IL1 International League

International League News & Notes

Published on August 19, 2010 under International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS www.Bisons.com

GOSH GOLLY GEE: RHP Dillon Gee threw his name into the Bisons record books on Wednesday night. Gee flew past the Herd's modern era record for strikeouts in a season with eight punchouts in a no-decision against Rochester. Gee now has 144 on the season, four more than any other pitcher in Triple-A. The previous Bisons record was 137, set by RHP Vicente Palacios during the 1990 season. Gee is 3-0 in his last four starts and is tied for 2nd in the International League with 12 wins on the season. Overall, Gee is 12-7 with a 4.84 ERA in 25 starts this season.

ON THE MEND: RHP Chad Cordero has gotten his Bisons career off to a great start. The former National League All-Star has posted a 1.09 ERA in his first nine appearances since being signed by the Mets on July 22. Cordero has allowed just seven hits with six strikeouts in 8.1 innings of work. Cordero missed most of the 2009 season as he recovered from right shoulder surgery in 2008. Cordero led the National League with 47 saves during the 2005 season while serving as the Washington Nationals' closer.

TURN UP THE HEAT: INF Justin Turner continues to swing one of the hottest bats in the International League. Since July 1, Turner has averaged .372 (51-137) in 34 games with Buffalo, the third highest average in the IL. Turner has also turned up his power game, with eight home runs in those 34 games. The infielder had just one home run over the first three months of the season. The strong play has raised Turner's average to .311, the fourth highest mark in the League. Overall, Turner has 26 doubles, nine home runs, 39 RBI and seven stolen bases in 2010.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS www.CharlotteKnights.com

WALK BEFORE YOU RUN: INF Dayan Viciedo has totaled 357 plate appearances between the Knights and White Sox.  Over that time he has walked only 8 times, all coming with Charlotte.  Viciedo is averaging one walk every 44.625 plate appearances.  Surprisingly he has a respectable on-base percentage of .316 to go along with a batting average of .280 (73-261).

ROSTER MOVE: Prior to Tuesday's game the Knights received LHP Erick Threets from the Chicago White Sox on a major league rehabilitation assignment.  Threets pitched 1.0 inning on Tuesday night allowing one run and two hits.  Threets' scoreless streak with the Knights ended at 14.1 IP and 10 consecutive scoreless relief appearances.  He pitched in 9 games for the White Sox going 0-0, 0.00 ERA (0 ER/9.1 IP), with five strikeouts and two walks.  He was placed on Chicago's disabled list on 8/3 with turf toe.

THE AMAZING MOREL: Over his last five games INF Brent Morel has gone 9-19 (.474) with two home runs, two RBI and three runs scored.  In his last 10 games he has been just as impressive going 16-41 (.390) with five RBI.  With the return of 3B Dayan Viciedo , Morel has been moved over to shortstop and has yet to make an error.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS www.ClippersBaseball.com

MCBRIDE ON A RIDE: Matt McBride extended his hitting streak to 13 games with last night's 1-3 performance (.360, 18-50).  The streak ranks as the longest active streak in the IL, as well as the longest among Clippers this season.  Over his last 41 games between Akron (26) and Columbus (15), he has recorded a hit in 37 of them, batting .369 (58-157) with 15 HR and 37 RBI.

RACE TO THE TOP: In his last four games, Jose Constanza has swiped five bases to reclaim the top spot on the IL leader board with 33 steals.  If he can hold on to the lead, he'll become the third stolen base champ for Columbus in the past four years (Bernie Castro in 2007 and Michael Brantley in 2009).  At the plate, he has hit .706

(12-17) over his last five games raising his average 20 points to .315, from a season low .295, and jumped to 3rd in the IL.

JUST ONE MORE: Another win for Columbus will guarantee a winning record for the first time since 2005.  The current stretch of four consecutive losing seasons is the longest in franchise history.

DURHAM BULLS www.DurhamBulls.com

DE LOS SANTOS DEALING: RHP Richard De Los Santos has won six consecutive starts (1.67 ERA over that stretch), and now has won 13 games after going six innings on Tuesday in a 6-2 victory at Charlotte.  De Los Santos' 13 wins are not only a career high, but lead the International League.  The 13 victories also are tied for Durham's single-season Triple-A record.  Current Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland won 13 games in 1998, while Indians starter Mitch Talbot won 13 in 2007 and 2008.  De Los Santos will have an opportunity to break the mark in the team's series at Norfolk, which begins tonight.  

ELLIOT EXCELLING: Elliot Johnson had a two-homer game on Tuesday to back De Los Santos, Johnson's second of the season.  He has raised his average this week to .319, second in the League to Gwinnett's Barbaro Canizares (.336).  Johnson's career high batting average for a season is .281, set in 2006 in Double-A Montgomery.

DOWN TO FOUR: Durham won last night, 5-1 over Charlotte, cutting Durham's magic number to four. Any combination of 4 Durham wins and Gwinnett defeats the rest of the way will eliminate the Braves and give Durham a fourth straight South Division title. Durham enters tonight with a 16.0 game lead over Gwinnett with just 19 games left.  It's Durham's largest lead of the season.

SOLID START: Rocco Baldelli, Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year in 2002, went 2-for-5 with a run scored Tuesday night.  He's 3-for-9 with two runs scored and a sac fly in his first two games for Durham.  Baldelli, who batted .279 with 59 homers and 257 RBI in 509 major league games with the Rays and Red Sox, was signed to a minor league contract by the Rays on July 19th.  He played 12 games with Charlotte in the Florida State League before joining the Bulls.  Baldelli was a special assistant with the Rays to start the season. 

GWINNETT BRAVES www.GwinnettBraves.com

BATTING CROWN CHASE: DH/1B Barbaro Canizares went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's loss to Norfolk, lowering his batting average to .336 but maintaining a healthy lead for the IL batting crown. However, the Cuban native now has to deal with teammate Freddie Freeman, the fifth place candidate for the crown with a .308 AVG. Canizares' mark is also good for 4th place in all of Triple-A Baseball, and he's been in the top 10 of the leaderboard since July 23.

MCLOUTH HIGHLIGHT: G-Braves CF Nate McLouth had a season-best kind of night at Monday's game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and 6 RBI. His half-dozen RBI, single-game performance is the most by a Gwinnett player this season - surpassing Canizares' 5-RBI performance on June 12 at Durham. McLouth, who has 3 HR and

14 RBI in 62 G (185 AB) with Atlanta, now has 5 HR and 14 RBI in 26 G (95 AB) with Gwinnett.

BANGED UP BRAVES: The injury bug, mostly absent from the Gwinnett clubhouse this season, has made an appearance at Coolray Field on this past homestand. Ironman 3B Wes Timmons has missed consecutive games with a left oblique strain, while OF Brent Clevlen played in only one game during the home set due to a sore lower back. In addition to that, the Gwinnett roster was home to a pair of Atlanta's ML rehab transfers in INF Martin Prado (fractured right pinky) and LHP Eric O'Flaherty (mononucleosis).

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS www.IndyIndians.com

LIGHTS OUT LINCOLN: After turning in one of the worst outings of his career on August 6 against the Durham Bulls (9 ER in 3.1 IP), Indians' right-handed pitcher Brad Lincoln has rebounded to post a 1-0 record and 0.75 ERA (1 ER in 12 IP) while striking out 11 and walking just three over his last two starts this past week. Lincoln's strong week began on August 12 against Norfolk when the Texas native held the Tides scoreless over five innings of work while striking out five batters in a no-decision; Norfolk later claimed the contest 2-1 in 11 innings. Lincoln capped the week with a win after he limited the Toledo Mud Hens to one run on six hits in seven strong innings of work on August 18. The win over the Mud Hens improved Lincoln's record to 7-3 on the season and gave the right-hander his first victory with the Tribe since the Pittsburgh Pirates optioned him to Indianapolis on July 27. Prior to his promotion to Pittsburgh, Lincoln was on a roll for Indianapolis and had posted a 4-1 record and a 2.03 ERA, while striking out 37 batters and allowing only 25 hits in six starts from May 5 to June 3.

MAJOR LEAGUE MOVES: From Major League veteran to promising prospect to minor league lifer, the Indianapolis Indians' roster has seen 17 different players receive at least one promotion to the Major League level thus far this season. Of the 17 players to be recalled by Pittsburgh this year, five different players have made their Major League debuts, and two of those five Major League rookies have remained on the Pirates' roster since the date of their call. INF Argenis Diaz, RHP Brad Lincoln, OF Jose Tabata, INF Pedro Alvarez and C Erik Kratz have all made their Major League debuts for the Bucs already this season and both Tabata and Alvarez have remained with Pittsburgh since being promoted. Of the Indians' starting batting order on Opening Day in Columbus on April 8, Tabata, Alvarez, INF/OF Steve Pearce, INF/OF Neil Walker, Kratz, and Diaz have each been promoted to Pittsburgh at least once this season. The other members of the 2010 Tribe roster to receive a promotion to Pittsburgh are: LHP Brian Burres, RHP Daniel McCutchen, RHP Chris Jakubauskas, RHP Brian Bass, RHP Jeff Karstens, RHP Steven Jackson, LHP Justin Thomas, C Jason Jaramillo, LHP Wil Ledezma and INF Jeff Clement.

MIDDLE INFIELD MAGIC: In a season that has seen multiple Indianapolis Indians' infielders promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Tribe's current double play pairing of SS Pedro Ciriaco and 2B Brian Friday has paid quick dividends. While the defensive chemistry between Ciriaco and Friday has been on display since Ciriaco's arrival on August 2, the offensive contributions have of both players have been significant as well. Since joining the Tribe, Ciriaco has batted .304 (17-for-56) with six extra-base hits, four steals and a team-leading 10 runs scored in 15 games in the month of August. Ciriaco is also in the midst of a stretch during which time the infielder has collected multiple hits in four of his last five contests and has hit .450 (9-for-20) with three runs scored, two doubles and two RBI during that span. Friday has also been on a bit of a tear offensively of late as well, as the second baseman has recorded at least one hit in 11 of 15 contests - which includes 10 of the last 11 games - since Ciriaco joined the Tribe.

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE: As a team, Indianapolis batters have drawn an International League-best 487 walks this season. The Tribe's 487 free passes place them six ahead of the South Division-leading Durham Bulls, who have drawn the second-most walks with 481 thus far in 2010. Overall, the Indians have drawn at least 100 more walks than eight other IL teams, including an astounding 149 more free passes than the Charlotte Knights, who rank last in the League in walks with 338.

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS www.IronPigsBaseball.com

OFFENSIVE WOES: In their last 22 G (4-18), the Pigs are averaging just 2.6 R/G (57) and batting just .219 (158-721) -- scoring just 0-1 R in 8 of the last 18 G. However, before the nightcap of last night's twin bill in Pawtucket, the 'Pigs managed to score 4+ R in each of their last 4 G -- for the first time since they scored 4+ in 5 straight games, 7/17-7/21 -- a span of 24 games.

GREAT SCOTT!: With his 21st SV on 8/15 @ ROC, 2010 IL All-Star RHP Scott Mathieson established both the LHV single-season and franchise record for saves (Matt Childers, 20 in '08). The Vancouver native is unscored upon in 15 of his last 17 G (6/27-pres), going 1-1, 10 SV, 2.75 (19.2 IP, 13 H, 6 ER, 7 BB, 27 SO). On 6/18 vs.MIN, he made his first ML appearance since 9/3/06.

BACON BITS: LHV has gone 13-14 (.500) in afternoon games in 2010, as compared to 35-62 (.361) at night...... From July 26 to August 10, LHV went just 1-14 -- the longest span in LHV history w/ only one win (went 1-13 from 4/16/08-4/30/08)...... Philadelphia is 20-5 since hitting coach Greg Gross was promoted. Meanwhile, the Pigs are just 6-19...... With the 5-2 loss on 8/8, LHV is now 1-10 (.091) in extra inning games; 0-5 at Coca-Cola Park...... 1B Andy Tracy had a multi HR game for the 2nd time this season on Saturday. Prior to the binge, the last IronPigs player to have a multi-homer game was SS Brian Bocock (7/17 @ LOU).

TY GOES TO THE PITCHER: RHP Ty Taubenheim earned his first win with LHV in Game One last night -- his first Triple-A win since 8/30/09 @ TOL (with IND). In his last 2 GS, Taubenheim has gone 1-0, 1.80 (10.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 10 SO) and the Pigs have won both games. In his last 11 G overall (Double-A and Triple-A), Taubenheim is 4-2, 2.41 ERA (41 IP, 11 ER).

LOUISVILLE BATS www.BatsBaseball.com

GOIN' FOR 14 STRAIGHT AT THE SLUG: With their 5-3 win over the Chiefs last night the Bats extended their longest home winning streak in franchise history, dating back to 1982, to 13 games.  They have not lost at home since they fell to LHV 5-1 on 7/17. The previous franchise-high was ten set between 5/11/03-5/29/03.  That ten-game winning streak was also in the middle of their franchise-best 12-game winning streak from 5/18/03-5/30/03. Louisville has won 19 of their last 23 home games and at 38-23 sit a season-high 15 games over .500 at home. On the season they are batting .279 (570-2045) and averaging 5.03 runs per game. The pitching staff has compiled a 3.71 ERA. The Bats are 32-31 on the road and are hitting .266 (592-2223) and averaging 4.95 runs per game away from LSF.  The pitching staff has compiled a 3.74 ERA on the road.

ISN'T LIFE GRAND?: For Bats catcher Devin Mesoraco it is.  Mesoraco, the former first round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the June 2007 draft (15th overall), made his Triple-A debut for the Bats last night vs. SYR.  With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth of a 3-1 game, Mesoraco bombed a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall for a walk-off grand slam.  It was the first homer and first RBI of his Triple-A career.  Prior to joining the Bats, he spent time in Single-A Lynchburg and Double-A Carolina. In 43 games with LYN, he batted .335 with 11 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 31 RBI. In 56 games with CAR, he batted .294 with 11 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs and 31 RBI.  His 24 home runs lead the Reds minor-league system in 2010.  He finished his Bats debut going 2-4 with a double, homer, and 4 RBI. 

BATS STILL WILD: With last night's win and the Clippers' loss, the Bats have narrowed the gap to 1.5 games behind Columbus in the IL West Division race. They remained  3.0 games up on Buffalo in the Wild Card race. On Friday morning (8/13) the Bats found themselves in first place in the IL West division for the first time since 4/12 and it marked the first time they were in sole possession of first since 4/11. From 7/1 to 7/4 the Clippers led the Bats by a season-high 13 games in the division. Since the Bats' 6-0 loss to Durham on 7/1 they have compiled a 33-9 record while the Clippers have gone 22-20.

'HAUNT'INGTON PARK: Since 7/22, the Bats have compiled an impressive record of 21-4. All four of their losses during that span have come at Huntington Park in Columbus. Twice, the Clippers have halted lengthy Louisville wins streaks. On 8/4 they snapped a franchise second-best 11-game winning streak with 9-8 defeat of the Bats. On Friday (8/13) they snapped an eight-game streak with a 12-4 victory. They then proceeded to take the next two games to earn the three-game sweep and reclaim a 2.5 game lead in the division. Louisville is 6-13 overall against the current division leaders and a woeful 2-9 at Huntington Park.

NORFOLK TIDES www.NorfolkTides.com

WALK THIS WAY: With another walk in Tuesday night's contest, Nolan Reimold has now drawn nine walks over his last four contests. Reimold leads the IL with 16 walks during the month of August, and he also leads the Tides with 47 walks in just 82 games this season. Since July 18, Reimold ranks third in the IL with a .467 on-base percentage, as he's reached base safely in 29 of 30 games and batted .304 (31-for-102) with four home runs, 15 RBI and 28 walks.

WANNA BE LIKE MIKE: Since July 16, Michael Aubrey has hit .260 (27-for-104) with 12 home runs and 32 RBI. The 12 homers over that span are tied for the 3rd-most in all of Minor League Baseball, and his 32 RBI over that stretch are also the 2nd-most in the IL and tied for the 8th-most in all of Minor League Baseball. Aubrey's 18 homers this year are the most for a Tides batter since Victor Diaz hit 24 and Craig Brazell hit 23 in 2004.

WHAT A RELIEF: Tides closer Dennis Sarfate has gone 16-for-18 in save opportunities this season, and his 16 saves rank 10th in the IL this season. In his last 14 outings, Sarfate has gone 1-0 with six saves, a 0.55 ERA (1-ER, 16.1-IP), six hits and 23 strikeouts. For the season, the 29-year-old right-hander has held IL batters to a .159 average, and opposing batters have hit just .040 (1-for-25) against him with runners on base and two outs.

GREAT SCOTT: In 17 games since rejoining Norfolk from Baltimore on July 31, Scott Moore has hit .317 (20-for-63) with five home runs and 14 RBI. Moore has played games at second base (14), shortstop (5) and third base (24) for Norfolk this season, but he's had the most success while playing the hot corner, where he's hit .356

(32-for-90) with seven homers and 23 RBI.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX www.PawSox.com

MVP, MVP, MVP: When Boston Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia played a two game injury rehab stint with Pawtucket last weekend, it brought back memories of several Major League MVPs who have played for the PawSox - either before they were MVPs or after. Pedroia played for the PawSox in 2005 & 2006 prior to this past weekend and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2008. Other former PawSox who have been MVPs in the big leagues include: 1995 AL MVP Mo Vaughn (PawSox 1B from 1990-92), 1992 AL MVP Dennis Eckersley (PawSox reliever in 1998), 1989 NL MVP Kevin Mitchell (PawSox OF in 1996), 1988 AL MVP Jose Canseco (PawSox OF in 1995-96), 1986 AL MVP Roger Clemens (PawSox RHP in 1983, '93, '95), 1985 NL MVP Willie McGee (PawSox OF in 1995), 1978 AL MVP Jim Rice (PawSox OF in 1973-74), and 1975 AL MVP Fred Lynn (PawSox OF in 1973-74).

A WEIRD TWINBILL AT MCCOY: The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs played a strange make-up doubleheader at McCoy Stadium last night (Thursday). The twinbill was a make-up from a rain-out in Lehigh Valley last Thursday night in what was supposed to be the final meeting between these two clubs in Lehigh Valley this season. Thus, the teams were forced to play a pair Thursday night that began with Lehigh Valley acting as the home team in Game 1 (Game 1 was the "transferred game" therefore the IronPigs kept their role as the home team and batted last). The stats from the first game (a 4-1 Lehigh Valley victory) were recorded as a road game for the PawSox and a home game for the IronPigs. The PawSox took their customary spot as the home team in Game 2, however, and won 2-0 (their League-leading 13th shutout victory of the season).

THE END IS NEAR: The PawSox are 19-games out in the IL North with a Tragic Number of 2 to be eliminated from IL North contention (any combination of PawSox losses and Scranton/WB victories totaling 2 would prove fatal as far as the division title is concerned).

SOLID DEFENSE: Besides committing a season-high 4 errors in a 12-3 loss to Scranton/WB on August 8, Pawtucket has been playing terrific defense of late - making only 11 errors in their last 27 games since July 21. They are currently 3rd in the International League in fielding pct. at .983 (77 errors in 4367 total chances). Durham is first in the League with an outstanding .986 fielding pct.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS www.RedWingsBaseball.com

MATT TOLBERT: Infielder Matt Tolbert has a 13-game hitting streak batting .377 (20-for-53) with three doubles, one triple, six RBI and five stolen bases.  Tolbert had an 11-game hitting streak with Rochester prior to being promoted to Minnesota on June 1.  Tolbert re-joined Rochester on Monday (August 16) and has collected hits in both games he's played (5-for-8 in those two games) to extend his hitting streak to 13-games.

BRANDON ROBERTS: Outfielder Brandon Roberts has an eight-game hitting streak batting .471 (16-for-34) with one double, two triples, one home run and seven RBI.  Roberts has had multi-hits in seven of the eight games and has seen his batting average rise from .255 to .346.

I LOVE A HIT PARADE: The Red Wings offense has heated up the last eight games batting .303 (80-for-264) as a team.  Rochester has 10 or more hits in six of the eight games and has outscored their opponents 46-28 during this eight game stretch.  Rochester has won six of those eight games.

CLOSE BUT YET SO FAR: Rochester has played a bunch of close games this season.  Rochester has lost seven of their last 11 one-run games and six of their last 10 two-run games.  Of the 125 games played so far this season 59 (47%) of them have been decided by 1 or 2 runs.  Rochester has a 19-23 record in one-run games and an 8-9 record in two-run games.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES www.SWBYankees.com

HIT STREAK TO DOUBLE DIGITS: Juan Miranda picked up his 16th multi-hit and second four hit game of the season against Columbus on Wednesday night to extend his hit streak to a season high nine games. Miranda, who left nothing to chance on Tuesday picking up a single in his first at bat off Carlos Carrasco took care of business early and often and Wednesday night with a 4-5 game against the Clippers including his 13th homer of the season. Miranda is hitting .447 (17-38) over his last 10 games with 11 R, 2 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB (1 IBB), 6 K, 2 HBP and 2 GIDP. Juan's current streak began on August 7th and surpassed his top streak of the season which ran from July 2nd - 10th. During his current run, Miranda has five multi-hit games and has raised his average from .279 to .307.

HANGING ON: Eduardo Nunez continues to lead the International League in hits with 134 after going 2-5 in the second game of the four game series at Columbus. The lead atop the IL for the Yankees infielder, which has been in double digits for a good portion of the season, has shrunk to just six over Zack Cozart of Louisville and seven over Robert Andino of Norfolk, and Freddy Freeman of Gwinnett. Nunez had 107 hits heading into the All-Star break but has slumped since the three day break hitting .239 with 27 hits in his last 113 AB.

ALONE AT THE TOP: Jonathan Albaladejo pitched a perfect ninth inning on Monday night saving a 7-4 Yankees win in the wrap up game of a four game series with Toledo and in the process set a new standard for International League relievers with his 39th save of the season breaking a tie with Matt Whiteside of the 2004 Richmond Braves. The Yankees stopper has been nearly flawless in 2010 failing on only one save opportunity, June 21st at PNC Field against Pawtucket (in a game he would get the win). Albaladejo is 97.5% successful in saves this season (39 of 40) and has saved 54% of the Yankees 72 wins this season. Factoring in his three wins the right hander has had his hand in 58% (42 of 72) of the Yankees victories in 2010.

NEXT ON THE LIST: The next mark on the single season saves list for Jonathan Albaladejo is Jamie Cochran who saved 46 games in 1993 for the Savannah Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League. With 21 games left in the regular season, the Yankees closer is within seven of tying and eight of establishing a new Minor League record. Major League Baseball Advanced Media (the official statistician of MiLB) has stats for the Minor Leagues back to 1980 but does not have data from 1969 (when saves became an official stat) to 1979. Cochran's 46 saves in '93 is credited by Baseball Reference as the minor league record. Cochran pitched in the Cardinals system from 1991-1994 going 5-2 with a 2.53 ERA and 48 career saves. After getting 46 in 1993, he did not record another in his pro career.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS www.SyracuseChiefs.com

ARNESEN'S BACK ON TRACK: In Monday's win at Indianapolis, Erik Arnesen tossed five innings for the Chiefs. He's thrown at least five innings in six straight starts for Syracuse dating back to July 15 when he appeared as a reliever and worked 3 2/3 innings against Pawtucket. Since joining the Chiefs starting rotation again July 20th at Norfolk, Arnesen has gone 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA in six starts, lowering his season ERA from 4.95 to 4.03. Arnesen went 2-5 with a 5.22 ERA in his first eight starts for the Chiefs before being sent to the bullpen for two outings on July 11th and July 15th. He went five innings just four times in that span.

MARTIS STRUGGLING: Shairon Martis threw at least five innings for the Chiefs in 14 consecutive starts from May 3rd to July 17th. But since that streak came to an end in a 3 1/3 inning outing at Norfolk on July 22nd, Martis has made it through five innings just three times in six starts. He's 1-2 in that stretch with a 6.39 ERA. Martis, who is now 7-7 with a 4.42 ERA in 24 starts, had been 6-5 with a 3.82 ERA before the 14-game streak came to an end. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his last start, a loss at Louisville Tuesday night.

A WHOLE NEW TEAM: The Chiefs roster is a shell of what it looked like on Opening Day. Just nine active players: Collin Balester, Andrew Kown, Shairon Martis, Atahualpa Severino, Josh Wilkie, Carlos Maldonado, Seth Bynum, Chase Lambin and Pete Orr remain from that April 8th, Opening Day roster. Shairon Martis is the lone pitcher from Syracuse's original starting rotation still in the rotation. Luis Atilano and J.D. Martin (the Chiefs' 2010 Opening Day starter) are on Washington's 60-day DL, Scott Olsen is currently in the Nationals' starting rotation and Collin Balester has been used as a relief pitcher for Syracuse since May 8th.

RAMOS TO WASHINGTON: Chiefs catcher Wilson Ramos was recalled by Washington yesterday to fill in for Wil Nieves while he is away with his wife, who is having their child. Ramos has started at catcher 13 times for the Chiefs since his Syracuse debut on July 31st. He was .317 with two homers and six RBI in 15 games with the Chiefs before his promotion to the Nationals. He came over to the Nats in a July 29th trade that sent Washington closer Matt Capps to the Twins for Ramos and left-handed reliever Joe Testa. Testa is currently with High-A Potomac in the Carolina League. Ramos made his major league debut earlier this season with Minnesota on May 2nd. He went 4-5 in that game filling in for All-Star catcher Joe Mauer and overall he hit .296 in seven games with the Twins.

TOLEDO MUD HENS www.MudHens.com

CASPER THE FRIENDLY WHITE-HOT GHOST: Just 19 days into August, Casper Wells already has as many hits (19) this month as he had in any month this season. Wells struggled to a .211 average (16 hits in 76 at-bats) in July, but has heated up in the Dog Days of August, hitting a scorching .352 (19-for-54).

EXTRA INNINGS: At 0-4, the Mud Hens remain the only Triple-A team without an extra-inning victory on the season. The only other full-season minor league team without an extra-inning win is the Rome Braves (0-4) of the South Atlantic League (Class-A).

HEN EGGS: OF Casper Wells is hitting .337 (33-98) with 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 18 RBI over his last 26 games...... C Max St-Pierre is hitting .352 (19-54) over his last 16 games...... SS Brent Dlugach has hit safely in four of his last six games, batting .350 (7-20)...... OF Ben Guez has hit safely in each of his last four games, batting .400 (6-15).

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International League Stories from August 19, 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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