Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the Bisons rotation was tabbed as the strength of this year's club. In their second homestand at Coca-Cola Field, the Herd pitchers are delivering on those expectations.

Josh Stinson allowed just two hits in five innings of work as the Bisons topped the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 4-2, on Friday night from downtown Buffalo. Jose De La Torre and Manny Acosta closed out the Herd's third straight victory.

The Bisons pitching staff has posted a 1.58ERA in the first five games of this homestand, allowing just 26 hits in 40 innings of work.

Stinson kept the solid work going with a gem against the rival IronPigs. The righty allowed just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Lehigh Valley got a run in the second inning, but never really threatened to score more. The I-Pigs did have two runners on base with two outs in the fifth, but Stinson retired pinch hitter Matt Miller on a fly ball to left.

De La Torre allowed a run in three innings of relief work before Acosta pitched the ninth inning for his first save of the season.

The Bisons had plenty of chances to score with runners in every inning. They left 12 men on base, but cashed in four runs. Lucas Duda hit a sacrifice fly and Ronny Paulino singled home Kirk Nieuwenhuis to give the Herd a 2-0 lead in the first.

Nick Evans singled home a third run in the fourth inning and Luis Hernandez cashed in Russ Adams for some insurance in the seventh.

BISONS NOTES:The game was delayed by 39 minutes at the start due to the threat of weather...Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 1-1 with a single and three walks. The outfielder extended his hit streak to an International League-best 12 games...IronPigs manager Ryne Sandberg and shortstop Jeff Frandsen were ejected in the fourth inning after Frandsen took exception to a tag applied to him by Stinson.

-the herd-