If you can't make it to the ballpark tonight, you can check out the game on NOVA 105.1 FM.

Clay Buchholz is in town tonight. The Red Sox rookie phenom who took Boston by storm by throwing a no-hitter in his second career major league start last September 1st stumbled out of the gate this year and is pitching for Pawtucket. He's been very good with the PawSox with an ERA of 1.87.

The Chiefs are trying to make up ground on the front-running PawSox. Davis Romero goes for the Chiefs tonight - he's won two straight starts on the year. Syracuse is 6.5 games out - the furthest they've been out of first all year. Pawtucket's won 13 of 15 to increase the gap. The Chiefs are still only one and a half games back of the wild card leading Scranton Yankees, but this four game set (two in Syracuse, two in Pawtucket) could go a long way towards making up ground in both races. More details in the full game notes are available here.

See you at the ballpark!

Tonight's game can be heard on NOVA 105.1 FM and online at syracusechiefs.com starting at 6:45 with the on-deck show (as long as the rain holds off in Allentown).

Interesting story for tonight's starting pitcher Scott Richmond. He's making his first AAA appearance of his career after starting the year in New Hampshire. Here's some bio info for him:

This Season: The righthander joins the Chiefs after spending the entire season with New Hampshire up to today...has compiled a 5-8 record in 16 starts with a 4.92 ERA throwing 89.2 IP allowing 89 hits, 30 walks and striking out 84....won in last start five days ago at New Britain scattering three hits and one run in seven innings which broke a three game personal losing streak...has had four starts this year allowing one earned run (none with 0)...is making first appearance at the AAA level after being promoted today to fill John Parrish's roster spot

Last Season: Spent the entire season with Edmonton of the independent Northern League--was 5th in the league in wins, 2nd in the NL in strikeouts, innings pitched, games started and complete games (2)...also 10th in ERA. Richmond spent the entire year in the rotation after making only 8 starts in the previous two years combined

Career Notes: Owns a 18-26 career professional record (5-8 in affiliated minor leagues, 14-20 in independent leagues)...signed with the Edmonton Cracker Cats (a team managed by former Chief manager Terry Bevington) and played in Edmonton for each of the last three seasons before being invited to spring training by Toronto this past offseason

Some notes for tonight's game against the Mud Hens. If you can't make it to the ballpark, catch the game on TV on Time Warner 26 or on radio on NOVA 105.1 at 7:00 PM.

SERIES HISTORY

The Chiefs and Mud Hens meet for their second four-game series in two weeks and in their final regular season matchup of the year. Toledo leads the season series 5-2. The Chiefs lead the all-time series 351-347 (.503 winning percentage). The Mud Hens have won each of the last four season series including this year's. In 2008, Buck Coats is pacing the Chiefs offense (8-20, 4 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) while Matt Joyce leads the Mud Hens (6-27, 2 HR, 8 RBI) in the head to head matchups.

INTO THE FOLD

Kevin Mench joined the Chiefs Tuesday after being optioned down from Toronto. Mench slammed a two-run homer in his second at-bat with the Chiefs.  Left handed pitcher Chris George joined the team yesterday. George has played in the major leagues with the Royals from 2001-2004. He's a former first round pick of Kansas City in 1998. He started the season with AAA Colorado Springs, going 0-4 with a 5.13 ERA in 27 relief appearances.

HOME SERIES WINS/SPLITS

The Chiefs haven't lost a series at home since dropping two of three games against Buffalo May 5th-8th. Since the Chiefs have won three series and split one. Syracuse needs a win tonight to split this series against the Mud Hens.

OUT OF DIVISION ENDING FOR A WHILE

The Chiefs are finishing a stretch of 14 straight games against non-division opponents. The Chiefs are 6-7 so far against Columbus, Toledo and Richmond in this stretch. The next game against a team not in the North Division is July 17th--the first game after the All-Star Break.

WHO'S BREAKING RECORDS?

Despite the Mud Hens baseball-leading total (including the major leagues) of 120 home runs, the Chiefs have hit just as many in the head to head matchups. With two yesterday, Syracuse has knocked six round trippers against Toledo while the Mud Hens have allowed only six to Toledo including one to Mike Hessman yesterday

The Chiefs knocked off Toledo by a score of 8-2 last night. 

We're trying something new with our blog today.  Hope you enjoy it!

Here are some links to video and photo recaps of the action:

News 10 Now recap

Syracuse.com photo gallery

Box Score

Some notes for tonight's game at Alliance Bank Stadium. If you can't make it to the ballpark, you can watch the game on Time Warner 26 or listen on NOVA 105.1 FM with first pitch at 7:15 PM.

Kevin Mench and Chris George have joined the Chiefs. Mench is a veteran outfielder who was traded to Toronto in early May. Mench is expected to start in the outfield tonight.

George is a former first round pick of the Royals and left hand pitcher. He's pitched in parts of four seasons in the major leagues.

See you at the ballpark!

Some facts to ponder while sitting at Alliance Bank Stadium tonight (or if you can't make it - the game's on WHEN 620 AM starting at 6:45 PM)

The Chiefs and Mud Hens meet for their second four-game series in two weeks and in their final regular season matchup of the year. Toledo leads the season series 3-1. The Chiefs lead the all-time series 350-345 (.504 winning percentage). The Mud Hens have won each of the last three season series. In 2008, Buck Coats is pacing the Chiefs offense (4-11, 2 2B, 2 RBI) while Fernando Seguignol leads the Mud Hens (4-13, HR, 3 RBI)

DAVIS AN ALL-STAR:

Chiefs manager Doug Davis has been named as a coach for the International League in the AAA All-Star Game to be played in Louisville on July 16th. Scranton manager Dave Miley is the International League manager. Voting for the players continues through June 27th. Chiefs pitcher John Parrish ranks 6th among starters.

PARRISH LOOKING FOR MARK

John Parrish has won ten straight to start the season--the first Syracuse pitcher to do so in the modern era (1961-present). Parrish broke a 45 year old mark set by Alan Koch when he began his season 9-0. Two other pitchers have won ten straight games in other points of the season. Willie Smith (1963) and Stan Clarke (1985) are tied with Parrish for the longest winning streak. The lefty has won two games as a reliever (in four appearances) and eight games as a starter (in ten starts)

A PUSH BACK

Parrish had been expected to start in his regular turn two days ago against Richmond but was pushed back by Toronto as the Blue Jays looked to figure out how to manage their rotation. Shaun Marcum was placed on the DL this past weekend with elbow soreness. David Purcey started in Parrish's place Saturday on his regular four days rest since the Chiefs had an off day this past week.

STRONG DAY FOR THE JAYS

Coupled with Toronto winning for the first time on their roadtrip (8-5 @ Pittsburgh), every single minor league affiliate that played won. In addition to the Chiefs handling Richmond, New Hampshire leads Portland 4-1 in a suspended game, Dunedin knocked off Brevard County to stay undefeated in the second half, Lansing shut out Fort Wayne to also stay undefeated in the second half, Auburn shelled State College 10-4 and the GCL Blue Jays were off.

"Last Friday night's game 'Ladies Night' was the best organized and done promotion I have ever seen the Chiefs do.  Everyone involved should get high praise.  It was excellent!  It's the standard by which all Chiefs promotions should set out to be!  Great Job to all!"

Thanks for the feedback, Patricia.  Glad you enjoyed the night.

Have a comment or suggestion for us?  Send an email to baseball@syracusechiefs.com or leave a comment here on the blog.

It's the penultimate game between the Chiefs and the Richmond Braves (the team is locating closer to Atlanta to Gwinnett County, Georgia for 2009) tonight at Alliance Bank Stadium. Two things to know about the Chiefs before you head to the ballpark:

Adam Lind was called up (the reason why he left yesterday's game in the 4th inning) by Toronto for today's game in Pittsburgh. Lind was leading the International League with a .328 batting average and had 50 runs batted in to lead the Chiefs. Lind will try to better his 1-19 mark he has in the big leagues this year.

John Parrish won't be on the mound for the Chiefs tonight. The 10-0 lefthander has been pushed back by Toronto. Instead David Purcey (whose ERA is slightly better than Parrish's) will toe the rubber for the Chiefs against Chuck James and the R-Braves.

See you at the ballpark!

If you can't make it to the ballpark tonight (fireworks!), check out the game on NOVA 105.1 FM or online at syracusechiefs.com. Tonight's pitching matchup is Davis Romero vs. Richmond's Jerome Gamble.

Gamble's an interesting story. Drafted in 1998 by the Red Sox, Gamble never pitched above AA, but was out of baseball in 2006. He made a comeback in 2007 in the short-lived independent South Coast League with the South Georgia Peanuts and signed with the Braves before this season. Tonight's is Gamble's second career start in AAA.

The Chiefs walked 13 times last night - the most since April 27th, 1989 in a game against Toledo. Full game notes are available here.

Cheers!

* It's the start of an eight game homestand. You can catch the game on WHEN 620 AM or Time Warner 26 if you can't make it to Alliance Bank Stadium. First pitch is at 7:15. Kane Davis goes against Jonathan Rouwenhorst. The two matched up on May 28th - a game the Chiefs won 9-1.

* There's a couple of new players to look for tonight. #21 is Sean Stidfole. He was promoted from New Hampshire during the roadtrip and threw 5 shutout innings. #8 is a familiar face in Curtis Thigpen who's back with the club after two weeks in Toronto. #15 is Kevin Melillo - he played once in Syracuse but is more regular in the lineup at 2nd or 3rd base now. And #44 Charlie Poe is now the hitting coach in Auburn so there'll be a player coaching first base from now on.

Go Chiefs!

Maybe we'll get some baseball in today: Davis Romero is set to face Toledo's Lauren Gagnier who started the season in single A. You can catch the game at 6:45 on Nova 105.1 FM or at nova1051.com. Full game notes are available here. A sampling:

SERIES HISTORY

The Chiefs and Mud Hens meet for the first of eight games to be played over the next 13 days. The Chiefs lead the all-time series 349-342 (.505 winning percentage). Toledo has won each of the last three season series including six wins last year. The Chiefs are only 8-16 all time at Fifth Third Field. Last year Mike Hessman hit three homers for Toledo to pace the Mud Hens to 58 runs over eight games against the Chiefs.

ISNT' THIS GAME PLAYED EVERY DAY?

For the first time this season, the Chiefs have not played on consecutive days because of back to back rain outs at Cooper Stadium in Columbus. Syracuse and Columbus finish their season series tied at three and will not make up the two games rained out. The last time the Chiefs didn't play for two or more days in a row (excluding the all-star break) was April 25-27th, 2007 with a rainout at Buffalo, an off day and rainout against Louisville.

PLAYOFF BOUND

The Blue Jays single A affiliate in Lansing (Midwest League) locked up a playoff berth yesterday with an extra inning win over Great Lakes. The Lugnuts have been paced by excellent relief pitching. Edgar Estanga is 6-1 with a 0.88 ERA, Tim Collins is 1-0 with 0.32 ERA and Cody Crowell is 0-2 with a 1.29 ERA and 9 saves. Lansing has a team ERA of 2.80 and 38-30 record.

THE REHABBING ZAUN

Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun joined the Chiefs for a rehab assignment Wednesday and homered in his first at-bat off Mike O'Connor. It's Zaun's third stint with Syracuse over the last five seasons--the homer was his first when playing at AAA for the Jays. The other rehabbing player that has suited up for the Chiefs in '08 is Brian Wolfe, who made three appearances before being optioned to Syracuse and soon after recalled to Toronto to take Armando Benitez' spot in the bullpen.

2008 IL HIGHS

The Chiefs have set several season team highs in the league this year with 18 runs (May 14 @ Charlotte), 12 walks while batting (May 26 @ Richmond) and six errors (May 22 @ Norfolk). The Mud Hens hit the most homers in a game with seven.

The Chiefs have plenty of All-Star worthy candidates but they need your help. Vote Syracuse on the AAA All-Star Game ballot. You can access it at ilbaseball.com (bottom or right side of the page) or at milb.com. The first week of voting was released and John Parrish had the most votes of any Chiefs player but was only 55th in the International League.

Some stats to consider when voting: Adam Lind is 2nd in the league in hitting, tied for 5th in RBI and doubles (and was in the big leagues for 2 weeks and missed a week out sick); Erik Kratz (write him in!) has 8 homers in the last three weeks, Wayne Lydon is 2nd in the league in steals and had a 15-game hit streak and David Purcey and John Parrish are both in the top in the league in ERA. Voting continues for another two weeks and you can vote up to 25 times. Right now the IronPigs and Mud Hens fans have been voting in droves but let's get some Chiefs up near the top of the voting!

Today's game (s): Doubleheader starting at 5:00, you can hear both games on Nova 105.1 FM. Kane Davis and Davis Romero are the probable starters for the Chiefs as they finish their four-game set with the streaking Columbus Clippers. Full game notes are available here.

Some notes on today's Chiefs starter Kane Davis:

This Season: The Chiefs innings leader looks to bounce back from his first loss in five starts. The righthander gave up eight hits and three runs in 5.2 IP losing to SWB five days ago...twice beat Norfolk in three starts May 23rd & June 2nd; also beat Richmond in between on May 28th (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R)....The righty made his first start since 2000 against the Bats in game two of a doubleheader April 5th. Davis picked up a tough luck loss, allowing only one run and four hits over five innings...won second start vs. Indy (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)..fired eight innings scattering five hits, one walk and one run in victory April 20th v. Lehigh Valley...Davis has had a losing streak of four games (April 25--May 12) and win streak of three (5/23-6/2)

Last Season: Davis pitched most of the season with AAA Ottawa in the Phillies organization completely out of the bullpen...he finished with a 3-3 record and 3.06 ERA in 41 appearances before being called up to Philadelphia for the last month of the year...with the Phillies, Davis totaled a 0-1 record and 5.56 ERA in 11.1 IP in eleven relief appearances.

Career Notes: Has made 333 minor league appearances including 145 starts dating back to rookie year of 1993 with the GCL Pirates...drafted in the 13th round of the 1993 draft by Pittsburgh...has also played in the Indians (twice), Brewers (twice--traded in Richie Sexson deal among other players), Rockies, Mets and Cubs organizations...twice pitched with the independent Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League...major league totals of 4-10 record and 5.53 ERA in 107 appearances and 125.1 Innings Pitched from 2000-2007 seasons...passed 1000 career minor league innings in eight inning win over Lehigh Valley April 20th.

* Gregg Zaun hit a homer yesterday - his first ever Chiefs home run despite having two other stints with Syracuse in the last couple of years

You can catch Thursday's game at 6:45 on WHEN tonight or online at syracusechiefs.com. Full game notes are available here.

Some Notes on tonight's second game of the series:

IT'S A REMATCH

Bill Murphy and Mike O'Connor match up on the mound for the second start in a row. Five days ago the Chiefs lost 4-3 in ten innings. Neither starter factored in the decision.

GREGG ZAUN JOINS THE TEAM

The Blue Jays catcher joined the Chiefs today on a rehab assignment. Zaun has been on the disabled list for the past two weeks - Curtis Thigpen has filled his roster spot in the big leagues.

COATS NEARING MILESTONE

Entering today's game, Coats has 899 career minor league hits. The center fielder has five multi-hit games in his last six starts for the Chiefs.

SANDOVAL REFUSES TO STOP

Danny Sandoval's red-hot start with the Chiefs continued yesterday. He knocked four hits (his first 4-hit game since July 7th, 2005) and slammed his third homer in just 14 games with the Chiefs (full season career high is 8). Sandoval has at least two hits in nine of his fourteen starts for Syracuse since signing with the Blue Jays in late May. It was also the first time a Chiefs player ripped four hits since Joe Inglett did the feat May 3rd against Pawtucket.

FROM THE RANDOM STAT FILE

Yesterday's game took two hours and 43 minutes which pushed the season total of Chiefs game to 10,036 minutes--an average 2 ours, 45 minutes per game, about 7 minutes less than the MLB average for 2008.

Syracuse Chiefs outfielder Adam Lind is expected back in the Chiefs line-up on Sunday after missing nearly a week with a viral infection.  Lind was batting .328 with 5 HR's and a team high 38 RBI before the set back.

The Chiefs also lost outfielder Matt Watson on the past road trip when he suffered a concussion while playing first base.  Watson had raised his batting average to .272 after a 12 game hitting streak.  He is also expected back from the disabled list during this current homestand.

Catcher Robinzon Diaz left the team in Richmond and went to Dunedin, Florida to begin his comeback from the ankle injury that has sidelined him since May 3rd.  Diaz also could return in 10-days.