All good things eventually come to an end.

The Buffalo Bisons had their season-high eight game winning streak snapped tonight when they were defeated 6-4 by the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium.

The Herd jumped out to an early lead when Justin Turner homered in the top of the first inning to give the Bisons an early 1-0 advantage. The homer from Turner was his eighth of the year. A dropped third strike from a wild pitch would allow Turner to score again in the third inning as Buffalo led 2-0.

For Antonini (1-1) the worst came in the fourth inning after the Paw Sox scored two more following Delgado being hit by a pitch to make the score 4-2. The final line for Antonini was six innings pitched while giving up nine hits and six runs.

The Herd came roaring back, scoring a run in the fourth and fifth inning to tie up the game at four. J.R House hit his ninth double of the year to drive home Russ Adams and trim the Paw Sox’s lead to one.

Lucas Duda had another extra-base hit in the following inning as he sent a screaming line drive to right field, hitting the wall and allowing Turner to score as Duda strolled into second with ease.

For Duda his 2-4 night was good enough to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Duda also had an RBI for his 50th in only his 52nd game with the Herd.

In the sixth inning with the game tied at four, Yamaico Navarro hit a solo home run to give the Paw Sox the lead, one that they would not give back.

With the Navarro home run the Bisons saw another streak come to an end, one arguably more impressive than the eight-game win streak. The solo shot in the sixth inning put an end to the 126.2 innings Buffalo’s pitching staff went without allowing a home run.

The Red Sox then added an insurance run in the sixth to secure the victory, defeating the Bisons 6-4.

The end of the win streak puts to bed the longest winning streak of the season for Buffalo. The eight-game streak was the longest for the Herd since August of 2004 when the Bisons won ten in a row. The Bisons are now 64-55 for the year.

BISONS NOTES: 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia went 1-4 today, playing for the Paw Sox in a rehab assignment. Former Bisons pitcher, Pat Misch made the start for the Mets tonight. Misch tossed six innings for the Mets while giving up eight hits but only allowing one earned run. The Herd will continue their series with Pawtucket tomorrow when the two teams face off at 1:05 p.m.

Buffalo Bisons
64-54, 2nd (-5.5)
LHP Michael Antonini 1-0, 0.00

Pawtucket Red Sox
51-68, 4th (-19.0)
RHP Adam Mills 2-8, 5.13

Saturday, August 14, 2010
McCoy Stadium – Pawtucket, RI

Radio: WWKB AM 1520, bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Pawtucket Red Sox in the second game of a four-game set at McCoy Stadium (6:05 p.m.). The Herd has won eight straight games, including the first four games of this seven-game roadtrip. The Bisons now trail Louisville by only three games for the IL’s lone wild card spot. After this series, the Herd travels home to begin a nine-game in eight-day homestand against Rochester and the PawSox.

RED-HOT HERD: The Bisons have won eight straight games and 12 of their last 13. It’s the first time the club has won eight consecutive games since August 12-21(1), 2004 when the club racked up 10 straight. The Herd is now 10-games over the .500 mark for the first time since it was 29-19 on May 28.

vs. RED SOX: The Bisons are 5-2 this season against the Red Sox. The last time the Herd ventured to McCoy Stadium it split a four-game set, April 23-26. The Herd swept a rain-shorted two-game set at Coca-Cola Field on April 14-15.

TO DUDA LIST: OF LUCAS DUDA extended his hit streak to 10 games last night. The slugger has averaged .395 (15-38) with three home runs and 12RBI since August 2. Since his June 13 promotion, Duda has the International League-lead with a .663 slugging pct and is second in extra-base hits with 32.

STRONG ARMED: LHP MICHAEL ANTONINI makes his second start with the team tonight. The southpaw dominated in his first outing as he allowed just an unearned run in six innings to Lehigh Valley on Monday. Antonini was 6-9 with a 4.32ERA in 23 starts with Double-A Binghamton this year.

BISONS BITS: OF KIRK NIEUWEHUIS hit his first Triple-A home run last night. He led the Eastern League with 53 extra-base hits before his promotion…Bisons pitchers have not allowed a home run in its last 121.1 innings of work. The stretch goes all the way back to July 29 in Columbus.

ROSTER MOVES: The Mets have selected the contract of Bisons LHP PAT MISCH. He was 11-4 with a 3.23ERA in 23 starts with the Herd. He led the IL with 150.2IP of work and Buffalo was 17-6 when he started. The Mets also announced that they have optioned RHP RYOTA IGARASHI and LHP RAUL VALDES to the Bisons. Igarashi is 2-1 with a 3.52ERA and two saves in 14 games with the Herd while Valdes is 1-0 with a 0.93ERA in four outings.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (58-57) earned their second consecutive shutout with a 1-0 victory over the Phillies last night. Former Bisons RHP R.A. DICKEY tossed a complete-game one-hitter. The knuckleballer walked just one batter and struck out seven. LHP PAT MISCH starts for New York against the Phillies Tonight at 7:10 p.m.

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Friday wasn’t a record-breaking night for Dillon Gee, but it was still a good night for the righty and the Bisons.

Buffalo won their eighth straight game and Gee improved to 12-7 on the season with a 9-4 victory over the Red Sox from McCoy Stadium. Coupled with a Louisville loss in Columbus and the Herd is now just three games out of the wild card spot.

The Bats had a half-game lead over the Clippers heading into Friday’s action. Columbus pulled back into the top spot in the IL West division with a 12-4 victory of their own.

Gee had a chance at team history against the PawSox, but his inevitable date with the Bisons record books will have to wait one more start. Five strikeouts shy of the team’s single-season record, Gee fanned four in five innings of work. He now has an International League-best 136 punchouts, one shy of the Bisons modern era record set of 137 in 1990 by Vicente Palacios.

Still, Gee was good enough to earn his 12th win of the season. That ties him with Durham’s Jeremy Hellickson and Richard De Los Santos for the league lead. It’s the most wins in a season by a Bisons pitcher since Jeremy Guthrie was 12-10 in 2005.

Friday’s game was a story of the big innings that did, and didn’t, happen. The Bisons scored four runs in the third inning as Nick Evans plated a run and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a three-run home run. Pawtucket responded with three more in the bottom of the third off Gee to make it 4-3.

The Bisons then batted around in the fourth to put three more runs on the board. Lucas Duda singled home two and Evans doubled home Justin Turner for the 7-3 edge.

That was the score in the seventh when Pawtucket loaded the bases with nobody out against the Bisons bullpen. Mike O’Connor slammed the door shut on the opportunity by striking out Niuman Romero and Lars Anderson before giving way to Sean Green. The side-winding righty finished the job by striking out Yamaico Navarro to end the threat.

Duda provided the extra insurance for the Herd with a two-run home run in the eighth. The Triple-A rookie now has 16 blasts in only 51 games this year.

BISONS NOTES: Lucas Duda has hit in 10 straight games. He has averaged .395 (15-38) with three home runs and 12RBI over the stretch…The Bisons pitching staff has not allowed a home run in its last 121.1 innings of work. That stretch goes all the way back to July 29 in Columbus…The Mets announced Friday night that they have selected the contract of Bisons starter Pat Misch. New York has optioned Raul Valdes and Ryota Igarashi to the Herd.

Buffalo Bisons
63-54, 2nd (-5.5)
RHP Dillon Gee 11-7, 4.75

Pawtucket Red Sox
51-67, 4th (-18.0)
RHP Ramon Ramirez 2-3, 5.20

Friday, August 13, 2010
McCoy Stadium – Pawtucket, RI

Radio: WWKB AM 1520,
WGR Sportsradio 550AM
bisons.com

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Pawtucket Red Sox in the first game of a four-game set at McCoy Stadium (7:05 p.m.). The Herd is looking to extend its season-high seven-game win streak. The Bisons now trail Scranton/Wilkes-Barre by only 5.5 games in the IL North Division. After this series, the Herd travels to home to begin an eight-day homestand with three games against Rochester and six games (one doubleheader) against Pawtucket.

RED-HOT HERD: The Bisons have won seven straight games and 11 of their last 12. It’s the first time the club has won seven consecutive games since August 24-30, 2005. The last time Buffalo won eight straight was August 12-21(1), 2004 when the club racked up 10 straight victories. The Herd has also swept two series in a row, having won four straight over Columbus, August 5-8, and two consecutive in Lehigh Valley, August 9-10.

vs. RED SOX: The Bisons are 4-2 this season against the Red Sox. The last time the Herd ventured to McCoy Stadium, Buffalo split a four-game series, April 23-26. Since rejoining the International League in 1998, the Bisons are 105-93 (.530) against the Red Sox.

GOLLY GEE: RHP DILLON GEE is looking to earn his team-high 12th victory of the season tonight against the Red Sox. In his last two starts, he is 2-0 with just five earned runs allowed to 14 strikeouts in 14.0 innings. Gee has an International League-best 132 strikeouts this season, six more than any other pitcher. Gee is also only five strikeouts away from the Bisons modern era single-season record of 137, set in 1990 by RHP VINCENTE PALACIOS.

TO DUDA LIST: OF LUCAS DUDA is on a nine-game hit streak. In the stretch, Duda has averaged .382 (13-34) with two home runs and eight RBI. Since his June 13 promotion, Duda has the International League-lead with a .651 slugging pct and is second in extra-base hits with 31.

BISONS BITS: Buffalo’s pitching staff hasn’t allowed a home run since July 29 in Columbus (112.1IP)…Only eight players active on the Bisons roster have played against Pawtucket this year… OF JESUS FELICIANO hit his lone home run of the year April 25 against the Red Sox at McCoy Field…After not homering since June 26, INF MIKE CERVENAK has gone deep twice this week.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (57-57) shutout the Rockies 4-0 yesterday afternoon from Citi Field. LHP JOHAN SANTANA tossed a complete game and struck out 10 batters. OF CARLOS BELTRAN was 3-3 with an RBI. The Mets continue their homestand tonight as they begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:10 p.m.

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vs. PAWSOX – The Bisons and Red Sox have just played six of the scheduled 16 games to this point in the year. The Bisons begin the four game set in Pawtucket Friday night and have six games scheduled in five days at Coca-Cola Field August 21-25. The two clubs are scheduled to play 10 games in a span of 13 days!

The Bisons lead the season series against Pawtucket, 4-2. Buffalo swept of a rain-shortened two-game series over the PawSox at Coca-Cola Field, April 14-15. Dating back to last season, the Bisons have now won nine of their last 14 meetings with the Red Sox. The Herd faced Pawtucket for their home opener and four times overall for the event, beating the PawSox 5-2 on April 5, 2001 and 10-8 on April 3, 2003. Pawtucket earned the 6-4 win last year in the Home Opener on April 9. This season, RA Dickey and the Herd beat the PawSox 8-2 on April 14 downtown.

PITCHING PROBABLE’S: BUFFALO AT PAWTUCKET:
Fri. 7:05 pm RHP Dillon Gee 11-7, 4.75 vs. RHP Ramon Ramirez 2-3, 5.20
Sat. 6:05 pm LHP Michael Antonini 1-0, 0.00 vs. RHP Adam Mills 2-8, 5.13
Sun. 1:05 pm Pat Misch 11-4, 3.23 vs. LHP Rich Hill 1-0, 3.08
Mon. 7:05 pm (COX-TV) RHP Fernando Nieve 1-0, 4.26 vs. LHP Fabio Castro 5-7, 4.74

Carlos Delgado – The 17-year major league veteran first baseman who has a career big league average of .280 with 473 HR & 1512 RBI in 2035 games, made his PawSox debut on Monday as the DH in Scranton/WB going 0-for-3. Delgado, 38, was signed by the Red Sox to a minor league deal last Saturday and activated on Monday to officially begin his comeback from two surgeries on his right hip that have kept him out of action since May of 2009. Carlos has hit at least 30 HR in 11 different seasons including a career-high 44 homers for Toronto in 1999 followed by a monster 2000 season for the Blue Jays when he hit .344 in 162 games with 57 2B, 41 HR, and 137 RBI.

Dustin the Wind? – There are several media reports floating about that injured Red Sox All-Star 2B Dustin Pedroia will be sent to Pawtucket for an injury rehab assignment this weekend at McCoy Stadium when the PawSox host Buffalo on Saturday at 6:05 pm and Sunday at 1:05 pm. Pedroia has been on Boston’s disabled list since June 26 with a fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot suffered when he fouled a ball of his left foot while batting in the 3rd-inning on June 25 in San Francisco. He was hitting .292 in 73 games for Boston at the time of his injury along with 24 2B (T1st in the American League), 12 HR & 41 RBI and was also T4th in the AL in runs scored (52) before going on the DL. He played all 73 of his games at second base and had made only 2 errors all season (May 20 & June 6). Pedroia, the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVP, has a career average of .305 in 554 games with the Red Sox (666-for-2183) since being called-up to Boston from Pawtucket in August of 2006.

Rehab Central – Pedroia would join an illustrious list of Boston players to rehab with the PawSox this season including: Josh Beckett, Boof Bonser, Clay Buchholz, Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury (twice), Jeremy Hermida, Jed Lowrie, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Mike Lowell.

Streak Busted – The PawSox ended their 4-game losing streak Tuesday night with their 6-5, 11-inning win at Scranton/WB. The 4-game losing skid (last Friday through this Monday) immediately came on the heels of a 3-game winning streak (August 2-5). Pawtucket also recently suffered a 4-game losing streak from July 23-26 and a 5-game losing skid from July 17-21. The Sox have still not won more than 3 straight since their season-high 6-game winning streak from May 11-16 (which all came at McCoy). What Have You Done for Me Lately – The PawSox are 7-8 in their last 15 games after dropping 9 of their previous 10 games from July 17-26. However, the Sox have still lost 22 of their last 35 since July 4.

A Series Situation – The PawSox are 7-11-15 in their first 33 series this season (7 wins, 11 losses, and 15 splits thus far). Pawtucket had just a 7-17-19 series record last season. The PawSox won just 2 of their final 23 series last year dating back to
late-June. So, the Sox have now won 9 of their last 55 series in over a year span.

Home vs. Road – Pawtucket is 20-39 on the road and 31-28 at home. They are hitting .253 on the road (515-for-2032) with 255 runs scored in 59 games (4.4 per game) compared to .251 at home (469-for-1866) with 224 runs scored in 59 games (3.85 per game). PawSox pitchers are faring much better at McCoy thus far going 31-28 with a 3.69 ERA (214 ER in 522.1 IP) compared to 20-39 with a 5.52 ERA on the road (309 ER in 503.2 IP).

Rankings – Pawtucket is presently 13th in the International League with a Team ERA of 4.59 (it was 5.52 on May 2 which was their season-high). The PawSox are up to 11th (after being last for much of July) in Team Batting at .252 after peaking at .261 on May 18. Pawtucket’s .253 average last Friday and this Tuesday was their highest since May 23 also at .253. They were as low as .241 on June 13 which was their lowest since the 4th game of the season (April 11 at .239).

Northern Exposure – Pawtucket’s final 33 games of the season (from August 5 – September 6) have been or will be all against IL North rivals. The PawSox are 25-29 vs. Northern foes. The Sox finished last season with a losing record against four of their five IL North division rivals (the only IL North club they had a winning record against was Buffalo at 9-7). Pawtucket went 32-48 within their division last season after going 49-31 vs. the North in 2008 en route to winning the IL wild card.

PawSox Short Hops – Lars Anderson has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 games, going 6-for-25 (.240) with 2 2B and 2 RBI. Drove in the only PawSox run last night on a sac fly in a 5-1 loss to Lehigh Valley… Bubba Bell went 1-4 Wednesday night, had 2 straight multiple hit games, going 5-for-9 with 2 2B. In his last 34 games is 41-for-119 (.345) with 5 2B, 3B, 4 HR, and 18 RBI… Daniel Nava went 0-3 Wednesday and snapped an 11-game hitting streak with Pawtucket, during which he went 15-for-46 (.326) with 2 2B and 1 HR. Hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat off of Philadelphia’s Joe Blanton on June 12th. Is 1 of 4 players in history to hit a grand slam in his first at-bat (Bill Duggleby-1898, current PawSox Jeremy Hermida-2005, and former Bison, Kevin Kouzmanoff-2006)…. Josh Reddick ist the current IL Batter of the Week and is 2-for-15 in his last 3 games after a 9-game hitting streak (20-for-42, .476, with 7 2B, 1 3B, and 3 HR). In his last 19 games is 31-for-84 (.369) with 10 2B, 1 3B, and 4 HR… Ryan Shealey is hitless in his last 13 at-bats. In his last 10 games, is 4-32 (.125).

Looking back at the Bisons & Red Sox season-series:
4/14/10: BUF 8, PAW 2
GAME RECAP: Home Opener for Bisons

4/15/10: BUF 3, PAW 2
GAME RECAP: Herd rallies when Dice-K exits

4/23/10: PAW 5, BUF 3
GAME RECAP: PawSox push past Bisons

4/24/10: BUF 4, PAW 2
GAME RECAP: Dickey, Bisons win

4/25/10: BUF 10, PAW 3
GAME RECAP: Jacobs & bats never let up

4/26/10: PAW 5, BUF 1
GAME RECAP: Bisons fall in finale