IL1 International League

Charlotte and Indianapolis Pulling Away

Published on August 17, 2012 under International League (IL1) News Release


With 18 days remaining in the 2012 International League regular season, one first round matchup is just about in place while several teams are still battling for a spot in the other Governors' Cup first round series. Both the Charlotte Knights of the South Division (+10.0 G) and the Indianapolis Indians of the West Division (+9.0 G) appear headed towards a first round showdown of the IL's two-winningest teams when the playoffs begin September 5. Charlotte is the League's hottest team, winners of six straight including an 8-6 victory last night against Louisville. Indianapolis, however, has dropped three in a row to Rochester. The Red Wings are 5.5 games behind North Division leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but Rochester is nonetheless in 4th place, also trailing Lehigh Valley and the current leader of the Wild Card race, Pawtucket. The IronPigs won 5-2 at Buffalo yesterday while Pawtucket fell 5-4 to the SWB Yankees, meaning Lehigh Valley is now just a single game behind the PawSox for the fourth and final playoff berth.

First Round Schedule (Best of Five):

September 5,6 South Division Winner at West Division Winner, North Division Winner at Wild Card Winner

September 7,8*,9

* West Division Winner at South Division Winner, Wild Card Winner at North Division Winner

Governors' Cup Finals Schedule (Best of Five):

September 11,12 South/West Division Series Winner at North/Wild Card Series Winner

September 13,14*,15

* North/Wild Card Series Winner at South/West Division Series Winner

* If Necessary

International League's "Best Tools" to be on Display in 2012 Postseason

In its latest issue, Baseball America ranked the International League

players with the best tools in several categories. While a few of the

honorees have already graduated to the big leagues, many of the IL's

most talented players from 2012 are still here and primed to lead their

club to the Governors' Cup title.

Baseball America International League "Best Tools"

Best Strike Zone Judgment - Alex Hassan, Pawtucket

Best Control - Tyler Cloyd, Lehigh Valley

Best Reliever - Tim Wood, Indianapolis

Best Defensive Shortstop - Jose Iglesias, Pawtucket

Best Outfield Arm - Greg Golson, Charlotte

Best Manager Prospect - Mike Sarbaugh, Columbus Indians closer Tim Wood

Will IronPigs "Walk-Off" With 2012 Governors' Cup Title?

This September, the last place other International League teams may want to play could be Coca-Cola Park. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs have proven they are never out of any home game. Ryne Sandberg's club has blown away the previous franchise record by already winning 12 games in walk-off style this season. Only three other IL clubs have more than half that total, with the lowest number in the League belonging to current Wild Card leader Pawtucket. The IronPigs have won 10 games this season that were tied after 8 innings, more than any other IL club.

At 41-20, Lehigh Valley owns the League's best home record. Things have been much different on the road, where the IronPigs have posted a mark of 25-39.

Last night it was the Rochester Red Wings who walked-off when Wilkin Ramirez hit a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning to drive home Brian Dozier with the winning tally. The 2-1 victory over Indianapolis was the fifth walk-off for the Red Wings this season.

Miley & Sarbaugh Chasing Elusive Third Governors' Cup

As the Governors' Cup prepares to be awarded for the 80th time, two skippers have their eye on winning the coveted trophy for a third time. That feat has been accomplished by just four men, all of whom are now members of the International League Hall of Fame.

Jewel Ens of Syracuse and Clay Hopper of Montreal each won three Cups in the 1940's. Joe Altobelli piloted Rochester to titles in 1971 and 1974 before winning another with Columbus in 1980. Similarly, Frank Verdi won a pair of Cups with Syracuse in 1969 and 1970 before he led the Clippers to the 1981 championship.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre skipper Dave Miley led the franchise to its first Governors' Cup championship in 2008, seven years after he guided the Louisville Bats to their one and only Governors' Cup to date. A title for Columbus manager Mike Sarbaugh would make him the League's first-ever to win the Cup in three consecutive seasons.

Presidential Convention Serves as Warm-Up Act for 2012 IL Playoffs

The Charlotte, North Carolina area appears set to host Governors' Cup playoff baseball for the first time since 2006. Should the Knights win the South Division, they'll open the postseason on the road at the home of the West Division champion on September 5-6 and return to

Charlotte for their first home playoff game on September 7.

The 2012 Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte just

prior to Game 3 of the Governors' Cup playoffs. When the Knights play

their regular season finale on Labor Day, the Convention will be

opening nearby at Time Warner Cable Arena. It will remain there

through September 6, moving to Bank of America Stadium for the final

day.

2012 International League Governors' Cup Playoff Preview

August 17, 2012

Page Three

Eight Teams Within Five Games of Playoff Berth;

Just Over Two Weeks Remain

NORTH DIVISION REPORT: It was a busy week for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (New York Yankees), who have played in nine games since last Friday. SWB went 6-3 against Buffalo, Syracuse, and Pawtucket to extend the club's modest lead in the North to 2.0 games. The 2nd place Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) have split the first four of a five-game series with the Yankees this week, but while they have failed to gain ground in the division race the PawSox are still 1.0 game in front of Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia Phillies) for the Wild Card. The Wild Card winner will meet the North Division champion in the first round of the Governors' Cup playoffs, setting the stage for a potential Red Sox-Yankees matchup. Any postseason home games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre club will be played at Frontier Field in Rochester, New York.

** Fact of the Week ** - Affiliates of the New York Yankees have won more than twice as many Governors' Cups (15) as any other MLB franchise.

WEST DIVISION REPORT: The Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates) are closing in on the club's first postseason appearance since 2006. After taking two out of three from the 2nd-place Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Indians) last weekend at Huntington Park, Indianapolis now has a magic number of 10 to clinch the West Division flag. Should that happen, the Tribe will face the South Division winners in the first round of the postseason, likely to be Charlotte. This week Indianapolis signed free agent infielder Dallas McPherson, recently released by the White Sox after having played in 61 games with the Knights this season. In July, McPherson led the entire International League with nine home runs.

** Fact of the Week ** - Since the 1998 expansion and realignment, the only division that has had every team win the Governors' Cup is the West.

SOUTH DIVISION REPORT: Last night's victory against Louisville pushed the Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox) closer to their first South Division title in six years. The Knights now have a magic number of 8, meaning any combination of Knights wins and Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles) losses totaling 8 the rest of the way will lock up the division for Charlotte. The Knights have now won six games in a row, the longest active winning streak in the League. Charlotte owns the IL's best August record (11-4), thanks in large part to the pitching staff's League-leading 2.89 ERA during the stretch. After tonight's game versus the Bats, the Knights have only one interdivision series remaining; Charlotte welcomes Syracuse for four games starting August 27.

** Fact of the Week ** - Charlotte is 32-24 within the South Division this season. Last year the Knights were 30-33 against South opponents.

WILD CARD REPORT: The Wild Card race is still very much up for grabs with teams in all three divisions in the hunt. Refusing to go away are the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins), who have won five of their last six games and have caught Columbus in the Wild Card standings. The winning streak now includes an impressive three wins against Indianapolis, the team with the best record in the entire League. Rochester goes for the four-game sweep tonight at 7:05 p.m. Columbus may be headed in the opposite direction. A win last night over Durham broke a four-game losing streak for the two-time defending Triple-A Baseball National Champions. Norfolk also had a four-game losing streak this week, though the Tides are now winners of back-to-back games at Harbor Park against Gwinnett.

** Fact of the Week ** - In the last ten seasons only two Wild Cards have won the Governors' Cup - Richmond in 2007 and Columbus in 2010.

SERIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

August 18-19: Scranton/WB @ Rochester

The Yankees won three out of four at Frontier Field against their co-tenants earlier this month. Once again, SWB will be the road team as the Red Wings and Yankees meet for the final time this season.

August 18-19: Charlotte @ Norfolk

The Tides get their last crack at the Knights head-to-head this season when the top two teams in the South get together at Harbor Park this weekend.

August 20-21: Rochester @ Pawtucket

Following the two-game series with the Red Wings, Pawtucket won't be home again until the final four days of the regular season.

IL Champion Headed to Gildan Triple-A National Championship Game

The IL postseason contenders are also keeping an eye on the Pacific Coast League playoff picture as the regular season wraps up. The club that wins the Governors' Cup will advance to the 2012 Gildan Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game in Durham on Tuesday, September 18. Who will face the IL's best to determine the champion of Triple-A Baseball live on NBC Sports Network? Here's an update on the division races in the Pacific Coast League for August 17:

American North American South

Omaha 75-51 -- Albuquerque 72-54 -- Nashville 58-68 17.0 New Orleans 69-57 3.0

Omaha Magic #2 Okl. City 65-60 6.5

Round Rock 59-67 13.0

Pacific North Pacific South

Reno 71-55 -- Sacramento 77-49 -- Col. Spr. 66-60 5.0 Las Vegas 70-55 6.5

Salt Lake 65-61 6.0 Fresno 65-60 11.5

Tacoma 53-73 18.0 Tucson 47-78 29.5

WILD CARD LEADERS

W-L Pct. GB Gm Rem

Pawtucket 69-58 .543 -- 17

Lehigh Valley 68-59 .535 1.0 17

Columbus 65-61 .516 3.5 18

Rochester 65-61 .516 3.5 18

Norfolk 64-63 .504 5.0 17

IMPACTING THE RACE

3B Pete Orr

Lehigh Valley

18 Hits in 13 Games

(Since August 2)

IL Walk-Off Victories in 2012

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lehigh Valley 12

Charlotte 9

Gwinnett 8

Norfolk 8

Columbus 6

Durham 6

Scranton/WB 6

Buffalo 5

Rochester 5

Indianapolis 3

Louisville 3

Syracuse 3

Toledo 3

Pawtucket 2

IL NORTH DIVISION STANDINGS

W-L Pct. GB Gm Rem

Scranton/WB 71-56 .559 -- 17

Pawtucket 69-58 .543 2.0 17

Lehigh Valley 68-59 .535 3.0 17

Rochester 65-61 .516 5.5 18

Syracuse 62-65 .488 9.0 17

Buffalo 60-66 .476 10.5 18

IMPACTING THE RACE

OF Chris Dickerson

Scranton/WB

.391, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 SB

(Last two weeks)

IL WEST DIVISION STANDINGS

W-L Pct. GB Gm Rem

Indianapolis 74-52 .587 -- 18

Columbus 65-61 .516 9.0 18

Toledo 51-76 .402 23.5 17

Louisville 48-79 .378 26.5 17

IMPACTING THE RACE

2B Cord Phelps

Columbus

.404, 4 HR, 11 Runs

(Last two weeks)

IL SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS

W-L Pct. GB Gm Rem

Charlotte 74-53 .583 -- 17

Norfolk 64-63 .504 10.0 17

Durham 59-68 .465 15.0 17

Gwinnett 57-70 .449 17.0 17

IMPACTING THE RACE

LHP Charlie Leesman

Charlotte

Defeated Indy & Norfolk

(Since August 7 return)

Check out the International League Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from August 17, 2012


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