BUFFALO...RHP STEVE KARSAY was brilliant in eight innings (6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) in a 4-0 whitewash of Rochester, April 10...OF RICHIE SEXSON hit a ninth-inning solo homer and 3B TOREY LOVULLO hit a two-run homer later in the inning as the Bisons beat Rochester 5-2 April 11. Both hitters went deep the night before as well. Sexson, who led the American Association with 31 homers a year ago, started the season 5-for-22...LHP RON VILLONE picked up a win and a save in his first three outings, fanning seven batters over 3.2 innings. BUFFALO...1B CHAN PERRY (.200, 0 HR, 1 RBI) was placed on the disabled list with a broken rib...RHP STEVE KARSAY did not allow an earned run in seven innings of three-hit ball to win his third straight start (22 IP, 17 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 14 SO), 12-4 over Ottawa, April 20. OF ALEX RAMIREZ collected a triple and a single in the Bisons' seven-run sixth inning. Ramirez homered in three straight games April 17-18, and hit and scored a run in ten straight games (14-44, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 13 RBI) April 13-22. Ramirez, 3B TOREY LUVULLO and OF BRUCE AVEN each went deep in a span of four batters April 22 in a loss against Ottawa. BUFFALO...The Bisons exploded for a nine-run sixth inning, highlighted by a bases-loaded triple by 2B PAT LISTACH and two hits by OF ALEX RAMIREZ to beat Scranton-WB 18-8 April 28. OF DAVID MILLER added a grand slam the next inning for good measure. Ramirez hit safely in 16 straight games (26-69, 7 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 19 RBI) April 13-29, raising his average to .321. He homered April 25 & 26 at Pawtucket and had two doubles April 27 at Scranton-WB. He was tied for second in the league in home runs (7) and runs (20) through April 29...LHP RON VILLONE did not allow an earned run in his first eight games (8.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 18 SO), going 1-0 with two saves...LHP MIKE MATTHEWS allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his first four starts (21.1 IP, 21 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 13 BB, 14 SO), but had no wins and one loss for his efforts. BUFFALO...RHP STEVE KARSAY got tagged for ten runs, all earned, and 11 hits over 4.1 innings in a 16-5 loss to Rochester May 1...RHP DOC GOODEN pitched three innings (2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO) in a rehab stint May 3 against Rochester...RHP ANTHONY YOUNG threw a 4-0 shutout against Scranton-WB May 5 (9 IP, 3 BB, 1 SO) to improve to 2-2, 4.40 ERA...OF ALEX RAMIREZ hit safely in 17 straight games (28-72, 8 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 19 RBI) April 13-May 1, raising his average from .067 to .333 and SS BRANDON WILSON hit safely in ten straight games (16-40, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 1 SB) April 25-May 5, raising his average from .216 to .297. BUFFALO...OF ALEX RAMIREZ led off the second inning with a homer to hit safely in his 23rd straight game (35-97, 8 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 27 RBI) May 13 against Charlotte, a 1998 minor league high. OF RICHIE SEXSON followed with another homer and 3B TOREY LOVULLO added a blast of his own two batters later to give RHP DWIGHT GOODEN all the runs in the 6-2 victory, his first for the club. Gooden worked five strong innings, fanning the side in the third and whiffing eight batters in all (7 H, 3 BB). Ramirez's previous highest hit streak was 14 in 1995 at Bakersfield, where he hit in 16 of his first 17 and 17 of his last 18 (.323, 10 HR, 52 RBI). His 11 homers were league-best. Ramirez, Sexson and Lovullo had all homered the previous night...Hardthrowing RHP MARCUS MOORE allowed five or more runs in four consecutive starts April 22-May 11 (19 IP, 21 H, 22 R, 17 ER, 18 BB, 15 SO), going 1-2 to drop to 1-4, 7.45 ERA. BUFFALO...OF ALEX RAMIREZ, hobbled by a bad knee resulting from a collision at first base a while ago, was relegated to pinch-hitting duty May 20 against Toledo, grounding out in his lone at-bat to end the minors' longest hitting streak of 1998 at 28 games (42-120, 8 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 29 RBI). The streak is the longest in Triple-A since Nashville's Doug Brady hit in 30 straight July 24-August 24, 1995. Ramirez's 11 homers were tied for the league lead...As a team, the Bisons were batting a league-high .330 with runners in scoring position, led by 3B TOREY LOVULLO (.429), C EINAR DIAZ (.405), OF JAMES BETZSOLD (.381) and RAMIREZ (.350). BUFFALO...OF ALEX RAMIREZ (.316, 11 HR, 30 RBI), who had hit safely in 28 straight starts, was promoted to Cleveland...LHP MIKE MATTHEWS allowed five home runs over 4.2 innings (7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO) in a 9-7 loss to Columbus May 23. He had allowed six homers in his first seven starts, never more than one per outing...LHP HUCK FLENER was promoted from Akron (2-3, 2.11 ERA) and beat Columbus 6-5 on May 24 (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO). Flener had pitched complete games in his last two starts for the Aeros. He had allowed one of 23 lefthanders to reach base this season... 1B PHIL HIATT hit a pair of home runs (4-4, 1 2B, 3 RBI) May 22 in a 4-1 win against Toledo and again on May 24 in a 6-5 win against Columbus. BUFFALO...OF BRUCE AVEN, struggling with a bad elbow, went on the disabled list for the third time this season. He will have surgery and miss the rest of the season. He was limited to five games and 15 at-bats...OF RICHIE SEXSON hit .389 (28-72, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI) in 19 games May 16-June 3 to lift his average to .291. He was fourth in the league in RBI (42) and tied for fifth in hits (58)...C EINAR DIAZ went 15 games without a walk May 16-June 3 and the last 13 without a strikeout (48 AB). BUFFALO...OF ALEX RAMIREZ, out with a knee sprain, came off the disabled list June 5 and went 6-for-22. He was batting .310 with 11 homers and 31 RBI through June 10...2B ENRIQUE WILSON, on rehab, belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to defeat Ottawa 8-5 on June 10. The 22-year-old was 5-for-24 in eight rehab contests...OF RICHIE SEXSON homered June 6 & 7 against Norfolk and through June 10 was fourth in the league in RBI (49) and hits (68) while batting .301. BUFFALO...2B ENRIQUE WILSON hit a one-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Ottawa 3-2 on June 11. His eighth-inning homer the night before was also a game-winner...OF RICHIE SEXSON hit a pair of home runs (3-4, 4 RBI) on June 14 in an 8-7 loss at Durham. He then went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and two RBI in an 8-5 win at Norfolk June 17, capping a 20-game stretch in which the 6-foot-6 slugger hit .370 (30-81) with seven homers and 24 RBI. Overall, his 57 RBI led the league and his 15 homers ranked fourth...Veteran 3B TOREY LOVULLO homered June 15 & 16 against Buffalo and Norfolk and he was leading the league in batting (.341) through June 17. BUFFALO...C EINAR DIAZ smacked a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning to beat Norfolk 4-3 June 18. LHP EDDIE PRIEST, just acquired from the Reds for Rick Krivda, got a no-decision in his Bisons debut (6 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 1 SO) and was 0-0, 5.25 ERA in his first two starts. Diaz reached base safely by hit or walk in 20 consecutive games May 28-June 23 (25-80, 5 2B, 1 HR, 13 RBI)...1B PHIL HIATT hit a pair of home runs (3-5, 7 RBI), including an eighth-inning grand slam, in an 11-3 win at Norfolk June 19. The veteran, who slugged 42 homers for Toledo in '96 before playing in Japan last season, had 13 longballs in his first 51 games for the Bisons. BUFFALO...OF ALEX RAMIREZ belted two homers in a 9-4 loss to Durham June 25. The next night, he went 3-for-5 with five RBI in a 15-4 win over the Bulls, collecting an RBI double and a two-run triple as part of a nine-run fourth inning. OF BRIAN GILES hit a solo homer in the fifth inning, his first hit since joining the club on a rehab assignment. Through July 1, Ramirez had gone 129 at-bats without a walk...1B JEFF MANTO hit a pair of home runs (3-5, 5 RBI), including a fourth-inning grand slam, in a 7-6 loss at Ottawa June 30. Manto hit a fifth-inning grand slam, his second homer with the bases juiced in two games, in a 12-2 win over Ottawa July 1. He joins Shreveport 1B DAMON MINOR (May 9) as the only minor leaguers to accomplish the feat this season...1996 first-round pick OF DAVID MILLER ended June by hitting .571 (16-28, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB) in the last eight games...SS JOLBERT CABRERA hit safely in 20 straight games (31-88, 3 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 7 SB) June 10-July 1, raising his average from .327 to .336. BUFFALO...C EINAR DIAZ's run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth inning beat Scranton-WB 17-16 July 2. 1B JEFF MANTO went 3-for-4 with a double and five RBI while OF ALEX RAMIREZ went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a triple, homer and three RBI. SS JOLBERT CABRERA extended his hitting streak to 21 games (34-93, 4 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 7 SB). The next night, Manto erupted for two more home runs in an 8-7 win against Scranton-WB to give him dingers in four consecutive games (10-17, 6 HR, 17 RBI). 1B PHIL HIATT also went deep to connect for his third consecutive game (4-12, 4 RBI). Cabrera went 0-for-3 with a pair of walks to halt his hitting streak while Ramirez entered the All Star break without a walk in 34 straight games (146 AB). Also heading into the break, OF DAVID MILLER hit .522 (24-46, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB) in 14 games June 22-July 6 and had reached base by hit or walk in 25 straight games. BUFFALO...RHP JASON RAKERS pitched seven innings of three-hit ball (0 R, 3 BB, 5 SO), but the pen allowed two ninth-inning runs to Syracuse and lost 2-1 on July 11...3B BRANDON WILSON cracked a two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Indianapolis 4-2 July 14...OF DAVID MILLER, a 1995 first-round draft pick, reached base safely by hit or walk in 30 consecutive games June 9-July 13 (39-97, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 3 SB), batting .402 to raise his overall average to .297...C EINAR DIAZ hit .541 (20-37, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI) in ten games July 2-14 to raise his average to .325, seventh-best in the league...OF ALEX RAMIREZ hit a pair of home runs (4-6, 1 2B, 3 RBI) in a 17-6 win against Indianapolis July 15. BUFFALO...OF DAVID MILLER's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning beat Indianapolis 5-4 July 16. The Bisons scored twice in the tenth inning to stay alive as 1B RICHIE SEXSON and OF PHIL HIATT RBI's...RHP STEVE KARSAY, out five weeks with a right shoulder impingement, was activated (5-3, 4.21 ERA)...DH JEFF MANTO clubbed a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to seal an 11-6 win over Toledo July 19. It was his third grand slam in five at-bats with the bases packed this season and his seventh dinger and 23rd RBI in his last 17 games...OF ALEX RAMIREZ hit safely in 12 straight games (24-55, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 3 SB) July 11-22, raising his average from .301 to .324. He hit in a minor league-high 28 straight games earlier this season. BUFFALO...OF DAVID MILLER (.287, 9 HR, 45 RBI) was placed on the disabled list with a left hamstring pull...RHP JASON RAKERS threw seven scoreless innings (4 H, 3 BB, 2 SO) in a 3-0 win against Charlotte July 26 to improve to 4-5, 5.23 ERA...LHP JASON JACOME won three straight starts July 18-28 (22.1 IP, 24 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 5 BB, 21 SO) to go to 9-2, 3.76 ERA for the season...2B ENRIQUE WILSON hit safely in 12 straight games (19-55, 5 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB) July 10-25, raising his average from .291 to .308...Through July 29, 3B TOREY LOVULLO was leading the league in batting (.336), was third in slugging (.583) and tied for fifth in on-base percentage (.419). BUFFALO...DH PHIL HIATT led off the bottom of the tenth inning with a homer, his league-leading 27th, off hot-shot Odaliz Perez, to beat Richmond 3-2 August 4. OF ALEX RAMIREZ had tied the game an inning earlier with a two-out, two-run homer. The next night, 1B JEFF MANTO led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run, his second dinger of the night and 19th of the year in just 167 at-bats, to beat Richmond 4-3...SS JOLBERT CABRERA reached base safely by hit or walk in 21 consecutive games July 13-August 3 (28-81, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB) and was batting .323. BUFFALO...RHP JASON RAKERS allowed a season-high nine runs and 11 hits over five innings in a 17-3 loss to Pawtucket August 10. The effort dropped Rakers to 4-6, 5.73 ERA. He has won once since June 16...3B TOREY LOVULLO homered August 11 & 12 against Syracuse. He was second in the league in batting (.329), fifth in slugging (.570) and sixth in on-base percentage (.416)...OF JAMES BETZSOLD homered twice on August 9 in a 5-4 win against Pawtucket. BUFFALO...2B BRANDON WILSON's double in the bottom of the 11th inning knocked in the winning run in a 5-4 triumph over Syracuse August 14. He was the hero the next night as well as he led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a homer to beat Scranton-WB 4-3. On August 18, C EINAR DIAZ led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a homer to the Red Barons 5-4...DH BILL SELBY, the former Red Sox player who has spent time in Japan, hit home runs in four consecutive games August 16-19 (7-18, 5 HR, 7 RBI). He smashed a pair on August 16 in a 15-10 loss to Scranton-WB...LHP JASON JACOME went 6-0, 3.27 ERA in seven games July 18-August 17 (52.1 IP, 43 H, 21 R, 19 ER, 14 BB, 43 SO)...3B TODD BETTS was promoted from Akron (.270, 17 HR, 46 RBI) and went 7-for-29 in nine games. Betts was third in the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.397) and sixth in slugging (.506) when promoted...1B PHIL HIATT went 1-for-19 with 12 strikeouts in four games August 15-18 and went 6-for-45 with 23 strikeouts August 8-18. BUFFALO...With less than two weeks left in the season, the Bisons were in a tie with Syracuse for first place in the North Division. RHP JASON RAKERS tossed a four-hit, 10-1 complete game win against Ottawa August 26 (9 IP, 3 BB, 3 SO) to pull them into a tie for first and improve his record to 6-6, 4.82 ERA. He had allowed four runs in his last 24 innings...DH BILL SELBY homered in five consecutive games August 16-21 (8-21, 6 HR, 9 RBI), the most in the league since Toledo's Phil Hiatt homered in six straight games August 13-17, 1996. Selby hit safely in 11 straight games (16-46, 3 2B, 7 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB) August 12-24, raising his average from .245 to .261...OF JACOB CRUZ homered twice (3-3, 1 3B, 4 RBI) in a 10-1 win against Ottawa August 25. Since coming over in the trade that sent Jose Mesa to San Francisco, Cruz hit .336 with ten homers and 24 RBI in his first 32 games...LHP JASON JACOME won four straight starts August 7-23 (31 IP, 23 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 22 SO) and was 7-0, 3.03 in his last eight starts. BUFFALO...OF JACOB CRUZ, who had hit a grand slam in the first game, a 6-4 loss, had a pair of singles during a six-run fourth inning in a 6-1 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader with Syracuse August 27. 2B BRANDON WILSON's miscue in the top of the ninth inning led to three unearned runs and a 4-3 loss to the Skychiefs the next night...OF ALEX RAMIREZ, DH JEFF MANTO and OF JIM BETZSOLD each homered in the seventh inning of a 14-4 win against Pawtucket August 30. Ramirez homered in five straight games August 28-September 2 against Pawtucket and Syracuse to help the Bisons open up a two-game lead against both clubs. Ramirez slugged 12 homers in August, tying him for second in the league and second in the minor leagues. Through September 2, he was leading the league in home runs (34) and was fourth in RBI (102)..LHP JASON JACOME pitched seven strong innings (8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) to beat Syracuse 5-3 on September 2, winning his eighth straight decision. He had posted a 2.68 ERA over his last ten starts.