IL1 International League

...And Down the Stretch They Come

August 24, 2007 - International League (IL1) News Release


Heading into the last full week of the 2007 International League regular season, two of the circuit's three divisions appear firmly in the grasp of clubs hoping to return to the Governors' Cup Playoffs. The Toledo Mud Hens took three of four games against the Indianapolis Indians this week to seemingly lock up the race for the IL West Division. Toledo now leads the Tribe by 10.0 games, the largest advantage of the season for the two-time defending Governors' Cup Champions. The Mud Hens have a magic number of 3 to clinch the division crown, which can be accomplished with two wins in this weekend's three-game set at Indianapolis. In the North, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are also enjoying a season-best division lead. Dave Miley's club has won three out of its last four games, all coming against Rochester. The Yankees now sport a 6.5 game edge in the North over the Buffalo Bisons, who thanks to a 7-6 win last night over Pawtucket find themselves in 2nd place by percentage points over the Red Wings. While the West and North leaders have pulled away in recent days, the IL South Division race appears to be headed towards a furious finish. When Durham defeated Richmond 8-5 on Tuesday, it gave the Bulls their first lead in the division since April 10. The two clubs, who split games Wednesday and Thursday, still have three games remaining against each other (including tonight in Durham). Both teams may ultimately make the postseason. Richmond, currently 0.5 GB in the South, leads the Wild Card hunt by 3.0 games over Buffalo and Rochester.

The International League Playoffs will begin on September 5 in the home ballparks of the South Division Champion and the Wild Card club. In the IL's predetermined format, the Wild Card club will face the North Division Winner while the South Champion will face the West Division Champion in a best-of-five first round series. Following a pair of games hosted by the Wild Card club and South Division winning clubs, the series will shift to the opponents' stadiums for the final three games as necessary.

The survivors of the two first round battles will advance to the best-of-five Governors' Cup Championship Series to begin on September 11 in the city of either the South or West Division Champion. After two games, the series will resume at the home of either the North Division Champion or the Wild Card club on September 13 for the final three games as necessary.

Home Sweet Home, or Road Warriors?

The road to the Governors' Cup Championship consists of a pair of five-game series, meaning the championship club must be successful both at home and on the road. Here's a quick glance at how each of the top contenders have fared this year in their own parks compared with road games:

HOME AWAY

Record AVG. ERA Record AVG. ERA

Buffalo 35-29 .279 4.10 34-32 .255 4.17

Durham 38-30 .262 4.02 35-28 .267 3.26

Richmond 34-29 .275 3.54 38-29 .270 3.83

Rochester 37-27 .253 3.47 34-36 .269 3.70

Scranton/WB 43-26 .253 3.55 33-29 .270 3.78

Toledo 43-24 .257 3.26 33-31 .258 4.04

Who's Hot? Key Players in the Governors' Cup Chase The heroes of the 2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs are yet to be determined, but as the regular season winds down a number of stars are hitting their stride at the perfect time for the IL's contending clubs.

Many of the League's top performers in August are among those trying to push their teams into the postseason. The South Division race has played host to several of the IL's top hitters this month. Durham's Justin Ruggiano leads the IL in batting average (.418), on-base percentage (.471), and slugging percentage (.734) in August. Richmond boasts four players among the IL's top ten hitters this month, including Brandon Jones (2nd - .389), Barbaro Canizares (3rd - .384), Wes Timmons (6th - .356), and Brent Lillibridge (T-10th - .333).

The Toledo Mud Hens have several of the League's top pitchers for the month of August, including the top two ERA leaders in Yorman Bazardo (1st - 1.31) and Anastacio Martinez (2nd - 1.35), as well as the IL's only hurler to toss a complete game shutout, Virgil Vasquez.

The following list includes the hottest hitters and pitchers from each of the top six contending clubs in the IL playoff chase, displaying their numbers since August 1:

BUFFALO AVG HR RBI SB W-L ERA K SV

Ben Francisco .330 3 10 6 Jeremy Sowers 3-1 2.81 21 0

Jason Cooper .314 2 11 3 Aaron Laffey 2-0 1.93 13 0

Ryan Mulhern .294 3 14 0 Mike Koplove 1-0 0.00 6 3

DURHAM AVG HR RBI SB W-L ERA K SV

Justin Ruggiano .418 6 17 7 Jae-Kuk Ryu 2-0 2.05 19 0

Jason Pridie .313 6 14 2 J.P. Howell 2-1 4.44 35 0

Wes Bankston .303 5 18 0 Shawn Camp 0-1 1.64 12 3

RICHMOND AVG HR RBI SB W-L ERA K SV

Brandon Jones .389 3 17 4 Kevin Barry 1-1 3.75 18 0

Barbaro Canizares .384 2 14 0 Zach Schreiber 1-0 1.29 20 1

Brent Lillibridge .333 3 16 8 Joey Devine 2-0 2.38 15 2

ROCHESTER AVG HR RBI SB W-L ERA K SV

Denard Span .317 0 8 8 Kevin Slowey 1-1 1.35 18 0

Lew Ford .291 0 7 2 Dave Gassner 1-0 2.29 8 0

Matt Tolbert .282 1 8 3 Julio DePaula 4-0 3.72 13 0

SCRANTON/WB AVG HR RBI SB W-L ERA K SV

Alberto Gonzales .333 1 12 3 Ian Kennedy 1-0 2.35 21 0

Andy Cannizaro .340 2 6 0 Steven White 2-0 3.24 18 0

Angel Chavez .288 1 10 0 Edwar Ramirez 1-0 2.08 14 2

TOLEDO AVG HR RBI SB W-L ERA K SV

Mike Hessman .282 4 11 2 Yorman Bazardo 2-0 1.31 9 0

Timo Perez .260 2 12 4 Ron Chiavacci 3-1 2.05 22 0

Chris Shelton .231 2 8 1 Aquilino Lopez 0-0 1.80 9 4

Scranton/WB & Toledo Pull Away in North, West; Durham and Richmond Battling for IL South Supremacy

NORTH DIVISION: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (New York Yankees) play their sixth game in seven days tonight against the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins). Rochester trailed the Yankees by 5.0 games heading into the start of their four-game set at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last weekend, meaning the Red Wings needed a very strong showing to climb back into the division race. Rochester took the opening game 2-1 in 10 innings, but has since lost three out of four to the Yankees to fall 6.5 games out of 1st place. The Red Wings have managed to score just 11 runs in those five games against Scranton/WB, including only two in last night's loss. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bisons (Cleveland Indians), who took three out of four against Rochester August 14-17, are now in 2nd place. The Herd is also 6.5 games behind Scranton/WB but is ahead of Rochester by percentage points. Scranton/WB now has a magic number of 6 as they try to clinch their second straight IL North Championship. With just 11 days left in the season, the Wild Card may be the best hope for Buffalo or Rochester. Both teams trail the current leader, Richmond, by 3.0 games. Every remaining game on the IL schedule is intradivisional, meaning the Bisons and Red Wings need someone in the South to pin a few losses on Richmond down the stretch. The team winning the Wild Card will face the IL North Champion in the first round of the playoffs, meaning the Scranton/WB Yankees are the likely opponent. Dave Miley's squad has hit its stride in the second half of the season. After starting out 10-12 in April, the Yankees have pulled away in the IL North by going 17-10 in July and 17-7 so far in August. Scranton/WB's 3.18 ERA is the best of any team in the League this month, lead by 22-year-old Ian Kennedy, who now sports a 1.86 ERA in his first five starts since being promoted from Double-A Trenton in late July. After tonight's game in Rochester and two over the weekend in Buffalo, the Yankees will finish the regular season playing against the bottom three teams in the IL North - at home vs. Ottawa Aug. 27-28 and on the road at Syracuse Aug. 29-30 and Pawtucket Aug. 31-Sept. 3. The Bisons and Red Wings, on the other hand, close out the regular season with four games against each other at Frontier Field Aug. 31-Sept. 3.

WEST DIVISION: The first team to clinch a spot in the 2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs is likely to be the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers). Thanks in large part to their 9-4 record this year against the 2nd-place Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates), the Mud Hens are poised to capture their third straight IL West Championship. Toledo hopes to parlay the division crown into another Governors' Cup title, which would also be their third straight. The Hens have gone 13-5 over the past two International League postseasons, and may be well-positioned to get back to the finals once again. Assuming Toledo (who has a magic number of 3) clinches the IL West, the club's first round opponent will be the winner of the IL South race. The Mud Hens have enjoyed a great deal of success against their likely competition this season, going 15-8 combined against Durham and Richmond. In 2006, Toledo stormed to the Governors' Cup title thanks to a powerful lineup that routinely crushed opposing hurlers. This year, it is Toledo's pitching staff that is leading the team into the postseason. Ron Chiavacci has been among the IL's top pitchers all season, tied for the League-lead with 12 wins to go along with his 3.39 ERA (5th) and 126 strikeouts (2nd). His 12th win came last night against Indianapolis, as he scattered six hits in 6.0 scoreless innings for his second victory in as many tries against the Indians this year. Two other Mud Hens are also among the circuit's top ten in ERA. Yorman Bazardo (8th - 3.51) and Virgil Vasquez (10th - 3.59) have been consistent on the hill. Hot of late for Toledo has been Anastacio Martinez, who is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA in three August starts, having allowed just 10 hits in 20.0 innings of work. Manager Mike Rojas should have plenty of great options as he prepares to set up his rotation for the postseason. Another run to the Governors' Cup in 2007 would place the Mud Hens among very select company in the history of the International League. Since the trophy was first awarded in 1933, only one team has won the Governors' Cup three consecutive times. The 1979-81 Columbus Clippers accomplished the feat under three different managers (Gene Michael, Joe Altobelli, and Frank Verdi). While the Mud Hens prepare to make a run at history this postseason, it does not appear their rivals in Indianapolis will be back for a third straight playoff appearance. The Indians, despite a recent influx of talent from Double-A Altoona, have fallen 10.0 games back in the division with 11 days to go. The Tribe is also 6.5 games behind Richmond in the Wild Card chase, needing to also pass Buffalo and Rochester to use that route into the playoffs.

SOUTH DIVISION: The IL's tightest race this August has been for the South Division Championship. Though they have been in 2nd place most of the season, the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) are now out in front of the Richmond Braves (Atlanta Braves) by 0.5 game. Durham finally got its chance to pass Richmond when the Braves came to town for a four-game set that began Tuesday. The Bulls have scored eight runs in each of the first three games of the series, which until last night was good enough to win. It appeared Durham was headed towards their third straight victory Thursday, taking an 8-6 lead into the 9th inning. With one out, Brent Lillibridge homered to make it a one-run game. Then with two outs and one on, Doug Clark crushed a two-run blast to put the Braves in front. Joey Devine struck out the side in the bottom of the 9th to seal the comeback victory for Dave Brundage's club. The late-inning heroics were critical for Richmond, which turned a would-be 2.5 game deficit into a 0.5 game deficit thanks to Clark's homer. Perhaps more importantly, Richmond now leads the Wild Card race by 3.0 games over Buffalo. If the season ended today, both the Braves and Bulls would advance to the Governors' Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004. Durham is looking to win its third Governors' Cup title in the last six years, while Richmond is hoping for its first postseason championship since 1994. Neither team faces an easy route to the finals this time around. The IL South Champion will face the winner of the IL West Division (currently led by Toledo) while the Wild Card club will face the winner of the IL North Division (currently led by Scranton/WB). Toledo and Scranton/WB are both 76-55 (.580), representing the best record in the International League this year.

WILD CARD STANDINGS: W L PCT. GB

Richmond 72 58 .554 --

Buffalo 69 61 .531 3.0

Rochester 71 63 .530 3.0

Indianapolis 66 65 .504 6.5

SERIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

August 24-25: Toledo @ Indianapolis - The Mud Hens can clinch the IL West crown by winning the three-game set at Victory Field that begins tonight at 7:00 p.m.

August 25-26: Scranton/WB @ Buffalo - The Yankees play their last two games of the regular season against a club with a winning record, hoping to effectively put away the IL North.

August 29-30: Durham @ Richmond - The final showdown between the Bulls and Braves takes place in Richmond. Durham is 3-3 this season at The Diamond.

August 31-September 3: Buffalo @ Rochester - The Bisons and Red Wings hope to be battling for the Wild Card in the season's final four days at Frontier Field.

Governors' Cup Champion Will Advance to Bricktown Showdown The International League postseason contenders will also be keeping an eye on the Pacific Coast League playoff picture as the season wraps up. The club that wins the IL's Governors' Cup trophy will advance to the one-game Triple-A Baseball Championship in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, September 18 - the Bricktown Showdown, live on ESPN2. The winner of the Bricktown Showdown will be crowned the champion of Triple-A Baseball for 2007. So who will the Governors' Cup Champion face in Oklahoma City? Here's a quick look at the current division leaders in the PCL:

American North Division - Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers)

American South Division - Albuquerque Isotopes (Florida Marlins)

Pacific North Division - Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels)

Pacific South Division - Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's)

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International League Stories from August 24, 2007


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