Governors' Cup Finals preview

Published on September 11, 2006 under International League (IL1) News Release

The 2006 Governors' Cup Finals get underway tomorrow night in Rochester in a best-of-five matchup for the International League Championship. The Toledo Mud Hens, defending Governors' Cup Champions, will take on the Rochester Red Wings. Both clubs took their respective semi-final series in four games. Rochester, the Wild Card entry into the postseason, defeated the IL North Champion Scranton/
Wilkes-Barre Red Barons 3 games to 1 after the Red Barons posted the League's best regular season mark (84-58). The Mud Hens knocked off IL South Champion Charlotte in four games, ending a remarkable run for the Knights, who won their division by 15.5 games. The two teams left standing look to once again etch their name on the coveted Governors' Cup. Toledo won its second Governors' Cup in 2005 - its first since 1967. This will mark the first time Toledo has advanced to the Finals in consecutive seasons. Their opponents represent the franchise with the most Governors' Cup Championships in League history. With League titles in 1939, 1952, 1955-56, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1988, 1990, and 1997, Rochester boasts an all-time high ten Governors' Cups. The final series will begin tomorrow night at Frontier Field in Rochester, where the teams will meet for the first two games. The series will then shift to Fifth Third Field in Toledo for the conclusion of the Finals. With no off-day between the sites, the best of five affair is scheduled to be completed no later than Saturday night.

Toledo and Rochester an Exciting Matchup in 2006
The only previous post-season matchup between Toledo and Rochester came in 1980, with the Mud Hens taking a first-round series from the Red Wings 3 games to 1. The two clubs have played each other eight times this year, though the last time they were together was well over two months ago.

W L S
5/27 @ TOL Rochester 9, Toledo 5 (11) Beau Kemp Mark Woodyard
5/28 @ TOL Toledo 3, Rochester 2 Colby Lewis Pete Munro Lee Gardner
5/29 @ TOL Toledo 3, Rochester 1 Jordan Tata Kyle Lohse Lee Gardner
5/30 @ TOL Rochester 5, Toledo 0 (11) Pat Neshek Corey Hamman
6/17 @ ROC Toledo 10, Rochester 4 Chad Durbin Pete Munro Hector Mercado
6/18 @ ROC Toledo 3, Rochester 0 Humberto Sanchez Jason Miller Lee Gardner
6/19 @ ROC Toledo 3, Rochester 2 (11) Lee Gardner Pat Neshek Lance Davis
6/20 @ ROC Rochester 7, Toledo 1 Scott Baker Jordan Tata Bobby Korecky

The Mud Hens won the season series 5-3, despite hitting just .192 against Rochester pitching. Three of the eight games played between these two teams needed extra frames to decide the winner. Rochester was an IL-best 17-3 in extra-inning games this season, while Toledo was 9-8. Here are a few more statistics of note from the season series between Toledo and Rochester:

TEAM ERA vs. Opponent: Rochester 2.61, Toledo 3.51
BATTING AVG. vs. Opponent: Rochester .246, Toledo .192
HOME RUNS vs. Opponent: Rochester 5, Toledo 5

Rochester Uses Big Bats, Superb Pitching to Advance to Finals

In the playoffs for the first time since 1997, the Red Wings jumped out to a 2-0 series lead on their IL North Rivals from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre by pummeling the heralded Red Barons pitching staff. The Red Wings outscored Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 17-10 in the first two games, peaking when they lit up IL ERA champ Brian Mazone for seven runs in four innings in Game 2. Andres Torres, Garrett Jones, and Quinton McCracken all went deep against Mazone in the 11-5 Red Wings' victory. The series shifted to Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre where the Red Wings lost Game 3, 6-3, but Stan Cliburn literally had an ace up his sleeve for Game 4. Francisco Liriano, the 2005 IL Rookie of the Year and strong candidate for 2006 American League Rookie of the Year, took the hill in a rehab assignment and blanked the Red Barons for three innings. 23-year-old Glen Perkins picked up where Liriano left off, shutting down the opposition for the final six frames to complete the one-hit shutout. A RBI-double by Alex Romero in the seventh inning, plus a run-scoring single in the eighth by Tommy Watkins would be all the offense Rochester needed to win the game 2-0, and the series 3-1. Jones and McCracken led the way offensively against the Red Barons, as both men went 8-15 (.533) with a homer and four runs scored in the four-game series. Jones led all first-round participants with 5 RBI.

Playoff Stars for Rochester
1B Garrett Jones - batted .533 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, and 4 R.
LHP Glen Perkins - 6.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 5 K in Game 4 victory.
OF Andres Torres - batted .353 (6-17) with a 2B, HR, and 3 SB.
OF Quinton McCracken - batted .533 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, and 4 R.
RHP Mike Smith - 6.0 IP in Game 1 victory to follow up 11-5 regular season.
Jones McCracken

Mud Hens Take Three Straight from Charlotte to Earn Return to Finals

If Toledo wins the 2006 Governors' Cup, they'll be the first team since 1980 to need at least seven postseason victories to do so. The Mud Hens finished the regular season as co-champion of the IL West, and needed to beat Indianapolis in a one-game playoff (which they did, 4-0) to advance to the semi-final series against Charlotte. The Knights, able to rest the day before the series while Toledo was playing, took Game 1, 5-0. Charlotte would never hold another lead. The Toledo offense awoke in the second inning of Game 2 when Chris Maples hit a 3-run home run, and behind a complete game effort from Chad Durbin the Hens took the contest 6-2. Undaunted by a shift in venue, Toledo scored 5 second-inning runs in Game 3, highlighted by back-to-back long balls by Mike Rabelo and Dustan Mohr, and capped by another blast off the bat of Ryan Raburn to spark the Hens to a 6-2 victory. An unlikely hero would clinch the series for Toledo in Game 4. After Charlotte scored twice in the seventh to tie the game 2-2, David Espinosa was called on to pinch-hit with two men on in the top of the tenth. Espinosa was just 1-7 in the series, and hampered by the fact he had forgotten to put on his contact lenses prior to the game. Sure enough, Espinosa slammed a three-run homer to right field for the Mud Hens, who led the IL with 152 regular season home runs. Lee Gardner got the final three outs to seal a return trip to the Governors' Cup Finals.

Playoff Stars for Toledo
RHP Chad Durbin - 2 ER, 4 H allowed in complete game victory (Game 2).
1B/DH Josh Phelps - IL All-Star only player with 2 HR in playoffs.
RHP Lee Gardner - No runs allowed in three appearances (1 SV, 3.0 IP, 3 K).
RHP Eulogio De La Cruz - 7.0 IP, 11 K in Game 3 win, 2nd career Triple-A start.
RHP Colby Lewis - won playoff game vs. Indianapolis - 0 R in 7.0 IP.

Phelps De La Cruz

Governors' Cup Playoff Notes

- Toledo's Larry Parrish becomes the first IL skipper to lead his club to consecutive Governors' Cup Finals since Bill Evers guided the Durham Bulls to back-to-back championships in 2002-03. This is the eighth postseason appearance for Toledo since re-joining the International League in 1965, and only the second time the Hens have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The first time that happened was 1967-68, when Toledo returned to the postseason a year after winning their first Governors' Cup, but lost a first round series in 1968 to Jacksonville 3 games to 1.

- The Rochester Red Wings enter the 2006 Finals looking for a League-best 11th Governors' Cup Championship. Rochester has been a member of the International League for 119 of the circuit's 123 seasons, easily the most of any franchise. That run includes all 74 years of the Governors' Cup Playoff era, which began in 1933 with the introduction of the Shaughnessy-style postseason system. Rochester's last Governors' Cup came in 1997, one year before the Triple-A realignment and expansion that increased the number of IL clubs from 10 to 14. IL Manager of the Year Marv Foley led his club to a 3-1 first round victory over Pawtucket before beating the Columbus Clippers 3-2 in the Finals.

- In 1998 the IL re-aligned to its current three division format, and only twice since have teams from the IL North and IL West met in the Governors' Cup Finals. In 2000 Indianapolis defeated Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3 games to 2. A year later, the Louisville Bats bested the Red Barons for the Governors' Cup in a series that was unexpectedly shortened to one game following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

- Miscellaneous statistics of note from the 2006 regular season:
ROC TOL
HOME RECORD 42-29 45-27
ROAD RECORD 37-35 31-39
SCORE FIRST RECORD 55-20 49-19
1-RUN GAME RECORD 22-19 24-22
2-RUN GAME RECORD 16-15 12-13
EXTRA INNING RECORD 17-3 9-8
LEAD AFTER 7 INNINGS 60-4 60-5
TIED AFTER 7 INNINGS 12-6 10-12
TRAILING AFTER 7 INNINGS 5-53 5-49
LEAD AFTER 8 INNINGS 49-1 57-4
TIED AFTER 8 INNINGS 15-2 9-11
TRAILING AFTER 9 INNINGS 4-57 3-49

IL Champion Will Meet Round Rock or Tucson in Bricktown Showdown
The Pacific Coast League Champion will be decided in a best-of-five finals that gets underway tomorrow night in Tucson between the Round Rock Express (Houston Astros) and Tucson Sidewinders (Arizona Diamondbacks). The clubs with the top two PCL regular season records advanced to the finals over the weekend. Tucson bested Salt Lake in four games, while Round Rock needed the full five to get past defending PCL Champion Nashville. The winner of the Tucson-Round Rock series will advance to the Hyundai Bricktown Showdown Tuesday, September 19 against the winner of the IL's Governors' Cup. The winner-take-all championship game will take place at 7:00 p.m. eastern at Oklahoma City's AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, and will be televised live on ESPN2.

2006 Governors' Cup Finals
Rochester Red Wings vs. Toledo Mud Hens
Toledo won Season Series 5-3

Game One: Tuesday, September 12 @ Frontier Field - 7:05 p.m.
Game Two: Wednesday, September 13 @ Frontier Field - 7:05 p.m.
Game Three: Thursday, September 14 @ Fifth Third Field - 7:00 p.m.
Game Four: Friday, September 15 @ Fifth Third Field - 7:00 p.m. *
Game Five: Saturday, September 16 @ Fifth Third Field - 7:00 p.m. *
* denotes if necessary

Playoff History - Toledo d. Rochester, 3-1 in 1980 Governors' Cup First Round

Rochester Red Wings (79-64) Toledo Mud Hens (76-66)
Manager: Stan Cliburn (1st season) Manager: Larry Parrish (5th season)
Affiliate: Minnesota Twins Affiliate: Detroit Tigers
Qualified: Wild Card (+2.5) Qualified: West Co-Champion, def. IND 4-0
Last Time in Playoffs: 1997 Last Time in Playoffs: 2005
Years in Playoffs/Record: 42 yrs. / 147-148 (.498) Years in Playoffs: 7 yrs. / 20-22 (.476)
Last Governors' Cup: 1997 Last Governors' Cup: 2005
Team Batting Avg.: .264 / Team ERA: 3.31 Team Batting Avg.: .259 / Team ERA: 3.74

Probable Starting Pitchers Probable Starting Pitchers
G1: RH Mike Smith (11-5, 3.88) G1: Colby Lewis (6-7, 3.96)
G2: To Be Determined G2: Chad Durbin (11-8, 3.11)
G3: LH Glen Perkins (0-1, 2.08) G3: Eulogio De La Cruz (0-0, 11.57)
G4: To Be Determined G4: To Be Determined
G5: To Be Determined G5: To Be Determined

Red Wings' Leaders: Mud Hens' Leaders:
Batting Avg.: J. Rabe (.299), C. Heintz (.286) Batting Avg.: J. Phelps (.308), J. Hannahan (.282)
Home Runs: G. Jones (21), K. West (11) Home Runs: R. Ludwick (28), Phelps/Hessman (24)
Runs Batted In: G. Jones (92), J. Rabe (47) Runs Batted In: J. Phelps (90), R. Ludwick (80)
Stolen Bases: A. Torres (19), J. Tyner (8) Stolen Bases: K. Hooper (24), D. Kelly (18)
Victories: M. Smith (11), P. Munro (8) Victories: C. Durbin (11), J. Tata (10)
Strikeouts: M. Smith (110), P. Munro (97) Strikeouts: C. Durbin (149), C. Lewis (104)
ERA: M. Smith (3.88), P. Munro (4.32) ERA: C. Durbin (3.11), J. Tata (3.84)
Saves: P. Neshek (14), K. Cameron (9) Saves: L. Gardner (30), C. Spurling (5)

Players to Watch: Players to Watch:
1B Garrett Jones - led club with 21 HR, and was 1B/DH Josh Phelps - 2nd in IL in hitting (.308),
2nd in IL with 92 RBI. 3rd in HR (24), RBI (90).
LHP Dave Gassner - 2-0 in 5 regular season starts RHP Chad Durbin - IL strikeout leader (149) led
since return from DL 8/03. Hens in wins and ERA.
RHP Mike Smith - Topps IL Player of the Month RHP Lee Gardner - set franchise record with 30
for July (4-1, 2.44 ERA). saves to go with 2.92 ERA.
OF Andres Torres - speedy outfielder led Wings OF Ryan Ludwick - Slammed 28 homers with 80
with 49 walks and 19 SB. RBI, plus HR against Indy.
RHP Kevin Cameron - closer has allowed just 2 SS Brent Dlugach - Hit .256 in 125 Class-A games
homers in 66.1 IP in 2006. before 9/3 promotion.

International League Stories from September 11, 2006

• Governors' Cup Finals preview - IL1
• Bats End of Season Game Notes 2006 - Louisville Bats

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