Governors Cup Preview
Published on August 22, 2008 under International League (IL1) News Release
Last night the Louisville Bats became the first team in to the 2008 Governors' Cup Playoffs, punching their ticket as West Division Champions for the first time since 2003. The Bats own the International League's best record at 82-51 (.617), on-pace to be the best season for a Louisville team in over 80 years. The clincher came in a 6-3 win over the South leading Durham Bulls, Louisville's likely first round opponent. The Bats entered the month of August with a modest 3.0 game lead in the West, but have since won 17 out of 20 to expand their lead to an insurmountable 13.0 games. The loss leaves Durham with a shrinking 5.5 game edge over Norfolk in the South, but just 11 games remain for the Tides to close the gap (two head-to-head). Durham's magic number to clinch the South is seven. Meanwhile in the North, a tight race for the division crown appears to be headed for a photo finish. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leads Pawtucket by 1.5 games, although both clubs are now on the verge of clinching at least the Wild Card. Both the Yankees and PawSox have a magic number of one over Toledo to seal their respective postseason berths, after which the only thing left to decide is which club will win the division (and enjoy home field advantage in the first round), and which team will win the Wild Card. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Pawtucket have no further head-to-head matchups on the regular season schedule, so the division will be decided by which team fares better down the stretch against the rest of the IL North.
The International League Playoffs will begin on September 3 in the home ballparks of the West Division Champion (Louisville) and the Wild Card club. In the IL's predetermined format, the Wild Card club will face the North Division Winner while the West Champion will face the South Division Champion in a best-of-five first round series. Following a pair of games hosted by the Wild Card club and West Division winning clubs, the series will shift to the opponents' stadiums for the final three games as necessary.
The survivors of the two first round battles will advance to the best-of-five Governors' Cup Championship Series to begin on September 9 in the city of either the North Division Champion or Wild Card club. After two games, the series will resume at the home of either the West or South Division Champion on September 11 for the final three games as necessary.
International League Stories from August 22, 2008
- Tides dropped by a single run - Norfolk Tides
- Braves blast Clippers - Gwinnett Stripers
- RHP McCutchen Picks Up the Win and RF Cortes Blasts a Two-Run Homer - Indianapolis Indians
- Bats Drop Series Finale to Bulls 6-2 - Louisville Bats
- Knights Can't Pull Off Sweep - Charlotte Knights
- Bisons Notes - Buffalo Bisons
- Marvel Comic Book Day at Victory Field - Indianapolis Indians
- Orioles Recall RHP Radhames Liz From Norfolk - Norfolk Tides
- Governors Cup Preview - IL1
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