NOTEBOOK: What’s up for grabs for the Bisons this week

There are no playoffs this year... but there are. And while the Bisons regular season ends this week in Rochester, the team still has five more home games next week when the Lehigh Valley IronPigs come to town, September 22-26. What’s it all mean for the first place Bisons? We explain everything here, including what's up for the Bisons to grab in the next one to three weeks!

The Bisons Magic Number for a Northeast Division Title is 3!

The Bisons can claim their first division title in 16 years this week. Buffalo’s historic 12-game win streak that began in late August rocketed the club past the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and into first place in the division. As Triple-A East entered the league-wide off day on Monday, the Herd’s advantage stood at four games over the RailRiders and five games over the third place, Worcester Red Sox.

So, Buffalo’s "Magic Number" to clinch the Northeast Division is 3 over the RailRiders and 2 over the Red Sox. Sticking with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, that means any combination of Bisons wins in Rochester or RailRiders losses in Lehigh Valley that totals three, the Northeast Division Title belongs to Buffalo (assuming Worcester with a smaller magic number has also been eliminated).

For the Bisons, a division title would be an incredible ending to one of the most bizarre seasons in the franchise’s 130+ years of existence. The team of course began the season by playing their home games for three months in Trenton, NJ. The Herd finally returned home on August 10 and won its first four contests in front of the hometown fans. Overall, the Bisons are 9-9 in the 18 games played in downtown Buffalo.

A division title would also be the Bisons first since winning back-to-back International League North Division titles in 2004 and 2005. The 2004 team won the IL’s Governors’ Cup while the 2005 team lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Indianapolis Indians in the IL Semifinals.

What about a League Championship?

Because there will be no playoffs, Major League Baseball declared the regular season winner of Triple-A East would be determined by best winning percentage. There, the Bisons are currently second behind the Durham Bulls.

The Bulls are 72-42, 2.5 games ahead of the 68-43 Bisons and will head to Charlotte to close out their season with the Knights. Because the Bulls are still on pace to finish the year playing all 120 games and the Bisons have lost games to the schedule, Durham’s magic number to clinch the overall best record over the Bisons is 4.

Let’s go Knights!!!!

What is the ‘Final Stretch” set of games?

While the Bisons regular season ends this week in Rochester, the team still has 10 more games to play including five at home!

With no league playoffs in place and so that all 30 Triple-A teams could continue to compete, Major League Baseball created the all-new ‘Final Stretch’ Playoff. The one Triple-A team, including Triple-A West clubs, that ends the 10-game stretch with the best record will receive a special prize and recognition from Major League Baseball!

For Bisons fans, that means five more games at home! The Bisons will host the IronPigs from September 22-26, which includes the final Dog Day of the season (Sept. 22), a Honda fridaynightbash!® Fan Appreciation game (Sept. 24) and an appearance by Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act.

Tickets for all games are just $10 and can be purchased right now at Bisons.com.

Following those five games, the Bisons will complete their 10-game ‘Final Stretch’ with a five-game set in Syracuse, Sept. 29-Oct. 3, against the Mets.