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IL1 International League

Governors' Cup Playoffs Begin Tonight

September 5, 2007 - International League (IL1) News Release


The International League postseason begins tonight in the south, with Durham and Richmond the hosts as the quest for the Governors' Cup begins. The Durham Bulls, who won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003, return to the playoffs for the first time in three years as winners of the IL South. Their opponent will be the current two-time defending champions, the Toledo Mud Hens. Toledo was the first team to clinch a postseason berth after they knocked off Indianapolis on August 26, but it wasn't until Sunday night that they knew they'd be matched up with the Bulls in the first round. Durham, after trailing Richmond by 10.0 games earlier this year, came all the way back to win the division by 2.0 games over the Braves. The Bulls hold the distinction of being the last team to successfully dispatch of the Mud Hens in a postseason series, having knocked off Toledo in a three-game sweep in 2002. The Mud Hens got back to the playoffs again in 2005, since which time they have gone 13-5 in postseason play. This year, Toledo took seven out of twelve against Durham, although the Bulls won four of the last five games. The series begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The other first round matchup will get underway from Richmond, Virginia at the same time tonight. The IL North Division Champions, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, will square off against the Richmond Braves, winners of the Wild Card entry. Richmond hopes to follow the 2005 Indianapolis Indians and 2006 Rochester Red Wings as Wild Card teams that were victorious in the first round of the playoffs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the IL's best regular season team at 84-59, hopes to avoid a repeat of last year when their top-regular season effort was followed by a 3-1 first round defeat to the Wild Card club. Richmond and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre haven't played since May 22, when the Yankees finished off a four-game sweep at The Diamond. This series pits the IL's top scoring offense (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) against the League's stingiest pitching staff (Richmond).

Playoff Participants Look to Climb Governors' Cup List

Only one team can win the 2007 Governors' Cup Championship, giving clubs a rare chance to win the International League's most coveted prize. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has never won the trophy since joining the IL in 1989, while Richmond, Toledo, and Durham look to climb higher on the following list of the League's all-time playoff champions. The Braves have a chance to become one of just six active franchises with at least five titles, while Durham and Toledo both look to win their third Governors' Cup of the decade.

Breaking Down the Contenders

Durham Bulls

The IL South Division Champions enter the postseason with a fearsome pitching staff and possibly the hottest offensive threat in the IL. Manager Charlie Montoyo's rotation includes IL strikeout king J.P. Howell, IL victories leader Mitch Talbot, and reigning IL Pitcher-of-the-Week Jae Seo, not to mention 6'9" top prospect Jeff Niemann. Montoyo's lineup features the Topps IL Player of the Month for August, Justin Ruggiano, who has hit .385 (45-117) with 7 HR, 19 RBI, and 7 SB since August 1. The Bulls led the International League in both home runs (146) and team ERA (3.59). Durham has been on a roll during the second half of the season, going 38-22 (.633) since July 1 to overtake Richmond for the IL South title.

Richmond Braves

After storming out of the gate earlier this season, the Richmond Braves were able to keep their playoff hopes in tact thanks to a tremendous group of reinforcements from the lower levels of the Atlanta farm system. Several key assets, including SS Brent Lillibridge (.287, 10 HR, 47 RBI), OF Brandon Jones (.300, 4 HR, 26 RBI), and RHP Phil Stockman (1-0, 1.72 ERA) have been promoted from Double-A to help manager Dave Brundage. Richmond led the International League with a .271 team batting average, while the club's pitching staff surrendered the fewest runs (554) of any team. The Braves shouldn't mind playing on the road this postseason - their 40-30 record away from home was the IL's best mark this year.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

For the second straight year, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre enters the playoffs after posting the IL's best regular season record. Manager-of-the-Year Dave Miley leads the League's top scoring offense into the postseason for a first round matchup with Richmond. He also brings with him one of the IL's hottest pitchers in righty Matt DeSalvo, who would have finished 2nd in the circuit with his 2.70 ERA, had he not missed the qualifying standard by less than 2.0 innings. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre won 43 of its last 64 games to run away with the IL North Championship, giving the baseball fans of eastern Pennsylvania dreams of the club's first-ever Governors' Cup title.

Toledo Mud Hens

It was once hard to fathom, but the city of Toledo is becoming a regular host to the Governors' Cup Playoffs. The two-time defending champions won the IL West Division by 8.5 games, the largest margin in the League. Manager Mike Rojas, filling in this season while Larry Parrish recovers from ankle surgery, hasn't missed a beat in guiding his club back to the playoffs. The Mud Hens look to make history by joining the 1979-81 Columbus Clippers as the only teams to win the Governors' Cup in three consecutive seasons. Toledo will rely on its strong pitching staff to make that happen. Righty Jordan Tata has posted a 2.29 ERA in his last three starts since returning from Detroit. He'll be joined in the rotation by the impressive Eulogio De La Cruz, who started the 2006 Bricktown Showdown for the Mud Hens.

2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs

Scranton/WB Yankees vs. Richmond Braves

Scranton/WB won Season Series 5-3

Game One: Wednesday, September 5 @ The Diamond - 7:00 p.m.

Game Two: Thursday, September 6 @ The Diamond - 7:00 p.m.

# Game Three: Friday, September 7 @ PNC Field - 7:00 p.m.

# Game Four: Saturday, September 8 @ PNC Field - 1:30 p.m. *

# Game Five: Sunday, September 9 @ PNC Field - 6:00 p.m. *

* denotes if necessary / # denotes game can be seen free on MiLB.TV (www.MiLB.com)

Playoff History - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Richmond have never met in the Governors' Cup Playoffs

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (84-59) Richmond Braves (77-64)

Manager: Dave Miley (1st season SWB/2nd Yankees) Manager: Dave Brundage (1st season)

Affiliate: New York Yankees Affiliate: Atlanta Braves

Qualified: North Division Champion (+7.5) Qualified: Wild Card (+1.5)

Last Time in Playoffs: 2006 Last Time in Playoffs: 2004

Years in Playoffs/Record: 6 yrs. / 16-20 (.444) Years in Playoffs: 21 yrs. / 62-70 (.470)

Last Governors' Cup: N/A Last Governors' Cup: 1994

Team Batting Avg.: .263 / Team ERA: 3.64 Team Batting Avg.: .271 / Team ERA: 3.97

Probable Starting Pitchers Probable Starting Pitchers

G1: RH Steven White (6-4, 3.34) G1: RH Jeff Bennett (3-5, 3.35)

G2: LH Kei Igawa (5-4, 3.69) G2: RH Blaine Boyer (4-3, 4.30)

G3: RH Matt DeSalvo (9-5, 2.70) G3: LH Francisley Bueno (1-0, 2.79)

G4: RH Jeff Karstens (3-0, 1.74) G4: RH Kevin Barry (5-7, 4.14)

G5: To Be Determined G5: RH Jeff Bennett (3-5, 3.35)

Yankees' Leaders: Braves' Leaders:

Batting Avg.: S. Duncan (.295), A. Chavez (.291) Batting Avg.: M. Prado (.316), G. Blanco (.282)

Home Runs: S. Duncan (25), 3 players with 11 Home Runs: D. Clark (15), 2 players with 10

Runs Batted In: S. Duncan (79), A. Chavez (66) Runs Batted In: D. Clark (69), W. Timmons (52)

Stolen Bases: K. Thompson (24), B. Gardner (21) Stolen Bases: B. Lillibridge (28), G. Blanco (23)

Victories: M. DeSalvo (9), C. Wright (8) Victories: M. Acosta (9), B. Hernandez (9)

Strikeouts: M. DeSalvo (102), B. Kozlowski (80) Strikeouts: K. Barry (83), T. Hodges (81)

ERA*: M. DeSalvo (2.70), S. White (3.34) ERA: K. Barry (4.14), T. Hodges (4.72)

Saves: J. Brower (21), C. Britton (8) Saves: M. Acosta (12), J. Devine (4)

* among pitchers with 80 IP

Players to Watch: Players to Watch:

INF Angel Chavez - Utility infielder led SWB with 1B Barbaro Canizares - hitting .364 with 20 RBI

125 hits and 62 runs scored. since August 1.

RHP Matt DeSalvo - 2.70 ERA; finished just 1.1 IP RHP Phil Stockman - 1.72 ERA in 9 appearances,

shy of finishing 2nd in IL. held opponents to .132 avg.

3B Mike Kinkade - Hitting .323 between Iowa, OF Brandon Jones - Hit .353 in first full month

Trenton, and SWB this year. in Triple-A this August.

LHP Ben Kozlowski - Reliever has notched 80 OF Doug Clark - Led Braves in HR (15), RBI (69),

strikeouts in 81.0 IP. and games played (134).

RHP Jeff Karstens - has pitched at six levels of SS Brent Lillibridge - Speedy shortstop hitting

Yankees' system in 2007. .287 in 87 games.

2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs

Toledo Mud Hens vs. Durham Bulls

Toledo won Season Series 7-5

# Game One: Wednesday, September 5 @ Durham Bulls Athletic Park - 7:00 p.m.

# Game Two: Thursday, September 6 @ Durham Bulls Athletic Park - 7:00 p.m.

# Game Three: Friday, September 7 @ Fifth Third Field - 7:00 p.m.

# Game Four: Saturday, September 8 @ Fifth Third Field - 7:00 p.m. *

# Game Five: Sunday, September 9 @ Fifth Third Field - 7:00 p.m. *

* denotes if necessary / # denotes game can be seen free on MiLB.TV (www.MiLB.com)

Playoff History - Durham d. Toledo (3-0) in 2002 Governors' Cup Semi-Finals

Toledo Mud Hens (82-61) Durham Bulls (80-63)

Manager: Mike Rojas (1st season) Manager: Charlie Montoyo (1st season)

Affiliate: Detroit Tigers Affiliate: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Qualified: West Division Champion (+8.5) Qualified: South Division Champion (+2.0)

Last Time in Playoffs: 2006 Last Time in Playoffs: 2004

Years in Playoffs/Record: 8 yrs. / 27-25 (.519) Years in Playoffs: 6 yrs. / 25-13 (.658)

Last Governors' Cup: 2006 Last Governors' Cup: 2003

Team Batting Avg.: .258 / Team ERA: 3.62 Team Batting Avg.: .262 / Team ERA: 3.59

Probable Starting Pitchers Probable Starting Pitchers

G1: RH Dennis Tankersley (10-7, 4.41) G1: LH J.P. Howell (7-8, 3.38)

G2: RH Jordan Tata (4-5, 3.05) G2: RH Jeff Niemann (12-6, 3.98)

G3: RH Eulogio De La Cruz (3-0, 3.52) G3: RH Jae Seo (9-4, 3.69)

G4: To Be Determined G4: RH Mitch Talbot (13-9, 4.53)

G5: To Be Determined G5: RH Jae Kuk Ryu (5-4, 4.04)

Mud Hens' Leaders: Bulls' Leaders:

Batting Avg.: T. Perez (.309), J. Hannahan (.295) Batting Avg.: J. Ruggiano (.309), C. Richard (.284)

Home Runs: M. Hessman (31), R. Raburn (17) Home Runs: J. Ruggiano (20), J. Guzman (16)

Runs Batted In: M. Hessman (101), T. Perez (69) Runs Batted In: J. Ruggiano (73), J. Guzman (64)

Stolen Bases: H. Mateo (24), T. Perez (13) Stolen Bases: J. Ruggiano (26), E. Johnson (16)

Victories: R. Chiavacci (12), V. Vasquez (12) Victories: M. Talbot (13), J. Niemann (12)

Strikeouts: V. Vasquez (127), R. Chiavacci (126) Strikeouts: J. Howell (145), M. Talbot (124)

ERA: R. Chiavacci (3.39), V. Vasquez (3.48) ERA: J. Howell (3.38), J. Niemann (3.98)

Saves: A. Lopez (26), J. Karnuth (6) Saves: C. Orvella (20), 2 players with 5

Players to Watch: Players to Watch:

RHP Aquilino Lopez - Posted 2.39 ERA as Toledo's OF Justin Ruggiano - Topps IL Player of the

closer; 26-28 in save opp. Month for August.

RHP Jeremy Johnson - 3-3, 3.44 ERA in 39 g; OF Jason Pridie - Hitting .318 with 10 HR and

possible G4 or G5 starter. 39 RBI since June 23.

RHP Eulogio De La Cruz -2006 playoff hero LHP J.P. Howell - G1 starter led IL with 145

returns to starting role. strikeouts in 128.0 IP.

OF Andres Torres - Hitting .292 in 42 games since RHP Jae Seo - 3-time IL Pitcher-of-the-Week

promotion from Double-A. since joining team in mid-June.

RHP Ron Chiavacci - Staff ace could return from RHP Mitch Talbot - Tied for IL lead with 13 W;

injury to start G4 or G5. 3rd with 161.0 IP.

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