The Buffalo Bisons, coming off a 3-5 road trip through Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Pawtucket, tonight take on the Gwinnett Braves in the first of a four-game series. Todd Redmond (1-1, 10.24) starts his third game for the Herd against Omar Poveda (5-3, 3.01).
Here is the starting lineup for tonight's game:
Anthony Gose, cf
Jim Negrych, 2b
Mauro Gomez, dh
Luis Jimenez, 1b
Moises Sierra, rf
Ryan Langerhans, lf
Andy LaRoche, 3b
Ryan Goins, ss
Mike Nicheas, c
Todd Redmond, p
A win today would give the Bisons (27-20) a split against the IL West leading Indianapolis Indians (34-16) in this four-game set. Herd begins an eight-game road trip tomorrow in Durham.
Here is the starting lineup for today's game:
Jim Negrych, 2b
Moises Sierra, cf
Luis Jimenez, dh
Mauro Gomez, 1b
Josh Thole, c
Ryan Langerhans, rf
Ricardo Nanita, lf
Ryan Goins, ss
Mike McCoy, 3b
Dave Bush, p
Wind and rain - elements that hindered baseball in WNY during early April - have delayed tonight's game against the Indianapolis Indians. Tonight opens a four-game set against the IL West Division leading Tribe (32-15), who are in first place by 31/2 games. The Bisons, tied for first in the IL North with a 26-18 record, split a four-game set with Charlotte which ended on Tuesday.
Here is the starting lineup for tonight's game:
Jim Negrych, 2b
Moises Sierra, cf
Luis Jimenez, 1b
Mauro Gomez, dh
Josh Thole, c
Andy LaRoche, 3b
Ryan Langerhans, rf
Ricardo Nanita, lf
Ryan Goins, ss
Justin Germano, p
Pawtucket rallied to score eight runs in the sixth inning and went on to defeat the Buffalo Bisons, 8-3, in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Bisons nine consecutive wins was one shy of the club's modern era record. They had won 10 straight twice, first in April (18-28) of 2002 and in August (12-21) of 2004.
Bisons starter Dave Bush retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced until the PawSox Dan Butler started the sixth with a single on a swinging bunt. Pawtucket batted around in the inning as Butler capped the scoring with a two-run homer to center and an 8-3 advantage.
It's pretty common knowledge that Bill Murray is a Cubs fan. What you might not know is that he is a co-owner and Director of Fun for the Charleston RiverDogs, a New York Yankees affiliate in the South Atlantic League.
With Yankees GM Brian Cashman on hand, the Sally League on Tuesday inducted Murray into its Hall of Fame. In the video below (hat tip to OpenCulture.com), Murray gives his induction speech, opening with a description of how mesmerizing it was for him to first walk into Wrigley Field as a youngster.
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
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
Columbus won last year's game over Tacoma, 12-6, in Oklahoma City. Oddly enough, the Clippers overcame 3-0 deficits in both contests. Columbus and Sacramento (2007-2008) are the only teams to win the game in consecutive years since it began in 2006.
I still hate the one-game idea, but it's better than nothing and it gets the season over so players can go on to an MLB call. Back when the Bisons played the Triple-A World Series (losing in 1998 to New Orleans in Las Vegas), it was a best-of-five affair. I'd love to see this go at least best-of-three but logistics are tough.
After five years in Oklahoma City, the game is now going to move around. Albuquerque hosted this year and the 2012 game is in Durham. After that, it's likely to alternate between the leagues. Would imagine the Bisons might throw their hat in the ring for it some year (the IL's next host role available is 2014).
One big plus: They got it on national television again, albeit on Versus when it used to be on ESPN/ESPN2 and probably should sneak on to MLB Network.
One negative: The name. Triple-A National Championship Game? Yawn. When it was in Oklahoma City, it was called the "Bricktown Showdown" because of the Bricktown region of town and the fact it was at Bricktown Ballpark. It was catchy but people outside that city didn't know what that meant either. Maybe they should just go with "Triple-A Showdown."
Happy Labor Day and while you might be celebrating the unofficial end of summer, the International League is marking the official end of its season. Today is the final day of play in the regular season and here are some of the storylines:
---The Bisons finish their campaign with a 1 p.m. game at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. After splitting Sunday night's doubleheader (with the second game cut short by rain), the Bisons are 61-81. They have thus lost 80 games in a season for the second time in three years with the New York Mets -- but just the third time in its 27 years of modern-era Triple-A ball. Not a good reflection for the Amazins.
---As for Scranton, today will be its final game in PNC Field. The ballpark will be bulldozed and completely rebuilt in time for 2013. Yes, 2013. That means the Yankees are going to spend 2012 barnstorming. A decision on that will be announced by Sept. 20. (An aside: The forecast is not good at all for today. Sunday night, in fact, might have been the end of the season for the Herd and Baby Yankees. (1:30 p.m. update: The game began on time under cloudy skies).
---Pawtucket (North), Durham (South) and Columbus (West) have clinched division titles. Lehigh Valley and Gwinnett enter the final day still battling for the wild-card. Lehigh Valley wiped out a 4-1 deficit Sunday night to post a 7-4 win at Syracuse and can take the first playoff spot in its four-year history with a win today at Syracuse. If the IronPigs lose and Gwinnett beats Charlotte, the teams will stage a one-game playoff Tuesday in Allentown, Pa.
---Rochester's 4-3 loss at Pawtucket was its 90th of the season -- the most in the minors -- and gave the Wings back-to-back 90-loss campaigns for the first time since 1903-04.
---Indianapolis won at Louisville, 5-3, to improve to 76-67 and will just miss the playoffs after an horrendous start to the season that saw the Indians open 1-8 and finish April 7-17. Indy had winning records in every other month; the Tribe just ran out of time.
---The playoffs are scheduled to start Wednesday but the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee could have a huge impact on that calendar. Starting with the potential playoff Tuesday night at Lehigh Valley.
Lots of tasks cluttering my mind that include (gasp) a Bills column for Friday's paper. I'll have some thoughts on free agency, especially how Darcy Regier simply has a much easier road than Buddy Nix at this point in time. But there's never "out of time" when it comes to baseball and I've got a few thoughts here:
---Wish the Mets could have gotten more help for the '12 Bisons in exchange for Carlos Beltran. That said, the word is that Zach Wheeler is a solid pitching prospect and GM Sandy Alderson said today they went for one high-ceiling prospect (Wheeler was the No. 6 pick in 2009), rather than a package of three-lower prospects. Maybe he sneaks to Buffalo in the second half of next year. We'll see.
---How about a suspension when umpires make an obvious mistake? Can't think of any candidates offhand .... Can you, Jerry Meals?
---I love this MLB.com collection of calls on the Meals video from both teams' crews. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh's Greg Brown -- the former Bisons and Bills announcer -- goes utterly ballistic around 27 seconds. Classic.
---What a crazy couple of days in Syracuse. Columbus pitcher Justin Germano tossed just the fifth perfect game in IL history Tuesday over the Syracuse Chiefs but the Chiefs nearly got revenge Wednesday as Brad Peacock took a no-hittter into the eighth before a Beau Mills double broke him off. That was the only Columbus hit in a 2-0 Syracuse win. Crazy year in the Cuse. Ex-Bison Michael Aubrey had a four-homer game in June against Durham and now a perfect game.
---Courtesy of the Clippers, here's the final out of the perfecto and the clubhouse scene as Germano comes off the field.
---The Bisons, currently 6-2 on this 10-game homestand, take on Syracuse in a two-game series tonight and Sunday afternoon. Buffalo is an even 23-23 at Coca-Cola Field this season. Here is the starting lineup for tonight's game:
Luis Figueroa, ss Michael Fisher, 3b Nick Evans, rf Val Pascucci, 1b Jason Botts, lf Mike Nickeas, c Luis Hernandez, 2b Jesus Feliciano, cf Mark Cohoon, p
---The last time Chris Schwinden took the mound he retired 17 consecutive batters in a victory over Norfolk. The IL All-Star is also making his staff high 15th start on the year. Here is the starting lineup for tonight's game:
Luis Figueroa, ss Michael Fisher, 3b Nick Evans, lf Val Pascucci, 1b Jesus Feliciano, cf Luis Hernandez, 2b Bubba Bell, rf Raul Chavez, c Chris Schwinden, p
For all Ryne Sandberg accomplished during his Hall of Fame baseball career, June 23, 1984 stands out as the day he became a household name.
In a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs second baseman had a performance for the ages. He went 5-for-6 with two home runs and seven RBIs in a 12-11 victory in 11 innings. Sandberg hit a solo homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning and added a game-tying, two-run shot in the 10th. Both homers came off relief pitcher Bruce Sutter, who was the dominant closer of that era.
That game brought a lot of national attention not only to Sandberg but also to the Cubs, who emerged as contenders and advanced to the postseason for the first time in 39 years. Sandberg went on to win his only National League MVP award. He also began an amazing streak of 10 straight All-star game appearances and nine straight Gold Gloves. Not bad for a guy who played his first full season at second base in 1984.
"It was a one-game thing that elevated my thought of what I was as a player, more of an impact-type of a guy, a game-winning type of a player,'' said Sandberg, manager of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, who beat the host Buffalo Bisons, 6-3, Tuesday in the first game of a four-game series.
"It was my third year in the Major Leagues at the time,'' he said. "I was only 24 years old. It really catapulted me to an MVP season and it also got the Cubs as a national draw. It was a great year. But June 23, which also happens to be my number, it also got me jumped ahead of [L.A. Dodger] Steve Sax as far as me going to the first of my 10 straight All-Star games. I was second place in the voting before that game and within four or five days after that, the game being the Saturday game of the week, I got a lot more votes and started my first All-star game in San Francisco.''
Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg held court with members of the local media at Coca-Cola Field Tuesday before the start of a four-game series between the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and Buffalo Bisons.
Sandberg is in his first season managing the Iron Pigs, and he has them in first place in the International League's North Division. That's an impressive feat for a franchise that has been an IL laughingstock since the former Ottawa Lynx relocated to Allentown, Pa., in 2008. The Iron Pigs started 0-11 in their first year and never spent a day above .500 in the three seasons before Sandberg's arrival.
It's hardly a coincidence. Sandberg was the Pacific Coast League's Manager of the Year in 2010 with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and has won at every other minor league level.
He credits the Philadelphia Phillies for stocking the Lehigh Valley roster with veteran talent, but he deserves credit for making good use of that talent.
“Out of spring training and early in April it was my job to form a team and get them playing together as a group,’’ said Sandberg, who has seen 10 players promoted to the parent club. “It’s a good group to come to the ballpark every day, so I enjoy that and getting in our work. With their talent and with the work that we put in, the wins have been the side effect of all that.’’
However, he was passed over by the Chicago Cubs' managerial job last offseason. It was a stunning snub considering his greatest seasons came with the Cubs, who made him one of four players to have his jersey retired.
Sandberg could have returned to Iowa, but chose to leave the Cubs organization to manage for the Phillies organization, where his 16-year career began in 1978.
"There was a sense of disappointment, but that’s baseball,'' said the 10-time All-Star, nine-time Golden Glove winner, seven-time Silver Slugger recipient and 1984 National League MVP. "The next thing is what do I do now? The Phillies called me right away to see what my plans were. They got good recommendations about what I did in the Minor Leagues, so they offered me this job. I thought it was a great situation to come back here and wear this uniform and help out the Phillies at the Minor League level. I still have a goal of being a part of a World Series, so if I can do it in this capacity that would be ideal. I really enjoy where I’m at.''
For more on Sandberg's playing and managing career, check out my column in Wednesday's Buffalo News.
It's Star Wars Night at Coca-Cola Field, as the Herd takes on the Columbus Clippers in the first game of a four-game series. The Bisons are wearing special Star Wars themed uniforms which will be auctioned off following the game. The Bisons are 1-3 so far on its current homestand after Friday night's loss to Indianapolis. Here is the starting lineup for tonight's game:
Luis Figueroa, ss Michael Fisher, 3b Fernando Martinez, rf Val Pascucci, 1b Zach Lutz, dh Jesus Feliciano, cf Luis Hernandez, 2b Jason Botts, lf Raul Chavez, c Chris Schwinden, p
---Tonight's game is the final matchup between the Bisons and the Indians this season, with Indy taking the season series with five wins. Here is the Bisons starting lineup for tonight's game:
Michael Fisher, 2b Luis Hernandez, ss Valentino Pascucci, 1b Fernando Martinez, rf Zach Lutz, 3b Jason Botts, lf Mike Nickeas, c Jesus Feliciano, cf Mark Cohoon, p
An eight-game homestand starts in just about a half hour at the downtown ballpark as the Buffalo Bisons are back home. They'll kick off a four-game set with the Indianapolis Indians at 7:05 p.m. It's perfect baseball weather here at Coca-Cola Field, with just a gentle breeze and temperatures in the 70s.
For the Bisons, right-hander Josh Stinson will oppose southpaw Justin Wilson on the mound. Stinson is 3-4 with a 5.04 earned-run average. The Bisons wrapped up a 3-5 road trip last night and are 26-33 on the season, 11 games out in the International League North.
Stinson, who has won his last two decisions, will look to help reverse that tonight against the Indians. He's 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA at home this year.
At the plate, Valentino Pascucci has driven in 29 runs for the Herd since May 10, leading the IL. Pascucci is hitting .317 with eight doubles, five homers and 12 runs during that 26-game stretch. He has a team-high 34 RBIs.
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.
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.
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.
---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.
---It's cold and windy at Coca-Cola Field as the Bisons host Louisville for the second of a four-game series. The Herd won 6-5 on Thursday. Here is the starting lineup for tonight's game:
Ruben Tejada, ss Luis Hernandez, 2b Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf Lucas Duda, 1b Nick Evans, 3b Fernando Martinez, rf Jesus Feliciano, lf Mike Nickeas, c Chris Schwinden, p
"As the doctor told us from the very beginning," said GM Frank Wren, "in the big picture – and that’s what we always have to keep in mind – in the big picture this is a really good outcome. He’s alive…. He’s alive."
Salazar is still expected to be ready in 4-6 weeks for his managerial gig at Class A Lynchburg (Va.), so that's certainly good news.
Salazar, 54, played 1,302 big-league games from 1980-1992 with San Diego, Detroit and the Chicago Cubs. He played with the Niagara Falls Pirates in 1976 (where one of his teammates was former Niagara University legend Phil Scaffidi), and had a big season for the 1979 Bisons in their first year back in Double-A as he batted .323 with 27 homers and 86 RBIs on a Buffalo team that also featured future big-leaguer Tony Pena.
Salazar, in fact, is the answer to a major Buffalo baseball trivia question. His walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Herd a 1-0 victory at War Memorial Stadium in its first game as a Double-A franchise after nearly nine years of no pro ball in town.
There will not be any affiliation changes in the International League next season, meaning the Toronto Blue Jays are stuck in the Pacific Coast League and may, in fact, have no choice but to return to Las Vegas. Charlotte (White Sox), Durham (Tampa Bay), Scranton (Yankees) and Norfolk (Baltimore) have all signed through 2014. The only unsigned team is Pawtucket but that's a formality as the PawSox will certainly renew with Boston and extend an affilation that dates to the 1970s.
In the PCL, Texas ended its 28-year affiliation with Oklahoma City today and announced it was moving to Round Rock, the suburban Austin team owned by Nolan Ryan. So that leaves Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Portland (Padres) and Sacramento (Athletics) as the only cities without new agreements. Not much choice for the folks in Toronto. Maybe if they had taken better care of Syracuse in the J.P. Ricciardi days, they wouldn't be stuck in this situation now.
On the field, meanwhile, Columbus took a 2-0 lead in the Governors' Cup finals with Thursday's 4-0 win over Durham. The Clippers can take their first title since 1996 if they win tonight in Durham.
The winner advances to Tuesday's Triple-A National Championship game in Oklahoma City against the PCL champion. Tacoma leads Memphis in that series, 2-0, with Game Three tonight. All games are being played in Memphis because of renovations that are ongoing in Tacoma's ballpark and had to be started immediately following the regular season so they would be ready next April.
If you're in the Southern Tier tonight, the Jamestown Jammers will be hosting Game One of the New York-Penn League playoffs against the league's top team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, at 7:05 in Diethrick Park (directions here). Jamestown won the NY-P wild-card with a 43-32 record. Brooklyn was 51-24. The other semifinal series has Batavia playing Game One tonight at Tri-City. The Muckdogs host Games Two and Three the next two nights in Dwyer Stadium.
Brooklyn is the Mets affiliate is managed by former 1986 Met Wally Backman, seemingly a favorite of the New York media to take over Jerry Manuel's job as soon as next year. But as this column from Steve Popper of the Bergen Record shows, some NYC media are correct in pointing out Backman is still in A ball and should keep quiet. The hitting coach for Brooklyn, by the way, is Benny DiStefano, a 1988 Triple-A all-star who was perhaps the most popular player on the Bisons during the '88 inaugural season in then-Pilot Field.
Lots of choking going on around the diamonds the last few days. The Padres dropped 10 straight and nearly all of their NL West lead before finally snapping the skid with Monday's win over the Giants. It's the first time since the 1932 Pirates a team has lost at least 10 in a row and still maintained a division lead.
In the International League, Wednesday's semifinal openers are set as North Division champ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre plays Columbus, the wild-card team, and South Division champ Durham meets West Division champion Louisville. Columbus lost four straight over the weekend to last-place Toledo to blow the West, allowing Louisville to cap a comeback from 13 games down in early July with its win over Indianapolis.
And there was plenty of drama in the Pacific Coast League as well. Iowa manager Ryne Sandberg did his job to keep Cubdom going by blowing his North Division crown over the final two games at home against defending league champion Memphis. Guess he's got a future in Chicago?
The I-Cubs suffered an 8-7, 15-inning loss on Saturday and dropped Sunday's game, 7-6, after leading by three runs but then giving up a ninth-inning home run (two longballs by ex-Bison Jason Dubois weren't enough for Iowa to survive). The teams actually finish tied but Memphis won the playoff berth on the tiebreaker of best division record. Boo to that. They should have played again today in my book.
So the PCL matchups are Memphis vs. Oklahoma City and Tacoma vs. Sacramento. Durham beat Memphis in last year's Triple-A National Championship and the Sept. 21 game could have the home club in it this year; it's played annually at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.
The Bisons dropped the opener of their doubleheader with Pawtucket, 9-2. They also lost second baseman Justin Turner to a potentially serious knee injury on the second pitch of the game.
As a result, there a few lineup changes for the second game. Turner is out, with Russ Adams moving from right field to second base. Also out is Fernando Martinez, who looked like he could have been playing with an injury in the first game. Either that or he was serioulsy dogging it on a couple flyballs and a grounder that turned into a double play.
Andy Green, who replaced Turner at second in the first game, moves to center field.
Welcome back to Coca-Cola Field, where the Buffalo Bisons look to continue their playoff push in today's afternoon game with Thruway rival Rochester.
The Herd took last night's opener of this three-game series, 7-6, in nine innings. Dillon Gee set the franchise single-season strikeouts record, but didn't factor in the decision.
The Bisons got the win when Mike Cervenak singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Cervenak's hit scored Justin Turner with the winning run. Turner was the offensive star of the night for the Bisons, going 3 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs. Turner is hitting .311 this season with nine homers and 39 RBIs.
The Bisons remain three games behind Louisville in the race for the International League wild card. The Bats won in ridiculous fashion last night, getting a walk-off grand slam from Triple-A rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco to defeat Syracuse, 5-3.
Hello from Coca-Cola Field. Richie Sexson might not be here today, but I am, and that will have to suffice.
The Bisons are getting set up for today's Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony, honoring the aforementioned, and absent, Sexson, as well as the team's longtime broadcaster, Duke McGuire.
For more on the Sexson situation, be sure to check out the always-excellent work of Mike Harrington in his weekly inside baseball column.
And here's Harrington's profile of McGuire, a true legend of Buffalo baseball.
After the ceremony, the Herd will look to continue its walk-off magic. The Bisons have won the last two games over the Gwinnett Braves with walk-off hits, Saturday night when Jorge Padilla hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
Dillon Gee (8-5, 4.77 ERA) will be on the hill for the Herd.
Infielder Mike Jacobs hit a pair of home runs in the Bisons' victory Wednesday at Syracuse, giving him 13 for the season. Jacobs has four homers in his last four games and nine RBIs in his last seven. He's batting fourth in tonight's starting lineup:
Justin Turner, 2b Luis Hernandez, ss Jorge Padilla, cf Mike Jacobs, 1b Fernando Martinez, rf Mike Cervenak, 3b Lucas Duda, lf Russ Adams, dh J.R. House, c Ramon Ortiz, p
Mike Harrington, a Canisius College graduate who began his career as a News reporter in 1987, has covered the Buffalo Bisons since 1992 and Major League Baseball since 1995. A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Harrington has reported on 15 World Series -- including every pitch of the Fall Classic this century -- and all three of the Bisons' championship runs in their modern era. He is a connoisseur of the famous Stadium Mustard at Cleveland's Progressive Field.
Amy Moritz, a native of Lockport, has covered the Bisons for The Buffalo News since 2002. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism/mass communication from St. Bonaventure University and a master’s degree in humanities from the University at Buffalo. An endurance athlete, she has completed several triathlons, half marathons and marathons.
