The Bisons scored an early run in the 1st inning with a leadoff double for Fred Lewis and an RBI single for Brad Emaus to score Lewis and give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. The lead held until the 3rd inning where newly recalled Armando Rodriguez, from Binghamton, gave up his first run in AAA. Buffalo regained the lead in the 4th on a walk by Zach Lutz, single by Matt Tuiasosopo, wild pitch, and then sacrifice fly by Josh Rodriguez. Buffalo furthered their lead in the 6th with a solo home run by Matt Tuiasosopo who went 2-for-5 with run scored due to the home run to take a 3-1 lead.

The lead held throughout Armando Rodriguez’s debut as he went four and a third innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks, and two strike outs. Scranton tied the game in the 7th on two run single off Garrett Olson who completed two and a third innings allowing two runs and four strike outs. Jeff Stevens completed the next two innings for Buffalo to keep the score tied with two innings, one walk, and two strikeouts and CJ Nitkowski continued the strong effort with two innings of his own before ultimately allowing the game winning run in the 12th. Nitkowki allowed two hits, one earned run, one walk, and three strikeouts.

Herd Rumblings: Similar to their major league affiliate, the Bisons had struggled offensively throughout the past week but tonight the team had 10 hits to go along with their three runs. Along with Tuiasospopo, Matt Den Dekker went 2-for-4 and Lucas May went 2-for-4 in multiple hit efforts….. Armando Rodriguez enjoyed some success in his first start since being recalled from Binghamton on Thursday. In Binghamton, Rodriguez made three fill-in starts while appearing in 34 games for the Mets, throwing 68 innings, allowing 53 hits, 23 earned runs, 21 walks, and 69 strike outs going 2-2 with 3.04 ERA. Rodriguez spent time on the Mets 40 man roster last year before being removed and outrighted to minors…. After being scoreless through his first outings with Binghamton and Buffalo, Nitkowski has allowed three runs over his past 3 appearances. Many believe CJ Nitkowski may earn a call up to the Mets in September but must regain his form earlier in August.

Through three innings, Zack Wheeler was pitching great following a poor outing last time, allowing only a walk over three innings. In the 4th inning, Wheeler’s struggles began as he allowed a walk, single, sacrifice fly, and another walk but escaped only allowing one run.

Wheeler rebounded with a quick 1-2-3 fifth inning, but in the sixth, Wheeler’s afternoon was cut short. He let up a lead off double, single and error scored a run to tie the game, followed by another single, RBI ground out, and single to score the fourth run which completed his outing. Wheeler ended the afternoon completing five and a third innings, allowing five hits, four runs, three earned runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. In his four starts in Buffalo, Wheeler has struggled especially due to poor command and leaving fastballs in the middle of the plate. Elvin Ramirez relieved Wheeler throwing one and two-thirds innings with one hit and no runs and Fernando Cabrera ended the game with one inning, one hit, and one walk, and no runs.

The Bisons struggled again offensively accounting for only five hits and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Lucas Duda went 2-for-4 with Brad Emaus, Matt Tuiasosopo, and Adam Loewen adding a hit each. The RBIs were by Tuiasosopo and Oswaldo Navarro.

Herd Rumblings: Collin McHugh will be placed on the New York Mets Taxi Squad on Wednesday due to caution over Johan Santana’s MRI Results. McHugh will either be added to team as a starter and make the start on Thursday in place of Santana or be added to bullpen. It will be McHugh’s major league debut…. McHugh struggled in his first few starts for Buffalo following a promotion in June with 7.07 ERA, but has pitched much better in July (2.49 ERA) and August (2.47 ERA). His last start was Saturday at Fenway Park, where he threw seven innings, zero runs, five hits, and four strikeouts…. Bisons continue their series versus Scranton on Wednesday night 7:05pm with Jenrry Mejia expected to take the mound.

Although the Bisons scored five runs and had ten hits, Buffalo went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position as they were defeated by Scranton Wilkes Barre Monday night 7-5.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Buffalo took an early lead with a two-run homer by Matt Tuiasosopo but let up a run in the 2nd, one in the 4th, two in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, and one in the eighth, which was too much for the Bisons offense. Fred Lewis, Josh Satin, and Matt Den Dekker all had multiple hit efforts, with Lewis going 2-for-5 and Den Dekker and Satin 2-for-3 going with a run scored each. Adam Loewen and Josh Rodriguez each added in a double of their own, with Satin and Lucas May adding in a RBI each but the five runs were not enough for the Bisons.

Chris Schwinden struggled for the first time in his return to the Bisons, pitching five innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts. CJ Nitkowski, in relief of Schwinden, allowed his first runs in his return to the Mets organization, allowing three hits, two runs, and a walk over two-thirds of an inning. Jeff Stevens added a scoreless inning and Garrett Olson finished the game pitching an inning and a third, two hits, one run, two walks, and two strike outs.

Herd Rumblings: Matt Den Dekker continued his hot hitting of late hitting .306 with a homer and eight RBI in the last ten games prior to todays game…. Zack Wheeler (0-1 4.60 ERA) is on the mound for the Bisons in a early afternoon matinee on Tuesday at 1:05pm in the second game of a odd five game series with Scranton which ends on Friday. Wheeler has thrown 15.2 innings for Buffalo over three starts, allowing 13 hits, eight runs, seven walks, and 16 strikeouts. Wheeler looked to rebound from a poor start on August 16th when he allowed eight hits and five earned runs over five innings.

In an early afternoon game of their series versus Lehigh Valley, Zack Wheeler struggled for the first time in his three starts in Buffalo allowing five early runs in five innings. The four runs scored in the second and the one run in the 4th off Wheeler led to a defeat for Buffalo 5-2 as the runs were too much for the Bisons offense.

In his third start for Buffalo, and second at home, Zack Wheeler struggled early on in the game and only completed five innings. In his five innings of work, Wheeler allowed eight hits, five earned runs, no walks, and five strikeouts. Zack Wheeler has pitched brilliantly over his first full season in the Mets system with over a strikeout an inning average, but is getting close to his inning limit on the season before he is shut down. Justin Hampson relieved Wheeler completing two innings, allowing one hit and two strike outs and Garrett Olson threw two innings of his own, allowing one hit and one strike out.

The Bisons’ hitting struggled again going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Brad Emaus and Zach Lutz had the only multiple hit games: Emaus 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored and Lutz 2-for-4. Fred Lewis contributed the other extra-base hit with a double and Lucas Duda and Lucas May had the only RBIs for Bisons.

Herd Rumblings: Right hander Jenrry Mejia (2-2 2.90 ERA) is expected to pitch the series finale for the Bisons versus Lehigh Valley on Friday night at 7:05pm. Mejia has pitched great since his return to the Bisons rotation after pitching very poorly following a conversion to a reliever in order to possibly help the Mets. In his six starts, Mejia has thrown 28.1 innings, allowing only three earned runs, 21 hits, and 14 strike outs with a 0.96 ERA. As a reliever, Mejia threw 21.1 innings, 13 ER, 27 hits, and 10 strike outs with a 5.55 ERA….. Buffalo Players of the Month for July were: Pitching- Collin McHugh, Hitting- Zach Lutz, and Defense- Matt Den Dekker….. Following a month where Lutz hit .339 in 19 games of July with five home runs and 11 RBI, August has been a tough month for him prior to today’s game. In 14 games Lutz is hitting .244 with zero home runs and five RBI with six walks and 14 strike outs.

The Bisons had only six hits in the game Wednesday night and went 1-for-6 hitting with runners in scoring position as they were defeated 4-1 by the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Fred Lewis and Mike Nickeas had the only multiple hit games as Lewis went 2-for-4 and Nickeas went 2-for-4 with a double. The only other hits were singles by Lucas Duda and Matt Den Dekker and a double by Adam Loewen. Den Dekker had the only RBI with his single in the second to score Loewen and gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead until the runs where Lehigh Valley scored all four of their runs.

The four runs scored by Lehigh Valley were all attributed to Chris Schwinden who started the game for the Bisons. Schwinden threw five innings, allowing seven hits, four runs, three earned runs since one scored on a Adam Loewen error, two walks, and three strikeouts. CJ Nitkowski, Elvin Ramirez, and Garrett Olson threw four innings combined following Schwinden allowing no runs through the innings. Each pitcher had a strike out in their innings pitched with Elvin Ramirez completing two innings.

Herd Rumblings: C.J. Nitkowski has pitched wonderfully since his return to the minor leagues. Over his 12 appearances, six with Buffalo and six with Binghamton, Nitkowski has thrown 10 innings, allowing seven hits, zero earned runs, six walks, and 13 strikeouts holding hitters to a .206 average. With Nitkowski’s new side arm delivery, he has held lefties to .143 in Binghamton and .273 average in Buffalo. Nitkowski could provide a feel good story with a return to the major leagues in September while also providing some relief to Josh Edgin in the pen since he became the sole lefty with Tim Byrdak going on the disabled list…. Mets #1 rated prospect Zack Wheeler is expected to make his third start of the season for Buffalo as they finish their three game series against Lehigh Valley in Buffalo at 1:05pm on Thursday.

One of Jeurys Familia‘s best starts of the season and a grand slam by Matt Den Dekker in the 7th helped the Bisons cruise to a 6-0 victory on Tuesday night.

In the 7th inning, following singles by Lucas Duda and Zach Lutz, an RBI double by Adam Loewen, and an intentional walk to Josh Satin, Matt Den Dekker hit a grand slam to put the game out of reach for Lehigh Valley.

Den Dekker had two of the six hits for the Bisons with a single, the grand slam, and four RBI and Adam Loewen went 1-for-3 with a double and RBI. The only other hit was a double by Fred Lewis who went 1-for-4 with a run scored.

The hard-throwing Familia (8-7) displayed great command of his upper-90s fastball by striking out eight while walking just one in his seven shutout innings of work. The right-hander scattered just four hits.

Robert Carson completed the game pitching two wonderful innings of his own, allowing one hit with a walk and one strike out.

Herd Rumblings: Lucas Duda continued his hot streak over the past 10 games with his single that ultimately scored on Den Dekker’s grand slam. Over his past 10 games, Duda is hitting .316 with 12 hits in 37 at-bats with two home runs and five RBI…. Matt Den Dekker is on his own hot streak over the past 10 games, hitting .306 with two home runs, 12 RBIs, and less than a strike out a game (9K in 10 games), which is a positive from his struggles with striking out all season…. The Bisons send Chris Schwinden to the mound Wednesday night at 7:05pm in the second game of the three game series with Lehigh Valley.

After pitching a 1-2-3 seventh inning, Pedro Beato returned for a second inning of work in Buffalo and did not retire a batter as the Bisons fell 5-1 Monday night.

In the eighth inning, Beato let up a single, then back-to-back home runs, followed by two more singles which was all the Pawtucket Red Sox needed to secure the victory.

Collin McHugh started the game for the Bisons and showed poor command although only allowed three hits and one run in five and two-thirds innings. McHugh’s command has declined from Binghamton to Buffalo in 2012 allowing 2.05 BB/9 in Binghamton and 3.67 BB/9 in Buffalo. His command led to difficult innings for McHugh but he only allowed the three hits and struck out six and was able to contain any further damage. Justin Hampson pitched a clean 8th inning stranding Beato’s two runners in the 8th and Fernando Cabrera pitched a solid 9th inning.

The Bisons could not sustain any offense with only four hits in the game including singles by Fred Lewis, Josh Rodriguez, Zach Lutz, and Mike Nickeas. Satin had the only RBI on a sacrifice fly scoring Fred Lewis in the first inning.

Herd Rumblings: Fred Lewis’ run in the bottom of the first was his 68th of the season, which ranks him third in the IL…Josh Satin’s 11-game hitting streak was snapped after going 0-for-3. The Bisons send Jeurys Familia to the mound Tuesday night 7:05PM vs the Pawtucket Red Sox to finish the two game series. Familia has had an up and down season with 5.52 ERA in April, 4.67 in May, 4.48 in June, 5.19 in July, and 6.59 in August. Command has been a major issue for Familia this year allowing 65 BB on the season. Rumors on Sunday had Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins stating Familia could see time in September with the Mets in the bullpen.

Here is the post game interview with starter Collin McHugh:

A rain delay which lasted 30 minutes ended in a victory for the Buffalo Bisons as the game was called in the 7th inning with Buffalo up 10-1.

Multiple hit efforts by Josh Satin, Valentino Pascucci, Matt Tuiasosopo and Matt Den Dekker led to seven early runs for the Bisons in the first three innings. In the 2nd inning, Den Dekker doubled to score two runners and Mike Nickeas scored the third run on a sacrifice fly. In the third inning, Josh Rodriguez singled home Fred Lewis and advanced to second on a fielding error. Pascucci drove in the other three runs in the inning with a three-run homer scoring Rodriguez and Satin. Pascucci has played a limited role over the past week or so with the additions of Kirk Nieuwenhuis, although now on the disabled list, and Lucas Duda to the Buffalo roster. Pascucci got the start tonight, hitting his 15th home run of the season, following the late scratch of Duda due to a dental issue. The other three runs for the Bisons were scored later in the game on a single by Den Dekker in 5th to score Satin, double by Satin in the 6th to score Rodriguez, and a single by Pascucci in the 6th to score Satin.

On the pitching side, Chris Schwinden threw another wonderful game for the Bisons since being claimed back off waivers a little over a month ago. Due to the rain delay and shortened completion, Schwinden got the complete game victory, his 7th win of the season. Schwinden pitched six innings of four-hit ball, allowing one earned run, one walk, and three strikeouts, lowering his season era to 2.87. While Schwinden has excelled throughout 2012 in the minors, he is unlikely to see time in the majors again this year struggling in his time with the Mets earlier in the year, starting and relieving.

Herd Rumblings: Buffalo continued its hot hitting as of late with four multi-hit games from Satin, Pascucci, Tuiasosopo, and Den Dekker. Josh Satin raised his average above .300 going 3-for-3 with four runs scored and a RBI. Pascucci filling in for Duda went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI and Tuiasospo had a perfect night going 2-for-2 with run scored and two walks. Matt Den Dekker had the fourth of the multi-hit games going 2-for-4 with a run, 3 RBI, and a SB. Lewis included a SB of his own, his 20th of the season for the Bisons. The Bisons open up their series versus Scranton Wilke-Barre Friday night at 7:05pm with Jenrry Mejia (1-2 3.22 ERA) on the mound.

Jeurys Familia started the game for the Bisons and pitched much better than his previous two outings for Buffalo. Familia threw six innings, allowing five hits, four runs, although only one earned due to errors, with two walks and most importantly seven strike outs. This performance was much better for Familia who has struggled all year with command. Over his past two starts, Familia had thrown three innings and two and two-thirds innings respectively and allowed five earned runs in each game. When Familia exited after six innings, Buffalo was down 4-3.

The first two runs of the game scored on a double by Josh Satin in the 1st, scoring Fred Lewis and Lucas Duda. The third run in the 5th which brought the Bisons within one after a four run 3rd for Lehigh Valley was by Fred Lewis who hit his 10th home run of the season and his 2nd in two days.

In the 7th inning, following a walk by Matt Den Dekker, strikeout by May, and walk by Valentino Pascucci, Matt Tuiasosopo pinch hit for Fred Lewis and singled home Den Dekker to tie the game, which would go into the 12th inning with the same score.

Following Jeurys Familia in the game, the Bisons had great pitching throughout from their bullpen. CJ Nitkowski followed Familia with one and a third innings, three hits, and one BB, Elvin Ramirez finished the final out of the 8th with a strikeout, and Justin Hampson pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning with a strikeout. Fernando Cabrera pitched into the 12th following Hampson with two and two-thirds innings of one hit ball, one earned run, three walks, and three strike outs.

Herd Rumblings: Offensively the Bisons had five hitters with multiple hit games: Lewis 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI, Tuiasosopo who entered for Lewis went 3-for-3 with RBI, Josh Rodriguez 2-for-6, Adam Loewen 2-for-4, and Josh Satin 2-for-6 with 2 RBI. The Bisons continue their series with Lehigh Valley Thursday night as Chris Schwinden takes the mound in Lehigh at 7:05pm.

Photo Credit: Michael G. Baron

Outfielder Travis Taijeron was drafted by the New York Mets in 2011 out of Cal-Poly Pomona in the 18^th Round (552^nd Overall Pick). In his final season for Cal-Poly before being drafted, Taijeron hit .392 in 199 at-bats with 78 hits, 20 doubles, 16 home runs, 51 RBIs and .534 on-base percentage. After leading the conference in almost every offensive category, Taijeron was named the 2010-11 California Collegiate Athletic Association Male Athlete of the Year and named to NCAA Division II All American Team.

He signed on June 15, 2011 very quickly after being drafted and since he was right out of college, he was placed on the Brooklyn Cyclones roster.

As a Cyclone, Taijeron hit .299 in 56 games with 13 doubles, nine home runs, and 44 RBI. He earned three honors while playing for Brooklyn: New York Penn League Player of Week on August 1, 2011, New York Penn Mid- Season All Star, and was named to MinorLeagueBaseball.com New York Mets Organization All Star team. Due to his advancement and success at Brooklyn, Taijeron made the Savannah Sand Gnats 2012 Opening Day Roster.

Beginning the season at Savannah, Taijeron hit .291 over 64 games with 17 doubles, 12 home runs, and 44 RBI with a .401 on-base percentage. He earned SAL Player of the Week on May 7 and was named a South Atlantic League Mid-Season All Star. This led to a promotion for him following the South Atlantic League All Star game.

While with St Lucie thus far, the right-handed slugger has continued to show power, hitting four home runs over his first 19 games there, but has struggled with his average, hitting only .225 entering tonight’s game. Taijeron has continued to show his good eye at the plate earning 11 walks over 21 games for a .353 on base percentage and his .452 slugging is still impressive.

Our own Pete Shapiro ask Taijeron about his approach and what he was looking to work on this season in an interview he did earlier this year. “I understand that I need to cut down on my strikeouts and I have been working on that most of this off-season”, Taijeron said.

“I personally I think that I am a power hitter and I like it when there are people on base. I try my hardest when someone is on base to score them no matter what it takes. I enjoy the pressure especially with runners in scoring position. This off season I have been working most on my strike zone judgment, I believe I was swinging at a lot of bad pitches that I should not have been swinging at and getting myself out. This next year I want to make the pitcher really earn it to get me out.”

You can read the rest of Pete’s interview here.

For Taijeron to continue to excel, he must continue to hit for a high average with the continued high input of power. Taijeron is already 23 years old and for him to make a name for himself in the Mets system, the power and average must be there. A guess would say Taijeron will spend the remainder of 2012 in St. Lucie and if he can get his average around .260-.280 by the end of the season, he may begin 2013 in Double A Binghamton; if not, he will repeat St. Lucie to begin 2013.

One scout said, “Vicente Lupo is so strong,” repeating it twice for effect. “That drew much of our attention.”

Ben Badler, when announcing the signing, stated “Lupo, who has a powerfully built 5-foot-11 frame, is a corner outfielder who stands out for his strength and raw power.”

Baseball America also stated in its scouting report “Lupo’s bat will have to carry him because his size, speed and arm strength will likely limit him to left field.” The Mets signed him in 2010 for a low to mid six figure bonus believed to be about $400,000.

Lupo began his pro career with the Mets in 2011 with Dominican Summer League where he played in 49 games, batting .197 with seven doubles, one triple, five homers, and 13 RBI with a BB/SO rate of 23/59. It turned how he was very ill according to Paul DePodesta

In 2012, while playing for DSL2, Lupo seems to finally be exhibiting the qualities Badler described when the Mets originally signed him. So far this season, Lupo has played in 29 games and has a slash of .362/.465/.648 with eleven doubles, two triples, five homers and 23 RBIs. His BB/K rate has improved to 1-to-1 (15-15).

Lupo’s numbers in 2011 took a hit as he was recovering from a year-long bout with malignant hypothermia according to Paul DePodesta who said, “He was simply very, very sick.” But now, fully recovered, Lupo currently has a phenomenal .465 on-base to go with his gaudy power numbers in 2012.

While its unlikely this right-handed slugger will make his way stateside this year, Mets fans can look forward to seeing Lupo likely at Kingsport in 2013, or maybe even Brooklyn if he keeps producing like this for the rest of the season.

Vicente Lupo… Remember the name…