Wednesday, August 17, 2011 (1:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (52-71, 5th(-18.0), North)
RHP Miguel Batista (1-0, 4.59)

Toledo Mud Hens (59-66, 4th(-20.0), West)
LHP Andy Oliver (7-9, 4.87)

TODAY’S GAME: This afternoon, the Buffalo Bisons host the Toledo Mud Hens in the second game of a four-game set at Coca-Cola Field (1:05 p.m.). The Herd won the series opener against the Hens with last night’s 3-2 walk-off victory. Buffalo is now 4-3 on their current 10-game homestand. The club has trailed in the sixth inning of all four victories.

VS. THE HENS: The Bisons collected the 3-2 victory last night in their first meeting with the Mud Hens this season. The win snapped a six-game Toledo win streak that ended 2010’s season series. Dating back to 2009, Buffalo is just 3-11 in their last 14 games against the Mud Hens.

MIGHTY MIGUEL: RHP MIGUEL BATISTA will make his seventh start with the Bisons today. The veteran is 1-0 with a 3.00ERA in his last four outings with the team. Batista did not earn a win his last time out despite allowing just two runs in 6.1 innings on Thursday against Syracuse. In 33.1 total innings with Buffalo, Batista has held right-handed hitters to a .167 (11-66) batting average with no home runs and a .227 slugging percentage.

SMOOTH AS: INF JOSH SATIN has seven hits in his last 12 at-bats (.583) and now has his average up to .352 in his first 24 games at Triple-A. Satin delivered the Bisons’ fifth walk-off hit of the season with last night’s RBI-single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. The infielder has averaged .545 (12-22) off left-handed pitchers this season.

HOT BAT: INF ZACH LUTZ brings a four-game hit streak into today’s game. In 10 games since being activated off the disabled list on August 6, the infielder has averaged .314 (11-35) with a double, three home runs and five RBI. Lutz’s eighth home run of the season last time ties him with OF Fernando Martinez for second on the team behind INF Valentino Pascucci (18).

BISONS BITS: INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI is tied for 2nd in the International League with 82RBI on the season. He is also 6th with 18 home runs…RHP JOHN LUJAN has made nine consecutive scoreless appearances out of the Bisons bullpen, spanning 10.1 innings of work.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (59-63) lost to the Padres, 6-1 last night. New York was held to just four hits in the loss, two from former Bisons INF RUBEN TEJADA. LHP JON NIESE fell to 11-10 on the season despite allowing just three runs in six innings of work. The rubber match of the three-game set is tonight in San Diego at 6:35 p.m.

Zach Lutz had the longest and the shortest hit on Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Field. Both of them were equally important.

The Bisons’ slugger homered and then scored the game-winning run in Buffalo’s 3-2 walk-off win over the Mud Hens in the first game of a four-game series. Lutz’s hard slide into home with one out in the ninth inning knocked the ball out of the glove of Max St. Pierre to give Buffalo another late-inning victory.

Lutz got the Bisons on the board with a mammoth home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Trailing 1-0, he knocked Toledo starter Ramon Garcia from the game by knocking his 1-1 change up out of the ballpark. Lutz’s eighth home run of the season cleared the screen in left field and bounced onto Oak St.

Two innings later and with the score now tied at two, Lutz led off the ninth with a single that glanced off the arm of reliever Brendan Wise. He moved to into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch from Wise.

Two batters later, Josh Satin ripped a single into left field for his third hit of the game. Tim Teufel waived Lutz home but a good throw from Ben Guez in left beat Lutz to the plate. The third baseman slid in hard and the ball popped out of the St. Pierre’s glove for the game-winning tally.

The win for Buffalo went to John Lujan in relief. Dylan Owen did not earn a decision for his 6.2 innings of solid work. The starter helped out a tired bullpen and scattered seven hits. Owen threw 102 pitches, one short of his season high.

The Bisons have just seven home games left in 2011, including their final afternoon start on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. against the Mud Hens.

BISONS NOTES:Prior to the game, the Bisons placed OF Fernando Martinez on the disabled list with a left wrist sprain. With the roster move, C/1B Soloman Manriquez was promoted from Double-A Binghamton…Tuesday’s game was the first against Toledo since July 26, 2010. Buffalo had played 164 games since that contest.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011 (7:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet HD 713
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (51-71, 5th(-17.5), North)
RHP Dylan Owen (5-6, 4.93)

Toledo Mud Hens (59-65, 4th(-19.0), West)
LHP Ramon Garcia (0-3, 4.38)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons host the Toledo Mud Hens in the first game of a four-game set at Coca-Cola Field (7:05 p.m.). The Herd has begun this 10-game homestand with a two-game series split with Syracuse and a four-game split with Durham. Buffalo is 30-34 at home this season with just eight more games at Coca-Cola Field in 2011.

VS. THE HENS: Remarkably, this is the first meeting between the Bisons and Mud Hens this season. Buffalo has played 164 games since their last meeting with Toledo, July 26, 2010 at Fifth Third Field. The Bisons were 2-6 against the Mud Hens last season with a split of the four games at Coca-Cola Field.

DEALIN’ DYLAN: RHP DYLAN OWEN will make his 17th start for the Bisons this season. The righty lost his last start on August 10 against Syracuse after yielding five earned runs in 5.1 innings. Owen ranks third on the Herd staff with 73 strikeouts in 95.0 innings of work.

SMOOTH AS: INF JOSH SATIN had three hits in five at-bats in last night’s doubleheader. The rookie has hit in 20 of his 23 games at Triple-A since being promoted from Binghamton on July 22. Combined with his time at Double-A, Satin is hitting .327 (139-425) this year with 41 doubles, 12 home runs and 71RBI in 117 total games.

HOT BAT: INF ZACH LUTZ has hit in seven of nine games since being activated off the disabled list. The slugger has driven in a run in four of his last six games and is hitting .309 (51-167) with seven home runs and 19RBI in 47 total games. Lutz has a .333 (10-30) average with runners in scoring position.

HOMERING HERD: OF FERNANDO PEREZ hit his first Bisons home run in the second game of last night’s doubleheader. He is the 21st different Bison to hit a home run for the club this year. In 2010, the Herd had 23 different batters go deep for the team. Buffalo has 87 total home runs on the season.

BISONS BITS: RHP JOHN LUJAN has made eight consecutive scoreless appearances out of the Bisons bullpen, spanning 9.1 innings of work…OF BUBBA BELL stole his team-high eight base last night.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (59-62) opened up a three-game series in San Diego last night with a 5-4 win over the Padres. Former Bisons C JOSH THOLE had three hits and three RBI to go along with his third home run of the season. OF LUCAS DUDA went deep for the second straight night. The Mets are in San Diego tonight at 10:05 p.m.

Monday, August 15, 2011 (Game 1: 5:30 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (51-69, 5th(-17.5), North)
G1) LHP Mark Cohoon (3-7, 6.49)
G2) RHP Dylan Owen (5-6, 4.93)

Durham Bulls (67-52, 1st(+1.5), South)
G1) RHP Andy Sonnanstine (2-3, 4.17)
G2) RHP Ryan Reid (1-1, 4.30)

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Durham Bulls in the final two games of a four-game set at Coca-Cola Field (Game 1: 5:30 p.m.). The teams will play a doubleheader today because of yesterday’s postponement. The Herd has won three straight games, all come-from-behind one-run victories.

VS. THE BULLS: The Bisons are 3-3 against Durham this year, including two straight wins to open this four-game series. The Herd has a chance tonight to pick up only its second four-game sweep of the Bulls ever. Buffalo won all four games when hosting Durham, June 14-17, 2002. The Bisons have won eight of their last 10 games against the Bulls at Coca-Cola Field.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Bisons have won three straight games despite trailing in the 6th inning in all of them. It’s the second time this season the club has posted three straight comeback wins as the team also rallied three straight times, June 24-26 against Norfolk. The last time Buffalo won three straight one-run games was July 16-18, 2010 against the Gwinnett Braves.

Mr. VP: INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI leads the Bisons with 18 home runs and 82RBI. With 23 games left, the slugger needs 18RBI to become just the fourth Bisons hitter to reach 100RBI in a season. OF Alex Ramirez has the record of 103 in 1998 while DH Ernie Young was the last to reach the milestone when he drove in 100 during Buffalo’s championship season of 2004.

LET’S PLAY TWO: This is the Bisons sixth doubleheader of the season. The team has posted an even 5-5 record in twinbills. The last time the Herd hosted two in one day at Coca-Cola Field it swept the Gwinnett Braves 5-3 and 2-1 on May 29. Buffalo also swept a pair from Rochester at home on April 21.

BISONS BITS: The Bisons are 17-13 in 30 games against IL South division opponents this year…INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI’S 82RBI are tied with Yankees’ Jorge Vazquez for the league lead. The last Bisons hitter to lead the league in RBI at season’s end was OF Nigel Wilson, who drove in 95 in 1996 to lead the American Association…Tomorrow, the Herd will welcome the Toledo Mud Hens to town, a team they haven’t faced since July 26, 2010.

METS UPDATE: The Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep of the Mets (58-62) with a 5-3 victory yesterday. Former Bisons OF LUCAS DUDA hit his fourth home run of the season and drove in two runs. OF ANGEL PAGAN had three hits and his 24th stolen base of the season. The Mets are in San Diego tonight at 10:05 p.m.

Sunday, August 14, 2011 (1:05 p.m.) – Coca-Cola Field
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

Buffalo Bisons (51-69, 5th(-17.0), North)
LHP Mark Cohoon (3-7, 6.49)

Durham Bulls (67-52, 1st(+1.0), South)
RHP Andy Sonnanstine (2-3, 4.17)

TODAY’S GAME: This afternoon, the Bisons host the Durham Bulls in the third game of a four-game set at Coca-Cola Field (1:05 p.m.). The Herd has won three straight games, all come-from-behind one-run victories. Buffalo is in the midst of a 10-game homestand that began with a two-game split with Syracuse. Toledo comes to town for four games on Tuesday.

VS. THE BULLS: The Bisons are 3-3 against Durham this year. The Bulls took three of four from Buffalo in their home ballpark, June 20-23. The Bisons’ victories the last two nights makes them 8-2 in their last 10 games against the Bulls at Coca-Cola Field dating back to 2009.

ON THE BUMP: LHP MARK COHOON takes the ball for the 14th this season. The Triple-A rookie allowed just two runs in five innings in his last outing, a no-decision in Syracuse on August 9. Cohoon is winless in four starts but has allowed three earned runs or less in eight of his last 10 outings.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Bisons have won three straight games despite trailing in the 6th inning in all of them. It’s the second time this season the club has posted three straight comeback wins as the team also rallied three straight times, June 24-26 against Norfolk. Seventeen of the Bisons 23 comeback wins this season have come at Coca-Cola Field.

Mr. VP: INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI hit a three-run homer last night to give him 18 homers and 82RBI. He’s the first Bisons batter to reach the 80RBI-mark since OF Jason Dubois knocked in 87 during the 2006 season. Dubois was also the last Herd slugger to reach 20 home runs with 22 blasts. Pascucci now has 35 home runs and 119RBI in 177 career games with the Bisons.

BISONS BITS: The last time the Bisons won three straight one-run games was July 16-18, 2010 against the Gwinnett Braves…Bisons’ designated hitters have averaged .351 (26-74) with three home runs and 18RBI in 19 games since the All-Star Break. The Herd’s DHs hit .207 (34-164) with one homer and 10RBI in 49 games before the break…INF VALENTINON PASCUCCI had three hits yesterday and is the first Bisons batter to reach 100 hits this season.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (58-61) fell to the Diamondbacks, 6-4, in Arizona last night. Former Bisons INF RUBEN TEJADA went 2-4 with a doubles and two RBI. RHP MIKE PELFREY left the game after being hit with a line drive. LHP CHRIS CAPUANO gets the start today as the Mets face the D’Backs again at 4:10 p.m.