Inside Pitch

The first home series win of the season is in sight for the Buffalo Bisons.

After opening today's doubleheader against Gwinnett with a 5-3 win, the Herd is now on a two-game winning streak and can take three of four from the Braves with a sweep this afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3:35 p.m.

Valentino Pascucci's two-out grand slam into the Bully Hill party deck in right field highlighted a five-run fifth inning for the Bisons in the opener. Pascucci made up for his pair of errors in the first inning that allowed Gwinnett to take a 2-0 lead.

Bisons reliever Bobby Parnell, on injury rehab from the New York Mets, made his best appearance with the Herd. He pitched the final two innings, striking out three batters in a row at one point. Parnell ended the sixth with a 99 mph strikeout of Gwinnett catcher J.C. Boscan.

Starters for the Bisons in the nightcap will be:

Michael Fisher, 3B

Luis Hernandez, SS

Lucas Duda, LF

Pascucci, 1B

Fernando Martinez, RF

Bubba Bell, CF

Chin-Lung Hu, 2B

Raul Chavez, C

John Lujan, P

Lujan is making his first career start for the Bisons and just the eighth of his career (the last came in 2007 with Single-A Winston-Salem) as back-to-back doubleheaders have forced the Bisons to cobble together a staff.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

It's an overcast, but warm day here at Coca-Cola Field, where the Buffalo Bisons are set to play their second straight doubleheader against the Gwinnett Braves.

The Bisons haven't played back-to-back twinbills since Aug. 20-21, 2009 against Syracuse, splitting each time, as Buffalo and Gwinnett did yesterday.

Splitting at home is something the Herd is accustomed to this season. Buffalo is 14-14 on the home field, and has split all four series. Buffalo starts the day 9.5 games behind Lehigh Valley in the International League, so if it wants to get back in the race, a sweep today would be a good place to start.

Starting for the Bisons in the opener will be:

Luis Figueroa, SS

Michael Fisher, 3B

Lucas Duda, RF

Valentino Pascucci, 1B

Jason Botts, LF

Jesus Feliciano, CF

Mike Nickeas, C

Luis Hernandez, 2B

Brian Sweeney, P

We'll be back on the blog with some details from the first game and the starting lineup for the second later this afternoon, so check back.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

Lots of late nights for plenty of folks in Buffalo as the Yankees are on a West Coast trip. No excuse for all of us not to stay up for Saturday night's game in Seattle (10 p.m. on YES) as Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez takes the mound for the Eric Wedges against New York's Ivan Nova.

The Yankees lost Friday night's opener of the trip, 4-3, as they blew a 3-0 lead by watching the Mariners score four runs on RBI groundouts. Odd.

The Yankees play three in Seattle, three in Oakland and three in Anaheim and don't return home until hosting the Red Sox on June 7. Speaking of the boys from Beantown, they snuck into first place in the AL East thanks to the Yankees' loss last night. Pretty good for them after that 2-10 start.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

The Bisons lost the opener of today's doubleheader to Gwinnett, 6-1, and need a win in the nightcap to avoid their low point of the season. Buffalo has slipped to eight games below .500 for the second time this season at 20-28. Rochester plays later tonight at Lehigh Valley and the Bisons could find themselves last in the IL North by the end of the day.

The first game was over early as Gwinnett scored four runs in the first off D.J. Carrasco (1-3). Three of them came after two out on Ed Lucas' RBI single and Brandon Hicks' towering home run into the screen in left.

The Bisons managed just two hits in the game against a trio of Gwinnett pitchers. They didn't get one off starter Erik Cordier until Jesus Feliciano's leadoff single in the fifth, a slow roller up along first that neither Cordier nor first baseman Mauro Gomez could make a play on. Cordier was pulled after 4 2/3 innings due to a pitch count in his Triple-A debut this season after having elbow surgery last September.

Buffalo's other hit was Lucas Duda's screaming solo homer to right in the sixth. Duda was making his first appearance since May 8, as he has been on the DL with back trouble. The homer was his fourth of the year and first since May 2 at Lehigh Valley. His previous three had all been on the road.

Elsewhere in the IL, check out this story of last night's Syracuse-Charlotte game, which was suspended in the top of the eighth with the score tied at 6-6 -- four pitches after Charlotte's Tyler Flowers blasted a game-tying two-run homer. It was, apparently, a scene out of "The Natural" with a big bolt of lightning in center field right before the home run. Bizarre. They'll finish tonight before the regularly scheduled game.

As for the Bisons and GBraves, here is the Buffalo lineup for the nightcap of today's twinbill as the sun has come out. Almost forgot what it looked like.

Michael Fisher, 3b
Chin-Lung Hu, 2b
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Jason Botts, lf
Luis Hernandez, ss
Bubba Bell, rf
Raul Chavez, c
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Josh Stinson, p

Just noticed: No Nieuwenhuis again. He apparently has a sore shoulder from his spectacular catch in center field on Tuesday and will likely miss a couple more days.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Remember the Bisons? They haven't played a game since Tuesday but it looks like they're finally going to get on the field today after an off day on Wednesday and back-to-back rainouts in their series against the Gwinnett Braves. The third time appears to be the charm for the Bisons and G-Braves, who open a doubleheader at 1:05.

It's a cloudy, cool day at the ballpark and there was some heavy fog around 11 a.m. but that has lifted. 

In today's opener, Kirk Nieuwenhuis will sit out his first game of the season for Buffalo while Lucas Duda returns to the lineup for the first time since May 8 after spending time on the disabled list with a back strain. D.J. Carrasco will be the starting pitcher. Here's the Buffalo lineup:

Luis Figueroa, ss
Michael Fisher, 3b
Lucas Duda, lf
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Bubba Bell, rf
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Mike Nickeas, c
Luis Hernandez, 2b
D.J. Carrasco, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

6:41 p.m. update: The doubleheader between the Bisons and Gwinnett has been postponed due to rain. The teams will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, both at 1:05 p.m., at Coca-Coal Field.

Pregame: The rain is coming down at Coca-Cola Field and while grounds crews are working on the tarp, the field is still covered and there is no chance of starting tonight's doubleheader on time. But rest assured, the powers that be will do everything in their power to get at least one of the two seven-inning games completed today, or else the Buffalo Bisons and Gwinnett Braves risk playing back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.

Should the teams play, Buffalo is scheduled to start righty D.J. Carrasco (1-2, 4.85) in the first game and righty Chris Schwinden (3-2, 2.36).

There were plenty of transaction news. The New York Mets selected the contract of righty Dale Thayer off the BIsons roster and activated outfielder Angel Pagan from his major league injury rehab assignment.

The Mets optioned Fernando Martinez to the Herd while lefty Pat Misch was designated for assignment. 

Meanwhile the Bisons activated outfielder Lucas Duda off the disabled list while lefty Casey Fossum was placed on the restricted list.

Duda is scheduled to be in the Herd's lineup for Game 1:

Luis Figueroa -- SS
Michael Fisher -- 3B
Lucas Duda -- LF
Valentino Pascucci -- 1B
Bubba Bell -- RF
Jesus Feliciano -- CF
MIke Nickeas -- C
Luis Hernadez -- 2B
D.J. Carrasco -- P

--- Amy Moritz 

As I write this at 7:17 p.m., the sun is shining at Coca-Cola Field.

The rain that preceded it, however, was too strong, thus postponing tonight's game between the Buffalo Bisons and Gwinnett Braves. It's the Herd's third postponement of the season at home in what has been a spring made for ducks.

The rainout also cost Bisons fans a chance to see Mets outfielder Angel Pagan take the field in a Buffalo uniform. Pagan was scheduled to bat leadoff and play center field for the Herd. Manager Tim Teufel said no decision has been made on whether Pagan will stay with the Herd and play Friday, or whether he'll rejoin the Mets for their series with Philadelphia.

The Bisons will make up the game as part of a doubleheader today, beginning at 5:35 p.m. The two teams will play two seven-inning games. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the team's Plaza Party will begin at that time.

Fans with tickets for today's game can exchange them for a comparable ticket to any future 2011 Bisons game (excluding special events). All exchanges must be made at the Coca-Cola Field box office.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

Bisons manager Tim Teufel has got his instructions for tonight from Mets manager Terry Collins: get outfielder Angel Pagan as many at-bats as possible.

That means Pagan will hit leadoff as the Herd opens a four-game set with the Gwinnett Braves at Coca-Cola Field.

Pagan won’t be long for Buffalo; he’s expected to rejoin the Mets prior to their game Friday against Philadelphia.

He will start in center field on his brief one-game rehabilitation assignment as he comes back from a strained left oblique that landed him on the disabled list April 22.

“When they come down here [on rehab], we just get them ready,” Teufel said this afternoon. “In this case with Pagan, it’s a pretty easy thing to do. Stick him in the top of the lineup and let him do his thing.

“That came from TC [Collins]. He said, ‘hey just stick him in the leadoff spot, get him some at-bats and get him ready to come up here.’ ”

Pagan has played six games with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League as part of his rehab. With St. Lucie, he hit .261 (8-23) with a double, home run and two RBIs.

This will be the second time in his career that Pagan has rehabbed with the Bisons. The outfielder joined the Herd for a three-game stint, May 12-16, 2009, while recovering from offseason elbow surgery. He hit .286 (4-14) with two triples, two RBIs and two runs scored in those three games. In his Bisons debut on May 12, he hit a two-run, walk-off triple in the bottom of the 11th inning of a 4-3 win over Gwinnett.

 “He said he’s feeling really good,” Teuefel said of Pagan, who will not speak with the media until after the game. “He wants to be more aggressive with the fastball tonight. He’s able to hit breaking balls pretty good, he said, down in St. Lucie. Tonight is about seeing a little bit tougher competition, a little bit better ball movement. … This is a little bit closer to the big leagues than the Florida State League, so this is a good tune-up.”

The Bisons’ starting lineup looks like this:

Pagan, CF

Luis Figueroa, SS

Valentino Pascucci, 1B

Bubba Bell, RF

Michael Fisher, 3B

Jason Botts, LF

Luis Hernandez, 2B

Mike Nickeas, C

D.J. Carrasco, P

We’ll update each of Pagan’s at-bats tonight on the blog, as well as any weather information, so check back closer to game time.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

The Bisons and Charlotte Knights wrap up their four-game series tonight and the Herd will again hope that cleanup batter Valentino Pascucci keeps up his hot hitting so they can win their first series of the season.

Pascucci roped a three-run double last night in the Herd's rain-shortened, 6-2 victory. The 32-year-old first baseman is on a six-game hitting streak, batting .421in that stretch (8-19), and his 20 RBIs in May are second in the International League.

Here's tonight's batting order:

Luis Figueroa, ss
Michael Fisher, 3b
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Val Pascucci, 1b
Jason Botts, dh
Bubba Bell, rf
Jesus Feliciano, lf
Chin-Lung Hu, 2b
Mike Nickeas, c
----
Brian Sweeney, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

The Buffalo Bisons wrap up their series with the Charlotte Knights tonight at 7 in Coca-Cola Field and it's the final night of the team's 91-degree guarantee. Since the temperature didn't hit the May record of 91 by noon today, the team is offering $7 tickets to tonight's game and fans will receive a voucher at the gate for a free hot dog and free beverage (16 oz. Bud, Bud Light or Coca-Cola product).

The Bisons survived the downpour last night to post a 6-2 win in a game called after five innings due to rain. They've won two of the first three games in the series and will be trying to win their first series of the season tonight. They have not won a series since sweeping a two-gamer at Rochester to close the 2010 season and haven't won one at home since sweeping four from Columbus here last Aug. 5-8.

Monday's game was the Bisons' second weather-shortened win of the year. They posted a 5-3 win April 25 over Lehigh Valley, in a game called in the ninth inning with the bases loaded -- much to the chagrin of IronPigs manager and Hall of Fame Ryne Sandberg. 

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Especially with Nick Evans and Ruben Tejada gone to New York, Bisons manager Tim Teufel said after Sunday's game that the team will be using plenty of interchangeable parts in the infield for the forseeable future. He's not kidding.

Val Pascucci, who is batting .310 in May, is anchored at first base but the rest of the infield is shuffled for the third straight day as the Herd and Charlotte Knights meet again tonight in Coca-Cola Field (It's a 7 p.m. start on SNY and Time Warner Cable). Here's how the infield has looked so far in the series:

Saturday: Michael Fisher, 2b; Luis Figueroa, 3b; Chin-Lung Hu, ss
Sunday: Hu, 2b; Fisher, 3b; Figueroa, ss
Tonight: Luis Hernandez, 2b; Fisher, 3b; Figueroa, ss

Hu and Fisher have both told the media they have no real preference on position and that's probably a good thing. Their ticket to getting to New York lies in their ability to serve in utility roles. No better place to get them ready for that than here.

The even-steven Bisons are 12-12 at home and 1-1 in this series heading into game three. Here's the Buffalo lineup:

Figueroa, ss
Fisher, 3b
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Pascucci, 1b
Jason Botts, dh
Bubba Bell, rf
Jesus Feliciano, lf
Hernandez, 2b
Raul Chavez, c
----
Dylan Owen, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Mets owner Fred Wilpon obviously needs some PR help. He gave unfettered access to a reporter from the New Yorker, presumably to paint a better picture of his woes in the wake of the Wilpon scandal. And in a lengthy piece published by the magazine, Wilpon proceeded to take several shots at his team's key players that, naturally, have the New York media abuzz today.

On Jose Reyes: "He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money [in free agency]. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it." Nice to say about a guy who's clearly been the team's MVP this season.

On David Wright: "Really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar." Nice to say about a guy who's basically played a few weeks with a broken back and was headed to Los Angeles on Monday for a closer look at his injury.

On Carlos Beltran, who earned a $119 million deal from the Mets after blowing up during the 2004 NLCS with Houston: "We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He's sixty-five to seventy percent of what he was." I'm assuming the schmuck Wilpon is referring to is himself and not former GM Omar Minaya.

While sitting and watching a recent loss with reporter Jeffrey Toobin, Wilpon followed an Ike Davis strikeout with the quip "[bleep] team, good hitter".

Good thing Wilpon isn't quoted as taking on $66 million bust Jason Bay. And he says nothing about underachieving reliever Bobby Parnell, still mired with the Bisons on his "injury rehab" assignment that has turned into a 4.50 ERA and an ugly 22 percent clip of keeping inherited runners from scoring.

Wilpon is getting killed today, and rightly so. New York Post columnist Kevin Kernan simply tweeted that Wilpon should sell the team ASAP. 

Fellow Post baseball columnist Joel Sherman said Wilpon's words were "undignified and rude". And Sherman is stunned by the message Wilpon is sending: "He finally is showing the fans his true passion and, in doing so, he is telling the fans: You are right to hate my team. You are right to stay away in droves. You are right to believe that this organization has been incompetently run to the point where our best players are this flawed. He all but changed the theme song of the franchise from "Meet the Mets" to "Hate the Mets." "

ESPNNY.com's Adam Rubin had this blast in his well thought-out response: "It was charming when the late George Steinbrenner publicly picked fights with players, but that was his personality quirk and designed for motivation. In Wilpon's case, it's just pathetic."

And the Bisons hooked up with these people?  The Indians were leaving so they had to go with somebody. But the Wilpon family's involvement in Madoff and their constant PR snafus don't make them the kind of folks you want to be in business with. An iffy choice in 2008 that's looking worse every day.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Bisons manager Tim Teufel had plenty to be happy about after Sunday's 7-5 win over Charlotte: An offense that produced 13 hits and several in the clutch during a season-high five-run fourth, another errorless game in the field and 6 1/3 strong innings from starter Josh Stinson.

But Teufel's demeanor naturally changed when I had to ask for his reaction about the terrible news that came out of New York last night: Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, a heart-and-soul guy for the 1986 World Series champion Mets that Teufel was a member of, has four small tumors on his brain and will be examined later this week at Duke University Medical Center.

"It was sad to hear," Teufel said. "Gary doesn't live very far away from me in West Palm Beach [Florida]. I live in Jupiter so we're like neighbors. It was sad news. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family. I just hope God has a different plan for him other than taking him at this point in time. I hope the medical staff at Duke can do a great job and find a way to remove those tumors."

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

The Bisons have slipped to a season-low eight games below .500 and are 18-26 heading into today's game against the Charlotte Knights in Coca-Cola Field, where it's overcast but the rain is holding off and the tarp is off the field. Buffalo and Rochester (16-24) are percentage points apart in last place in the IL North.

Josh Stinson (1-4) will make his eighth start of the season, tying Chris Schwinden for the team lead, and will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak. Charlotte starter Matt Zaleski is just up from Double-A Birmingham but was 7-8 in 24 starts last year for the Knights.

The Bisons' 91-degree guarantee is in force again today. Tickets are $7 and you get a voucher at the gate for a free hot dog and drink (16 oz Bud/Bud Light or Coca-Cola product).

Here's the Bisons' lineup today:

Luis Figueroa, ss
Michael Fisher, 3b
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Jason Botts, dh
Bubba Bell, rf
Jesus Feliciano, lf
Chin-Lung Hu, 2b
Raul Chavez, c
----
Josh Stinson, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Hey, we survived the rapture so with apologies to today's ingenious cover of the New York Daily News (left), how about you read this blog?

(I would pay admission to sit in some of those editor meetings at the Daily News and Post to hear the back-and-forth of how they come up with this stuff. Absolutely classic. OK, we now return you to your regular programming)

Some wrinkles to the Bisons' lineup for tonight's series opener against Charlotte here at Coca-Cola Field. First off is the home debut of four players in a single night -- third baseman Luis Figueroa, right fielder Bubba Bell, shortstop Chin-Ling Hu and left fielder James Botts.

Then you have a night at DH for regular center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, just his second stint there this season. Jesus Feliciano takes over in center.

On the mound is newly-anointed staff ace Chris Schwinden, who enters the game 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA that's second in the International League. 

So here's the Bisons' lineup for tonight:

Luis Figueroa, 3b
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, dh
Val Pascucci, 1b
Michael Fisher, 2b
Bubba Bell, rf
Chin-Ling Hu, ss
James Potts, lf
Raul Chavez, c
---
Chris Schwinden, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

It's a great day outside but the temperature didn't hit the May record of 91 so the Buffalo Bisons will be paying out their fan guarantee for tonight's 7:05 series opener against the Charlotte Knights in Coca-Cola Field.

TIckets are thus $7, with fans receiving a voucher at the gate for a free hot dog and free drink (a 16 oz. Budwider, Bud Light or Coca-Cola product). The deal continues each day for the four-game series, which continues Sunday at 1 and Monday and Tuesday nights at 7. 

Chris Schwinden (3-1, 1.82) will start for the Bisons tonight and he enters the game second in the International League in ERA.

Five players on the Buffalo roster will be making their debuts at home: OF Jason Botts was signed Friday out of the independent Atlantic League, C Dock Doyle came from extended spring training and IF Chin-Lung Hu joined the club Friday from New York. IF Luis Figueroa (free agent) and OF Bubba Bell (trade with Cleveland) joined the team on its road trip.

IF Michael Fisher, who played the last game on the previous homestand, posted four consecutive multi-hit games on the road trip and hits home batting a robust .433.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

"It seemed as if the subway extended all the way to Buffalo" was the way David Waldstein of the New York Times opened his account of the Mets' 2-1 win over the Yankees Friday night in the Bronx.

With good reason. Justin Turner, who had Buffalo's first six-hit game since 1936 in last year's regular-season finale at Rochester, has become a staple of the Mets' lineup and has tied a team rookie record by collecting and RBI in six straight games. 

Turner, Fernando Martinez, Ruben Tejada, Jason Pridie and Mike O’Connor all played in Friday's game after opening the season here. Winning pitcher R.A. Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and first baseman Daniel Murphy -- who belted the game-winning homer -- were all here last year.

The Mets (22-22) are at .500 for the first time since April 9, when they were 4-4. They eventually fell to 5-13 but are 17-9 since. Great job by Terry Collins to keep them together -- with lots of help from players who toiled in his old stomping ground.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

It's an interleague weekend. Just a little tease for three days before we get some serious AL-NL matchups again in mid-June. You might call it another one of Bud Selig's gimmicks but regular readers of this space and the Sunday Inside Baseball column know I've always been a big fan. It spices up the long season quite a bit and for every dud matchup, there's two or three that are always downright fascinating.

---The Subway Series is renewed tonight in the Bronx with the Yankees coming off two straight wins over the Orioles and the Mets doing likewise against the Nationals. There is plenty of growing support for the work of Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Terry Collins in the Mets' dugout (I won't way I told you so). Good friend Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post gives you his thumbs-up view on TC here.

---Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com has an open letter to Cubs fans as the Sox and Cubs prepare to meet tonight at Fenway for the first time since the 1918 World Series. A lot has happened in the 93 years since the last visit to the Fens.

---With the Reds coming into town tonight and perhaps 100,000 fans expected for a three-game set in Progressive Field, the Indians are concerned that Travis Hafner might need to go on the DL with an oblique problem. The Tribe's offense is vastly different without Hafner and Grady Sizemore.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

We're all sick of this cold, rainy weather (is that really the sun out there?), and that feeling certainly is shared by the Buffalo Bisons. So they've got a deal for you to last through the four-game series against Charlotte that opens Saturday night in Coca-Cola Field.

The Bisons are guaranteeing that the temperature will reach the all-time May record of 91 degrees, last set in 2006, during this series. If it doesn't by noon any of the four days, fans can get tickets for $7 as well as a free hot dog and beverage.

Translation: There will be $7 tickets, a free hot dog and beverage (either a 16oz. Budweiser or Labatt Blue Light draft or 16 oz Coca-Cola) at every game in the series.  Fans will receive a voucher at the gate for their complimentary items (discounts limited to one per person). And also note that Monday is Dollar Dog Night with additional hot dogs just $1.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Harmon Killebrew's death Tuesday morning from esophageal cancer was unexpected only in the speed it took place after the Hall of Fame Twins slugger's announcement on Friday that he was entering into hospice care for his final days. Manager Ron Gardenhire, in fact, said he had hoped to visit Killebrew in Phoenix this weekend while the Twins were in town for an interleague series.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has put together the definitive obit on the life of Killebrew, which is definitely worth the read. 

For video, audio and more stories, MLB.com has a full package on Killebrew's life.

The Twins' players had previously announced they would be wearing their cream-colored retro jerseys at home the rest of the season in honor of Killebrew. Nice touch.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Not good days to be a Yankees or Mets fan right now. The boys in the boroughs just about can't stay out of their own way.

The Jorge Posada affair, which lingered Monday with a conference call involving Derek Jeter, is really masking a much bigger problem for the Yankees: They stink. For the second day in a row, a lead went kaput as A.J. Burnett gave up a 5-1 cushion in a five-run sixth and the Bombers lost at Tampa Bay, 6-5.

And it only got worse for the Yankees a couple hours later at Fenway, as Adrian Gonzalez's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth gave the Red Sox an 8-7 win over the Orioles in a game they trailed, 6-0, in the fifth. The Blue Jays won their sixth straight, 4-2 at Detroit, and joined Boston in a virtual tie with the Yankees for second place.

The Mets, meanwhile, waited 90 minutes for rain to stop and suffered a head-scratching loss to the Marlins, 2-1 in 11 innings. It was a full-moon kind of night at misty, fog-shrouded and largely empty Citi Field. Before the game, the Mets learned that David Wright has been playing for nearly a month with a stress fracture in his back, a likely culprit for that .226 batting average. The game itself was a good pitching duel between Josh Johnson and Mike Pelfrey but was won on a two-out RBI single in the 11th inning by Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop.

With the Mets playing a man short because Wright had yet to go on the DL, they had to pinch-hit pitcher Jon Niese with two out and no one on in the 11th. So what does Niese do? Triple to the left-center gap. But can Jose Reyes get him home? Noooo. Whiffs.

The Mets have called up Ruben Tejada from the Bisons and Nick Evans might be next, assuming Wright goes on the DL. Infielder Chin-lung Hu and reliever Ryota Igarashi, the losing pitcher last night, have been sent here. The Bisons are big losers in that swap.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Bottom line first: Jorge Posada asked out Saturday night. Of a Yankees-Red Sox game on national television, no less. And don't believe the pathetic attempt by his wife on Twitter to claim an injury was involved.

Pretty odd coincidence this all comes late Saturday night when my Sunday Inside Baseball column was on Yankees mega catching prospect Jesus Montero. All this talk they have to trade him for pitching but how about using Montero as your catcher?

The New York media, obviously, was unleashed on the Posada story all night and here's some of their work. 

---Bergen Record columnist Bob Klapisch said Posada's simmering temper finally bubbled over in what will be remembered as the lowest point of his career.

---Post columnist Joel Sherman says this is another example of how tough it is for Yankee icons to ride into the sunset peacefully and that the catcher set off a five-alarm Bronx Zoo flashback.

---In the Daily News, Bill Madden wonders if Posada forgot Brian Cashman was the guy who put emotion aside in ending the Yankee careers of Bernie Williams and Joe Torre and had the acrimonious contract talks with Derek Jeter.

---ESPNNY's Wally Matthews says the Posada affair is a warning sign on what's to come as the Yankees' stars all age deep into their deals. Andrew Marchand goes one step further and says Posada had a sittin like Pippen moment that is now forever a part of his legacy.

---In the Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy says the two AL East rivals have suddenly reversed course this month.

This won't go away for some time of course and tonight's game is on ESPN. Stay tuned.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

CLEVELAND -- What's that old adage? Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose ... and sometimes it rains.

Or in the case of Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field, it comes down like cats, dogs, sea lions, otters and elephants (click pic at left for a bigger view from the press box). We were in the bottom of the first with no score, two Indians on base on Friday night hero Travis Hafner at the plate when the skies opened and never stopped. It was a biblical flood that inundated center field.

They finally banged this one after a wait of about two hours but not before we saw Charlie Brown and Baseball Bugs, another all-time classic, on the jumbotron. Very nice touch.

Bugs Bunny - Baseball bugs

I'll probably make it home in time to see most of Yankees-Red Sox and all of Bruins-Lightning. Here's a cheap plug alert: Sometime in the next couple of weeks, be on the lookout for a big takeout on the resurgence of the Tribe and the hope this group is bringing to Cleveland in the post-LeBron era

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

CLEVELAND -- There's plenty of talk here about empty seats but I don't know what all the fuss is about. I walked into Progressive Field Friday night and it seemed a lot like, oh, 1995 or 1997 or 2007. There wasn't a sellout but there were 33,000+ in the house -- and the walkup crowd was more than 8,500.

And the Indians won again in walkoff fashion, stunning Eric Wedge's Mariners, 5-4, on a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth from Travis Hafner. The place erupted when the ball cleared the center-field fence and so did Hafner's teammates (right). I've been here for many of these kinds of games over the years but this one pushes near the top of the list.  Click here to watch the dramatic video.

"We're having a blast," Hafner said. "Winning is obviously a big part of that when you have good chemistry on a team. It makes coming to the park a lot of fun again."

These guys are for real and the AL Central is a weak, weak division. The Tigers might be their only challenger. One more starting pitcher at the trade deadline and the Tribe might turn this into a runaway.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Photo: Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- We've made it three hours to the west for tonight's Indians-Mariners game at Progressive Field in what will be ex-Indians and Bisons manager Eric Wedge's first game here since he was fired following the 2009 season. Keep it here for some updates later today on Wedge's pregame chat with the media, set for 5:25 p.m., and perhaps an update on Grady Sizemore's latest knee injury.

It's a busy Friday around the majors as well. Among the highlights: 

---The Yankees and Red Sox meet for the first time this year as they open a three-game set in the Bronx. Tonight's game at is 7 on YES and features a pitching matchup of Bartolo Colon and Clay Buchholz. Lots of questions around both teams, with the Yankees coming off Thursday's 11-5 whipping at the hands of the Royals and the Red Sox still reeling below .500

---Calm and cool Tigers ace Justin Verlander is the latest to try to match Johnny Vander Meer as he faces the Royals in his first start since Saturday's no-hitter in Toronto.

---Jered Weaver goes for his seventh win as the Angels play the Rangers in Texas.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Sad news coming this morning out of Minnesota: Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew says he has exhausted all of his treatment options for esophageal cancer and will be entering hospice care to spend the final days with his wife, Nita, by his side.

In a statement Killebrew issued today through the team, Killebrew said, "I have spent the past decade of my life promoting hospice care and educating people on its benefits. I am very comfortable taking this next step and experiencing the compassionate care that hospice provides."

Killebrew, who was diagnosed in December, had a statue of his famous swing unveiled outside Target Field last year. He's 11th on the all-time home run list with 573.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

---The Bisons announced that infielder Michael Fisher and pitcher Dylan Owen were promoted to the team. Fisher was with Double-A Binghamton while Owen was with Single-A Brooklyn. Also, Bisons outfielder Fernando Martinez was sent up to the Mets and pitcher Tobi Stoner has been taken off the Bisons disabled list and transferred to Single-A St. Lucie.

---Rodney McKissic

(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)

---The Herd seeks the series win after back-to-back victories over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Bisons are 4-3 on its current homestand which ends today. Here is the starting lineup for this afternoon's game:

Ruben Tejada, ss
Jesus Feliciano, rf
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Luis Hernandez, 2b
Nick Evans, lf
Michael Fisher, 3b
Salomon Manriquez, dh
Raul Chavez, c
Josh Stinson, p

---Rodney McKissic

(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)

The Bisons host Scranton for the third of a four-game series tonight and Chris Schwinden, the revelation of the rotation, is on the mound. He's 2-1 and fifth in the IL with a 2.00 ERA. And keep in mind, he started the season in the Double-A Binghamton bullpen.

Schwinden's first mission: Not getting lit up by Scranton cleanup hitter Jorge Vazquez. He went deep again last night and is 9 for 21 against the Bisons this year with five home runs in five games. It adds up to a ridiculous slugging percentage of 1.143 and OPS of 1.597.

Vazquez and teammate Justin Maxwell are tied for the league home run lead with 12. Vazquez is third in slugging percentage at .606. Would be nice to see him not threaten the Thruway ramp tonight.

Look for rehabbing Mets reliever Bobby Parnell to throw an inning tonight and another one tomorrow afternoon. He's had numbness in the middle finger of his pitching hand.

Here are tonight's lineups:

Scranton-WB
Chris Dickerson, cf
Luis Nunez, ss
Jesus Montero, dh
Jorge Vazquez, 1b
Justin Maxwell, lf
Brandon Laird, 3b
Jordan Parraz, rf
Gustavo Molina, c
Doug Bernier, 2b
---
David Phelps, p

Buffalo
Ruben Tejada, ss
Jesus Feliciano, rf
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Luis Hernandez, 2b
Nick Evans, lf
Salomon Manriquez, dh
Mike Nickeas, c
Jonathan Malo, 3b
---
Chris Schwinden, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Val Pascucci's six-RBI night for the Bisons in Tuesday's win over Scranton-Wilkes Barre was a first for the Herd since Todd Linden had six in 2008 at Durham. Bisons PR maven Brad Bisbing quickly provided that nugget during the game Tuesday.

Bisbing did some more research today and found it's just the third time in the last 11 years a Bison had six RBIs at home. The record is 9, set by Dusty Wathan in his three-homer game in 2005 against Toledo. Sean McNally had seven against Norfolk in 2001. Here's the list of top RBI games in recent seasons, both home and away:

9 - Dusty Wathan vs. Toledo, June 2, 2005
8 - Earl Snyder at Syracuse, June 13, 2002
7 - Ernie Young at Rochester, April 29, 2004
7 - Sean McNally vs. Norfolk, May 20, 2001
6 - Val Pascucci vs. Scranton, May 10, 2011
6 - Todd Linden at Durham, July 31, 2008
6 - Ryan Mulhern at Columbus, April 16, 2007
6 - Mike Kinkade at Syracuse,  Aug. 25, 2005
6 - Ryan Ludwick at Pawtucket, Aug. 17, 2004 (became second Bison all-time and first since 1934 to homer twice in an inning)
6 - Ryan Ludwick at Syracuse, July 23, 2004
6 - Alex Escobar at Indianapolis, May 9, 2003

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)