Sports stats



IL1 International League

IL News And Notes

August 2, 2007 - International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS

UN-COOPED: Bisons' outfielder Jason Cooper is in the midst of a monster week. In his last four games, he is 8-13 (.615) with seven of the hits going for extra-bases. Cooper doubled in four trips on Sunday, tripled and drove in three on Monday, had two doubles and home run on Tuesday and collected another double and home run last night in Pawtucket. Cooper is now 2nd on the Bisons team with 33 extra-base hits. Since Sunday, his slugging percentage has gone up 60 points (.419 to .479).

SWEET AND SOWERS: Starter Jeremy Sowers is starting to find his rhythm on the mound. He has allowed just two earned runs over his last three starts for a 0.92 ERA (19.2 IP, 18 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 16 K). He turned around his season on July 20 as he threw a nine-inning complete game to defeat Syracuse at Dunn Tire Park (6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K). Last season, Sowers was 9-1 with a 1.39 ERA in 15 starts before being promoted to Cleveland.

IL CHARTS BEWARE: Outfielder Ben Francisco is closing in on qualification for the International League batting race. Francisco finally slipped below the minimum plate appearances thanks to a month-long stint with Cleveland, but he was optioned back to the Herd on Friday and is just five plate appearances short of "re-qualifying." If Francisco was at that point now, his .313 batting average would be 4th in the IL. Francisco hit .273 (12-44) with three home runs and seven RBI in 19 games with Cleveland.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

WILD DAY FOR RICKS: After catching 10 innings of baseball in 93 degree afternoon heat for Class-A Winston-Salem on Wednesday, catcher Adam Ricks was promoted to Charlotte. Ricks left the park and drove the 75 miles from Winston to Fort Mill. The Knights were awaiting Ricks as the team had only eight healthy position players for the game. Ricks got caught in rush hour traffic from uptown Charlotte and arrived just after 7:00 for a 7:15 start. Ricks then had to play third base for the first time this season. It all worked out well as made nice defensive plays and also went 1-4 with a double in his first Triple-A game.

SET ‘EM UP, KNOCK ‘EM DOWN: Mike MacDougal and David Aardsma have made for a nice 1-2 combination coming out of the Knights bullpen. In the last two Knights victories MacDougal has gotten the win, Aardsma the save. Both relievers throw hard, but with different mechanics. MacDougal is a little more jerky with his motion, and uses his whole body to deliver a pitch. Aardsma is much more smooth.

QUITE A TRIP FOR BOURGEOIS: Jason Bourgeois finished the last game of an 11-game road trip going 2-4 with a game tying solo home run in the 8th inning. He also stole two bases in the game. Bourgeois had a great trip going 15-39 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 4 stolen bases. Bourgeois is now hitting .303 in 52 games with Charlotte. He also leads the team with 16 stolen bases.

TIDBITS: Outfielder Ryan Sweeney has been bothered by a sore wrist...Catcher Wiki Gonzalez has had trouble with his right elbow...David Aardsma has now pitched 10 consecutive scoreless innings.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS

HUNTINGTON PARK GROUNDBREAKING: The Clippers celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of Huntington Park this morning, slated to open in April of 2009. Huntington Park will be located adjacent to the LC Pavilion at the corner of Nationwide Blvd. and Neil Ave. in downtown Columbus' Arena District. The park is projected to hold 10,000 spectators, including 1,200 lawn, picnic, and standing positions with 32 suites and 42 loge boxes behind home plate.

ABREU CONTINUES DOMINANCE: Reliever Winston Abreu is currently averaging 15.4 K/ 9.0 IP this season. The 30-year old righty is 2nd on the team with 69 punchouts in only 40.1 IP. Abreu began the season with 8 K in his first 11.2 IP and starting with his 8 K game in Durham on April 23, he has struck out 61 batters in his last 28.2 IP. From April 20-May 5 (6 appearances) he retired 21 batters via the strikeout over 9.0 IP.

WELCOME MR. FOLI: The Clippers added RHP Dan Foli on Wednesday. Foli began the season in the Washington organization with Potomac in the Carolina League (April 5-May 7). After going 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA (6.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 6 K) in five games, all relief, he was sent to Harrisburg (May 9-June 24). With the Senators he went 0-2 with a 8.39 ERA in 11 games, three starts (24.2 IP, 34 H, 28 R, 23 ER, 17 BB, 27 K). He was released by Washington and signed by Houston, being sent to Corpus Christi (July 7-21). He appeared in three games, all relief, for the Hooks, going 0-0 and notching a save with a 3.00 ERA (6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K). He was released by Houston in late July.

DURHAM BULLS

EVAN ALMIGHTY: The top hitting prospect in the Tampa Bay organization, last year's first-round pick Evan Longoria, makes his Durham debut tonight. Longoria, a third baseman, had a Montgomery record 21 homers, drove in 76 runs, and scored 78 times for the Biscuits in the Double-A Southern League. He was hitting .307. Longoria was the third pick in last year's draft out of Long Beach State, a school that also has produced Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies), Jered Weaver (Angels) and Jason Giambi (Yankees).

BACK-TO-BACK: Durham has dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games after the All-Star Break. Durham followed that short skid with a five-game win streak. The Bulls haven't lost three in a row since July 4-6, dropping one at Charlotte and then two at Buffalo.

THE REMAINING SCHEDULE: Including tonight, the Bulls have 32 games left, 15 on the road, 17 at home. The Bulls will play at most 143 games because of a rainout at Pawtucket. The 17 home games include the completion of a suspended game against Norfolk, which will be finished at Norfolk on August 25, with the Bulls trailing 6-1 after three innings. Of the 32 left, 10 are against clubs currently with winning records (two vs Indianapolis, two vs Toledo, six vs Richmond).

BANKSTON BACK: Wes Bankston has returned to the Durham lineup after missing four weeks with a knee injury. In three starts since returning, Bankston has driven in five runs, with at least one RBI in each game.

CAMP IS IN SESSION: Shawn Camp made his Durham debut yesterday with a scoreless 8th inning. Camp was optioned to Durham to make room for RHP Dan Wheeler, who was acquired from Houston in the Ty Wigginton deal. Camp appeared in 125 games over the last two seasons with Tampa Bay, last year setting a Rays record with 75 appearances.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

STAYING ABOVE .500: Indianapolis is one game above the .500 mark at 56-55. In three seasons as a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, the Tribe has spent 415 of 422 days (98%) at .500 or better.

BIG GAMES, BIG CROWDS: The Indians have averaged 10,107 fans per game over their last 22 home dates. The Tribe ranks 6th in the 14-team International League with an attendance average of 8,144 through 56 openings this season.

NO. 2 IN THE WEST: Toledo (65-47) paces the International League's West Division, while Indianapolis (56-55, 8.5 GB), Louisville (55-56, 9.5 GB) and Columbus (50-61, 14.5 GB) trail the leader. Buffalo (59-50) leads the International League's Wild Card race over Rochester (60-52, 0.5 GB), Durham (59-52, 1.0 GB) and Indianapolis (56-55, 4.0 GB).

WE DON'T BLOW MANY LEADS: Indianapolis is 47-4 this season when leading after seven innings and 49-3 when holding an advantage after eight frames.

SMASHING THE LONG BALL: The Indians have crushed 24 home runs in 22 games since the All-Star Break (1.09 per game). The recent flurry comes after the Tribe launched just 61 long balls in its first 89 contests of the season (0.69 per game). Indianapolis ranked 2nd in the IL for dingers in July (30).

WALKING OFF IN STYLE: The Tribe tallied its sixth walk-off win of the season on Tuesday night. Indy crushed three homers in its final at-bat to score a thrilling 5-3 win over Durham. LF Michael Ryan, RF Brad Eldred and PH Jose Hernandez all went deep in the big inning. The Indians recorded their last walk-off "W" against the Bulls on July 20.

LOUISVILLE BATS

ANOTHER PHENOM: Johnny Cueto, a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic, started and won his second game with the Bats last night. He is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA with Louisville and is a combined 10-6 with a 2.86 ERA between Louisville (two starts), Double-A Chattanooga (six starts) and Class-A Sarasota (14 starts). He leads all Reds minor leaguers with 125 strikeouts, is 2nd in ERA (2.86) and is tied for 2nd in wins (10). Ranked the fourth-best prospect in the Reds Minor League system by Baseball America, Cueto joins Jay Bruce (age 20), Homer Bailey (age 21) and Joey Votto (age 23) on a Bats team featuring all four of BA's top Reds prospects.

DUMATRAIT TO MAKE ML DEBUT: Phil Dumatrait will be recalled by Cincinnati and is scheduled to make his Major League debut tonight in Washington. In 21 starts with the Bats, Dumatrait is 10-5 with a 3.49 ERA. His ERA is sixth-best in the IL and he is tied for 2nd with 10 wins. Selected to play for the IL team in the Triple-A All-Star Game in Albuquerque last month, Dumatrait reached double-digit wins this season for the first time since he won 11 between Class-A Sarasota and Potomac in 2003.

FLIP FLOP: With Cincinnati and Tampa Bay's trade Saturday, three players flip flopped dugouts before Durham and Louisville's doubleheader. Brian Shackelford and Calvin Medlock joined the Bulls while Jorge Cantu made his debut with the Bats. Shackelford, 30, is Louisville's all-time leader in appearances with a 177 games pitched; in his five-year Louisville career (2003-07), he went 11-12 with a 3.72 ERA. This season with the Bats, he was 0-5 with one save and a 4.96 ERA. Medlock, 24, went 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in his short Louisville career. He was promoted from Chattanooga June 22 and made his Triple-A debut June 24.

NORFOLK TIDES

CONTINUING THE CLIMB: With a sweep of tonight's doubleheader with Louisville, the Tides would improve to 56-56, which would be the first time the Tides would be at the .500 mark since they were 3-3 on April 13. Norfolk has won or split each of their last 12 series, winning six and splitting six over that stretch (which does not include the Tides' last series at Durham, in which Norfolk trailed the series 2-1 but was leading game four 6-1 when it was suspended in the 4th inning -- that contest will be resumed on August 25 in Norfolk). Since dropping a season-low 14 games under .500 with a loss on June 10, the Tides have gone 29-17.

CLOSING IN ON 2006: With 34 games remaining on the schedule, the Tides have already matched or passed several team and individual marks from the 2006 season. Norfolk's 54 wins this season are just three shy of last year, when the Tides finished the season 57-84. The Tides have hit 73 home runs this year (three shy of the 2006 total of 76), and the home run hit by Mike Cervenak Tuesday night was his 12th, surpassing the 11 home runs hit by Sandy Martinez that led the team a year ago. Cervenak (61 RBI), J.R. House (59 RBI) and Terry Tiffee (44 RBI) have all passed Norfolk's team-leader in runs driven in from last year (Jose Offerman - 43 RBI), while Tike Redman (21 stolen bases) and Eider Torres (19 swipes) have both surpassed Chris Basak's 17 stolen bases from 2006. On the mound, Cory Doyne registered 29 saves before he was promoted to Baltimore for a second time on July 24 (passing Heath Bell's 12 saves from ‘06), and Garrett Olson picked up his team-leading 9th win last night, matching Evan MacLane's team-leading total from a year ago. Olson's 117 strikeouts are 29 more than last year's team-leader in strikeouts, as Jose Lima registered 88.

HOT MONTH: Norfolk finished with a 16-10 mark in July (.615 winning %), their best record in any month since going 15-9 (.625 winning %) in April of 2005. Despite going 16-10 in July, Norfolk gained just 2.0 games on 1st place Richmond in the IL South standings (Richmond went 15-13 in July), and the Tides actually dropped a half game to Durham, who was 17-10 last month.

OTTAWA LYNX

LYNX LINEUP SHAKE-UP: The Lynx roster has undergone an overhaul in the past week. OF Chris Roberson and RHP Geoff Geary got the call to Philadelphia. New faces from Double-A Reading include OF Javon Moran and OF Matt Padgett while RHP Mike Zagurski came from Philadelphia. OF Shaun Boyd and INF Michael Garciaparra played with the Lynx on their recent road trip, but were returned to Double-A Reading before making their Lynx Stadium debut. INF Danny Sandoval and INF Joe Thurston were both removed from the Lynx roster when they were designated for assignment and both have since returned to the Canadian capital.

JULY ROUNDUP: The Lynx struggled in July, going 8-24 for the month. The team hit .256 in July, led by Joe Thurston (.333) and Chris Roberson (.295). Jason Jaramillo's .286 average and his trip to the Triple-A All-Star Game made for a memorable month. Gary Burnham's 18 RBI were a team-best. J.A. Happ's two wins were tops among Lynx starters while Kane Davis was an anchor out of the Lynx bullpen, posting a 2.81 ERA in a team-high 12 games.

TODAY OTTAWA, TOMORROW THE WORLD: The third week in August will be record-breaking at Lynx Stadium. During World Record Week, August 14-18, Lynx fans are invited to use Lynx Stadium as their venue to break a record. World Record Week culminates with the Lynx own record attempt as we try to break the record for the Largest Game of Simon Says during the Lynx August 19 game against Buffalo. The current record is 1,169 people, set in Glasgow, UK.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX

SCINTILLATING SCHILLING: Boston Red Sox ace RHP Curt Schilling made quite an impression during his 11-day rehab (shoulder tendonitis) assignment with the PawSox the last week or so of July. Schilling fired 15 shutout innings during his three rehab starts and despite the fact he did not have a decision he was virtually perfect allowing just 8 hits, 0 walks, and 18 strikeouts in those 15 innings. He received a heartfelt standing ovation when he left his start at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket on July 21 (an expected reaction) but somewhat surprisingly he also received prolong standing ovations during his starts on July 26 in Toledo and again on July 31 in Columbus. During both of those outings he especially endeared himself to his teammates by ordering fantastic steak and lobster post-game spreads for the PawSox clubhouse.

JULY HEAT: The PawSox posted a winning month of July at 16-12. They won their June finale on June 30 to finish 15-14 in June for their first winning month of the season (after beginning the year with a 9-13 April followed by an 11-17 May). Leading hitters in July were: INF Alex Prieto (.362), C George Kottaras (.323), and INF Joe McEwing (.291). RHP Mike Burns (3-2, 3.55) and RHP Devern Hansack (3-0, 4.01) led the staff with three victories apiece. RHP Travis Hughes was 7-for-7 in SV opportunities and RHP Craig Hansen had a 1.80 ERA in 9 games (3 ER in 15 IP).

NORTHERN EXPOSURE: Last night's 3-2 PawSox loss to Buffalo marked the first of 36 consecutive games vs. IL North rivals as the Sox conclude the season by playing strictly within their own division from August 1 - September 3. That said, the PawSox are 19-26 vs. the North thus far in 2007 (9-14 at home and 10-12 at North cities). The Sox had a losing record within their division last year going 34-46 vs. the IL North finishing with a losing record inside their division for the first time since 2002. The Sox enjoyed tremendous success within the IL North division over the previous three seasons. Pawtucket went 46-34 vs. the IL North in 2005 (best in the division), went 48-32 vs. Northern foes in 2004 (second-best, just one-game behind Buffalo), and owned a division-best 50-30 mark vs. the North in 2003.

YOUK THE MAN: The PawSox are pleased to present the first-ever Kevin Youkilis Bobblehead Doll Night at McCoy Stadium this Saturday when the PawSox take on Rochester at 6:05 p.m. The first 4,000 fans (aged 14 & under) will receive this popular collector's edition Bobblehead Doll of current Red Sox and former PawSox standout Kevin Youkilis. The "Youk" Bobblehead follows in the recent tradition of other PawSox Bobbleheads such as OF Trot Nixon, RHP Derek Lowe, C Jason Varitek, RHP Tim Wakefield, and RHP Jonathan Papelbon - all former PawSox players.

LEGENDS IN THE HOUSE: This coming Monday night, Boston Red Sox Hall of Famers Johnny Pesky and Frank Malzone will be appearing for Verizon Legends Night at McCoy before and during Pawtucket's 7:05 p.m game with Rochester. Pesky, who amazingly is still involved with the Red Sox for his 55th year this season, was an outstanding Red Sox SS from 1942, 1946-52 who had a career average of .313. Malzone, who is currently a player development consultant with the Red Sox, was an 8-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove third baseman for the Red Sox from 1955-65. Both legends will be in the Verizon Fan Center at McCoy from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. for autographs and photos.

RICHMOND BRAVES

CAN'T TELL THE PLAYERS WITHOUT A PROGRAM: The Braves made five roster moves following Tuesday's game. Atlanta traded RHP Kyle Davies (0-1, 4.50 with Richmond) to Kansas City for RHP Octavio Dotel. LHP Will Startup (3-2, 2.19 with Richmond) was sent to San Diego with LHP Wil Ledezma for LHP Royce Ring (1-1, 3.60 with San Diego, 4-0, 1.99 with Triple-A Portland), who will been assigned to Richmond. C Corky Miller (.210, 4 HR, 25 RBI with Richmond) has been promoted to Atlanta. He is the 12th R-Brave promoted to Atlanta this season. INF Barbaro Canizares (.304, 1 HR, 14 RBI with Richmond, DNP with Mississippi, .545 in four games with the GCL Braves) and RHP Brad Nelson (1-0, 0.00 with Richmond, 4-1, 4.33 with Mississippi) have been promoted from Mississippi. RHP Chad Paronto (3-1, 3.57 with Atlanta) has been optioned to Richmond. He and Ring will be added to the active roster upon their arrival. The roster stands at 23, not counting RHP Tanyon Sturtze on an MLB rehab assignment. (12 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders, and two outfielders). Richmond has made 95 roster moves and used 50 players this season.

DOUBLE-TIME: The Braves have played six doubleheaders this season, all at The Diamond. Richmond has swept four. They are 10-2 in doubleheader games. Three of the doubleheaders were the result of road postponements and Richmond was the designated "road" club for three games here. The Braves are 7-2 as the home team in doubleheader games at The Diamond.

PRADO'S HIT PARADE: Martin Prado's 12-game hitting streak ended in Wednesday's second game. That followed his club season-high 13-game hitting streak. Prado, the League's second leading hitter (.321) has hits in 25 of his last 27 games since June 30.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

RED WINGS HISTORY LESSON: LHP Carmen Cali started the 2007 season with a 5-0 record. Cali is the first Red Wings relief pitcher to start the season with a 5-0 record since 1981 when LHP Jeff Schneider started 5-0 (finished with a 5-1 record). Cali is only the sixth Red Wings pitcher (seven times) to start the season with a 5-0 record since 1988 and first to do it since 1998. Here's a look at the distinguished list (RHP Joel Bennett 10-0 in 1998, LHP Jamie Moyer 6-0 in 1993, RHP Bob Milacki 5-0 in 1992 & 1988, RHP John Mitchell 5-0 in 1990, and RHP Mickey Weston 10-0 in 1990). FOUR SCORE AND 30 YEARS AGO: RHP Julio DePaula enters tonight's game with an 8-5 record in 41 relief appearances. With two more wins DePaula will become only the third Red Wings relief pitcher to win 10 games in a season since 1976 (RHP Willie Eyre 10-3 record in 2005 and RHP Dave Johnson 11-5 record in 1976).

GOOD STARTS: The Red Wings starting pitchers have done a nice job the last five games, going 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA. In 32.1 innings of work, the starters have allowed seven runs (six earned) on 21 hits while walking six and striking out 17.

KING OF THE SAVES HILL: Red Wings closer Bobby Korecky record his 30th save of the season Tuesday night. His 30 saves are a new Red Wings all-time record for saves in a season. Korecky is on pace to record 39 saves which would be an International League record for saves in a season (current record is 38 set by Richmond Braves RHP Matt Whiteside in 2004).

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES

HELLO, GIAMBINO: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will host their second big name Major League star of the year during their Friday, August 3 doubleheader vs. Buffalo at 5:30 p.m. Yankee slugger and 2000 American League Most Valuable Player Jason Giambi will wear the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees' pinstripes at PNC Field as part of an injury rehab assignment. RHP Roger Clemens, in his comeback, delighted 11,310 local fans during his Memorial Day appearance vs. Toledo. Giambi has been on the disabled list since June 1 with plantar fasciatis and a partial tear of the plantar fascia in the left foot. The 36-year-old slugger has already played four games on his rehab assignment with Class-A Tampa batting .308 with 0 HR and 13 RBI. He went 1-3 as the designated hitter last night at Sarasota. After Friday's doubleheader, his status will be re-evaluated by the New York Yankees to see if he will remain with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or rejoin New York.

A LOT OF OVERLAP: While there are always a lot of comings and goings when it comes to a Triple-A baseball franchise, SWB has taken its designation of "farm club" to a whole new level this year. Of the players currently suiting up for SWB, nine (OF Kevin Thompson, C Wil Nieves, RHP Edwar Ramirez, INF Chris Basak, RHP Phil Hughes, RHP Matt DeSalvo, RHP Colter Bean, RHP Chris Britton and LHP Kei Igawa ) have played for the parent club so far this season. Conversely, seven current big-league Yankees (RHP Darrell Rasner, RHP Roger Clemens, LHP Ron Villone, LHP Sean Henn, OF/1B Shelley Duncan, INF Andy Phillips and RHP Jeff Karstens) appeared in a game for SWB this year. Two others (RHP Tyler Clippard and LHP Chase Wright) who are not presently with either club have also played for both the Triple-A and big league Yankees. In total, that's 18 players who have donned the pinstripes for SWB and New York in 2007.

YANKEE DOODLES: Despite their recent struggles, the Yankees have not relinquished their 1st place standing since becoming the International League North Division's top dog on July 17......RHP Joba Chamberlain, who was optioned to Double-A Trenton on Wednesday as the result of a maneuvering tactic to get the 21-year-old a passport for a future trip to Canada, faced three batters in one inning of relief for the Thunder. He struck out two of them......OF Justin Christian has recorded at least two hits in five of his last seven games, during which he has a .379 average (11-29) with four runs scored......In the last six games, SWB is 1-5 and has scored just eight runs, their lowest total for any six-game stretch all season.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS

THAT HASN'T HAPPENED IN A WHILE: RHP Josh Banks was able to achieve something Wednesday night which hasn't happened for the Chiefs in 15 years. Banks grabbed the W last night for his 10th victory of the season. That total matches the ten wins he put together last year for back-to-back years with double digits victories. The Chiefs haven't had a pitcher put together two consecutive years of ten or more wins since Doug Linton won double digit games in three straight seasons from 1990 to 1992.

BEGINNER'S LUCK: A week ago C Robinzon Diaz had only three Triple-A games under his belt after his promotion from New Hampshire back on July 20, but what a difference seven days can make as Diaz has shown he's a contributor to the Chiefs. Diaz picked up his first Triple-A runs batted in with three in Rochester on the 27th. The backstop from the Dominican Republic then had his first double and home run with a 3-4 night driving in four runs versus the Red Wings last night.

PARTY ON WAYNE: CF Wayne Lydon has reached base in each and every one of the Chiefs last 15 games. Lydon has hit safely in 13 of those games for a .340 (18-53) batting average during his hot stretch. The Chiefs' leadoff hitter also has eight walks for a .426 on-base percentage.

BULLPEN BRAVADO: A couple of Chiefs relievers have been pitching very well as of late. RHP Ryan Houston went the entire month of July without giving up an earned run until his final appearance in the month. Houston took the mound 11 straight times (12.0 IP) without giving up an earned run. Meanwhile Houston's partner in crime, RHP Blaine Neal, is currently on an eight-game scoreless streak. Neal has accumulated 8.1 innings of relief work without giving up a run.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE: The Chiefs saw their streak of eight straight games without an error come to an end last night against Rochester. It was the longest errorless streak of the season for the Chiefs.

TOLEDO MUD HENS

CAREER NIGHT FOR SARDINHA: On Monday July 30, Mud Hens catcher Dane Sardinha had a night that will forever be talked about in Toledo baseball lore. He went 3-3 with three home runs, a bases loaded walk and seven RBI in a win over Richmond. Sardinha socked a solo shot in the 2nd, and followed it up with a two-run homer in the 6th. The Hawaii native hit his third in the 7th, a three-run job, tying current Hen infielder Jack Hannahan for the Fifth Third Field record (opened 2002) for home runs in a game. Hannahan stroked three on May 1, 2005 against Columbus. The seven RBI were also a Fifth Third Field record, surpassing Danny Klassen's total of six on July 7, 2003 against Syracuse. Sardinha's total was just one short of the all-time Mud Hens record, held by Tim Teuful who drove in eight runs against Richmond on April 26, 1983. Sardinha now has seven round-trippers on the season, more than doubling his total of three he had entering the Monday game against the R-Braves. The performance came on the heels of former teammate Ryan Raburn's four-hit, two-homer, seven RBI performance at the White Sox four days earlier in the Majors.

MATEO EN FUEGO: Infielder/outfielder Henry Mateo has been on fire in the batters box and on the base paths as of late. The 30-year-old ended a season-long 11-game hit streak on July 31. Mateo batted .289 with a home run, triple, three doubles, nine runs scored and four runs batted in and also recorded six stolen bases during his hit streak. He finished with a solid .269 batting average in July.

RON IS THE "KEY": Starting right-handed pitcher Ron Chiavacci has been a strong member of the Mud Hens' pitching staff all season, and won his ninth game of the year on July 30. The 29-year-old, who was put into the rotation after RHP Jordan Tata started the season on the DL, has won his last two starts and is currently 9th in the International League in earned run average (3.67). Chiavacci is also tied for 3rd in total wins (9), 3rd in strikeouts (104), 2nd in innings pitched (125) and has a team-high 12 quality starts.

TATA GETS THE CALL: Right-handed pitcher Jordan Tata, a veteran of eight games out of the bullpen for the Detroit Tigers in 2006, made his first Major League start on Monday July 30 at Oakland. Tata, who was on the Tigers 40-man roster, was recalled the day before by Detroit from Toledo, where he was 3-3 with a 3.29 ERA in 11 starts after beginning the season on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. The 25-year-old was drafted by Detroit in the 16th round of the 2003 draft, after attending Sam Houston State University in Texas. Tata was excellent against the A's, tossing seven innings, allowing just six hits and two earned runs while striking out five and walking two to pick up the win. In 2006, Tata began the season in the Majors after being recalled from Double-A Erie, and threw 14.1 innings of relief for the Tigers with a 6.14 ERA before being optioned to Toledo in May.

Check out the International League Statistics

• Discuss this story on the International League message board...

International League Stories from August 2, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central