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IL1 International League

Governors' Cup Playoff Preview - August 30, 2019

August 30, 2019 - International League (IL1) News Release


Clippers and Stripers Await Two More for the 2019 Postseason

The final weekend of the 2019 regular season in the International League is at hand, but the Governors' Cup playoffs are far from being all set. Two of the four entrants have secured their berth in the postseason, but several others still have their eyes on the final two slots.

The North Division race is dead even with four days to go. The Syracuse Mets have won 14 of their last 16 games to pull into a tie with the Scranton/WilkesBarre RailRiders. Both clubs are 73-63, a record currently 1.5 games behind the Wild Card leaders. The Mets are in Rochester for the final four days of the regular season, while SWB hosts 3rd place Buffalo at PNC Field. The Bisons have been officially eliminated from contention; despite being 4.0 games back with four to play, the Bisons would not win the three-way tiebreaking scenario with SWB and Syracuse.

The South Division is in the hands of the Gwinnett Stripers, who own the IL's best record and have clinched at least the Wild Card. Gwinnett has a magic number of one to clinch the South. 2nd place Charlotte is 4.0 games behind the Stripers, but the Knights hope the Wild Card will be available as a path into the postseason.

Charlotte owns a slim 1.0-game edge over the defending League champion Durham Bulls for the Wild Card, and the 2nd place team from the North is just 1.5 games out with four days to go. The Knights visit Norfolk to wrap up the regular season against the division's 4th place club, while Durham closes things out with four games at Gwinnett.

The winners of the South Division will earn a first round matchup with the Columbus Clippers, who have already locked up the West Division championship. Columbus got its 42nd road win of the season on Thursday in Louisville; no other International League team has won 40 games away from home in 2019. The Clippers await word on where they will open the playoffs next week, which will either be in Gwinnett or Charlotte. Columbus split the season series 3-3 against both of its potential first round opponents.

Columbus is the only contender with nothing left to play for entering the final weekend. The Clippers conclude their regular season schedule on the road with two games in Indianapolis followed by a pair at Louisville. Gwinnett hopes to formally take the South flag with a win Friday at Durham. The top two teams in the North take on the recently eliminated 3rd and 4th place clubs, each hoping to do enough in the season's final weekend to get a shot at the Governors' Cup.

Looking at Potential Tie Breakers

In the International League, an extra regular season game is created only in the scenario that two teams finish tied for 1st place in a division with just one to advance to the playoffs. In such a case the League's tiebreaking format determines the home team. In any other tie scenario, including any ties for the Wild Card, the tiebreaking format solely is used to determine which team advances.

NORTH DIVISION - 2-WAY TIE FOR 1ST

Scranton/WB and Syracuse enter the final weekend even at 73-69 and play different opponents to close the season. If the Wild Card has been won by a South Division team, meaning only one team from the North can advance, the RailRiders and Mets would meet on Tuesday, September 3 for one additional game to determine the final standing. SWB owns the advantage in the tiebreaking format thanks to winning the season series with Syracuse 14-6, and thus would be the hosts of the play-in affair.

If SWB and Syracuse finish tied for 1st with a record better than that of the 2nd place team in the South Division, meaning both will be advancing to the postseason, there will be no additional game. SWB and Syracuse would be considered co-champions of the North. Based on the tiebreaking format, SWB would enter the postseason in the North Division winner slot and the Mets would enter in the Wild Card slot, and they would face each other in the semi-finals.

NORTH DIVISION - 3-WAY TIE FOR 1ST

A three-way tie can still occur if Buffalo sweeps SWB four straight to close out the regular season and Syracuse is swept by Rochester. SWB, Syracuse, and Buffalo would all finish 73-67. Head-to-head record between the three teams would then be calculated to determine the champion, and SWB would get the nod with the best combined record. SWB went 14-6 vs. Syracuse and currently leads the season series with Buffalo 11-7. Syracuse won their series with Buffalo, 9-8. The Bisons can finish tied for 1st but cannot advance to the postseason in any scenario.

SOUTH DIVISION - TIE FOR 1ST

Gwinnett has secured at least the Wild Card, and with one more win or one more Charlotte loss the Stripers will officially be division champs. Should the worst happen though, a four-game sweep at the hands of Durham while Charlotte is sweeping Norfolk, both the Stripers and Knights could end up 78-61. In that scenario, both would be advancing to the postseason, so they would be crowned co-champions of the South. Charlotte would enter the postseason in the division winner's slot on the strength of a 12-9 season series win over Gwinnett.

WILD CARD - CHARLOTTE & DURHAM TIE

Charlotte enters the final weekend with a 1.0 game lead over Durham for the Wild Card, with the two facing different opponents to close the season. If the Bulls can pick up a game in the standings over the last four days to pull even with Charlotte, Durham would win the tiebreaker and advance to the postseason as the Wild Card. Durham narrowly won the season series against their in-state rivals, 12-11.

Each South Division team has lost one game to the schedule, meaning the only way a tie could exist between Wild Card contenders from different divisions when the season concludes is in the unlikely event of a game being lost to weather in the North during the final weekend. Potential tiebreakers that could come into play and are examined below.

WILD CARD - CHARLOTTE & SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE TIE

If Charlotte and SWB finish 2nd in their respective divisions and have tied for the Wild Card, Charlotte would be crowned the Wild Card. The Knights swept their season series versus the RailRiders in 2019, 6-0.

WILD CARD - CHARLOTTE & SYRACUSE TIE

If Charlotte and Syracuse finish 2nd in their respective divisions and have tied for the Wild Card, Charlotte would be crowned the Wild Card. The Knights and Mets split their regular season series 3-3. The second factor used in the tiebreaking format is intradivisional record. Charlotte is currently 36-30 (.545) against the South, while Syracuse is currently 45-42 (.517) within the North.

WILD CARD - DURHAM & SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE TIE

If Durham and SWB finish 2nd in their respective divisions and have tied for the Wild Card, SWB would be crowned the Wild Card. The Bulls and RailRiders split their regular season series 3-3. SWB has a far superior record within its division at 50-37 (.575) currently compared to 34-33 (.507) for Durham.

WILD CARD - DURHAM & SYRACUSE TIE

If Durham and Syracuse finish 2nd in their respective divisions and have tied for the Wild Card, Syracuse would be crowned the Wild Card. The Bulls and Mets split their regular season series 3-3, and Syracuse has the better intradivisional record.

WILD CARD - 3-WAY TIE SCENARIOS

A three-way tie between Charlotte, Durham, and SWB would go to Charlotte, who would have the best combined head-to-head record. A three-way tie between Charlotte, Durham and Syracuse would go to Durham, who would have the best combined head-to-head record.

SWB & SYRACUSE TIE FOR NORTH DIVISION & FOR WILD CARD

If SWB and Syracuse tie for 1st place in the North but have also ended with a record that ties for the Wild Card lead, there would be no additional game. The tiebreaking format would be used to determine first the North Division champion, which would be SWB, and then the format would be applied between Syracuse and the South Division team(s) it tied with to determine the Wild Card.

Pacific Coast League Champ to Face Gov. Cup Winner in Memphis

PCL American Northern Division Update

The Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs) are on the verge of clinching the team's first playoff appearance since 2008 and hope to advance to the PCL finals for the first time since 2008. To get to the postseason, Iowa needs just one more win. The 2nd place Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) are 4.0 games back and now invade Iowa for the final four games of the regular season. Memphis needs a sweep to win the division.

PCL American Southern Division Update

The top two contenders in the PCL American Southern Division have been facing each other this week, and after winning three of four the Round Rock Express (Houston Astros) have taken a commanding 3.0 game lead with four days left over the 2nd place San Antonio Missions (Milwaukee Brewers). This is San Antonio's first season in the PCL after Colorado Springs departed.

PCL Pacific Northern Division Update

The Pacific Northern Division race came to an end Thursday. For the first time since 2012 the Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco Giants) are in the PCL playoffs. It was the franchise's 12th division title in the Pacific Coast League. The River Cats will face the winner of the Pacific Southern Division in the first round next week. Sacramento is a two-time Triple-A Baseball national champion.

PCL Pacific Southern Division Update

Just 2.0 games separate the top two clubs in the PCL Pacific Southern Division with four days remaining. The Las Vegas Aviators (Oakland Athletics), who recently announced they will host the 2020 Triple-A National Championship Game Presented by Ephesus Sports Lighting, are clinging to a slight edge over the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres), who won the PCL in 2016 when the Championship Game was last held in Memphis.

Triple-A National Championship Game Returns to National TV

The team emerging from the Pacific Coast League playoffs will earn the right to meet the IL's Governors' Cup champion on Tuesday, September 17 at the Triple-A National Championship Game Presented by Ephesus Sports Lighting. The IL squad will be the visiting team since the event is being held at a PCL site, AutoZone Park in Memphis, where the defending champion Redbirds are celebrating the ballpark's twentieth season.

The 2019 Triple-A National Championship Game will be televised live on FOX Sports. The American Forces Network will also be showcasing the Game, bringing the event to nearly one million men and women of the U-S Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines

stationed around the globe in 175 countries and on the high seas. Additionally, the Triple-A National Championship Game Presented by Ephesus Sports Lighting Radio Network will bring the action to flagship Triple-A radio outlets across the country.

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International League Stories from August 30, 2019


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