IL1 International League

2008 Playoff Matchups All Set

Published on August 29, 2008 under International League (IL1) News Release


There will be no surprises in the International League playoff chase this season. The four teams who will take aim at the 2008 Governors' Cup Championship when the playoffs begin next week have all clinched their place in the postseason. Louisville, champions of the IL West, will square off against the Durham Bulls, who have secured their status as winners of the IL South Division. Louisville Slugger Field, the site for Games 1 and 2 next Wednesday and Thursday, hosted a four-game set between the Bats and Bulls last week that was split 2-2. On the other side of the playoff bracket will be two contenders from the IL North. Both the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and the Pawtucket Red Sox have locked up postseason berths, although the division title is still up for grabs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre enjoys a 3.0 game lead over the PawSox with just four games left to play, giving the Yankees a magic number of two to clinch the division. The IL North Champion will have home field advantage for the first round, hosting the final three games (as necessary) following two games in the home park of the Wild Card team.

If the Yankees win the North, they will become just the fourth team in International League history to win three straight division titles. They also have a shot at finishing with the League's best regular season record for a third straight season, something only five teams have accomplished in 125 seasons of IL baseball. The Yankees (86-53) have a slim 0.5 game lead over the Bats (86-54) for the League's best record.

The International League Playoffs will begin on September 3 in the home ballparks of the West Division Champion (Louisville) and the Wild Card club. In the IL's predetermined format, the Wild Card club will face the North Division Winner while the West Champion will face the South Division Champion (Durham) in a best-of-five first round series. Following a pair of games hosted by the Wild Card club and West 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 9 in the city of either the North Division Champion or Wild Card club. After two games, the series will resume at the home of either the West or South Division Champion on September 11 for the final three games as necessary.

IL Champion to Face PCL Champion at Bricktown Showdown

Once again this season the Governors' Cup Champion will travel to Oklahoma City to meet the Pacific Coast League Champion in a one-game, winner-take-all matchup for the championship of Triple-A Baseball. The 2008 Express Employment Professionals Bricktown Showdown will be broadcast live on ESPN2 on Tuesday, September 16 at 8:00 p.m. eastern. The PCL playoffs also begin September 3 with the following first round series:

Iowa (American North Champion, 81-57) Salt Lake (Pacific North Champion, 81-59)

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Oklahoma (American South Champion, 74-66) Sacramento (Pacific South Champion, 81-59)

2008 International League Governors' Cup Playoff Preview

August 29, 2008

Page Two

First Round Matchups - A Regular Season Recap

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Pawtucket split their 16 regular season matchups evenly. In fact, the 8 games in each city were split, 4-4. The Yankees may have the momentum, however, having won five of the last seven games against Pawtucket, and they are likely to own home field advantage in the 5-game first round series. Below is a recap of the 16-game season series between the Yankees and PawSox:

Date Location Winner Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save

May 18 G1 Moosic, PA Pawtucket 7-1 Devern Hansack Steven White

May 18 G2 Moosic, PA Scranton/WB 7-3 Jeffrey Marquez Michael Tejera

May 19 Moosic, PA Pawtucket 5-3 David Pauley Heath Phillips Jon Switzer

May 20 Moosic, PA Pawtucket 3-2 Charlie Zink Jeff Karstens Edgar Martinez

May 26 Pawtucket, RI Pawtucket 11-5 Charlie Zink Jeff Karstens

May 27 Pawtucket, RI Scranton/WB 9-8 Billy Traber Kyle Snyder Scott Patterson

May 28 Pawtucket, RI Scranton/WB 9-4 Kei Igawa Devern Hansack

May 29 Pawtucket, RI Pawtucket 5-2 Justin Masterson Daniel McCutchen Chris Smith

Aug. 2 Pawtucket, RI Pawtucket 7-3 Eric Hull Phil Coke

Aug. 3 Pawtucket, RI Scranton/WB 5-2 Ian Kennedy Charlie Zink Scott Patterson

Aug. 4 Moosic, PA Scranton/WB 3-2 Steven Jackson Michael Tejera

Aug. 5 Moosic, PA Scranton/WB 4-0 Kei Igawa Bartolo Colon

Aug. 6 Moosic, PA Pawtucket 11-5 Edgar Martinez Alfredo Aceves

Aug. 7 Moosic, PA Scranton/WB 6-1 Phil Coke Devern Hansack

Aug. 12 Pawtucket, RI Scranton/WB 8-6 (11) Steven Jackson Jose Vaquedano

Aug. 13 Pawtucket, RI Pawtucket 5-1 Edgar Martinez Alfredo Aceves

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Louisville's overall record is 14.0 games better than Durham's, but the Bulls won the head-to-head season series, outscoring the Bats 41-30 and out-hitting them 82-63 in eight games. Below is a recap of the 8-game season series between the Bats and Bulls:

Date Location Winner Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save

July 25 Durham, NC Durham 10-5 Wade Davis Ben Jukich

July 26 Durham, NC Louisville 5-3 Daniel Ray Herrera Chris Mason Jon Adkins

July 27 Durham, NC Durham 2-0 Ben Hendrickson Justin Mallett Scott Dohmann

July 28 Durham, NC Durham 4-3 Mitch Talbot Ramon Ramirez Scott Dohmann

Aug. 19 Louisville, KY Louisville 9-8 (10) Justin Mallett Kurt Birkins

Aug. 20 Louisville, KY Durham 5-0 Jeff Niemann Ramon Ramirez

Aug. 21 Louisville, KY Louisville 6-3 Adam Pettyjohn Wade Davis Jon Adkins

Aug. 22 Louisville, KY Durham 6-2 Ben Hendrickson Bobby Livingston

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International League Stories from August 29, 2008


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