The Bisons got some bad news on Thursday afternoon and things didn’t get any better at night.

Buffalo dropped a 6-2 decision to the Yankees in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre just a few hours after learning that starting pitcher Boof Bonser would be lost for the year with an arm injury.

Bonser left his Bisons debut on Sunday after just 3.2 innings of work with what appeared to be a right forearm injury. Further tests reveled what became evident on Thursday; Bonser would need Tommy John surgery and would not pitch again in 2011.

Without Bonser, the Bisons failed in their attempt at a third straight win on Thursday night in Moosic, PA. Third baseman Jorge Vazquez homered in back-to-back innings as the Yankees build an early lead against Herd starter, Dylan Owen.

Vazquez’s fourth home run of the year led off the second inning and erased an early 1-0 Bisons’ advantage. In the third, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took a 2-1 lead before Vazquez took Owen deep again with a runner on base.

A 4-1 lead became 6-1 in the sixth inning when Doug Bernier tripled home two off reliever Manny Alvarez.

Buffalo did have hits and base runners. The Herd left 12 men on base and went 0-11 with runners in scoring position. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Justin Turner had RBI-doubles in the second and eighth innings respectively to account for Buffalo’s two runs.

BISONS NOTES: Zach Lutz went 2-4 with a walk and a runs scored. He has hit in four straight with three multi-hit games…The Bisons struck out a season-high 14 times…Justin Hampson pitched two innings of shutout relief for Buffalo.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (4-3) 6, Buffalo Bisons (4-4) 2 April 14, 2011

TO SUM IT UP: Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ RBI double gave the Bisons and early 1-0 but Jorge Vazquez a pair of long balss, a game-tying HR to erase the deficit for Scranton/WB and to build a 4-1 lead, en route to the Yanks 6-2 win… The win puts the series at a game a piece, heading into the finale Friday.

 FAST FACTS: Before the game, the New York Mets announced RHP BOOF BONSER will have ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, or “Tommy John surgery,” next week and with the injury, Bonser will miss the remainder of the 2011 season… Both clubs used spots starters for the game – Dylan Owen for Buffalo, Amaury Sanit for Scranton…The 5, 6, 7 hitters (Lutz, Nieuwenhuis, Turner) all had multi-hit performances… Lutz went 2-4 with a walk and a runs scored. He has hit in four straight with three multi-hit games… Nieuwenhuis’ RBI double extended his hit streak to 4-striaght games… Dusty Ryan doubled to picked up his first hit with the Herd… The Bisons struck out a season-high 14 times, each batter was punched out at least once… Justin Hampson pitched two innings of shutout relief for Buffalo.

Buffalo	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Pridie, LF	4	0	0	0	1	1	6	.216
Adams, R, DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.188
Evans, N, 1B	5	0	0	0	0	2	2	.185
Duda, RF	3	0	1	0	2	2	2	.188
Lutz, 3B	4	1	2	0	1	1	2	.333
Nieuwenhuis, CF	4	1	2	1	0	2	4	.269
Turner, 2B	3	0	2	1	1	1	0	.310
Tejada, SS	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	.321
Ryan, D, C	4	0	1	0	0	3	5	.125
Totals	33	2	8	2	6	14	23

Buffalo	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Owen (L, 0-1)	3.0	5	4	4	0	4	2	12.46
Hampson	2.0	2	0	0	1	2	0	2.45
Alvarez, Ma	2.0	3	2	2	1	0	0	9.64
Tankersley	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
BATTING 2B: Nieuwenhuis (2, Sanit), Turner 2 (2, Schmidt, Wordekemper), Ryan, D (1, Carlyle). TB: Duda; Lutz 2; Nieuwenhuis 3; Turner 4; Ryan, D 2. RBI: Nieuwenhuis (3), Turner (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Duda; Pridie 4; Nieuwenhuis 2. SAC: Tejada. GIDP: Pridie. Team RISP: 0-for-11. Team LOB: 12

 WHAT’S NEXT: The rubber game of the series is Friday night at 6:35 p.m.

Thursday, April 14, 2011 (6:35 p.m.) – PNC Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (4-3, T1st, North)
RHP Dylan Owen (0-0, 13.25)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (3-3, T3rd(-0.5), North)
RHP Amaury Sanit (1-0, 2.70)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in the second game of a three-game set from PNC Field (6:35 p.m.). The Herd struck first in the series with a 4-0 victory on Wednesday night. This series is part of a five-game road swing for the Bisons as they will travel to Pawtucket for a two-game weekend series with the Red Sox.

VS. YANKEES: The Bisons picked up the 4-0 win in the first game of their season-series with the Yankees. The Herd has found some good success at PNC Field recently. Since the end of the 2009 season, Buffalo is 8-3 in their last 11 games in the shadows of Montage Mountain.

SMALL BALL: The Bisons used 11 singles and one double to score their four runs in last night’s victory. The only extra-base hit was OF LUCAS DUDA’S seventh-inning double. OF JASON PRIDIE and INF JUSTIN TURNER each had three singles in the game, while INF RUBEN TEJADA used a pair of hits to increase his team-high average to .346.

BULLY FOR THE PEN: The Bisons bullpen received a boost yesterday with the activation of RHP MANNY ACOSTA. Acosta delivered a shutout inning of relief last night in his 2011 debut. The righty split 2010 between the Herd and the Mets and was 2-3 with a 3.47ERA and 5 saves in 28 games with Buffalo.

STARTING RIGHT: Bisons starters did not earn a victory through the first trip through the rotation this season. Two games into the second go-around and Bisons starters are 2-0 with a 0.66ERA. RHP DILLON GEE allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings to Pawtucket on Tuesday night. RHP JENRRY MEJIA yielded just four hits in 6.2 shutout innings last night. Tonight’s starter, LHP PAT MISCH, led the Bisons in 2010 with 14 quality starts.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (4-7) fell to the Rockies by a 5-4 score last night. New York held a 3-1 lead before Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run homer in the 5th inning. The Mets are hosting the Rockies for a doubleheader this afternoon. RHP R.A. DICKEY and LHP CHRIS CAPUANO will pitch for the Mets.

The Bisons earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season, thanks to a second dominating start from their top prospect.

Jenrry Mejia delivered 6.2 shutout innings of work to propel the Herd to a 4-0 victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the club’s first road test of the season. Mejia struck out five and allowed just three hits as the Bisons improved to 4-3 on the young season.

Buffalo had alternated wins and losses over the first six games of the season. Follow Tuesday night’s 8-1 win over Pawtucket, the club had yet another chance to get over the .500 mark for the first time in 2011. Mejia delivered that victory on Wednesday at PNC Field.

Mejia shutdown the league’s highest scoring offense in the Yankees. He retired 10 in a row at one point and yielded just a double and a pair of singles. With his season-opening no-decision last Friday against Syracuse, Mejia has now started the year with 12.2 scoreless innings.

The Bisons offense also built off their eight-run outburst the night before with 12 more hits on Wednesday. Lucas Duda produced the game’s only run on a fielder’s choice after back-to-back singles from Jason Pridie and Russ Adams.

Three insurance runs came in the sixth inning on hits by Ruben Tejada and Jason Pridie. Pridie had three singles for Buffalo on the night.

Manny Acosta, activated on Wednesday after being designated for assignment by the Mets at the end of spring training, worked a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the win.

BISONS NOTES:Dusty Ryan made his Bisons debut at catcher. He was also activated to the team on Wednesday as Jesus Feliciano was transferred to Binghamton and Salomon Manriquez was sent to Brooklyn…Eleven of the Bisons 12 hits were singles. Lucas Duda’s seventh-inning double was the team’s only extra-base hit…After no starter earning a win through the first trip through the rotation, Dillon Gee and Jenrry Mejia have posted back-to-back victories.

Buffalo Bisons (4-3)  4, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (3-3)  0  
April 13, 2011

TO SUM IT UP: Jenrry Mejia continued to dominate IL opposition as he continued his scoreless streak to 12 2/3 innings during Buffalo’s 4-0 win against Scranton/WB… Mejia worked 6 2/3 shutout ball while limiting the Yanks to three hits and added five strikeouts… Lucas Duda drove broke a scoreless game with an RBI groundout in the third… The Bisons would rally for three runs in the sixth while getting RBI hits from Ruben Tejada and Jason Pridie… Mike O’Connor, Jose De La Torre and Manny Acosta combined to preserve the shutout over the final 2 1/3… The win puts Buffalo above .500 for the first time this season… First pitch temp was 46 and it was cold, the rest of the way

Buffalo	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Pridie, LF	5	1	3	1	0	1	2	.242
Adams, R, 3B	5	0	1	0	0	2	2	.250
Evans, N, 1B	5	0	0	0	0	1	3	.227
Duda, RF	5	0	1	1	0	1	1	.154
Lutz, DH	3	0	1	0	1	1	1	.304
Nieuwenhuis, CF	3	1	1	0	1	1	3	.227
Turner, 2B	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.269
Tejada, SS	3	1	2	1	1	0	0	.346
Ryan, D, C	4	0	0	0	0	3	6	.000
Totals	37	4	12	3	3	10	19

Buffalo	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mejia, Je (W, 1-0)	6.2	3	0	0	3	5	0	0.00
O’Connor	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
De La Torre	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Acosta	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

FAST FACTS: The first Bisons shutout of the season and the first since August 10, 2010, of which Jose De La Torre and Mike O’Connor assisted in the shutout… (The last three home openers for Scranton had been shutout wins…) Jason Pridies’ three-hit night was his first of the year and first since 5/17/10 vs Norfolk… Justin Turner’s three hits became his first multi-hit performance since having a 6-6 day during the 2010 finale…  Dusty Ryan made his Bisons debut at catcher… Manny Acosta returned to Buffalo and made his season debut… Eleven of the Bisons 12 hits were singles (Duda, double)… After no starter earning a win through the first trip through the rotation, Dillon Gee and Jenrry Mejia have posted back-to-back victories…

WHAT’S NEXT: Game two of three between Buffalo and Scranton/Wilkes Barre… Pat Misch goes for Buffalo at 6:35 p.m. Listen to the game via bisons.com or over the air: WWKB 1520 AM.