Minors Stuff

The Herd:

A three-run seventh inning capped a come-from-behind victory for the Bulls as Durham took a 6-4 decision from the Bisons on a Monday morning kids day start in North Carolina . The victory was Durham's third straight over Buffalo after the Herd won the series opener on Friday night.
After falling down 4-1 early, the Bulls scored the final five runs of the game. Two came in the fifth inning before the IL South-division rival put together the game-winning rally in the seventh. Brandon Chavez's two-run double off Bisons starter Jon Niese (0-5) gave Durham their first lead of the day at 5-4. The Bulls' shortstop then raced home from second base on an infield single for Durham's insurance run.

Buffalo struck early in the game, taking the lead two batters into the contest. Cory Sullivan walked and was doubled home by Jesus Feliciano. Wily Mo Pena's single two batters later gave the Herd a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Ahead 2-1, Pena launched a solo home run (his third) with one out in the third inning. Mike Lamb also singled home Emil Brown in the third to give Buffalo the 4-1 advantage.
Niese suffered the defeat for Buffalo. In a season long 6.1 innings, the southpaw allowed six runs on seven hits. He struck out six.

Lance Broadway made his Bisons debut in relief, allowing a hit in two-thirds innings pitched.

BISONS NOTES: OF Cory Sullivan went 2-4 at the plate, increasing his hit streak to nine games. He has averaged .457 (16-35) since May 21...INF Javier Valentin lost his nine-game streak. He was 0-4 with a walk...Elmer Dessens threw an inning of shutout relief, lowering his ERA to 1.05.


THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

The Bisons went 3-4 last week and are 14-33 overall. They own the worst record in the league and are in sixth place in the North Division.

WHO'S HOT AND WHO'S NOT:

OF Cory Sullivan has hit .452 with three RBIs and five runs scored in his last nine games. ... OF Jesus Feliciano has batted .308 with six runs scored in his last eight games. ... IF Mike Lamb has hit .244 in his last 10 games and begins the week in a 4-for-21 (.190) funk. ... OF Wily Mo Pena has batted .216 in his last nine contests.

NIEVE TO THE RESCUE:

RHP Fernando Nieve has pitched well in his first three starts with the Bisons, winning all three by allowing three earned runs or fewer while lasting at least six innings. He's given up 13 hits and seven earned runs over 18 1/3 innings, fanning 18 along the way. On the season, Nieve is 3-0 with a 3.44 ERA.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"(Argenis Reyes) has been a good leadoff hitter for us. He's been getting on base. His job isn't to drive in runs, it's to score runs. Guys in the middle of the order are supposed to be driving them in, and he's doing his job getting on base. He's been producing and doing a nice job. He plays hard. He's getting dirty. I can't say enough good things about him." -- Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell to the Buffalo News. Reyes begins the week with a nine-game hitting streak, has a .285 batting average and .380 on-base percentage but has scored only 14 runs in 38 games.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090531&content_id=5077150&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp


B-Mets:

For Immediate Release
Date: June 1, 2009 Contact: Matt McCabe, mmccabe@bmets.com

Double Steal Paves Way to Win in 10 Innings, 10-8 at Portland

Nick Evans steal of home with two outs in the 10th gave Binghamton the lead for the first time since the first inning and reliever Edgar Alfonzo made it stand hurling a 1-2-3 bottom half of the frame for the win. Lucas Duda drew four walks and drove in a run of insurance with a single in the 10th to help the B-Mets to the 10-8 win at Hadlock Field in Portland, ME.

The B-Mets scored three runs in the first inning off starter Felix Doubront thanks to a walk, a balk, two errors and two wild pitches. However, much like Sunday’s game at New Britain, the lead was momentary. The Sea Dogs loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame with two outs and Jon Still doubled off starter Mike Antonini to clear the bases and tie the game at three.

Portland (24-26) took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the second, bringing eight men to the plate in the frame. Runs scored on a Mark Wagner RBI single and an Aaron Bates RBI double to make it 5-3.

Ryan Kalish led the third inning off with a clean single to right against Antonini and promptly stole second. Ryan Khoury doubled to left-center to score Kalish and give the Sea Dogs a 6-3 lead.

Binghamton (22-26) scored its fourth straight unearned run in the fourth inning. After Ruben Tejada was walked by Doubront, the starter exited in favor of righty Chad Rhoades. Rhoades quickly got Carl Loadenthal to ground out and rolled Emmanuel Garcia to third, but Jorge Jimenez threw the ball away down the right field line allowing Tejada to score to make it 6-4.

In the fifth, Still led off with a solo homer off Antonini to give the Sea Dogs a 7-4 cushion. After retiring the next two, Antonini exited and Stephen Clyne came on from the bullpen. Clyne allowed three straight to reach, culminating with Mark Wagner’s RBI single, which made it 8-4.

Loadenthal left the yard for the first time in the sixth inning. With Tejada on base via walk, Loadenthal sat on a Justin Hedrick fastball, rocking it over the right-field wall to get the B-Mets within two at 8-6.

Binghamton tied the score in the eighth thanks to four straight hitters reaching against reliever Bryce Cox, including RBI singles from Nick Evans and Josh Thole.

Antonini went 4.2 innings giving up seven runs on eight hits with three walks. Alfonzo notched his third win of the season with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Game two of the four-game set is slated for tomorrow. RHP Tobi Stoner (1-1, 2.49 ERA) will go for the B-Mets and Portland will throw RHP Junichi Tazawa (5-3, 2.82 ERA). The first pitch is slated for 6:00 and the radio broadcast on Newsradio 1290 WNBF begins at 5:45 with the Horizons Federal Credit Union Pre-Game Show.

-- Matt McCabeBroadcaster/Director of Media RelationsBinghamton Metse-mail: mmccabe@bmets.com


Tuesday, June 2 at Portland 6:00 pm RHP Tobi Stoner (1-1, 2.49) vs. RHP Junichi Tazawa (5-3, 2.82)
Wednesday, June 3 at Portland 6:00 pm RHP Ryan Coultas (4-2, 2.55) vs. RHP Ryne Lawson (1-3, 5.40)
Thursday, June 4 at Portland 12:00 pm RHP Dylan Owen (0-5, 6.97) vs. RHP Adam Mills (1-3, 8.92)
Friday, June 5 Connecticut 7:05 pm RHP Jose Sanchez (1-6, 6.88) vs. TBA