
Governors' Cup Playoff Preview
August 23, 2013 - International League (IL1) News Release
Durham in the Dance; Who Will Join Bulls in Postseason Playoffs? Down the stretch they come! With just eleven days remaining in the 2013 regular season, only one International League team has officially punched its ticket to the playoffs. On Wednesday the Durham Bulls routed Charlotte 9-2 to secure the franchise's sixth division title in the past seven years and Durham's earliest-ever clinching celebration. In the West, the Indianapolis Indians hope to have things wrapped up this weekend. With a win last night, the Tribe's magic number to clinch over Columbus is down to three. Five other clubs are within 4.5 games of one of the two remaining postseason berths, of which the most enviable position belongs to the Pawtucket Red Sox. The defending Governors' Cup champs have won five straight to move into a half-game lead over Rochester atop the North Division. The Red Wings are still poised to advance, as they currently lead the Norfolk Tides by 2.0 games in the Wild Card race. Time is running out for the teams trailing a bit farther back. Lehigh Valley defeated Buffalo 5-1 on Thursday to slide one game past the Bisons in the standings, but the IronPigs are still 4.0 games out of the division lead and 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race.
IL Playoff Schedule - First Round Series (Best of Five): September 4,5 West Division Winner at South Division Winner, North Division Winner at Wild Card Winner September 6,7*,8* South Division Winner at West Division Winner, Wild Card Winner at North Division Winner
IL Playoff Schedule - Governors' Cup Finals (Best of Five): September 10,11 North/Wild Card Series Winner at South/West Division Series Winner September 12,13*,14* South/West Division Series Winner at North/Wild Card Series Winner * If Necessary
Reward for Winning the IL West? Usually a Date with Durham The Indianapolis Indians are closing in on the IL West Division title. Per the League's playoff format (above), the West Division champion annually squares off with the South Division champion in the first round. 2013 marks the eleventh time in the past 16 seasons that the Durham Bulls will be the team taking on the West winner in the playoffs, and if history is any indicator, that could be bad news for Indianapolis. Here are the results for the Bulls over their past ten first round series playing against the West Division champion:
1998 Durham 3, Louisville 0 2007 Durham 3, Toledo 0 1999 Durham 3, Columbus 0 2008 Durham 3, Louisville 1 2000 Indianapolis 3, Durham 2 2009 Durham 3, Louisville 2 2002 Durham 3, Toledo 0 2010 Durham 3, Louisville 2 2003 Durham 3, Louisville 1 2011 Columbus 3, Durham 0 The Bulls celebrated their 2013 South Division title Wednesday 2013 International League Governors' Cup Playoff Preview August 23, 2013 Page Two
Potential Ties - Who Will Advance? The one contender unlikely to tie with another club is Pawtucket, who due to a cancelled game with Charlotte will play a total of just 143 regular season games. All other clubs are still on track for 144 games, meaning a percentage points tie remains possible.
Below is a look at what would happen for several teams who could potentially finish tied with each other when the regular season concludes September 2. A one-game playoff on September 3 will take place only in the case of a tie for a division title (with just one team advancing), while in all other scenarios the postseason berth would be decided via the League's tiebreaking formula:
1) The team with the most wins in the head-to-head season series; or if still tied.... 2) The team with the highest winning percentage during intradivisional play; or if still tied.... 3) The team with the highest winning percentage against the other two division winners; or if still tied.... 4) The team with the greatest differential of runs scored and runs allowed during the regular season; or if still tied.... 5) The President of the League will flip a coin.
Potential Tie - ROCHESTER & LEHIGH VALLEY With several teams in the mix for both the North Division and Wild Card championships, scenarios exist whereby the Red Wings and IronPigs could finish tied for either playoff berth. A tie for the North Division would result in a one-game playoff September 3, but only if another team has secured the Wild Card. Rochester is guaranteed the advantage over Lehigh Valley, having won the head-to-head season series 10-6.
Potential Tie - ROCHESTER & BUFFALO Buffalo owns the advantage in the season series 7-5 with four games to go, meaning the Bisons are on track to be the home team in a playoff game if it should occur. If the teams tie with both to advance, they would be declared co-division champions with the team leading in head-to-head wins given the division champion playoff slot. No playoff would occur for a Wild Card tie.
Potential Tie - ROCHESTER & NORFOLK Perhaps the most likely tie at this stage would be a tie for the Wild Card between the Red Wings and Tides if Rochester falls short in the North Division race. Since there are no playoff games to determine the Wild Card, the tiebreaking formula would be implemented. Rochester took six of the eight games played head-to-head versus Norfolk this season, meaning the Red Wings would be headed to the postseason.
Potential Tie - NORFOLK & BUFFALO The Tides and Bisons split their eight games against one another this season. Norfolk owns a slight edge currently in the next tiebreaking category, intradivisional record, having played .547 baseball (29-24) within the South Division while Buffalo has won at a .544-clip (37-31) against fellow North clubs.
Potential Tie - NORFOLK & LEHIGH VALLEY Lehigh Valley took the season series from Norfolk 5-3, meaning the IronPigs would win the Wild Card in case of a tie with the Tides.
2013 International League Governors' Cup Playoff Preview August 23, 2013 Page Three Teams Battle to Join Durham in Postseason; Pawtucket Takes Lead in North
NORTH DIVISION REPORT: No International League team is hotter right now than the Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox), winners of five straight and eleven of their last twelve games. Pawtucket has now surpassed by a half-game the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins), who have dropped two in a row to Louisville and Indianapolis. The 3rd and 4th place clubs in the North began a stretch of seven straight games against each other last night, with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies) taking the early advantage in the series with a 5-1 victory over the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays). The PawSox currently have a magic number of 11 over Rochester to win the North, and a magic number of 9 over Norfolk to clinch at least the Wild Card berth. The Wild Card has come from the North Division each of the past two seasons. ** Fact of the Week ** - The Pawtucket Red Sox have never before advanced to the Governors' Cup playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
WEST DIVISION REPORT: A 6-1 victory last night at Rochester moved the Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates) one step closer to clinching the West Division for the second straight season. The Tribe's magic number is now down to three over the 2nd place Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Indians). Indy has not played particularly well of late, dropping five of their past seven games including three straight losses to Syracuse earlier this week. With a clinching that could come as early as Saturday, manager Dean Treanor should have his team prepared when the playoffs begin September 4. One thing the Indians do better than anyone else is steal bases - the Tribe leads the International League as a team with 140 stolen bases this season.
** Fact of the Week ** - In 34 seasons partnering with an IL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Pirates organization has never won the Governors' Cup.
SOUTH DIVISION REPORT: The race for the International League South officially came to an end Wednesday night as the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) locked up a division that they led comfortably for most of the season. With the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles) forced to focus on the Wild Card, Durham manager Charlie Montoyo can now set his rotation for the playoffs. No team in professional baseball has more wins than the Bulls, who lead the International League this season in runs scored (658) and team ERA (3.36). Durham Bulls Athletic Park will be the site of Games 1 and 2 of the first round series with the West Division winner, scheduled for September 4-5. The Bulls took three out of four from Indianapolis in Durham back in June.
** Fact of the Week ** - Since joining the IL, just once before has the Durham club surpassed 83 wins in a season (2011, 88-55 record).
2013 International League Governors' Cup Playoff Preview August 23, 2013 Page Four
WILD CARD REPORT: If the season ended today, Rochester would be the Wild Card. However no International League team has played better in August than the Norfolk Tides, who have gone 14-8 with an IL-best 22 home runs since the end of July. The schedule down the stretch may be a difficult one for Norfolk, who will face the division champion Durham Bulls six more times over the last eleven games of the regular season. Norfolk is just 7-9 versus Durham this year, though the Tides did get a walk-off victory last night over the Bulls when Zelous Wheeler hit a two-run walk-off single. Rochester, currently in a series with West-leading Indianapolis, still has four games to go against one of the teams trailing them, the Buffalo Bisons, August 28-31. Lehigh Valley's regular season concludes with two games at home with Pawtucket. ** Fact of the Week ** - In 21 seasons partnering with an IL affiliate, the Minnesota Twins organization has never won the Governors' Cup.
SERIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK:
August 24-25: Norfolk @ Durham The Bulls and Tides move south for two games this weekend. Norfolk split the last pair of two-game trips it made into Durham, taking one of two during May and July visits to DBAP.
August 25-27: Scranton/WB @ Pawtucket Following four games against each other in Pennsylvania, the RailRiders and PawSox relocate for three more games at McCoy Stadium. The final meeting this season between the Triple-A affiliates of the Yankees and Red Sox could go a long way towards determining Pawtucket's final place in the standings.
August 26-27: Buffalo @ Lehigh Valley After a four-game set in Buffalo, the IronPigs and Bisons will get together in Lehigh Valley for three games in two days Monday and Tuesday.
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 2013 Gildan Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game in Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, September 17. Who will face the IL's best to determine the champion of Triple-A Baseball live on the NBC Sports Network? Here's an update on the current leaders in the Pacific Coast League for August 23: American North American South Omaha 66-67 -- Okl. City 76-57 -- Memphis 64-69 2.0 Round Rock 70-63 6.0 Omaha Magic # = 10 OKC Magic # = 6
Pacific North Pacific South Salt Lake 74-59 -- Las Vegas 74-57 -- Tacoma 70-63 4.0 Sacramento 73-59 1.5 Salt Lake Magic # = 8 Las Vegas Magic # = 12
International League Stories from August 23, 2013
- Gwinnett Comeback Stuns Columbus - Columbus Clippers
- Bats Hold on for 3-2 Win over Toledo - Louisville Bats
- G-Braves Rally in Ninth, Edge Clippers, 4-3 - Gwinnett Stripers
- Chiefs Club Knights for Fifth Straight Win - Syracuse Mets
- Cotham's Second-Half Surge Continues in SWB Win - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- PawSox Streak Ends with 4-1 Loss - Pawtucket Red Sox
- RailRiders vs. PawSox - Game Notes - August 23, 2013 - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- Red Wings vs. Indians - Game Notes - August 23, 2013 - Rochester Red Wings
- IronPigs Game Notes - August 23 - Lehigh Valley IronPigs
- Bisons vs. IronPigs - Game Notes - August 23, 2013 - Buffalo Bisons
- Mortensen finds groove as starter with PawSox - Pawtucket Red Sox
- Boagerts leaves PawSox as totally different player - Pawtucket Red Sox
- Governors' Cup Playoff Preview - IL1
- Division Champs Host Last Four Home Games of Regular Season - Durham Bulls
- Bats Take First Home Game After Tough Road Trip - Louisville Bats
- Indians Roll over Red Wings 6-1 - Indianapolis Indians
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