IL1 International League

International League News And Notes

May 3, 2007 - International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS

RED HOT BAT: Outfielder Franklin Gutierrez has put together an impressive 12-game hit streak, the longest active streak in the International League (third longest in the IL this year). Since April 16, he has hit.418 (23-55) with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI and now is in possession of the League's third highest average (.381). What's even more amazing is that 10 of the 12 games have been multi-hit performances. Gutierrez has also scored nine runs in his last four games and is now tied for 2nd in the IL with 18 runs scored.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Bisons are on a five-game winning streak with all the victories coming away from Dunn Tire Park. The team has scored 46 runs in the past five games and is now the top scoring club in the International League (123 runs). Buffalo is also 2nd in the League in stolen bases (34) with an 87.2% success rate (only 5 CS). The Herd's 11-3 road record is tops in the International League with two more wins than any other team.

POWER TRIPPING: Infielder Keith Ginter has found his power swing. After just one home run and three extra-base hits in the first 16 games, Ginter hit four home runs in a three-game stretch this week. He had a homer and a double in Sunday's 6-0 win in Pawtucket. He had two more hits and another home run on Monday against the PawSox. Then on Tuesday, Ginter hit a pair of home runs and drove in four as the Bisons moved onto Syracuse. Ginter is now tied for 4th in the League in homers (5) and second in RBI (18).

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

NEWEST KNIGHT: Jason Childers joins the Knights after being picked up in free agency by the White Sox. Childers may possibly start in Lance Broadway's place in the rotation. Childers, 32, spent the majority of last season with Durham appearing in 39 games and going 2-3 with a 4.99 ERA. He also appeared in 5 games for the Devil Rays going 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA. That was the right-hander's only appearance at the Major League level. Childers had previously been in the Brewers, Expos/Nationals, Red Sox and Braves organizations.

WEATHER PROBLEMS: Wednesday's game between Charlotte and Richmond was postponed due to weather. Rain and hail fell from the sky and continued the Knights bad luck of weather this season. The game was the fourth Knights game that has been postponed this season. The team has had a rain out, snow out, cold out and hail out.

TIDBITS: Outfielder Brian Anderson is expected to make his first start with the Knights Thursday...P Lance Broadway was placed on the DL retroactive to April 30. Broadway injured his back on April 29 against Durham.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS

K-MEN IN THE PEN: Relievers Winston Abreu and Chris Booker have been nearly unhittable this season. Abreu has struck out 15 batters in his last 6.0 innings and has allowed only one base runner since April 20. On the season he has a 14.6 K/ 9.0 IP ratio. Booker had retired 12 batters in a row

(7 K) going into Monday night's game when he gave up a run on 2 hits and a walk. The Clippers' closer held on to convert his League leading seventh save and now owns a 13.9 K/ 9.0 IP ratio. Joining those two in the pen are Chris Schroder with 10.7 K/ 9.0 IP and Arnie Munoz with 15.9 K/ 9.0 IP. Schroder has allowed only two hits in his last 8.0 IP and has yet to allow an earned run this season. As a group, the bullpen has struck out 103 batters in 94.1 IP (9.8 K/ 9.0 IP).

HOMER HAPPY: After hitting only 3 HR as a team during the first two weeks of the season (13 games) the Clippers have knocked 16 out of the park since (12 games). Columbus has hit 9 HR in the last five games, two each by Tony Batista, Abraham Nunez and Kory Casto. Casto, now with Washington, hit 4 HR in only 10 games. On the flip side, the pitching staff allowed only 3 HR in the first two weeks and has since allowed 14 HR.

JIMENEZ COMING BACK TO COLUMBUS: INF D'Angelo Jimenez will be join Columbus today after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Jimenez was with Columbus from 1998-2001 and was named to the postseason International League All-Star Team in 1999. With the Nationals this season Jimenez was 1-14 with 2 walks and 2 sacrifices.

DURHAM BULLS

HARD-LUCK HAMMEL: Jason Hammel was on the mound five times last year when the Bulls were shutout. This season he's given up two runs or less in five of six starts, but has just one win. In fact, the Bulls have been shutout in his last two starts, including a 2-0 defeat at Norfolk on Tuesday.

ANOTHER HONOR: Pitcher Andrew Sonnanstine was named the IL Pitcher-of-the-Week on Monday, the second Bulls hurler to be honored this year. In two starts, Sonnanstine allowed two runs in 14 innings. In his most recent start, he struck out 11, setting a regular-season Triple-A home record for the Bulls (Jason Hammel set the team's Triple-A record with 13 strikeouts in a start at Toledo in August of last year). He now has had three quality starts (six innings or more, three runs or less) in three of five outings. Hammel was named IL Pitcher-of-the-Week after the first full week of the season.

HOW SWEEP IT IS: On Sunday the Bulls completed a four-game home-and-home sweep of Charlotte. It was the first four-game series the Bulls had swept from an opponent since winning the first four games last year in Norfolk, April 6-9.

FAMILIAR FACES: Durham is in the midst of a six-game road trip through Virginia, and is playing 14 straight games against the Norfolk Tides and Richmond Braves.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

NINE IN A ROW FOR BIXLER: Indianapolis INF Brian Bixler enters Thursday afternoon's tilt with a nine-game hitting streak (.387 BA, 12-31, 9 R,

9 RBI). The 24-year-old is hitting .338 with one HR and 13 RBI in 22 contests this year. His batting average ranks 9th in the International League.

EIGHT STRAIGHT FOR ORDAZ: Indians INF Luis Ordaz enters Thursday afternoon's affair with an eight-game hitting streak (.469 BA, 15-32, 2 R,

3 RBI). The 31-year-old is batting .343 with five RBI in 19 tilts this season. His batting average places 8th in the IL.

BULLY IS AMONG THE LEAGUE'S BEST: Tribe RHP Bryan Bullington is tied for the IL lead with four wins and ranks fourth with a 1.17 ERA. The former Ball State star and No. 1 overall pick is scheduled to start Saturday night's homestand opener vs. Louisville.

RUNNING IS WHAT WE DO: Indianapolis OF Rajai Davis enters Thursday afternoon's contest with an IL-best 15 stolen bases, while OF Nyjer Morgan ranks second with 13 thefts. The Tribe paces all of Triple-A Baseball with 48 SB as a team.

LEADING THE IL: Indianapolis leads the IL with a .291 team batting average and 234 hits. Richmond (.276), Rochester (.274), Buffalo (.272) and Ottawa (.266) also have team BAs of at least .250.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES: Indianapolis leads the IL with a .985 fielding percentage. The Indians have committed just 14 miscues in 954 total chances through 24 contests (638 PO, 302 A, 14 E).

ATOP THE WEST: Indianapolis (15-9) enters Thursday afternoon's affair atop the IL West Division, while Louisville (13-12, 2.5 GB), Toledo (12-14, 4.0 GB) and Columbus (10-15, 5.5 GB) trail the leader.

LOUISVILLE BATS

BATS HITTER & PITCHER OF THE MONTH: INF Mark Bellhorn and LHP Phil Dumatrait were named the Bats Hitter and Pitcher of the Month respectively for the month of April yesterday. Bellhorn hit .284 with six doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI, 14 walks and nine runs scored. Dumatrait went 4-0 and posted a League-leading 0.63 ERA in five starts for the Bats during the month of April.

BACK FOR SECONDS: Mike Edwards was signed to a Minor League contract and assigned to Louisville May 1. Edwards began the season at Indianapolis before being placed on the disabled list April 12. He hit .143 (1-7) with one run scored in three games and was released by the Pittsburgh organization April 26. At the end of the 2002 season, Edwards appeared in 15 games for Louisville, hitting in all 15 games and batting .404 over the stretch. To make room on the Bats roster, C Dan Conway was transferred to Double-A Chattanooga. In 12 games with Louisville, Conway hit .132 with one HR and two RBI.

2005 REDS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR TRADED: OF Chris Denorfia, the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award winner as the Reds 2005 Minor League Player of the Year, was traded to the Oakland A's April 28. Denorfia had been on Cincinnati's disabled list since March 24 and had "Tommy John" surgery April 3 to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing elbow. In exchange for Denorfia, the Reds received RHP Marcus McBeth, an outfielder turned pitcher, and assigned him to Louisville. In eight games with Triple-A Sacramento this season, McBeth went 1-0 with five saves and a 1.80 ERA. Denorfia played in 178 games for the Bats during the 2005-06 seasons and has a career average of .329 with 20 home runs, 106 RBI and 96 runs scored. The Reds are expected to receive another player, who has yet to be named, and cash in addition to McBeth.

APRIL WOES: Hopefully April showers will bring May flowers in regards to Louisville's early season record. The Bats finished the month of April with a record of 11-12, marking the fourth consecutive losing April for the Bats. Louisville has also had two straight losing months of May coming into this season.

NORFOLK TIDES

TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Tides have played just 5 of their 24 games against teams currently under .500 (3 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 2 vs. Durham). Norfolk has played 12 games (plus one suspended game) against teams currently in first place in their division, and is 2-10 in those contests (0-4 vs. Richmond, 1-5 vs. Indianapolis and 1-1 vs. Rochester). The Tides are 7-4 against everyone else in the IL.

HIT MAN: Mike Cervenak has certainly enjoyed his first month in the International League. Cervenak is tied for the League lead with 30 hits, and his .333 average ranks 10th in the League. He ranks 3rd in the IL with 18 runs scored, and is also tied for 4th in the League with five home runs.

LUCKY SEVEN: Through the first month of the season, seven different Tides have appeared on the Baltimore Orioles roster. Pitchers Kurt Birkins and Brian Burres, along with outfielder Jay Payton, are currently on the big league club. Pitcher Jim Johnson, catcher Alberto Castillo and outfielders Jon Knott and Adam Stern are currently on the Norfolk roster, but have already appeared with the Orioles.

OTTAWA LYNX

I'M GLOVING IT: The Lynx defensive play has been rock solid this season. The Lynx have committed the fewest errors out of any team in the IL (13) and they are currently tied-2nd with a .983 fielding percentage. Joe Thurston leads all IL second basemen with a 1.000 fielding percentage through 19 games. Other Lynx players are contributing as well. Ron Calloway, Lou Collier, and Jim Rushford are all error-free in the outfield while Gary Burnham, Chris Coste, and Carlos Leon have avoided miscues in the infield. Ten Lynx pitchers also have a perfect fielding percentage.

NATIONAL LEAGUE RULES THE NATION'S CAPITAL: On April 27 Rick Bauer became the first Lynx pitcher since Tim Drew on August 23, 2002 to step up to the plate. Bauer struck out in the first professional at-bat of his career. The Lynx are nearing the end of an eight-game homestand against fellow National League affiliates. With no designated hitter in the lineup, as per National League rules, starting pitcher Brian Mazone got the first hit by a Lynx pitcher in almost five years on April 30.

FUNKY SWINGING: The Lynx find themselves in the middle of a hitting funk. They are winless in three straight games and have mustered only five hits per game in each of the losses. The latest loss is their fourth in five games, in which their opponents have outscored the Lynx 25-8 and out-hit them 47-28. The Lynx are now one game below .500 (10-11) for the first time since April 20. The Lynx home record is 7-5.

NICKELBACK ROCKS & ROLLS INTO LYNX STADIUM: Nickelback is one of the most successful bands in Canadian history and they are headlining a huge concert event July 5 at Lynx Stadium. Puddle of Mudd and Daughtry will help Nickelback knock this show out of the park. This is just the second concert hosted at Lynx Stadium and the first since 1998.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX

NEW MONTH/SAME TEAM: For the first time in 18 years, the PawSox went through the entire month of April without having a player on their Opening Day roster called to Boston (not counting rehabbing reliever Mike Timlin who was an injury rehab recall on April 10). The last time that happened was the 1989 season when Pawtucket went all the way until May 24 before a PawSox player was promoted to Boston (RHP Eric Hetzel was recalled to Boston on May 24, 1989). Last year a club-record tying total of 70 different players appeared for the PawSox (31 position players and 39 pitchers) - equaling the mark from the 1995 season which featured replacement players during the MLB strike that spring.

HOMETOWN BLUES: Pawtucket is 2-10 at McCoy Stadium thus far this season (along with three home postponements) which is their worst home start in franchise-history. The PawSox were 3-13 at home to begin the 1989 season before recovering to finish with a .500 record at McCoy (39-39). The PawSox are scheduled to play 20 of their 31 games during the month of May at McCoy Stadium (they are 0-2 during that stretch thus far). Overall Pawtucket is now 9-14 on the year and has dipped to a season-low 5-games under .500.

ROAD WARRIORS: The PawSox are 7-4 on the road (5-3 on their first trip to Charlotte & Durham and 2-1 on their last trip) compared to their 2-10 record at home. Sox pitching has been outstanding on the road going 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA (31 ER in 99.1 IP) while allowing only 78 hits (opponents are batting just .217 against the PawSox during Pawtucket away games). The Sox are hitting .237 on the road (92-389) with 13 of their 20 HR on the year coming in away games. Conversely, Sox pitchers are 2-10 with a 4.67 ERA at home (54 ER in 104 IP) and Sox batters are hitting .216 in 12 games at McCoy (82-379) with 7 HR.

PAW-PRINTS: Five PawSox regulars are currently batting .200 or under. They are: 1B Jeff Bailey (.157), DH Luis Jimenez (.169), C George Kottaras (.200), LF Alex Ochoa (.132), and 3B Chad Spann (.197). On a brighter note, a pair of young outfield prospects have been impressive as 23 year-old RF Brandon Moss is hitting .321 with team-highs of 7 2B and 6 HR while 25 year-old CF David Murphy is playing well both offensively (.288) and defensively.

RICHMOND BRAVES

BEST START IN CLUB HISTORY: The Braves 16-5 start is the best in club history. The 15 April wins tied a club record (15 by the 2002 club). The 6.5 game lead in the South as of April 30 was the Braves largest April lead ever.

STRONG UP THE MIDDLE: After committing an error Opening Day, Yunel Escobar has played 20 straight errorless games at shortstop. His one error in 101 chances is second best for an IL shortstop. Martin Prado has not committed an error in 78 chances at second base. He is also 2nd in the IL in fielding percentage at that position. The Braves lead the League in opponents caught stealing (19-34, .559). Iker Franco is 9-14 (.643). Corky Miller is 10-20. T.J. Bohn's four outfield assists is tied for the IL lead with Rajai Davis of Indianapolis.

THE LATE PLEASANTNESS: Richmond's six game winning streak is their longest since a six-game run from May 20-25, 2003. The last time the Braves won more than six in a row was April 4-15, 2002 when Richmond ripped off eight straight wins. The Braves have tossed back-to-back shutouts for the first time since August 22-23, 2005 vs. Louisville. The last time the Braves blanked three straight opponents was July 28-30, 1992 vs. Syracuse (2) and Rochester.

DEALING: Richmond starting pitchers have worked 32 consecutive innings over six games without allowing an earned run. The Braves have pitched 19 straight scoreless innings. The Braves' pen has worked 6.1 consecutive shutout innings. Richmond leads the IL in ERA (2.44) and fewest home runs allowed (nine). The Braves are tied for 2nd in the IL in shutouts with three.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

TWO SCORE AND NINE YEARS AGO: With Wednesday afternoon's win Rochester moved to 14-4 on the young season. It's the Red Wings best 18-game start to a season since manager Cot Deal's 1958 squad started with a 15-4 record.

HIT PARADE: The Red Wings offense has caught fire during this five-game winning streak batting .320 (57-178) as a team. Rochester has 10 or more hits in each game and has raised its team batting average from .257 to .274. Rochester has averaged 6.4 runs per game during this four-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 32-14.

TWO SHOTS AT THE BUCKEYE CURSE: So far the Red Wings have a 5-1 record the first six days of this eight-game road trip through Ohio (Columbus & Toledo). The last time Rochester won five road games from Columbus & Toledo in a season was June, 1999 (5-3 record). You have to go back to July 17-22, 1990 for the last time Rochester won six games on a Columbus/Toledo road trip (6-1 record).

GREAT START: With Monday night's win Rochester finished the month of April with a 12-4 record. The 12-4 record is the fewest number of losses the Red Wings have had in a month (excluding September) since April, 1958 when Rochester had an 11-4 record. It's also only the ninth time Rochester has reached the 12-win mark in April since 1980.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES

CLIPPARD IN TOP 10: Tyler Clippard's 11-strikeout performance yesterday in Toledo was one for the record books. It ranks tied for 10th place in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history and is the most by a right hander in four years. On June 6, 2003, Amaury Telemaco recorded 12 strikeouts in Pawtucket. Clippard, the 2006 Eastern League leader in strikeouts, leads the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees with 26 K and is ranked 13th in the IL.

HITTING ANDY: Andy Phillips continues to swing one of the hottest bats on the team. Phillips has hit safely in seven of his last nine games - including five multi-hit games - to raise his average to .298. Since April 21 he is batting .412 (14-34) with a pair of home runs and three RBI.

BRITTON THE CLOSER: Yankees reliever Chris Britton has been perfect in his role as the Yankees' closer converting all five of his save opportunities. In his save games he has pitched 5.1 scoreless innings allowing just three hits and a pair of walks while striking out six.

ROAD STATS: The Yankees' pitching staff has been doing an outstanding job on the current 10-game road trip. Through 6 games they are 3-3 with an excellent 3.24 ERA. In 52.2 IP they have allowed just 50 hits while striking out 56. The offense meanwhile has not been as fortunate. They have hit .235 and scored a total of 21 runs (3.5 per game) and were held to three runs or less three times. On the brighter side they have also clubbed 8 home runs.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS

MR. UTILITY: Chiefs manager Doug Davis has relied on INF/OF Ryan Roberts in many different places. Roberts has been all over the place for the Chiefs making starts at all four infield positions as well as left field. Also, Roberts has batted in seven of the nine spots in the lineup (all but fourth and ninth) and it hasn't slowed him down. The native Texan is batting .293 with two home runs and seven runs driven in. In addition, Roberts spent 12 days with Toronto, returning to Syracuse on April 28.

STRINGING TOGETHER QUALITY: In the first 19 games, Syracuse had a total of three quality starts. In the next three contests, the Chiefs doubled that amount. Dustin McGowan and Ty Taubenheim each threw six innings of one-run baseball to get the stretch started. Geremi Gonzalez then one-upped his teammates by tossing six innings of shutout baseball. Gonzalez was also the only one of the three to earn a win.

STREAKING OLMEDO: SS Ray Olmedo has been hot in the last week. The former Cincinnati Red has hit safely in his last five games going 8-13. Also, Olmedo picked up his first extra base hit (a double) during the hot spell. He highlighted this run with a 3-4 night on May 1 against Buffalo. The switch hitter has raised his batting average 56 points. Olmedo's five-game hitting streak ties Mike Vento for the longest such streak this season for a Chief.

TOLEDO MUD HENS

VICTORIOUS VASQUEZ: RHP Virgil Vazquez torched the Red Wings with six strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work to earn his third victory of the season against Rochester April 27. Vazquez was named the IL Pitcher-of-the-Week on April 23 and has three starts with eight or more strikeouts this season.

BLAZIN' BAZARDO: RHP Yorman Bazardo had his second-straight quality start in the Hens' 4-1 loss to Rochester Monday. The 22-year-old went 8.1 innings and struck out four while allowing three earned runs. He retired the first six batters he faced and struck out three in the first two innings. It was Bazardo's longest outing of the season.

TOLEDO'S TOPPERS: Toledo has three players at the top of three different International League statistical categories. 3B Mike Hessman is tied for 1st in home runs (7), 2B Kevin Hooper is 1st in runs scored (20) and RHP Jason Karnuth is 1st in pitching appearances (13). Indianapolis is the only team with more players in 1st place (5) in statistical categories.

MESA'S MUD HEN MAY DAY: Detroit Tigers RHP Jose Mesa, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 15 with a groin injury, made a rehab start Tuesday in the opening game of a four-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Mesa pitched 2.0 innings, allowed two singles and struck out one.

TIMO RETURNS: DH Timo Perez, who had missed four-straight games with a calf injury, made his return to the lineup on Tuesday against Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Perez is tied for 1st in the International League in hits (28), tied for 3rd in runs scored (16) and 5th in batting average (.354). He had an 18-game hit streak from April 5-24 in which he hit .359. In his return, he smacked a single and a double.

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