IL1 International League

International League News & Notes

Published on June 24, 2010 under International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS www.Bisons.com

BISONS ADD WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: The Bisons starting rotation got a boost on Wednesday in the form of a World Series Champion. The Mets signed

RHP Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal and assigned him to Buffalo. The 37-year old has a career record of 85-82 with a 4.93ERA in 274 major league games (212 starts) with Anaheim, Cincinnati, Washington, Minnesota, Colorado and most recently the Los Angeles Dodgers. That time included a 15-9 record during the 2002 season as the Angels won a World Series Championship. Ortiz started and won Game 3 of the Series with five innings of work against the San Francisco Giants. Ortiz made his debut for Buffalo last night in Gwinnett and allowed two runs in four innings of work.

PASCUCCI'S BIG NIGHT: Bisons OF Valentino Pascucci wrote his name in the Buffalo record books on Friday night with a three-homer performance against Indianapolis. Pascucci hit a three-run shot in the first inning and followed it up with solo home runs in the third and eighth as the Herd won 6-4 over the Indians. Pascucci became just the third Bisons player to ever hit three home runs in a game at Coca-Cola Field, joining Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Jeff Manto and former catcher Dusty Wathan. It was Pascucci's fourth three-homer game of his career and gave him 200 career minor league home runs.

ALMOST BATTING CHAMP RETURNS TO THE IL: The Mets traded for OF Jorge Padilla over the weekend and assigned him to the Bisons. Padilla began the year hitting .330 with Triple-A Las Vegas and has hit .300 (6-20) with a home run and three RBI in his first five games with the Bisons. Padilla nearly won the International League batting championship with Syracuse last season. He led all full-season minor leaguers with a .367 (114-311) average in 95 games with the Chiefs at the time of his first big league promotion on August 5, 2009. Since he did not return to the club, his average fell 38 plate appearances shy of qualifying as the top mark in the IL.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS www.CharlotteKnights.com

HOT AS THE WEATHER: The Knights enter tonight's game having won seven of their last nine games, and are fresh off a six game win streak.  The win streak was their longest win streak of the season.  The Knights had previously won three straight games on six separate occasions throughout the season.  Over the course of the past nine games the Knights have improved from 28-37 (11.5 games out of first place) to 35-39 (9.0 games out of first place).

PITCHING STAFF HONORS: Charlotte Knights pitcher Matt Zaleski was named the International League Pitcher of the Week this past week.  Zaleski made one start for the Knights last week pitching 7.0 shutout innings on June 18th at the Rochester Red Wings en route to his fifth win of the season.  The 28-year-old right hander from North Aurora , Illinois set a season high with eight strikeouts against the Red Wings.  Zaleski is the second Knights pitcher to be named the League's Pitcher of the Week, his teammate Carlos Torres has been honored twice this season.

THE FLEET FOOTED CATCHER: Knights catcher Tyler Flowers hit an inside the park home run in last Tuesday night's win at Syracuse.  It was the first inside the park home run of Flowers' career and his team-leading 15th home run of the season.  The Knights power hitting catcher is now tied for the third in the IL in home runs.

ALEJANDRO GOES GAGA: OF Alejandro De Aza has hit safely in nine straight games dating back to before he was placed on the Knights disabled list.  Over his last nine games he has gone 17-32 (.531), with one home run and 5 RBI.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS www.ClippersBaseball.com

HANG TEN: Last night was the 12th time this season that the Clippers scored at least 10 runs in a game, as they pulled into a tie with Durham for the League lead.  Last season, Columbus scored at least 10 times in 11 games. The 9-run margin in last night's game was Columbus' 20th win of at least four runs this season (2nd to Durham's 28).

SUMMER OF JOSE!: Jose Constanza has gone 5-8 with a pair of triples and steals to go along with 6 RBI since Summer officially began.  On 6/22 at Rochester, he had two triples for the first time in his career, tying a Clippers franchise record (16th time).  He also tied his career high with 5 RBI that night.  Constanza has bumped his average up to .335, but he is still 20 plate appearances short of qualifying for the batting race.

STATION TO STATION: Jared Goedert had Columbus' only extra base hit last night when he opened the scoring with a solo HR (2nd time with HR in back to back games this year).  The Clippers scored nine of their other ten runs with bases loaded singles (8) and a ground out (1), as they went 7-9 with 9 RBI with the bases juiced.  They improved their team average with the bases loaded by 43 points (.308 to .351).

NOT A MONTH FOR RESCUERS: Columbus has just two saves (Vinne Pestano and Joe Smith) in the month of June (21 games), giving them the lowest total in the League.  The Clippers have had only four chances this month, with their two blown saves accounting for half of the season total.  Durham (30%) and Columbus (35%) rank 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the IL in lowest save/win percentage.

DURHAM BULLS www.DurhamBulls.com

FUTURE IS NOW: Desmond Jennings went 2-for-4 with three runs scored in a 7-6 win over Indianapolis.  Since he and Jeremy Hellickson were named Tuesday to the Futures Game, Jennings is 4-for-9.  The game is scheduled for July 11th in Anaheim.  Jennings now is batting .329 this month with 11 extra-base hits.  Hellickson is tied for the IL lead in wins (9).

LEADING THE WAY: With four RBI yesterday, Dan Johnson now leads the IL with 61 RBI.  Johnson is second to Mike Hessman with 17 HR after hitting a three-run shot in yesterday's one-run victory.

OVER EARLY: The Bulls still have not lost a game this year when leading after seven frames (39-0).  Durham is 4-3 when it's tied after seven (two losses on the team's current nine-game road trip).  However, Durham also hasn't won (0-26) when trailing after seven innings.  Yesterday's one-run win over Indianapolis was the closest the Bulls have come to seeing that streak ending, as Winston Abreu (six saves) left the bases loaded in the ninth.

TOUGH ROAD NEARS A CLOSE: Durham is 4-4 in a run of nine straight road games over 11 days.  Indianapolis is the last leg of the trip. Durham's 22-18 on the road.

The Bulls tonight complete the last of 17-of-23 on the road (the total was 18 of 24, but last Tuesday's game at Gwinnett was washed out).  The Bulls are 15-7 so far, with the one game remaining tonight. After tonight, the Bulls have 11 consecutive home games.

GWINNETT BRAVES www.GwinnettBraves.com

BOSCAN'S ON FIRE: C J.C. Boscan is heating up as the weather warms up. The Venezuela native, who's average has raised an average of 75 points each month this season (currently at .206), is on a season-high 4-game hitting streak (6/17-6/22). During the span, Boscan is 5-11 (.455) with a HR (his first of the season on 6/20), 2 doubles and 3 RBI. In his previous 29 games prior to the streak he had a total of 3 RBI. It's also the first time this season Boscan's notched back-to-back RBI games (6/20, 6/22).

THE HITS KEPT COMING: In June 21's 7-2 win in the series opener against Buffalo, the G-Braves set a season-high for hits in an inning when they tallied 6 in the bottom of the 2nd. Jordan Schafer led off with a single and was followed by a Clint Sammons double. One out later, Matt Young, Wes Timmons, Joe Thurston and Freddie Freeman (who all notched 2 hits on the night) all singled to set the bar at 6 hits. Gwinnett scored 4 runs in the inning.

NUMBERS GAME: If the G-Braves put a 7 on the board, things are looking good for a victory. The Braves are 6-0 when scoring 7 runs in a 9-inning game (their one loss when producing 7 runs was in a 15-inning loss to Lehigh Valley on 5/17). That means 18 percent of Gwinnett's wins have come when the team has scored 7 runs - more than any other run count...... In June 24's game against Buffalo, catcher Clint Sammons gained his 500th hit of his Minor League career. Sammons has spent his entire 6-year career with the Atlanta organization.

REYNOSO FOR THE WIN: G-Braves RHP Ryne Reynoso, who came in from the bullpen to piggyback the 1.0 IP MLB rehab start for ATL pitcher Takashi Saito, won his first game for Gwinnett (and at the Triple-A level). The Sun Valley, ID native went 3.1 IP and allowed 3 R/1 ER while striking out 3 to earn the victory. Reynoso, who started 7 games for GWN this season before being sent to MISS (Double-A) and then being recalled on 6/8, had gone 8 starts for GWN without a win dating back to last season - the longest streak in franchise history.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS www.IndyIndians.com

PENN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE IL: Indians' RHP Hayden Penn has posted numbers in the month of June that would make even the 2004 version of Hayden Penn - the one that was named the Baltimore Orioles' Minor League Pitcher of the Year - jealous. Through five starts for the Tribe in June, Penn has posted a 3-1 record and a miniscule 1.32 ERA in 27.1 IP (4 ER). In June, Penn has also posted a 27-to-8 strikeout to walk ratio and has limited opposing batters to a .220 batting average against

(22-for-100). Since June 1, Penn's 1.32 ERA is the lowest among all Triple-A pitchers to have made at least five starts and is the third-lowest ERA overall in the International League, ranking behind only two Lehigh Valley IronPigs' pitchers, Nelson Figueroa (0.95 ERA) and Nate Bump (1.27 ERA) who have started three (19.0 IP) and four games (21.1 IP), respectively.

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES: In only five games since joining the Tribe on a Major League rehabilitation assignment on June 19, Indians' 1B Steve Pearce has shown why he was named the Indians' April Player of the Month earlier this season. Pearce has recorded a .438 batting average (7-for-16) with six runs scored, two doubles, three RBI and five walks in five games. Before being recalled by the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 4, Pearce was hitting .349 (30-for-86) with 18 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs and eight RBI in 23 games.

STARTING OFF STRONG: Since he recorded his first career Triple-A hit on June 13 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Indians' INF Jim Negyrch has tied Charlotte's Buck Coats and Lehigh Valley's Andy Tracy for the most hits in the International League with 16. The left-hander, who was named the Pittsburgh Pirates' 2008 Minor League Player of the Year, has also tied for fifth in the IL with eight runs, while also posting the seventh-best batting average (.400) and ninth-best slugging percentage (.625). Along with Negrych, Tribe 1B Jeff Clement has also posted impressive numbers since he recorded his first Triple-A base knock of the season on June 12. Since that time, Clement is tied for first with nine extra-base hits and six doubles, while ranking fifth with 28 total bases, tied for sixth with nine RBI and 10th with a .636 slugging pct.



CHALK IT UP TO CHULK: Following his first outing in an Indianapolis Indians' uniform, RHP Vinnie Chulk's ERA stood at 216.00 after the reliever had allowed eight earned runs while recording only one out. Six earned runs over his next 3.2 innings of work actually lowered the right-hander's ERA to 36.00 on April 19. Chulk was then placed on the disabled list on April 20, and, since being activated on April 27, the reliever has been nothing short of spectacular out of the Tribe bullpen. In 18 games since coming off the DL, Chulk has posted a 0.79 ERA and has allowed only two earned runs in 22.2 IP. The right-hander has also only given up 16 hits and has struck out 22 opposing batters since April 28.

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS www.IronPigsBaseball.com

OVERWHELMIN' MELVIN!: INF Melvin Dorta saw his IronPigs season-high 13 G hit streak snapped last night. Over that span he hit 19-47, .404-0-4, 9 R. The previous season high was 11 games set by Rich Thompson. In addition, the streak tied his career-long hitting streak of 13 G (2006 w/ Harrisburg). Dorta is now tied for 4th all-time for longest LHV hitting streak -- which is 18 (Mike Cervenak, 2008). In his last 31 G, he's hit .343-1-11 (34-99, 5 2B, 3B). From 5/25-6/15, he went 19 G & 61 AB without striking out!

THE MIGHTY TRACY: Coming off a 4-for-4; 2 2B, 3B night on Wednesday, 1B Andy Tracy has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 G (16-36, .444-2-10, 5 2B, 3B, 9 R). Since his return from the DL on 5/27, Tracy is batting .381-7-25 in 27 G (32-84, 7 2B, 2 3B, 19 R, 25 BB). Traditionally a slow starter, the Bowling Green native has also hit .339-8-28 in his last 37 G (41-121, 10 2B, 3 3B, 28 BB) raising his average from .198 (5/4) to .282. In the month of June in his LHV career: .367-14-58 in 75 G (92-251,

28 2B, 2 3B, 52 BB, 35 R).

GETTIN' FIGGY WITH IT: Although snapping his LHV 2010-high 15.2 scoreless IP streak Saturday, RHP Nelson Figueroa has started his LHV career at 3-0, 0.95 -- becoming just the 2nd Pig to start his LHV career at 3-0 (Justin Lehr, '09). The 2009 IL All-Star is now 23-10, 2.66 in 47 G, 46 GS (5 CG, 308.0 IP, 91 ER, 264-1149, .230) in his IL career w/ SWB (2000-01), IND ('02), BUF ('09) and LHV ('10). He's held opponents to 0-10 (.000) w/ RISP.

RUNNIN' RED PIGS?: LHV had a franchise-record 5 SB Monday (Taveras-2, Bocock, Ransom, Thompson); prev. high was 4 (5/3/09 vs. TOL). Since the addition of

OF Willy Taveras, LHV has 21 SB in the last 19 G (had 39 in first 53 G). The combination of Taveras, OF Rich Thompson and OF Chris Duffy is a combined 35-of-42 (.833) this season! The trio has combined for 791 SB in their MiLB careers and another 237 SB in their MLB careers.

LOUISVILLE BATS www.BatsBaseball.com

VOLQUEZ ON THE RIGHT TRACK: RHP Edinson Volquez made his debut with the Louisville Bats yesterday in his first rehab start at the Triple-A level.  Volquez looked sharp in his five innings of work, surrendering just three hits and one earned run.  He did not walk a batter and struck out one in the 80-pitch outing.  Volquez was transferred to Louisville from Lynchburg on injury rehab assignment on June 18. He made two starts with Lynchburg, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Overall he threw

8.0 innings, allowing three hits and zero runs. He struck out seven and walked none. In 2009, he started nine games for the Reds, going 4-2 with a 4.35 ERA, prior to landing on the disabled list at the beginning of June. On August 3, he had season-ending surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament ("Tommy John") and torn fleor mass in his right elbow. During his 2008 campaign, his first with the Reds, he went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA, and was named to the National League All-Star team.

HALFWAY POINT: Tuesday night the Bats completed Game #72 and are officially at the halfway point. At 33-39, they are under .500 at the halfway point for the first time since 2005 when they were 35-37. Their 33 wins are the fewest they have had at the halfway point since 2000. They trail the division by 9.0 games which is their second biggest deficit at the halfway point since 2000. In 2005 they trailed by 9.5 games. Since 2000, their average record at the halfway point has been 38-34.

SUTTON'S IL BEST ON-BASE STREAK ENDS AT 35: INF Drew Sutton failed to reach base Saturday night in an 0-4 performance at the plate, thus bringing an end to his 35-game on base streak. The 35-game streak was the longest this season in the IL and second longest in all of baseball. Cole Figueroa of Class-A Advanced Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League had a 47-game on-base streak (4/26-6/16) which came to a close last Thursday night with an 0-for-5 performance.  Sutton hit .350 (42-120) during his on-base streak. On 5/9, his batting average with LOU reached a season-low .193. Since that point, he has hit successfully in 27 of 36 games and raised his average to .282.

FRANCISCO'S STREAK COMES TO CLOSE AT 14: After extending his hitting streak in the ninth inning on back-to-back nights, Juan Francisco's 14-game hitting streak came to a close on Tuesday night with an 0-for-4 clip. He was playing in his eighth game since coming off of the disabled list. Francisco, who was sidelined for 34 games before returning to the lineup on Monday (6/14), began his streak on May 2 and batted .464 (26-for-56) with eight doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI during the streak. His 14-game streak is the longest this season for LOU and was the longest active streak in the IL. It also marks the third longest streak this season in the IL. Danny Valencia (ROC) had a 20-game hitting streak from 4/24 to 5/16 and Justin Ruggiano (DUR) had a 15-game streak from 4/14 to 4/30.

NORFOLK TIDES www.NorfolkTides.com

MULTI-HIT MAN: With two hits yesterday outfielder Jeff Salazar extended his hitting streak to seven games, over which he he's hit .419 (13-for-31) with three home runs and eight RBI. Salazar also has six multi-hit games over that span (including five straight), and for the season he leads the Tides in multi-hit games (22) and home runs (12), a total that is tied for second among O's minor leaguers behind Bowie's Joel Guzman, who's hit 17. Salazar has also yet to make an error in 102 total chances in the outfield, and he's hit .345 (39-for-113) with eight homers and 21 RBI at Harbor Park this year.

BELL RINGING TRUE: Since May 21, Josh Bell has hit .317 (32-for-101) with 13 doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI and 12 multi-hit games. Bell's 13 doubles over that span are the most in the International League, and his .317 average ranks 10th in the IL over that stretch. The 23-year-old, who entered the 2010 season ranked as the #2 prospect in the Orioles system according to Baseball America, has hit .310 (40-for-129) with 14 doubles, three homers and 18 RBI in 33 games at home this year.

HOMER HAPPY: Jeff Salazar enters play today with 12 home runs, a total that matches Norfolk's 2009 team leader Jeff Fiorentino, who clubbed 12 home runs in 102 games. As a team, Norfolk has belted 56 home runs this season and is on pace to hit 109, a total that would well surpass the Tides team total from a year ago, when Norfolk finished the season with 78 homers. The Tides have already belted 32 home runs at Harbor Park this season, just three shy of matching Norfolk's 2009 home total of 35 round trippers. The Tides are on pace to hit 61 home runs at Harbor Park this season.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX www.PawSox.com

SOX LEAD THE YANKS: The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees play the finale of their 4-game series tonight at PNC Field in Moosic, PA with the PawSox ahead, 2 games to 1. Thus, Pawtucket has a chance to win a series over the Yankees for the first time in more than two years since the Sox took 3 of 4 at Scranton/WB from May 18-20 of 2008. All three games this week have been close with each team winning once by a run and the other a Sox 2-run win. This 4-game set vs. 2nd-place Scranton/WB is the first half of a difficult 8-game roadtrip (2-1 so far) for the PawSox as they will next go to Syracuse tomorrow night for a 4-game wrap-around weekend series vs. the 1st-place Chiefs. Scranton/WB is currently tied for the IL Wild Card lead (with Toledo) while Syracuse is atop the IL North by 1½-games over the Yanks. The Sox sit in 4th-place, -8 GB and if they have real aspirations of being in the race during the 2nd-half they must do well during this stretch that has the PawSox playing 25 straight games exclusively against IL North division rivals from June 21 - July 18.

TIGHT SHIP: Pawtucket's last nine games have all been decided by 2-runs or less - six by 1-run and three by 2-runs. The Sox are 5-4 in those. In fact, other than a 10-3 loss in Indianapolis on June 11, the previous three games prior to that were also decided by 2-runs or less so 12 of Pawtucket's last 13 games have been either 1-run or 2-run games. Furthermore, of Pawtucket's 21 games thus far in June a whopping 81% (17) have been decided by 2-runs or less. Pawtucket leads the League in most 1-run games played this season with 30 as they are 14-16 in 1-run decisions. The only club close to that amount is Lehigh Valley who is 7-21 in 1-run games this year. Scranton/WB has the League's best 1-run record at 19-7.

COMINGS, GOINGS, AND RETURNINGS: In less than two weeks (since June 11), Pawtucket has sent RHP Scott Atchison, OF Daniel Nava, LHP Dustin Richardson, LHP Felix Doubront, RHP Robert Manuel, and OF Josh Reddick to Boston. Doubront, a winner in his big league debut over the Dodgers on June 18, and Manuel (who did not pitch for the Red Sox) have since returned to Pawtucket. The others have mainly been large contributors to the Red Sox cause since their promotions. In the meantime, the PawSox have welcomed newly-signed 1B/DH Ryan Shealy (released by Durham) and have added from Double-A LHP Tommy Hottovy, catcher Juan Apodaca, and from Single-A LH Kason Gabbard and OF Alex Hassan to their roster.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS www.RedWingsBaseball.com

IF I COULD WALK ON WATER: The Red Wings have struggled against teams with winning records this season.  Rochester has just a 15-24 record vs. teams with a winnings record.  The Wings only have a winning record vs. one team with a winning record (Columbus 4-3 record) and have just a 2-10 record vs. teams in the IL North Division with a winning record (Syracuse 1-7 record, Scranton/WB 0-2 record and Buffalo 1-1 record).

ENDLESS NIGHTS: The Red Wings starting pitchers have struggled the last 15 games, going 1-8 with an 8.14 ERA.  In 69.2 innings of work, the starters allowed 65 runs (63 earned) on 108 hits while walking 25, striking out 39 and allowing 19 home runs.

TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE: The Red Wings pitching staff has struggled to keep the opposing batters in the ballpark.  Rochester has allowed at least one home run in 15 of their last 16 games.  The Wings hurlers have allowed 31 home runs in those 16 games.  Prior to this 16-game stretch Rochester didn't allow a home run for 53 consecutive innings (6 games).  Rochester has allowed 82 home runs this season which leads the International League.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT: The Red Wings have gotten off to a slow start at Frontier Field this season.  Rochester's 14-22 record at Frontier Field is the worst home record of any team in the International League.  The Red Wings have played well at Frontier Field since they changed affiliations to the Twins in 2003 (295-243 record/.548).  The last time Rochester had a losing record at Frontier Field was 2002 when the Red Wings had a 30-41 record.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES www.SWBYankees.com

A GOOD TIME TO GET BACK ON TRACK: The Yankees are in the midst of an eight game homestand at PNC Field and will look to regain some ground in the IL North after losing three of four games at Lehigh Valley.  SWB is 4-8 in 12 games on the road in June after dropping five of eight away from home in a pair of four game series at Gwinnett and Charlotte earlier in the month.  With a 24-13 record at PNC Field, the Yankees are tied with Columbus for the most home wins in the International League this season and play the next five at home against Pawtucket and Rochester who are a combined 27-44 on the road this season.  With a 12-23 record away from McCoy Stadium this season the PawSox record on the road is the worst in the International League.  Since beginning the season at home with a 4-4 mark, the Yankees have gone 20-9 at PNC Field.

HANG 10: Robert Coello made himself at home in his first ever appearance at PNC Field on Tuesday night striking out 10 Yankee hitters in an impressive 5.2 innings of work.  The only blemish on his night was the long homer allowed to Jorge Vazquez, which would be both the only run that the onetime catcher would allow and the only run the Red Sox would surrender in a 3-1 win.  Coello's 10 K mark the second time that an individual has hung 10 on the Yankees in 2010.  Charlotte's Daniel Hudson first turned the trick for the Knights in Fort Mill, on June 8th in a 2-0 shutout win.  But while Coello did his work in a brief 5.2 innings, Hudson's 10 required a 7.0 inning effort.  

A RUN FOR THE SWB RECORD BOOKS: Jonathan Albaladejo's run of 27 consecutive saves came to an end with the Yankees 4-3 win over Pawtucket on Monday night.  Bubba Bell's eighth inning two out single scoring Aaron Bates tied the game at 2-2 after the right-hander entered with a 2-0 lead with one out in the inning. It was Albaladejo's first blown save since August 20, 2009 when he lost the save but picked up a win over Lehigh Valley.  All told over the past two seasons, the right-hander has converted 30 of 32 saves dating back to July 16th of last season.  "Alby" currently leads the IL in saves with 23, three better than Joel Peralta of Syracuse, who is now residing in the Washington Nationals bullpen in the big leagues.  Over his streak of 27 straight saves he had a microscopic 0.59 ERA (2 ER).  In his 30.1 innings during the streak he struck out 40 and walked eight batters. Albaladejo trails only Jay Baller (39) in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the most saves in franchise history.  He is also two away from the SWB single season record of 25 saves set by Ricci during the 1995 season and is on pace to challenge for the IL record in saves of 38 in a single season set by Matt Whiteside of the 2004 Richmond Braves.

THE TOP HAS BEEN CROWDED: The Yankees deficit or lead in the International League North has not been more than 1.5 games either way since April 27th.  Marking 61 straight days that SWB has been within shouting distance of the leader or vice versa.  Over that stretch the Yankees have spent 15 days in first place, 61 days in second place and seven days in third. 

SYRACUSE CHIEFS www.SyracuseChiefs.com

STREAK SNAPPERS: The Chiefs have still not lost four games in a row. Yesterday's 2-1 win over Charlotte snapped a three game losing streak. The only other team to not have lost four consecutive is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Chiefs are 2-0 when having lost three straight.

CAROUSEL: The Chiefs have used sixteen different starting pitcher this year. The newest addition to the rotation was Jason Jones, who was signed last month. More Chiefs relievers have made starts this season (3) than there are opening day starting pitchers remaining on the roster (1).

BACK AT HOME: The Chiefs have played two eight game homestands this month, the final one being its last of the year. This homestand concludes with a four-game series against Pawtucket. It will be the first time the Red Sox have visited Alliance Bank Stadium this season. That begins a stretch of 21 straight games for Syracuse against the IL North.

TOLEDO MUD HENS www.MudHens.com

BACK TO THE FUTURE: OF Wilkin Ramirez was selected to play in the 12th annual XM All-Star Futures Game. The game will take place on Sunday, July 11th at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. Ramirez began the season at Double-A Erie, where he led the Eastern League in home runs, before a promotion to Toledo on June 8.  He was also selected to participate in the 2008 Futures Game, where he went 1-1 with a walk as the World Team defeated the U.S. Team, 3-0.

MR. MUD HEN: Manager Larry Parrish is one win away from tying Cal Ermer as the all-time wins leader among Mud Hens managers. Parrish is 539-511 (.513) in seven plus seasons as manager in Toledo. Ermer won 540 games in seven seasons from 1978-1984. Parrish's 1,050 games managed is second all-time behind Ermer.

SIZEMORE MATTERS: 2B Scott Sizemore has been a boost to the Toledo offense the past month. In his past 27 games (dating to May), Sizemore is batting a robust .343 (36-109) with eight doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.

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International League Stories from June 24, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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