Inside Pitch

Even though he's 6-foot-10, don't think Randy Johnson when you watch Chris Young. He doesn't overpower you. He beats you with guile. With six shutout innings in Thursday's 3-0 loss to Columbus, Young (left) sent the New York Mets a strong message he could be ready to go a year after shoulder surgery.

"If he feels good, I think he's ready for the big leagues," said Bisons manager Wally Backman. "Maybe he needs another start. If that's what he wants to try to sharpen up a couple things. We're basically going to leave that up to him and tell us how he feels."

"I'll do what's best for the New York Mets. We'll sit down and discuss it," Young said. "We're trying to win a championship there. That's most important. The team is off to a great start and obviously I want to be a part of it.

I feel good and given the results today I feel like I'm pretty close to being ready. We'll sitdown and talk and see what they feel is appropriate. If it's here, that''s great. If it's in New York, I'll be ready to help win a ballgame there."

Catcher Josh Thole said he felt the ball was coming out of Young's hand even better than early last year before his surgery so that's another good sign. An hour or so after the game, Thole and Elvin Ramirez were called up by the Mets. Struggling reliever Manny Acosta, meanwhile, has accepted his assignment to Buffalo.

Click below to hear audio from Young, Thole and Backman.

Chris Young

Josh Thole

Wally Backman

As for the Triple-A All-Star Game, the International League released the first set of ballot leaders in online voting for the game July 11 in Buffalo and Bisons pitcher Matt Harvey and shortstop Omar Quintanilla (currently in New York) are leading at their positions, while Matt Tuiasosopo is one of the top three outfielders.  Josh Satin (1b), Valentino Pascucci (dh) and Fernando Cabrera (relief pitcher) are all third.

The overall IL vote leader is Columbus outfielder Matt LaPorta. The top pitcher is Toledo's Chris Bootcheck. Voting ends June 22.

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

Chris Young photo: Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News

Greetings from sun-splashed Coca-Cola Field, as the Bisons will wrap up the longest homestand in their history -- a 16-game, 17-day affair -- with today's 10:35 a.m. game against the Columbus Clippers. It's the annual School Kids Day game, with more than 10,000 children expected to be on hand.

The Bisons have won the first three games of the series, and are trying to make this the third straight four-game sweep between the teams in Buffalo. The Bisons took all four meetings against the Cleveland affiliate in 2010, while the Clippers won all four here last year. The Bisons are 31-22, and a win would push them a season-high 10 games over .500, their first time at that mark since Aug. 28, 2010.

The Bisons are 9-6 on the homestand thus far (although the four-game split with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre officially counts as road games). Outfielder/3B Matt Tuiasosopo (.309-2-12) and OFs Corey Wimberly (.304) and Fred Lewis (.300-2-7) have been stars on the stand. Valentino Pascucci has forged a 24-game on-base streak, although he's batting just .220 (11-50). Wimberly will DH today after feeling a tweak in his arm while throwing from the outfield last night (9:30 a.m. update -- Wimberly scratched and Michael Fisher will dH)

Starter Matt Harvey and reliever Justin Hampson are both 2-0, setup man Elvin Ramirez seems headed to New York at any moment because he's made 11 straight scoreless appearances overall, and closer Fernando Cabrera has three saves on the stand. 

At 6-foot-10, starting pitcher Chris Young becomes the tallest Bison in history with today's start. He'll be throwing to catcher Josh Thole, who was cleared to enter last night's game as a DH once his concussion rehab paperwork was approved.

There is plenty of interest in Young's start in New York, and today's game will be shown live nationwide on MLB Network. Really good exposure for the Bisons and for broadcaster Ben Wagner. Locally, however, the MLB Network broadcast is blacked out because the feed is simply the one being used on Time Warner Cable Sportnet.  So if you're a Time Warner customer, you can watch the game as normal on Channel 13. If you're on FIOS (like I am), DirecTV or Dish, you're outta luck. 

That's just absurd. There are two Bisons game this season -- two. Time Warner should be allowing them into everyone's homes in Western New York. The Bisons should be demanding it. And if the words "Time Warner" come through to a viewer on FIOS or DirecTV 100 times in three hours, how exactly is that a bad thing?

But I digress.  Television, especially cable, in this market continues to be utterly goofy. Here's today's lineup for the Bisons:

Corey Wimberly, dh Michael Fisher, dh
Josh Thole, c
Valentino Pascucci, rf
Fred Lewis, lf
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Josh Satin, 1b
Brad Emaus, 2b
Raul Reyes, cf
Sean Kazmar, ss
---
Chris Young, p

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

Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia will don a Buffalo Bisons uniform for the first time in more than a year tonight as he continues to make his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Mejia's comeback hits the Triple-A level after four comeback starts, two at Class A St. Lucie and two at Double-A Binghamton. He's gone at least five innings but no more than six in four of those startsq.

Mejia left Buffalo's April 29, 2011 game at Rochester after four innings upon experiencing discomfort in his right elbow. He was diagnosed with a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament and underwent surgery three weeks later. The 22-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic entered 2011 as the organization's top-rated prospect by Baseball America.

This is the third game of the four-game set with Columbus, with the Bisons having won the first two. The series concludes at 10:35 tomorrow morning.

Tonight's Lineups
COLUMBUS
Ezequiel Carrera, cf
Jason Donald, ss
Cord Phelps, 2b
Matt LaPorta, lf
Jared Goedert, rf
Russ Canzler, 1b
Beau Mills, dh
Andy LaRoche, 3b
Matt Pagnozzi, c
***
David Huff, p (3-1, 3.08)

BUFFALO
Corey Wimberly, cf
Josh Thole, dh
Valentino Pascucci, rf
Fred Lewis, lf
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Josh Satin, 1b
Brad Emaus, 2b
Lucas May, c
Sean Kazmar, ss
*****
Jenrry Mejia, p (0-0, 0.00)

-- Bob DiCesare

Folks in New York want as much information on Matt Harvey as they can get every time he pitches for the Buffalo Bisons. Of course, sometimes, I've got to stick with the game if the outcome doesn't involve Harvey very much.

Such was the case Tuesday as Harvey, the Mets'  No. 1 draft choice in 2010, pitched six innings but got a no-decision in Buffalo's 3-1 win over Columbus. My story centered on new cleanup man Matt Tuiasosopo driving in the winning run in the two-run eighth. So for those of you looking for Harvey info, especially if you reside in one of the five boroughs, here are some stats and thoughts:

---Harvey is 5-1, 3.94 in 11 starts. He's given up 54 hits in 59 1/3 innings, struck out 56 and walked 26. Opponents are batting .240 against him. Strangely, lefties are at just .207 while righties are at .263.

---Harvey still has some command issues (four walks tonight, equaling his season high set on Opening Day) and doesn't use his changeup a whole lot. His best one came in the fifth, when 2011 IL MVP Russ Canzler took a 79-mph pitch for strike three. Harvey's velocity was lower in Tuesday's start, ranging from 88-91. He did not stay in the 92-94-mph range we've seen, clearly opting for more control with less velocity. And it worked well in a 10-pitch first inning and a nine-pitch fourth.

---Talked to a couple scouts pregame and they're in agreement that Harvey will be a good major-league pitcher. Is he a future No. 1 starter? At this point, no.  But he's a solid No. 3. And if he can master secondary pitches, and use them more, there's plenty of room for him to rise up the ladder. 

---Harvey is clearly getting better as the season moves along. His ERA in April was 4.85 in five starts and opponents hit .269 against him. It was 3.24 in May in six starts and the opposing BA was just .215. And he's not finding trouble right away in innings either, as leadoff batters are just 9 for 55 (.164).

---I liked how Harvey retired nine of the next 10 hitters after walking two straight in the second inning. ""He just lost his rhythm a bit," said manager Wally Backman. "And then he seemed to fight through it and get better."

---One area of stat concern that needs more study: Harvey's ERA in innings 1-2-3 is 2.45. In innings 4-5-6, it balloons to 6.04.

---So far, the Mets are playing this one perfectly. Don't rush the guy. Get through the Mike Pelfrey opening with the Chris Schwindens,  Miguel Batistas and Jeremy Hefners of the world for as long as you can. Frankly,  I want Harvey to have a chance to pitch in the Triple-A All-Star Game in his home park. He should make at least 20 starts in Buffalo this season. Then we'll see.

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

The Bisons play the second game of their four-game set tonight against Columbus in Coca-Cola Field and old reliable Omar Quintanilla will be starting at shortstop at Citi Field for the Mets against the Phillies. Quintanilla, who is manager Wally Backman's choice as Herd MVP thus far, had played in 48 of Buffalo's first 51 games (second on the club to Josh Satin's 49). He was batting .282 and was suprisingly second on the team to Valentino Pascuci in both home runs (6) and RBIs (27).

Quintanilla, who has big-league time with the Rockies and Rangers, and pitcher Chris Schwinden were both called up by the Mets late Monday afternoon. The Bisons have added reliever Jeff Stevens off the disabled list and shortstop Sean Kazmar from Double-A Binghamton, where he was hitting just .236 with one homer and nine RBIs. Kazmar has spent the last three years in Triple-A with Portland (San Diego) and Tacoma (Seattle) and played 19 games for the Padres in 2008.

Matt Harvey (5-1, 4.22) is on the mound for the Bisons tonight, looking for his sixth straight win. If he gets it, the Mets' top pitching prospect would rejoin Syracuse's Zach Duke in a tie for the IL victory lead (Duke improved to 6-2 today by pitching six innings in the Chiefs' 6-2 win at Louisville). The Bisons have had a six-game winning streak by a pitcher 10 times in their modern era, last by Nelson Figueroa in 2009. Harvey is 3-0, 3.62 in his five May starts with 27 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings.

In other transaction news, Mets catcher Josh Thole, on the road back from a concussion, is due to be here Wednesday and will serve as the DH. Thole will then catch Chris Young's start Thursday morning.

Here's the Bisons' lineup tonight:

Corey Wimberly, cf
Fred Lewis, lf
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Matt Tuiasosopo, rf
Josh Satin, 1b
Brad Emaus,  2b
Lucas May, c
Michael Fisher, 3b
Oswaldo Navarro, ss
---
Matt Harvey, p

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

Columbus is in town for a four-game series that opens at 2 this afternoon. The Clippers (Cleveland) have won three straight to improve to 5-5 in their last 10. The Bisons also are playing .500 ball over that stretch.

COLUMBUS (24-25)
Ezequiel Carrera, cf
Jason Donald, ss
Cord Phelps, 2b
Matt LaPorta, dh
Jared Goedert, lf
Chad Huffman, rf
Russ Canzler, 1b
Andy LaRoche, 3b
Matt Pagnozzi, c
******
Zach McAllister, p (3-1, 2.83)

BUFFALO (28-22)
Corey Wimberly, cf
Fred Lewis, lf
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Josh Satin, 1b
Jordany Valdespin, 2b
Lucas May, c
Dustin Martin, rf
Omar Quintanilla, ss
****
Dylan Owen, p (2-2, 3.19)

-- Bob DiCesare

It looks like pitching is going to be the focus this week in Coca-Cola Field. Bisons right-hander Chris Schwinden meets Scranton veteran Ramon Ortiz in the wrapup of the four-game series against the Yankees today. Ortiz, remember, pitched eight games for the Bisons in 2010 and was a 15-game winner for the 2002 Anaheim Angels. He was also the winner of Game Three in the 2002 World Series at San Francisco.

The Columbus Clippers hit town Monday for a 2:05 game and the teams have just finalized the pitching matchups that feature some good names. Zach McAllister, just back from Cleveland after going 1-1 in four starts, goes for the Clippers on Monday. Mets megaprospect Matt Harvey looks to move to 6-1 on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Jenrry Mejia makes his first Triple-A start in more than a year after Tommy John surgery against David Huff, a standout for the 2008 Bisons.

On Thursday morning, in a 10:35 start on MLB Network, 6-foot-10 right-hander Chris Young will make his Buffalo debut on the road back from shoulder surgery. He was 1-0, 1.88 in four starts for the Mets last year before the injury. Young won 39 games in the big leagues from 2005-2008 with Texas and San Diego.

Here's today's lineups for the finale with Scranton, with the Bisons again batting as the visitor:

Buffalo
Corey Wimberly,  cf
Fred Lewis, lf
Josh Satin, 1b
Valentino Pascucci,  dh
Matt Tuiasosopo, rf
Jordany Valdespin, 2b
Lucas May, c
Michael Fisher,  3b
Omar Quintanilla,  ss
---
Chris Schwinden, p

Scranton-WB
Kevin Russo, lf
Matt Antonelli, 2b
Steve Pearce, 1b
Jack Cust, dh
Brandon Laird, 3b
Colin Curtis,  cf
Francisco Cervelli, c
Cole Garner,  rf
Ramiro Pena,  ss
---
Ramon Ortiz, p

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

It's been a pretty entertaining three games for the Bisons and Yankees so far in Coca-Cola Field, Scranton's "home" for the weekend. The Bisons survived to win Saturday, 8-7, as closer Fernando Cabrera got out of a ninth-inning jam -- including a key strikeout of Jack Cust, Friday's walk-off hero.

Some quick numbers from the series so far:

Runs: 21-17, Buffalo
Hits: 32-29, Buffalo

RISP at bats: Buffalo 10-33, Scranton 7-25
LOB: Buffalo 23, Scranton 17

Average time: 3 hours, 15 minutes.

Nice pitching matchup Sunday as Chris Schwinden goes for the Herd against Scranton veteran Ramon Ortiz,   who made eight starts for the Bisons two years ago and went 15-9 for the 2002 World Series champion Anaheim Angels.

Click here for Harry Scull Jr's photo gallery from Saturday's game, including some Dog Day at the park activities.

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

After a 3-hour, 43-minute affair last night ended in bizarre walk-off fashion on Jack Cust's homer, the Bisons and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are back at it again this afternoon a scant 14 hours after they finished.

The teams have split the first two games of the four-game set, which has Scranton as the home team in each game. It's quite a logjam in the IL North as Pawtucket still leads the division, Lehigh Valley is second and 1 1/2 games out, with the Bisons 2 1/2 back and Scranton 3 1/2 out. By far the toughest of the three divisions in the IL.

Largely the same lineups for both teams except that Friday night catchers Lucas May and Francisco Cervelli get the days off. Here's the rundown:

Buffalo
Corey Wimberly, cf
Fred Lewis, lf 
Josh Satin, 1b
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Jordany Valdespin, 2b
Jean Luc Blaquiere,  c
Dustin Martin, rf
Omar Quintanilla,  ss
---
Garrett Olson, p

Scranton/WB 
Kevin Russo,  cf
Matt Antonelli, ss 
Steve Pearce, 1b
Jack Cust, dh
Ronnier Mustelier,lf
Brandon Laird,  3b
Cole Garner,  rf
Gustavo Molina,  c
Ramiro Pena, 2b
----
D.J. Mitchell, p 

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

The Bisons pounded Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 12-3, in their home opener April 11 in Coca-Cola Field and the pitching matchup for tonight's 7:05 game is the same prospect-studded one we had that afternoon: Jeurys Familia for Buffalo against Dellin Betances of Scranton.

Familia is 4-1,  4.35 and got his first Triple-A win that day with five innings and eight strikeouts. But he continues to struggle with walks and high pitch counts; he needed 87 pitches just to get through 3 2/3 innings of his last start Saturday against Indianapolis.

The 6-foot-8 Betances, a New York native who is one of the Yankees' top prospects, is 2-4,  5.24. He allowed eight runs and matched his career-high by allowing three homers in the first matchup with the Bisons.

Bisons reliever Jack Egbert has been called up to the Mets, with Pedro Beato joining the Herd bullpen on injury rehab. Here are tonight's lineups:

Buffalo
Corey Wimberly, cf
Fred Lewis, lf
Josh Satin, 1b
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Jordany Valdespin, 2b
Lucas May, c
Dustin Martin, rf
Omar Quintanilla,  ss
----
Jeurys Familia, p

Scranton/WB
Kevin Russo, cf
Matt Antonelli,  2b
Steve Pearce, 3b
Jack Cust, dh
Ronnier Mustelier,  lf
Brandon Laird,  1b
Francisco  Cervelli, c
Cole Garner,  rf
Ramiro Pena, ss
---
Dellin Betances, p

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

Online balloting began today and runs through June 22 for the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 11 in Coca-Cola Field and the Buffalo Bisons have just released more information on ticket sales and some of the festivities surrounding the Triple-A Home Run Derby on July 9. Here's a rundown:

Tickets: The Bisons have announced that fewer than 7,000 tickets remain for the All-Star Game, meaning more than 11,000 have been sold, and fewer than 8,500 remain for the Home Run Derby. All party areas and luxury suites have also been sold for both events. The Triple-A All-Star Gala July 10 at Shea's Buffalo and the All-Star Luncheon July 11 at the Adam's Mark are both sold out.

Tickets for the game are $25 and for the Home Run Derby are $15. They can be purchased at the ballpark, at Bisons.com or by calling THE-HERD (716-843-4373). Fans can get both events for $35 and can save $5 per ticket by hosting a group outing of 20 or more people.

There are also limited spots remaining for an all-you-can-eat pavilion for the home run derby. For $30, you get a ticket to the derby and an all-you-can-eat buffet for two hours in the ballpark's pavilion area in right-center field. Fans who already have derby tickets can upgrade for $20. These spots can be ordered by calling THE-HERD (716-843-4373).

Home Run Derby: The derby will start at 7 p.m. on July 9 and it will feature three sluggers from the Pacific Coast League and three from the International League (good bet you'll see Bisons star Valentino Pascucci in it). Between rounds, a Celebrity Home Run Derby has been added with a lineup that has more spots to fill but already includes some big names. Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly will take his swings, as will current Bills running back Fred Jackson and CEO Russ Brandon, a St. John Fisher College Hall of Famer in baseball. 

New England Patriots tight end and Williamsville native Rob Gronkowski is on the list, and so is Buffalo native and Hollywood writer/actor Nick Bakay. Appearances by The Famous Chicken are also on tap for the derby.

Youth initiatives: The Bisons have teamed up with Subway restaurants for a "Subway Shagger Lottery." Local youth teams can sell tickets to both the Home Run Derby and the Triple-A All-Star Game with a part of the proceeds going back into their league. For every 30 tickets sold, the team receives an entry in a lottery, with two teams being chosen to be Subway Shaggers at the Triple-A Home Run Derby.

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

Welcome to our weekend of bizarro baseball.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees took batting practice first. They're listed on the bottom of the scoreboard and the Bisons are on top of the lineup card (left, click for bigger view).

Things are going to be upside down at Coca-Cola Field the next four games as the Bisons play "road" games against Scranton. So among other things, as I wrote in this morning's story, the Herd could be walkoff losers in their own park because of Scranton's stadium reconstruction that's forcing them to play the entire season on the road.

Be sure to see Friday's paper for a more in-depth look at the Scranton situation, including some comments I got from manager Dave Miley prior to batting practice today.

As for tonight's game, Mets mega prospect Matt Harvey is on the mound for Buffalo trying to improve upon his 4-1 record. Harvey is 2-0, 3.68 in four May starts, striking out 25 and walking 10 in 22 innings. Here are tonight's lineups (remember, Bisons batting first):

Buffalo
Corey Wimberly, cf
Fred Lewis, lf
Josh Satin, 1b
Valentino Pascucci, dh
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Jordany Valdespin, 2b
Lucas May, c
Dustin Martin, rf
Omar Quintanilla,  ss
---
Matt Harvey, p

Scranton/WB 
Kevin Russo, cf
Matt Antonelli,  2b
Steve Pearce, 1b
Jack Cust,  dh
Ronnier Mustelier, lf
Brandon Laird,  3b
Francisco Cervelli, c
Cole Garner, rf
Ramiro Pena,  ss
---
Adam Warren, p

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

The New York Daily News tried to hit a home run this morning and got plenty of people talking with a story that said the $2.175 billion sale of the Dodgers has the Steinbrenner family seriously thinking about a sale of the Yankees. There's talk in New York a sale of the Bronx Bombers could bring close to $3 billion, which would be a tidy profit when you consider the late George Steinbrenner bought them from CBS in 1973 for a mere $8.8 million.

(My thought: Exactly who are they figuring to pony up and spend $2.5-$3 billion? Lo and behold, the Daily News offered some suggestions too)

Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner released a statement in response to the article that reads, "I just learned of the Daily News story. It is pure fiction. The Yankees are not for sale. I expect that the Yankees will be in my family for many years to come."

That seems pretty definitive, doesn't it? We'll see.

The Boomer & Carton Show this morning on WFAN in New York had Yankees COO Lonn Trost and Daily News writer Bill Madden on to discuss the story. Naturally, they had quite different views.

Click here to listen to the Trost interview.

Click here to listen to the Madden interview

-------

Speaking of the Yankees, be sure to check out today's story on the Triple-A version's trip into town tonight. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will be the home team the next four days while playing the Bisons in Coca-Cola Field. Look for a more in-depth feature on the odd situation in Friday's editions of The News.

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

Chris Schwinden is back with the Herd and ready to make his schedueld start as the Buffalo Bisons close out their four-game series with the Indianapolis Indians at 1:05 today. Buffalo has lost two straight and is 1-2 agianst the Indians this season.

Schwinden's earned run average of 2.54 is the sixth-lowest in the International League. He was promoted to the New York Mets on Sunday but did not pitch, allowing him to keep his normal spot in the Bisons' starting rotation. In his last start for the Herd, a win over Gwinnett Thursday, Schwinden gave up two runs on six hits in six innings of work.

The Bisons are off on Wednesday and return to Coca-Cola Field on Thursday when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre comes to town. But the Bisons will be the away team on the scoreboard and in the batting order as Scranton is the "home" team. The Yankees are playing all their games on the road this year.

Today's Bison lineup:

Corey Wimberly -- CF
Fred Lewis -- LF
Josh Satin -- 1B
Valentino Pascucci -- RF
Matt Tuiasosopo -- 3B
Brad Emaus -- 2B
Jean Luc Blaquiere -- C
Omar Quintanilla -- SS
Chris Scwinden -- P

--- Amy Moritz 

Well it's 6 p.m. and the tarp is still on field as showers pass through downtown Buffalo. There is blue sky to be seen from the stadium so hope remains that the 7:05 game between the Buffalo Bisons and Indianpolis Indians will go off as scheduled.

Bisons starter Garrett Olson will face his former team for the first time today. Olson was 4-3 with a 3.05 earned run average for the Indians last year. This year with the Herd, he is 1-3 with  3.59 ERA.

Tonight's Bison lineup:

Corey Wimberly -- CF
Fred Lewis -- LF
Josh Satin -- 1B
Valentino  Pascucci -- RF
Matt Tuiasosopo -- 3B
Brad Emaus -- 2B
Lucas May -- C
Omar Quintanilla -- SS
Garrett Olson -- P

--- Amy Moritz 

The New York Mets just confirmed the scenario we reported in today's paper -- Bisons' three-home run man Vinny Rottino has been called up to the big leagues for tonight's game in Pittsburgh and pitcher Chris Schwinden has been returned to the Herd so he can make Tuesday afternoon's start against Indianapolis.

Rottino is batting .307 with four homers and 25 RBIs for Buffalo this season. The Mets have dropped back to 12 pitchers now that they're back in National League play after spending the weekend in Toronto, and Rottino gives them 13 positional players.

Schwinden, meanwhile, puts the Bisons back to at least four regular starting pitchers (along with Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Garrett Olson). Dylan Owen can spot start in the other slot, unless someone is brough up from Binghamton. Olson goes tonight at 7:05 against Indy.

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

As you can imagine, Vinny Rottino was still in a good mood this morning after his three-homer game Saturday night, just the fourth by a Buffalo Bisons hitter in Coca-Cola Field's 25 seasons. Rottino drove in five runs in the 11-6 win over Indianapolis, and stunned everybody in the house with his three bombs when you consider he entered the game with just one home run on the season and only 74 in a 10-year career. 

"That's kind of cool. Definitely," Rottino said. "I love minor league baseball. I love to play. I play as hard as I can every day but ultimately you're working on the stuff that will get you to the big leagues. That's what I've been doing. Stay consistent and see what happens."

What's going to happen is Rottino is likely joining the Mets in Pittsburgh tomorrow. They need another bench player when they get back to NL action after leaving the DH land of Toronto. Having another guy who can catch can help too. So Rottino's .316 average may only be in the Buffalo lineup one more day as the Herd meets Indy again in a 1:05 start. 

Today's lineup
Corey Wimberly, cf
Fred Lewis, lf
Vinny Rottino, c
Val Pascucci, rf
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3b
Jordany Valdespin, 2b
Josh Satin, 1b
Omar Quintanilla, ss
Jack Egbert, p

Three-homer games at Coca-Cola Field
Vinny Rottino vs. Indy,  May 19, 2012
Val Pascucci vs. Indy,  June 18, 2010
Dusty Wathan vs. Toledo, June 2, 2005
Jeff Manto vs. Iowa, July 14, 1997 

If you missed last night's outburst, here's all six of the home runs by the Bisons, their most since connecting for seven against Syracuse on July 2, 2004. Solid nights behind the mic, as usual, for Ben Wagner and Duke McGuire.

Meanwhile, on the Mets beat, I had a chance to talk to red-hot David Wright prior to Friday night's game in the Rogers Centre and you can read his comments in today's Inside Baseball column. Wright is battling a head cold but he's back in the lineup today in Toronto.

New York Daily News columnist Bob Raissman has a good take on the honesty of Terry Collins. Especially in the wake of John Tortorella's tired act with the Rangers. 

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

While righty Jeurys Familia (4-1, 4.06 ERA) is set to start tonight against Indianapolis at Coca-Cola Field, Sunday's starting spot for the Buffalo Bisons opened up this morning. That's when Jeremy Hefner was recalled by the New York Mets and drove up the QEW to Toronto for the afternoon game. Herd manager Wally Backman said reliever Jack Egbert would take the Hefner's starting spot for Sunday's afternoon game. "He'll be on a pitch count," Backman said during batting practice. "It's going to be a bullpen kinda day for us."

But before the Herd gets to Sunday, they kick off their four-game series with the Indians. It's the first meeting of the season between the clubs. The Indians won the series last year, 6-2.

Tonight's Bisons' lineup:

Corey Wimberly -- CF
Brad Emaus -- 2B
Vinny Rottino -- C
Valentino Pascucci -- RF
Matt Tuiasosopo -- LF
Josh Satin -- 1B
Oswaldo Navarro -- SS
Michael Fisher -- 3B
Jeurys Familia -- P

--- Amy Moritz 

TORONTO -- Just realized NHL.com did a neat video on the Mets' team-bonding exercise of wearing NHL sweaters that I wrote about in today's story from the series opener at Rogers Centre.

Check it out below, featuring the donning of the sweaters in the Citi Field clubhouse and the arrival at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto. Among others, you see Johan Santana in the Minnesota Wild, R.A. Dickey in the Nashville Predators and David Wright in a Mighty Ducks sweater (he liked the movie). And props to Jason Bay for the Whale.

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

TORONTO -- Jeremy Hefner won't start Sunday for the Bisons against Indianapolis as the Mets were forced to call him up today to shore up their bullpen after last night's 14-5 debacle against the Blue Jays.  Starter Jon Niese went only three innings and ex-Bisons catcher Rob Johnson had to pitch the eighth, so a long man was needed to back up Miguel Batista for today's game.

The Bisons do, however, get some reinforcements as Jordany Valdespin was optioned back to Buffalo. Valdespin hit .276 with two homers and seven RBIs in 17 games for the Herd. He started in center field in 14 of those games but will likely play mostly second base for the Herd now that Bobby Scales has gone to Japan.

"When he was in Buffalo before, the kid who playing second base there [Scales] was playing absolutely great," Mets manager Terry Collins said here this morning. "But he's not there anymore so I think Valdespin will play a lot more second base, which I think he needs to do."

Valdespin was just 2 for 20 in 15 games with the Mets but one of his hits was a huge one -- a three-run pinch homer in the ninth inning off Philadelphia closer Jonathan Papelbon that gave the Mets a 5-2 win over the Phillies May 7 in Citizens Bank Park.

Valdespin got plenty of outfield work in spring training as well and could play that in the big leagues as well. But don't look for him at shortstop much anymore. Omar Quintanilla is entrenched there in Buffalo and Collins said today the Mets don't envision Valdespin as a shortstop down the road because he simply hasn't played many games there over his minor-league career.

Collins said Ruben Tejada will begin rehab games as soon as Monday. Players typically start at Class A St. Lucie (Fla.) but it's possible Tejada could be in Buffalo for a day or two at the end of next week.

As scheduled, David Wright is getting today off. If you're coming to tomorrow's 1:05 game here, you might not see Wright either. Collins said Wright's head cold is actually worse today than it was yesterday, when he spoke to me through a heavily raspy voice.

Be sure to check out my chat with the game's hottest hitter in Sunday's Inside Baseball column.

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

TORONTO -- The pop-gun offense Yankees are gone and New York's best team is in town tonight in Rogers Centre. That's right, the Mets are 21-17 and actually a game better than the Yankees (20-18) heading into the opener of a three-game series against the Blue Jays. It will be Jonathon Niese (2-1) vs. Ricky Romero (4-1) on the mound.

Manager Terry Collins, the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer, held court with the media in his office late this afternoon and was in a good mood. And why not? Basically every expert pegged this to be a 100-loss team. Instead, the Mets are one of the early surprises in the National League.

"We're just trying to grind it out each and every day," Collins said. "The Yankees are going to get it going. They're not buried by any stretch of the imagination and we're not trying to compare oruselves to the Yankees at all. What's really helped us is we've really pitched good. We've actually played pretty good defense. The nights we make mistakes, we get beat like anybody else."

Heard from a few folks coming this weekend (the games Saturday and Sunday are at 1:05) and here's a word of warning: Collins told us red-hot third baseman David Wright, MLB's leading hitter, is getting the day off Saturday. Wright has a bad head cold and cough and a raspy voice but that's not bothering him: He's batting .411 and has a .513 on-base percentage, best-in-the-bigs numbers that are the highest for any right-handed batter this late in the season since Rico Carty was at .422/.514 for the Atlanta Braves way back in 1970.

Chatted with Wright for a few minutes and he said he's thrilled by where the team has gone thus far.

"We knew coming into spring that we had a bunch of young, talented guys. So far, so good" wright said. "But there's still a long way to go. We understand there will be ups and downs, especially with a young team. Each day we're getting better and better and a lot of these guys are learning on the fly, learning on the job. The more experience and at-bats they get, the better they'll get. We're kind of scratching the surface of what we're capable of."

Be sure to read much more from Wright in my Inside Baseball column in Sunday's editions of The News.

As for the Bisons, click here for Amy Moritz's update on the Herd's series finale against Gwinnett tonight in Coca-Cola Field as Vinny Rottino looks to extend his hitting streak to 21 games.

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

Right fielder Vinny Rottino will put his 20-game hit streak to the test in tonight's fridaynightbash! at Coca-Cola Field as the Bisons conclude their series against the Gwinnett Braves.

Rottino's two-run single Thursday extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest active streak in the International League. He is just the fifth Bison in the modern era to have a 20-game streak, last accomplished by Ben Francisco in 2006 who had a 25-game hitting streak. On the season, Rottino is hitting .317 with one home run, 20 runs batted in and three stolen bases.

Righty Matt Harvey is on the mound for the Herd. In 16 innings of work in May he is 1-0 with a 3.38 earned run average and 14 strikeouts.

Tonight's Bison lineup:

Corey Wimberly -- CF
Fred Lewis -- LF
Vinny Rottino -- RF
Valentino Pascucci -- 1B
Matt Tuiasosopo -- 3B
Josh Satin -- 2B
Omar Quintanilla -- SS
Jean Luc Blaquiere -- C
Matt Harvey -- P

Click here for Mike Harrington's update on the parent Mets, who are opening a three-game series in Toronto tonight.

--- Amy Moritz 

The Buffalo Bisons are sticking with the same lineup tonight that produced 14 runs in defeating the Gwinnett Braves on Wednesday in the second game of a four-game set.

Getting another 14 tonight, however, will be a tall order. The Herd will face Braves right-hander Julio Teheran (3-1, 2.48 ERA), the 2011 International League Pitcher of the Year. As our own Mike Harrington pointed out earlier today, Teheran is baseball's No. 3 prospect, according to MLB.com.

The Bisons counter with right-hander Chris Schwinden, who's making his third home start. The Herd's lineup:

CF Corey Wimberly
LF Fred Lewis
RF Vinny Rottino
1B Valentino Pascucci
3B Matt Tuiasosopo
2B Brad Emaus
SS Omar Quintanilla
C Jean Luc Blaquiere
P Schwinden

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

TORONTO -- Still shaking my head at what I saw last night in Rogers Centre. The Yankees managed just three hits and Hiroki Kuroda gave up three long home runs as the Blue Jays rolled to an 8-1 win. The Bombers don't have Mariano Rivera and David Robertson in their bullpen, don't have much reliable starting pitcher other than CC Sabathia and have and oddly flat offense right now. Just 3 for 52 with runners in scoring position in their eight May losses? That's pathetic.

---Click here for the video of the Blue Jays' four homers in the game, three off Kuroda and one off Cory Eppley. Edwin Encarnacion's three-run shot was a bomb to center and Jose Bautista's leadoff laser in the fifth went in the second deck in left. Listen to the crack of the bat and the "ooooooooooooooh" from the crowd. 

---Derek Jeter did not play last night, his first night off of the season. And the loss of his .366 average was certainly one problem. Jeter played the first 36 games, 30 at shortstop, until last night but Joe Girardi is adament. As he was walking through the clubhouse prior to the game, a couple Yankees beat writers asked him if he was healthy. A smiling Jeter kept right on walking and said, "What do you think?" as he shared a laugh with them. Just checking. 

---If things in the AL East aren't going their way, the Yankees can always fall back on interleague play. It starts for them Friday against the Reds, and the Yankees were 13-5 against the NL last year, pushing their all-time record to an MLB-best 157-109.

 ---Former Yankee DH Hideki Matsui continues on the road back to the big leagues with Tampa Bay as he cracked a two-run double last night in his debut for Durham in a 5-4 loss to Pawtucket, which featured a lineup that had rehabbing Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis. When the teams meet Thursday night, Matsui will face rehabbing Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Memo to my friends in Durham: You're going to need a whole lot more seats than you have in your press box for the Japanese media contingent that is about to converge upon you. Here's Matsui's double:

---Meanwhile, back in Buffalo Jay Skurski has the story on the Bisons'  14-7 win over Gwinnett. Matt Tuiasosopo had an inside-the-park home run -- the first for Buffalo downtown since 2001 -- and shortstop Omar Quintanilla continued his strong play that has manager Wally Backman talking him up as the team MVP to this point. To me, the only two choices are Quintanilla or Vinny Rottino (Val Pascucci started hot, has gotten hot again but had a quite a valley for about 15 games). Here's the inside-the-parker:

The Herd beat up struggling former Atlanta Braves 13-game winner Jair Jurrjens for 11 runs (10 earned) in four-plus innings last night. In tonight's game, there's a great pitching matchup with Buffalo's Chris Schwinden facing top Atlanta prospect Julio Teheran. He's 3-1, 2.48 this year and was the IL Pitcher of the Year in 2011 after going 15-3,  2.55.

There's already some talk of Teheran, a 21-year-old Colombian, pushing back into the Atlanta rotation but the right-hander was 0-1, 9.37 in five spring outings (three starts) for the Braves and landed back in Gwinnett. Teheran is currently baseball's No. 3 prospect, according to MLB.com. Be sure to click on the video included at that link as well (no embed code, sorry!)

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

Online fan balloting for starters to the Triple-A All-Star Game to be held July 11 in Coca-Cola Field will open May 25, it was jointly announced today by the Bisons, International League and Pacific Coast League.

Using online voting services of Major League Baseball Advanced Media,  fans will be able to access the ballots at the official websites of Minor League Baseball (MiLB.com), the PCL (PCLBaseball.com), the IL (ILBaseball.com), and the websites of all 30 Triple-A teams. Balloting runs from May 25-June 22.

Fans can vote for players from both leagues. They can choose one player at each infield position, three outfielders,  a designated hitter and four pitchers -- two starters and two relievers.  Write-in votes will also be accepted. The ballot will be clickable to show updated statistics and position-by-position comparisons.

Fan balloting will account for one-third of the total vote along with ballots cast by members of the media and each club’s field manager, coaches, and general manager. 

Fans can register for a chance to win an MiLB prize pack when they cast their ballots online.  The sweepstakes includes special MiLB prize packages and MiLB.TV subscriptions.

The first edition of Triple-A's midsummer classic was played here in 1988. The 25th annual game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on MLB Network as well as MILB.TV. The Triple-A Home Run Derby will also be held in Buffalo on July 9. Tickets remain on sale at Bisons.com and the Coca-Cola Field box office. The derby is $15, the game is $25 and a combo pack for both events is $35.

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

Bills receiver David Nelson will try and match teammate Fred Jackson's strike when he throws out the first pitch tonight before the Buffalo Bisons take on the Gwinnett Braves.

The Herd, which dropped the opener of a 16-game homestand Tuesday, made a roster move this afternoon, activating left-handed pitcher Chuck James from the disabled list and sending righty Jeff Stevens to Single-A Brooklyn.

The Bisons' lineup for tonight's 7 p.m. first pitch looks like this:

CF Corey Wimberly
LF Fred Lewis
RF Vinny Rottino
1B Valentino Pascucci
3B Mat Tuiasosopo
2B Brad Emaus
SS Omar Quintanilla
C Jean Luc Blaquiere
P Garrett Olson

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

The Buffalo Bisons open their longest home series in modern era history tonight when the Gwinnett Braves visit Coca-Cola Field. The Herd will play their next 16 games downtown.

Buffalo enters tonight's game at 22-16 overall, 2.5 games behind Pawtucket in the International League North standings. Jeremy Hefner will make his seventh start of the season. The right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.77 earned-run average, second in the IL.

Hefner has gone at least seven innings in all but one of his starts and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his outings.

The rest of the Bisons' lineup reads like this:

Corey Wimberly, CF
Fred Lewis, LF
Vinny Rottino, C
Valentino Pascucci, RF
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B
Josh Satin, 1B
Oswaldo Navarro, 2B
Omar Quintanilla, SS
Hefner, P

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

Things are going great these days for Terry Collins' Mets, who were off Thursday after completing a sweep in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

The Mets play their first game at Marlins Park in Miami tonight, notable on one hand for that sheer fact. But it's more notable for this head-shaking nugget: Assuming Johan Santana doesn't throw one, it will be the 8,000th regular season game in franchise history -- and all of them have seen the Mets fail to throw a no-hitter. It's a streak that dates to 1962 and is now feted nightly on Twitter and web sites.

This Wall Street Journal story gives the complete rundown on the streak and even has some quotes from the poor guy who started the Web site nonohitters.com back in 2008 and is still at it today. You'd think the Mets would stumble into one at some point. Strange.

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

Jeurys Familia starts for the Bisons Wednesday night at Gwinnett, hoping to continue his success on the road -- where he has a 1.86 ERA in two starts this season.

Familia and former top draft choice Matt Harvey have gotten all the attention thus far in the Buffalo rotation, and have put up some utterly bizarre home/road splits to this point. Check these out:

Combined home: 6 starts, 1-1, 7.30 ERA, 24.2 IP, 26H, 20 ER, 24 BB, 22 SO
Combined away:  7 starts, 4-1, 2.61 ERA, 38.0 IP, 36H, 11 ER, 17 BB, 39 SO

Harvey home: 2 starts, 0-0, 8.22 ERA, 7.2 IP, 9H,  7 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
Harvey away:  5 starts, 3-1, 2.86 ERA, 28.1 IP, 27H, 9 ER, 11 BB, 27K

Familia home: 4 starts, 1-1, 6.88 ERA, 17 IP, 17H, 13 ER, 19 BB, 17K
Familia away:  2 starts, 1-0, 1.86 ERA, 9.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 12K

It's been cold in Buffalo at times, but not really much worse than any other Northeast city. The whole thing is hard to figure out, especially when you talk about a Buffalo team that's 19-13 overall and 10-6 at home.

When the Bisons come home next week, they'll be playing 16 straight games in Coca-Cola Field. They're going to need two top prospects to start getting comfortable downtown.

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

The most amazing single performance I've ever seen live wasn't even a game. I was in the right-field auxiliary press area in old Yankee Stadium on that July night in 2008 when Josh Hamilton burst on the scene at the All-Star Home Run Derby with his absurdly fun 28-homer outburst.

Hamilton's comeback story from drug and alcohol abuse, of course, has been told many times since (and based on his slip-up during the offseason, it continues). The Rangers are now a two-time defending AL champion looking mighty good for another World Series trip as well.

But last night in Baltimore, Hamilton really took things to new levels. He had never hit more than two homers in a game in the big leagues, but became the 16th player since 1900 to crank four out, and all were two-run shots in a 10-3 win over the Orioles.

Hamilton also doubled and drove in eight runs in a fantasy-lineup bonanza, setting the AL record with 18 total bases. He's the first player to hit four homers in a game since Carlos Delgado did it for the Blue Jays in 2003. Hamilton has homered five times in his last six at-bats over the last two days and is the first player with six extra-base hits in six at-bats since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998.

The Rangers may just want to open that vault for Hamilton's longterm deal right now. He's batting .406, leading the majors with 14 homers and the price is going up by the day. Here's a look at Hamilton's four bombs. Amazing stuff.

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