first sweep since July 18, 2009 against Toledo. The sweep gave Buffalo a split of their four-game series with Rochester. The Bisons have split their first three series at Coca-Cola Field this season.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (6-13) pounded the Astros last night, 9-1 from Citi Field. Former Bisons C MIKE NICKEAS hit his first major league home run while INF DAVID WRIGHT and INF IKE DAVIS also went yard. New York opens a three-game series with the Diamondbacks tonight at 7:10 p.m.

The Bisons were on the brink of being a victim of history on Thursday afternoon. Instead, they picked up two huge wins against their closest rival.

No-hit for the first six innings of a game one doubleheader, the Bisons roared back for a pair of victories over Rochester in their last at-bats. Nick Evans sent the Herd to a 4-2 walk-off win with a home run in the 10th inning of game one before Ruben Tejada’s sixth-inning double snapped a 1-1 tie in a 4-1 game two triumph.

The victories snapped a six-game losing streak for Buffalo and exacted some revenge on a Red Wings club that swept a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Field on Tuesday.

The afternoon didn’t start out well for the Herd as Rochester starter Kyle Gibson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of game one. The Bisons only had two base runners in the first six frames, both reaching on an error.

But the Bisons bats swung momentum in their favor with the long ball. Kirk Nieuwenhuis broke up the no-no bid with a solo home run to left field to lead off the seventh. That knocked Gibson from the game.

Rochester took the 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth, but Evans blasted a home run to left field to extend the contest further. The next time the Bisons first baseman came up, he hit a two-run shot off Kyle Waldrop in the 10th inning to give Buffalo the 4-2 win.

Ruben Tejada provided the Bisons offense in game two. He homered in the second inning to give the Bisons the early lead and plated two more with a double in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. Raul Chavez added a sac fly in the sixth for a 4-1 lead.

BISONS NOTES: Evans’s walk-off home run in the first game was his second in a Bisons uniform. Evans hit a two-run walk-off in the 15th inning of a 4-2 victory over Pawtucket on April 12, 2009…Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit in each game to extend his hit streak to 11-games. It’s the longest active streak in the International League…Casey Fossum allowed just an unearned run in 6.1 innings of work in the first game but did not earn a decision…Ronny Paulino joined the Bisons on a major league rehab assignment. The Mets catcher combined to go 0-6 with a walk in the two games…The lone no-hitter in Coca-Cola Field history was thrown by Buffalo’s Bartolo Colon on June 20, 1997.

TO SUM IT UP: No-hit for the first six innings of a game one doubleheader, the Bisons roared back for a pair of victories over Rochester in their last at-bats. Nick Evans sent the Herd to a 4-2 walk-off win with a home run in the 10th inning of game one before Ruben Tejada’s sixth-inning double snapped a 1-1 tie in a 4-1 game two triumph.

GAME 1 – Evans’ blast wins it for Bisons

GAME 2 – Tejada comes through in clutch

POSTGAME REACTION: Ronnie Paulio’s reaction following his two games of action

FAST FACTS:  The victories snapped a six-game losing streak for Buffalo and exacted some revenge on a Red Wings club that swept a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Field on Tuesday…The afternoon didn’t start out well for the Herd as Rochester starter Kyle Gibson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of game one. The Bisons only had two base runners in the first six frames, both reaching on an error… Ruben Tejada provided the Bisons offense in game two… He homered in the second inning to give the Bisons the early lead and plated two more with a double in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 1-1 tie… Evans’s walk-off home run in the first game was his second in a Bisons uniform. Evans hit a two-run walk-off in the 15th inning of a 4-2 victory over Pawtucket on April 12, 2009…Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit in each game to extend his hit streak to 11-games. It’s the longest active streak in the International League…Ronny Paulino joined the Bisons on a major league rehab assignment. The Mets catcher combined to go 0-6 with a walk in the two games…The lone no-hitter in Coca-Cola Field history was thrown by Buffalo’s Bartolo Colon on June 20, 1997.