IL1 International League

International League news and notes

May 24, 2007 - International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS

THE FRANCISCO TREAT: Outfielder Ben Francisco has hit in 12 of his last 13 games. Since May 9, he has averaged .423 (22-52) with three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored. Francisco is now hitting .348 on the year, second only to Rochester's Matt Tolbert in the IL. Francisco is also second on the Bisons team with 16 walks, giving him the fifth highest on-base percentage in the International League (.417)

STARTING STRONG: Pitching sets the tone and the Bisons have been backed by an extremely strong rotation in 2007. The reigning IL Pitcher-of-the-Week Sean Smith is 4-1 with a 1.77 ERA that is only one-hundredth of a point off the International Leagues top spot. Adam Miller, the Indians' #1 prospect according to Baseball America is 7th in the IL with a 2.45 ERA to go along with a 4-1 record. The Bisons also have a pair of southpaws off to a great start in Jason Stanford (3-1, 3.20) and Rafael Perez (3-2, 3.19).

POWER BAT: Infielder Ryan Mulhern has put together another solid week at the plate. The Triple-A rookie has hit in 12 of his last 15 games, averaging .365 (19-52) with six doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. Mulhern's .324 average is tied for 12th in the International League while his 8 home runs (T-3rd), 31 RBI (T-3rd), 21 extra-base hits (T-3rd) and .592 slugging percentage (2nd) all rank in the Top 5 in the League.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

OWENS RUNNING LIKE CRAZY: Knights leadoff hitter and left fielder Jerry Owens has done a great job of not only getting on base, but also taking other bases. Owens is 2nd on the team with a .370 on-base percentage, and also leads the Knights in hitting with a .278 average. Just like last season, Owens is also amongst the League leaders in stolen bases. Owens' 20 stolen bases leads the Knights and is also 3rd-best in the International League. The rest of the Knights team has a combined 26 stolen bases.

STAFF EFFICIENCY: The Knights pitching staff has an ERA of 3.73 and a 1.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those are not bad numbers for a team that is 18-27. The Knights pitching staff has worked wonders considering their lack of offensive support. The Knights are hitting .233 as a team and are 8th in the League in total runs scored. The Knights have scored 3 runs or less in 24 games. What has stood out has been great starting pitching from Lance Broadway (2-1, 3.79 ERA) and Heath Phillips (4-3, 4.07 ERA). Also the Knights bullpen has been outstanding. The most notables being Ryan Bukvich (6 saves), Shaun Babula (1-0, 2.91 ERA), and Paulino Reynoso (2-0, 0.54 ERA).

TIDBITS: The Knights are happy to be home where they have gotten 12 of their 18 wins...Jim Thome and Toby Hall had successful rehab stints with the Knights. Thome appeared in 5 games collecting 5 RBI. Hall hit .267 in 5 games with 2 home runs and 7 RBI...The Knights got back outfielder Ryan Sweeney and catcher Gustavo Molina from the White Sox. Sweeney hit .200 in 15 games, Molina hit .056 in 18 games for the White Sox.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS

LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS: Michael Restovich went 1-4 with a 3-run HR on May 22, bringing his career batting average against the Bats to .413

(31-75). With his homer in the 8th inning he extended his hitting streak versus Louisville to 18 games, dating back to May 23, 2003. In 19 career games against Louisville, he has scored 14 runs and driven in 20, with 3 doubles, a triple and 6 HR. Darnell McDonald went 1-2 with a run to raise his career average versus Louisville to .324 (56-173, 5 HR, 15 RBI in 48 games). He has now hit in seven straight versus the Bats and 10 of his last 11.

BURNIN' UP THE BASEPATHS: After a slow start in April, which saw the Clippers steal 18 bases in 30 attempts (60%), they have turned things around in May. So far this month they have been successful in 19 of 23 attempts (83%), including a 6 SB game on May 17 versus Charlotte. The Clippers have 37 steals (tied for 6th in the IL) through 45 games this season after having only 78 last year (12th in IL). They have improved on their stolen base total in each of the last four seasons and are on pace to swipe 118. It would be the first time Columbus topped 100 steals since 2001 (101).

WATSON STREAKING TO HISTORY: Brandon Watson has recorded a hit in every game he has played in this month, raising his batting average 62 points in the process. He is hitting .366 (30-82) during the streak. At 21 games, Watson owns the team's, as well as the IL's longest hitting streak and has now hit safely in 29 of his last 30 games. Tuesday's game moved his streak into 2nd all time in Clippers history, trailing only Brian Raabe (24 games, 1999).

ONE AND DONE: Infielder Robin Jennings needed only one pitch to retire Louisville pitcher Wes Wilkerson on May 19. Jennings became the third Clipper position player to pitch this season, coming into the game in the top of the 9th with two outs and a runner on. It was his first appearance on the mound since August 19, 2002 when he pitched against the Clippers at Cooper Stadium as a member of the Bats (2.0 IP, 0 ER).

DURHAM BULLS

NOW THAT'S QUALITY: Durham now has five straight quality starts (3 ER or less, 6 IP or more), and 11 in 14 games. Durham is 8-6 during that stretch.

GOING DEEP: On Tuesday the Bulls failed to homer for the first time on their 13-day, 11-game road trip. However, Durham has hit 15 in seven games on this stretch. The Bulls now have an International League high 44 homers. Ten different Bulls already have hit homers on this trip.

SONNY DAY: Andy Sonnanstine now has had six straight quality starts (3 ER or less, 6 IP or more). Sonnanstine has pitched a League-high 58.2 innings, and has struck out an IL-best 60 hitters. The victory on Sunday was his sixth, tying him with two other pitchers for tops in the League. He's 6th in ERA at 2.30, and next pitches on Saturday against Rochester.

RISK AND REWARD: The Durham pitching staff far and away leads the IL with 396 strikeouts, or 8.61 per game. The staff also is 3rd in HR allowed with 38, behind Pawtucket (40) and Columbus (45).

TOUGH ROAD: Durham is 4-3 on its long road trip, and 11-12 overall on the road this season. The Bulls lost 2 of 3 in Pawtucket, and then won three of four at Syracuse. After a series against Rochester, the Bulls play eight games at home against Ottawa and Louisville.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

FIRST IN THE IL: Indianapolis leads the International League with a .288 team batting average, 432 hits, and ranks 2nd with 221 runs. Buffalo (.275), Ottawa (.268), Rochester (.268), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (.259), Richmond (.258), Columbus (.256), Louisville (.250) and Syracuse (.250) also have team averages of at least .250.

HITTERS IN THE TOP 10: The Indians have two of the International League's top five hitters -- INF Yurendell de Caster (4th, .343) and INF Brian Bixler (5th, .338). Bixler is tied for 1st in runs (32) and ranks 3rd in on-base percentage (.430), while de Caster ranks 1st in OBP (.459) and is tied for 5th in walks (27).

ELEVEN STRAIGHT FOR DAVIS: Tribe OF Rajai Davis enters Thursday afternoon's showdown with a season-best 11-game hitting streak (.327 BA, 16-49, 8 R, 6 RBI). The 26-year-old is batting .297 with two home runs and 23 RBI in 43 games this season.

SEVEN IN A ROW FOR RYAN: Indianapolis OF Michael Ryan enters Thursday afternoon's contest with a season-best seven-game hitting streak (.348 BA, 8-23, 3 R, 2 RBI). The 29-year-old is batting .217 with two long balls and seven RBI in 33 games this season.

ATOP THE IL WEST: Indianapolis (26-18) enters Thursday afternoon's affair atop the IL West Division, while Louisville (23-22, 3.5 GB), Toledo (23-23, 4.0 GB) and Columbus (21-24, 5.5 GB) trail the leader.

HANGING OUT IN FIRST: Thursday is the Tribe's 38th consecutive day atop the IL West Division. In 2006, Indianapolis spent 119 days in either 1st place or tied for the top spot.

WE WILL RUN ON YOU: Indians OF Rajai Davis leads the IL with 23 stolen bases, while INF Yurendell de Caster is tied for 7th with nine thefts. Indianapolis leads all of Triple-A Baseball with 75 swipes as a team.

LOUISVILLE BATS

TOO MANY NAIL BITERS: Eleven of the Bats last 13 games have been one-run games with Louisville winning six of those 11 games. The Bats are 11-10 this season in one-run games and have already played in half the amount of nail biters as last year. In 2006 Louisville went 23-19 in one-run contests.

THE CYCLE: INF Anderson Machado hit for the cycle May 18 with a single completing the cycle in the top of the 10th inning in Toledo. Machado was the third player in Louisville franchise history to hit for the cycle. David Bell last accomplished it August 11, 1995 vs. Iowa.

VOTTO'S STREAK CONTINUES: 1B Joey Votto's hitting streak continues and currently sits at 15 consecutive games, the longest by a Bats player this season - he is hitting .452 (28-62) over the streak. It's the fifth longest streak in the IL this season and the 15 games tie him with current teammate Mike Edwards (2002) and Chuck Carr (1992). Brandon Larson set the franchise record with a 26-game hitting streak in 2003.

NORFOLK TIDES

WHAT A WEEK: With a win on Tuesday, the Tides finished a crazy 11-game, 8-day homestand with a 6-5 record. Over that homestand, the Tides played two doubleheaders (May 15, May 20) and made up a suspended game before the regularly scheduled game on May 19. On each occasion Norfolk served as the visiting team in the first game. For the homestand, Norfolk hit seven triples (Norfolk had hit five as a team entering the homestand), and wore three different jerseys (white tops, red tops, and camouflage tops for Military Appreciation Night). Tides starter Jim Johnson made two starts at Harbor Park this past week, both of which were counted as starts on the road, and Tike Redman was named the IL Batter-of-the-Week after hitting .481 with 12 runs scored in his first nine games with the Tides.

TORRID TORRES: Eider Torres has a hit in each of the last 12 games he has started, hitting .457 (16-35) with a home run, three RBI, six runs scored and five stolen bases during those games. Torres has raised his batting average from .218 to .269 over the streak, and the only game Torres did not record a hit during that stretch was on Monday night vs. Rochester, when he grounded out as a pinch-hitter. Torres is the only Norfolk player to have appeared in all 46 games this year.

MASTERFUL MAY: Norfolk ranks 2nd in the International League with a 3.29 ERA in May, having gone 12-12 with 10 saves this month. The Tides have struck out 168 while walking just 56 in 200.0 innings this month, and have allowed four runs or less in 15 of 24 contests. The Tides finished last in the IL with a 4.56 ERA in April.

OTTAWA LYNX

BURNHAM BURNS UP THE IL: Gary Burnham is 2nd in the International League with 14 doubles and is 2nd in the League with a .438 on-base percentage. He's also tied for 13th in the IL with 23 walks. The veteran first baseman and outfielder leads the Lynx in OBP, OPS, SLG, doubles and walks.

OLD FRIENDS AND NEW TEAMMATES: OF Ron Calloway announced his retirement this week. Calloway, 30, also played for the Lynx in 2001 and 2002 and made his Major League debut with the Montreal Expos in 2003. Replacing him on the roster is another former Lynx, OF Pedro Swann.

THERE'S NO 'K' IN THE WORD 'LYNX': The Lynx are easily the hardest team in the International League to strikeout. The club has struck out 209 times this season, 50 fewer times than the next closest team--Norfolk. Lynx pitchers have registered the third-fewest strikeouts of any IL team this season (261).

WHO VISITS THE BALLPARK ON COVENTRY ROAD?: For one day only, SpongeBob SquarePants is leaving his pineapple under the sea for Ottawa's baseball lagoon, Lynx Stadium. The beloved cartoon sponge makes his return to Lynx Stadium Saturday, June 16 for the Lynx game against Columbus. SpongeBob SquarePants is the star of Nickelodeon's hit cartoon of the same name, which has won five consecutive Kids' Choice Awards for Best Cartoon (2003-2007).

PAWTUCKET RED SOX

NOT TOO SHABBY FOR GABBY: PawSox LHP Kason Gabbard enjoyed the proverbial "cup of coffee" in the big leagues this past Sunday, but boy did that coffee taste good. Gabbard, who is 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in 8 starts for the PawSox, answered the call to Boston last weekend to make a spot start for the Red Sox. All "Gabby" did was toss 5 shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves with 7 strikeouts to get credit for the victory in Boston's 6-3 win at Fenway Park. Gabbard, who left to a standing ovation with two runners on base in the top of the 6th inning (both of those runners eventually scored), was immediately optioned back to Pawtucket after the game. The 25 year-old southpaw from Vero Beach, FL earned his first Major League win last September 5 vs. the White Sox with 7 scoreless innings in a 1-0 Red Sox victory. He moves right back into the PawSox rotation - at least for now - when he starts tomorrow night at McCoy Stadium vs. the Syracuse Chiefs.

A HUGHES IMPACT: PawSox reliever Travis Hughes will turn 29 years-old tomorrow. His performance thus far this season has already given him reason to celebrate. Hughes, the former Washington National who made 22 relief appearances for the Nationals the last two seasons, has been brilliant out of the PawSox bullpen this year going 3-1 with 2 SV and a 0.35 ERA in 15 RA - allowing just 1 ER in 26 IP with 24 SO. The Kansas native was originally drafted by Texas in 1997 and pitched for the Rangers briefly in 2004. Last year he made 51 RA for the New Orleans Zephyrs of the PCL and posted a 2.32 ERA.

DOWN (AND WE MEAN WAY DOWN) ON THE FARM: The Lancaster JetHawks of the California League, the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, had a memorable series last weekend to say the least. Last Friday Lancaster was abolished by visiting Lake Elsinore by the final score of 30-0. Lake Elsinore used a "balanced" attack - scoring 4 runs in the 1st, 6 in the 2nd, 6 more in the 3rd, 5 in the 4th, 0 in the 5th, 1 in the 6th, 0 in the 7th, but then 2 in the 8th and 6 more in the 9th inning for the 30-0 final. The next night, Lancaster overcame a 9-1 deficit to win 14-12 behind 1B Aaron Bates who blasted 4 HR in the game (good for 6 RBI) to become the first Red Sox minor leaguer to hit four homers in a game in almost 60 years since Jack Littrell of the Hornell Maple Leafs of the Class-D Pony League did it in 1949. The series mercifully came to a close on Sunday with a ho-hum, 21-6 Lake Elsinore victory.

RICHMOND BRAVES

THE LATE UNPLEASANTNESS: The Braves have dropped four straight games for the first time this season. In suffering a sweep at the hands of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Richmond dropped a home series for the first time in 2007 and lost a series overall for just the second time this year. The last time the Braves suffered a four game sweep at home was last June 17-20 when they were swept by Pawtucket. The Braves have been held to just one run in a game five times this season; four of those have come since May 10. Since scoring 11 runs May 5 the Braves have been held to two or fewer runs in seven of 17 games. They have scored four or more twice in that span. Richmond is 8-9 in those 17 games.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER: Six players who have seen action in Richmond this season are currently with Atlanta (Willie Harris, Martin Prado, Mark Redman, Macay McBride, Peter Moylan, and Anthony Lerew). Three members of the current Richmond squad have seen big league time in 2007 (Kevin Barry, Rheal Cormier, and Brayan Pena). Four current players have been promoted from Double-A Mississippi. The Braves have five players on the DL and one on the Restricted List. Richmond has made 39 roster moves this season.

FACING THE JUNIOR CIRCUIT: The Braves are in a stretch of 34 straight games against American League affiliates. Braves pitchers will go over a month without hitting in a game (April 26-May 31). Richmond next faces a National League affiliate June 1 when they visit Ottawa.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

KINGS OF THE HILL: Infielder Matt Tolbert leads the International League with a .356 batting average while RHP Kevin Slowey leads the IL with a 1.76 ERA. If Tolbert and Slowey should finish the season leading both categories it would be the first time since 1976 that Rochester has had a batting champion and ERA champion in the same year. In 1976 RHP Dennis Martinez led the IL with a 2.50 ERA while infielder Rich Dauer won the batting title with a .336 batting average.

YOU'RE STILL THE ONE: Going into today's game outfielder Denard Span is the only Red Wings player that has played in every game this season. Since 1988 only two players have played 135 or more games in a season (Danny Clyburn 137 games in 1997 and Garrett Jones 140 games in 2006).

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT: Left-handed relief pitcher Ricky Barrett has been amazing since coming off the disabled list. Barrett, who started the season on the disabled list, is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in six appearances. In 10.1 innings of work, Barrett has allowed just three hits while walking two and striking out nine. Opponents are batting just .091 against him and right-handed batters are hitting just .048 (1-21) against him.

REVOLVING DOOR: The Red Wings roster has changed a bunch since the start of the season. LHP Carmen Cali became the eighth Red Wings player to be promoted to the Minnesota Twins this season. Of the eight players promoted to the Twins, six (including Josh Rabe and Glen Perkins on the disabled list) are still on the Minnesota roster.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES

DINKING AND DUNCAN: When you're having the kind of year OF/1B Shelley Duncan is having, even the bad days aren't so bad. Duncan was plunked by a pitch in his first at-bat yesterday. No matter. Duncan came around to score on the next pitch when RF Bronson Sardinha doubled. On the day, Duncan went 1-3 but reached base three times and added to his RBI total (29) with a single that scored 3B Chris Basak. Duncan leads the International League in slugging (.655) and home runs (12), and is in the top 10 in average (.331) total bases (90), runs (28), RBI, and on-base percentage (.406). The DH/LF/1B is no one-dimensional player; in 20 games in the field this year at LF and 1B, Duncan has yet to make an error.

LEATHER AND SMOKE: During the team's four-game win streak, which is tied for the longest this season (the team won four in a row April 13-18), defense and pitching have stood out. In the sweep of Richmond, Yankees hurlers struck out 30 batters and walked just 12 in limiting Richmond to a .210 average. The bullpen was especially ruthless: 16.1 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 19 K, with a 2.75 ERA. The team shined defensively as well, committing just one error all series.

BACKSTOPS' BATS HEATING UP: So much for catcher being a defense-only position. In the last five games, during which the Yankees are 4-1, catchers Omir Santos and Raul Chavez have been on fire, combining to go 7-19 (.368) with five runs scored, three home runs and five RBI. While it has been the duo's most productive stretch of the year offensively, it certainly hasn't affected their defense. Neither has made an error and Chavez gunned down the only attempted base stealer during the five-game stretch.

YANKEE DOODLES: Entering today, the Triple-A Pinstripers have a winning record against every International League division except Indianapolis', IL West, against which the Yanks are 6-6 entering today's game with the Tribe...... Reliever Edwar Ramirez has made two appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has picked up the save in both......The Yankees have stolen a base in five straight games, their longest such streak of the year, and at least two bases in each of the last four games....After swiping just two bags in his first 38 games, RF Bronson Sardinha has shown off his wheels in the last four games, stealing a base in each.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS

PLENTY OF CLOSE ONES: The Chiefs saw a string of 14-straight games decided by three runs or less come to an end this week. That happened

May 20 vs. Durham in a 10-3 loss, but the next two games were close again, both decided by less than two runs.

GETTING THIGGY WITH IT: Chiefs' C Curtis Thigpen was red-hot over the past seven days. Thigpen hit safely in all six of the Chiefs' games as well as collecting four hits (tied a career-high) May 17 vs. Indianapolis and followed that up with a three-hit game, including a pair of doubles, against the Indians the next night. During that two-game stretch Thigpen reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances (seven hits and one walk). In aggregate, Thigpen has raised his batting average from .271 to .314 in the past week.

VERY STREAKY: The Chiefs begin today's series in Pawtucket on a three-game losing streak. It's part of an up and down last nine games for Syracuse. The team formerly known as the SkyChiefs has alternated three-game winning and losing streaks over the past week and a half. It started with three losses May 14-16 and continues to this series.

MOTTOLA RETURNING TO FORM: Chiefs' OF Chad Mottola appears to finally be heading back to his normal form. The 2000 IL MVP has hit safely in the four games he's played in the past week. Included in that are a pair of two hit games. His batting average has climbed from .205 to .240.

TOLEDO MUD HENS

J.J. SAVES THE DAY: Right-handed pitcher Jeremy Johnson appeared in back-to-back close games for the Mud Hens in the last week. In the third game of the series with Charlotte, Johnson retired DH Ernie Young in the top of the 11th with the bases loaded to get Toledo out of a jam and keep the score tied at five, which allowed the Mud Hens to win the game in the bottom of the 11th. He also earned his second win of the season for his efforts. The following day, Johnson entered with the Hens on top 6-5 in the 9th, but inherited an even more difficult situation. Charlotte had the bases loaded with no outs, yet Johnson retired three straight batters to earn his first save of the season and help Toledo win another one-run game.

HOME RUN HESSMAN: Third baseman Mike Hessman hit two more home runs this week to raise his season total to 11. Hessman crushed a two-run home run on May 17 at home against Louisville and hit a solo shot versus Charlotte on May 22. He has 63 career home runs as a Mud Hen and needs five more to break Erve Beck's all-time Toledo record of 67. Hessman is also on a six-game hit streak and in addition to the two home runs he also connected on three doubles and drove in 10 runs in the last week.

HAPPY HOMESTAND: The Mud Hens won back-to-back series for the first time this season in their last homestand. Toledo took three out of four games from visiting Louisville and also won three out of four from Charlotte. The Hens have won six out of their last seven games and have a .500 winning percentage for the first time since April 28, when Toledo had a record of 11-11. The Mud Hens also won five out of the six one-run games they had during their eight-game homestand.

HOT-HITTING HANNAHAN: Second baseman Jack Hannahan is currently on a six-game hitting streak and is batting .391 (9-23) with two doubles, six runs batted in and four runs scored. He also had his second three-hit game of the season on May 19 versus Charlotte. In comparison to his production in April, Hannahan has more than doubled his number of hits (11 in April; 26 in May) and RBI (6 in April; 14 in May) in the month of May.

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