IL1 International League

International League News And Notes

Published on May 7, 2009 under International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS (www.Bisons.com) GETTING RED-DY WITH THE BISONS: RHP Tim Redding began his Major League rehab assignment in impressive fashion on Wednesday night. The 31-year old veteran allowed just one run in six innings of work in a no-decision against the IronPigs. He allowed just six hits and a walk while striking out five. It was the first action for Redding after the Mets placed him on the disabled list on April 6 (retro to March 27) with a right rotator cuff strain. Last season, Redding was 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA in 33 starts with the Washington Nationals.

STARTING STRONG: The Bisons starting rotation had a great week as the Herd dodged raindrops. In the last six starts, Herd starters have posted a 1.75 ERA. The group has combined to strikeout 26 and walk just four in 36.0 innings of work. LHP Jonathon Niese struck out eight on Friday night against Louisville and RHP Dillon Gee threw a 7-inning complete game in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday against the Bats. RHP Nelson Figueroa had two of the starts in the stretch and allowed just three runs in 12.0 innings of work.

F-MART SHOPS AT THE GAP: OF Fernando Martinez continues to pound out extra-base hits. He has 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs, giving him an International League-best 16-extra base hits. His 11 doubles are also tied for the League lead. At just 20-years old, Martinez leads the Herd with 13 RBI.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS (www.CharlotteKnights.com) HITTING STREAK ENDS: For the first time in 10 games, Knights SS Eider Torres failed to hit safely, ending his hitting streak at 9 games. Over the course of the hitting streak Torres was 14-39 (.359) with 7 runs scored and 5 RBI.   HOMER HAPPY: Knights OF/DH Michael Restovich hit a home run in his second straight game in the Knights 8-2 loss at Durham Tuesday. It was a solo blast that occurred in the 4th inning. For Restovich, it was his 6th homer of the season and his 4th in the last 7 games. It was also the second time this season that a Knights player had hit a home run in consecutive games. INF Andy Phillips hit consecutive homers on April 28-29, also against the Durham Bulls. Restovich leads the Knights in home runs, followed by Phillips and Josh Kroeger with five each. Bryon Myrow accumulated his fourth home run of the season yesterday against Durham. The home run took place in the top of the 8th off of Dewon Day. Also contributing to the Knights' home run total are Javier Castillo with two, and Keith Ginter and Darlye Ward each with one.

RAIN DELAYS CAUSE FRUSTRATION: Poor weather at Knights Stadium yesterday was the reason Charlotte played their second-longest game of the season. Total game time was recorded at four hours and 31 minutes (with one hour and 22 minutes of that being delays from rain). The first delay was called at the top of the 8th inning with the Bulls on top 8-7.  The second delay was called during the bottom of the 9th with one out. Players on both teams grew frustrated with the rain delays.  In a attempt to prevent the delay, Durham's center fielder Justin Ruggiano proceeded to lay down in front of the tarp in hopes of blocking Charlotte's ground crew from putting it on the field. Once the tarp was removed the game concluded, needing just six more pitches.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (www.ClippersBaseball.com) DOUBLE HEADER DEPRESSION: For the second time this season the Clippers were swept in a doubleheader with Tuesday's losses at Norfolk (April 11 at Louisville).  Columbus now leads the League in 7-inning losses with four and they are the only team to have played a doubleheader and not won a game.  Last season, the Clippers played in one doubleheader (fewest in the League), defeating Rochester for their first sweep since 2006.  The Clippers take on Norfolk this morning in their third doubleheader of the season.

UNLEASHING THE DRAGON: George Lombard has thrown out a runner from the outfield in each of the last two games, tying him with Chris Gimenez for the team lead in outfield assists (2).  Both players have played in only four games in the outfield, accounting for 10% of the starts from the three outfield positions.  As a team, the Clippers have seven assists from the outfield, placing them 3rd in the IL.  Of those seven assists, the Clippers have cut down a runner at the plate three times (Gimenez, Jordan Brown and Matt LaPorta).  Last season, the Clippers ranked 3rd in the IL with 38 outfield assists, 13 at home (34%), with Tommy Murphy leading the team with 10.

SO MUCH FOR ROSTER STABILITY: Through the first month of the season, the Clippers had made only 19 roster moves.  They have already made 17 in seven days of May, running the total to 36 and putting them on pace for 199.  Last season the Clippers set a franchise record with 188 moves.  With Matt Herges and Jeremy Sowers' recent promotions, there are now nine Opening Day Clippers in Cleveland, including Tony Sipp and Matt LaPorta, each of whom made their Major League debuts this year (Sipp on April 22 vs. Kansas City and LaPorta on May 3 at Detroit).

DURHAM BULLS (www.DurhamBulls.com) SEEKING QUALITY: Mitch Talbot was unable to collect his third quality start (six innings or more, three earned runs or less) in as many starts yesterday, but did improve to 3-2 in an 8-7 victory over Charlotte.  Talbot has both Bulls quality starts in the first 26 games.  Wade Davis is the only other Bull to pitch into the 6th inning.  Talbot now has 29 wins with the Bulls, five shy of Durham's Triple-A record.

PEN PITCHES IN: Winston Abreu and Dale Thayer have given the Bulls a terrific combination at the end of games.  Abreu now has a team-high six holds, and has allowed a run in only one of 10 appearances, while Thayer has given up just one run in 15 innings.  The tandem has all but one of Durham's eight saves.  

IZZY IS IN: Jason Isringhausen pitched for the Bulls for the second time Tuesday, and worked a scoreless 6th inning, giving up two hits.  Isringhausen now has pitched two scoreless innings in just as many appearances on his MLB rehab assignment. He is coming back from August elbow surgery.  Isringhausen has 293 career saves.   He allowed one run in four innings with Montgomery, which is where he began rehabbing.

WHO'S HOT: Adam Kennedy has hit in seven straight games (11-27 .407), the most by a Bulls player this year.   Reid Brignac is 6-12 in his last three games.  Craig Albernaz had his first multi-hit game at the Triple-A level yesterday.  It was the fourth straight game he has caught.

GWINNETT BRAVES (www.GwinnettBraves.com) START ME UP: Gwinnett's starting pitchers, Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Charlie Morton, Todd Redmond and Jerome Gamble, have gone 10 straight games without allowing more than one earned run. They have pitched to a 6-2 record with a 0.79 ERA (56.2 IP, 5 ER), 65 strikeouts and just 23 walks in that span. Dating back to April 23 (13 games), the starters have not allowed more than two earned runs in any one outing and have pitched to 6-3 record and a 1.26 ERA (71.2 IP, 10 ER). The Gwinnett Braves were 7-6 in that stretch. The starters have been sharp all season, posting a 2.54 ERA (127.1 IP, 36 ER).

GOLD MEDLEN: G-Braves right-hander Kris Medlen continues to assert himself as the cream of the Gwinnett pitching staff. Medlen leads the team with a 4-0 record and a 1.17 ERA (30.2 IP, 4 ER). That win total is also tied for tops in the International League. Medlen's ERA is good for 3rd in the IL, one slot ahead of teammate Mariano Gomez and three slots ahead of Atlanta Braves' top-prospect Tommy Hanson. His 38 strikeouts are 2nd in the IL; only Hanson has more with 48. Medlen has yet to allow a run on the road, having tossed 14.2 scoreless innings. At home, he boasts a 2.25 ERA after Wednesday night's 7-inning shutout versus Syracuse.

BARBARO OFF TO THE RACES: Gwinnett Braves slugger Barbaro Canizares was 1-3 with a single and a walk versus Syracuse on Wednesday night to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. The streak is tied with that of Louisville's Adam Rosales for longest active hitting streak in the International League. Canizares is batting .333 (14-42) during the streak that began April 25 versus Charlotte. He has hit safely in 24 of 27 games this season and is tied for 1st on the G-Braves with 14 RBI (Diory Hernandez).

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (www.IndyIndians.com) STEALING THE SHOW: On Tuesday against the Yankees, C Erik Kratz stole his second base of the season during the eventual game-winning rally for the Tribe in the 7th inning. The swipe for Kratz gave Indianapolis a total of 33 on the season, placing them just one steal behind the International League leading Toledo Mud Hens. The Tribe now has 10 steals in the first two games of the series against Scranton/WB after they stole a Victory Field record nine bases on Monday evening.  The nine steals were the most for an International League club since Durham stole 10 bags on August 29, 1998.  OF Jeff Salazar stole three bases for the first time in his career on Monday night and is now ranked 3rd in the IL with eight swipes on the season, while OF Andrew McCutchen and OF Garrett Jones rank 2nd on the team with five steals each. The Indians have paced the IL in thefts in each of the past four seasons (198 in 2008, 163 in 2007, 180 in 2006 and 163 in 2005).

CLOSE CONTESTS: 14 of the Indians 24 contests so far this season have been decided by two runs or less. The Tribe is 5-3 in one-run games this season and 3-3 in contests decided by two runs. Last season the Tribe was involved in the most one-run games in all of Minor League Baseball as they posted a 26-31 record in one-run affairs. The 31 losses tied for the most in the minors, and the 26 wins tied for the most in the International League.

CALL HIM MR. CLUTCH: RF Garrett Jones was recently named the Indians April Player of the Month. Jones went 22-70 (.314) with eight doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI and three stolen bases during the season's first month. He also ranked among the International League leaders in doubles (T-1st, 8) and RBI (4th, 20), while also placing among the Tribe 's leaders in RBI (1st, 20), doubles (1st, 8), hits (T-1st, 22), home runs (T-1st, 3), runs (2nd, 11), batting average (2nd, .314), on-base percentage (2nd, .369) and slugging percentage (2nd, .557). The 6'4" lefty hit safely in 15 of his first 17 games in an Indians uniform and his 20 RBI were a career best for the month of April and the most for an Indians hitter since C Ryan Doumit had 20 RBI in April of 2007. The 27-year old also a collected an 11-game hitting streak during the season's first month in which he went 16-47 (.340) with nine runs, two home runs, 14 RBI and three stolen bases. The streak was his best since a 12-game hitting streak with the Rochester Red Wings in 2005.

FORD IS ON FIRE: Indianapolis INF Shelby Ford has caught fire of late collecting a team best .316 batting average and six hits over his last five games. The Triple-A rookie has also driven in four runs over those five games, tying him for the team lead with OF Steve Pearce.  The Tribe infielder also provided the heroics in Game 2 of the May 2 doubleheader against Rochester when he doubled in INF Luis Cruz in the bottom of the 8th inning for the first walk-off hit of his Triple-A career.

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS (www.IronPigsBaseball.com) FINALLY FIVE HUNDRED?: With a win on Thursday, the IronPigs (12-13) would finally get to .500 for the first time in franchise history. In addition, they would sweep the series against Buffalo (4-20) and give Lehigh Valley its first sweep in franchise history and the first for a Phillies' Triple-A affiliate since the Scranton/WB Red Barons swept a three-game series at Syracuse August 7-9, 2006.   FIRST SHUTOUT FOR 'KING' LEHR!: After going 70 games without a shutout (dating back to Les Walrond's 17-strikeout gem on July 6, 2008 vs. Louisville), the IronPigs have two shutouts in their last seven games. RHP Rodrigo Lopez started a 6-0 win April 28 at Scranton/WB. RHP Justin Lehr shutout Buffalo in 7.0 innings Tuesday, his first shutout (as well as CG) in 115 starts in his professional career. Lehr joins Walrond and LHP Brian Mazone (7.0 IP) as the only LHV pitchers toss a shutout. In his IL career, Lehr is now 9-3, 2.52 (85.2 IP, 24 ER) in 20 G, 12 GS.   WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!: LHV is still just 12-13, but the IronPigs were 3-22 at this point in 2008. It took the 'Pigs 25 games to get win No. 12 in 2009. Last year, it took 46 games to get win No. 12 - May 19 at Buffalo, when they 'improved' to 12-34. The 'Pigs have scored 111 runs in their first 25 G of 2009. It took them until Game 40 (May 13) to get to 111 R in 2008.   BACON BITS: RHP Tyler Walker has a season-starting 11.0 scoreless IP streak in his first 6 G. He has only allowed four batters to reach safely: 2 1Bs (including a hit-and-run dribbler), a BB and a HB. He's retired 32 of 37 BF (86.4%)... RHP Dave Borkowski has a current 10.1 scoreless IP streak (5+ G, 0-0, 6 H, 4 BB, 4 K) and has not been scored upon in his last 5 G (10.0 IP) after allowing runs in his first 3 G (5 IP, 8 ER)... LHP Jake Woods snapped his team-high 12.0 scoreless IP streak (8+ G) on 2-out 2-R 2B by Ryan Roberson on Sunday... RHP Mike Koplove hasn't allowed an ER in his last 9 G (0-1, SV, 2 H, 11.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 7 BB, 12 K)... OF Rich Thompson has hit in his last 6 G (8-25, .320-0-1, 2 2B, 2 3B, 7 R, 4 SB). He is a perfect 8-8 in SB (100%) this season and is now 33-35 (94%) in his IronPigs career... OF John Mayberry has hit safely in 10 of his last 14 G (16-52, .308-4-15, 5 2B, 7 BB); slugging .637 in that span... INF Mike Cervenak has hit in 6 of his last 8 G (13-30, .433-0-9, 5 R); including 3 multi-hit G. He has reached safely in his last 18 G (24 h, 5 BB, HBP) and is 7 for his last 10 w/ RISP... The walk-off win last night was the second of 2009 for LHV (April 30 vs. TOL)... In his last 2 G, RHP Kyle Kendrick is 1-0, 0.82 ERA (11.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K)... The 'W" recorded by LHP Cedric Bowers last night was his first in the IL since August 20, 2003 vs. Norfolk (with Durham)... With Jeremy Slayden's PH BB and Pablo Ozuna's PH 1B last night, LHV pinch-hitters are 4-5 (.800) with a BB, HBP (.857 OBP). They started 3-24 (.125) in 2008.

LOUISVILLE BATS (www.BatsBaseball.com) THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM: In their last eight games (since April 28), Bats starting pitchers are 1-6 with one no decision and have allowed 27 earned runs in 40.1 innings. Opposing teams are averaging 3.38 runs/game off Louisville starters while their ERA is 6.06; they've only gone more than 4.1 innings in four of those eight starts. During that span, Louisville relievers are 1-0 with one save in 23.2 IP, having allowed six earned runs for an ERA of 2.33. Take out the five runs that the Bats' bullpen allowed on Tuesday night and that ERA drops to 0.49 over 18.2 innings. THE WRONG KIND OF LEAD: Last night was Louisville's first error-free game since Game 1 of the doubleheader against Buffalo on May 2. From May 3-5 they committed 11 errors. The Bats lead the IL in errors with 31 and are last in the IL in fielding percentage (.966) and double plays (15), and are also 11th in assists (227).   THE 600 CLUB: Congratulations to Rick Sweet who managed his 600th game in a Louisville uniform on Tuesday night. Sweet has won the most games in franchise history (316-285), having surpassed current Scranton/WB manager Dave Miley last season.   THE LONG BALL: Bats starting pitchers have given up 18 long balls at a clip of 0.69/game and as a whole have allowed 23 homers (0.88/game). Louisville is T-10th in the IL in home runs allowed. On the flip side, Bats batters have bombed 27 homers which is good for 2nd in the League. OF Wes Bankston leads the team and is tied for 3rd in the IL with six home runs.

NORFOLK TIDES (www.NorfolkTides.com) HIT MAN: Oscar Salazar continued his torrid start to the season by combining to go 3-6 with two RBI in Tuesday's doubleheader sweep. Salazar leads the International League and is tied for 4th in all of Minor League Baseball with 38 hits, and he also leads the IL and is tied for 6th in the minor leagues with 11 doubles. Salazar has hit safely in 22 of 24 games this season and ranks 2nd in the IL with a .392 batting average.

TOUGH AT THE TOP: With three hits in Tuesday's doubleheader, Justin Christian has now hit safely in eight of his last nine games. Over that stretch, Christian has hit .444 (16-36) with a home run, four RBI and 12 runs scored, and the 29-year-old has reached base safely in 20 of his last 41 plate appearances (.488 on-base percentage). Christian has batted leadoff and played center field in every game for the Tides this season.

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL: Norfolk has hit 23 home runs in 24 games this season, putting the Tides on pace to easily surpass last year's home run total. Last season, Norfolk hit 66 home runs in 142 games (0.46 HR per game), the fewest for any team in the International League. If the Tides were to continue their current pace of hitting 0.96 home runs per game, they would total 138 long balls this season, which would be the 2nd-highest total in franchise history (the 1971 Tides hit 151 home runs).

PAWTUCKET RED SOX (www.PawSox.com) SWEEP DREAMS: The Pawtucket Red Sox - winners of a season-high 5 straight for the first time since last June 20-27 when they had an 8-game winning streak - go for a 4-game sweep of the Toledo Mud Hens when they play the finale of their series and homestand today at 12:05 p.m. at McCoy Stadium. Today marks the finale of an interesting homestand that has featured Major League rehab appearances from Boston Red Sox players Mark Kotsay, Rocco Baldelli, and pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka along with Detroit Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Kotsay went 1-7 in two games before leaving Sunday's game with a mild calf strain. Baldelli, the Rhode Island native who led his high school to the state championship four straight years (all in games played at McCoy Stadium) returned to McCoy but went 0-7 in two games before rejoining the Red Sox. Dice-K made a rehab start vs. Toledo on Tuesday night going 2.2 scoreless innings. He is slated to start again this Sunday in Columbus.

PITCHING IN: PawSox pitchers have allowed just 2 runs in their last four games (1-0, 2-1, 4-0, and 2-1 wins) and going further back have allowed just 2 runs in their last 38 innings (and one of those was unearned) since an unearned run in the 7th inning on Saturday vs. Gwinnett. Pawtucket's current 2.87 ERA is the best in the International League. Pawtucket pitchers have allowed 5 or fewer hits in a game 10 times already this season (in 25 games) including a pair of 2-hitters (April 10 in a 9-0 win at Buffalo and last night in their 2-1 win vs. Toledo). The Sox bullpen has been especially effective this season with a 2.09 ERA (25 ER in 107.2 IP) with 100 SO. Take away an emergency appearance by catcher turned reliever Carlos Maldonado on April 12 (2 runs in 0 IP) and Pawtucket's bullpen ERA is 1.92 this season.

SHOOTING BLANKS: The PawSox have 15 victories this season and 6 of those have been shutouts (the Sox lead the League lead with 6 shutout wins thus far). Pawtucket had 5 shutout wins all of last year. The club-record is 15 shutouts in 1977. On the offensive side, in their last 8 games the Sox have scored 0 runs twice, 1 run three times, 2 runs twice, 4 runs once, and 8 runs once (and have a 5-4 record during that stretch).

MAY FLOWERS: The PawSox are off to a 5-1 start in the month of May and have outscored the opposition, 17-9. The numbers so far are lopsided on the pitching side as Sox pitchers are 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in May thus far - 54 IP, 35 H, 9 R, 7 EER, 23 BB, 50 SO, 2 HRA. PawSox batters are hitting .192 (33-172) with 3 HR.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS (www.RedWingsBaseball.com) HIT PARADE: The Red Wings have caught fire the last three games batting .325 (39-120) as a team.  Over the last three games Rochester has climbed from 10th in the IL with a .243 team batting average to 4th with a .255 team batting average.

DRAWING FIRST BLOOD: The Red Wings have been very successful when they score first this season (12-2 record).  In those 14 games they've outscored their opponents 83-45.  Rochester has a 0-10 record and has been outscored 68-29 when their opponent has scored first.

MAKING CONTACT: The Red Wings offense forces the opposing teams to make plays.  Rochester has struck out just 144 times this season which is the fewest number of strikeouts by team in the International League.  The last time a Rochester team had the fewest strikeouts in the IL for a season was 1998 when they had just 834 strikeouts in 4,897 at-bats.

NO MORE BLUES IN THE BLUE GRASS STATE...WE HOPE: With Wednesday night's win the Red Wings have clinched their first series win in Louisville since 2004.  A win tonight will give Rochester its first four-game sweep in Louisville since Louisville rejoined the IL in 1998.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES (www.SWBYankees.com) DONE AT 19: Todd Linden had his International League-best 19-game hitting streak come to an end on Tuesday with an 0-2 night at Indianapolis in a 3-1 loss to the Indians. Linden did manage to reach base twice on a pair of walks but was held hitless by Indy starter Jason Davis (0-2) with a strikeout looking in the 1st inning and a pop out to left in the 4th. Linden had two more plate appearances drawing a walk off Sean Smith in the 6th and a walk off of Denny Bautista in the 8th. During the streak, Linden hit .413 (33-80) with 18 R, 9 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 11 BB, 14 K, and a SF and raised his overall average from .136 to .353. Linden's hitting streak was the longest by a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre player since Shane Victorino picked up a hit in his 19th consecutive game on August 22, 2005 on route to a 22-game hit streak lasting from August 3-28, 2005. Victorino played his last game with SWB on August 28, 2005 and returned to the IL for a pair of games with Lehigh Valley in 2008, picking up hits in each of two rehab games he played to keep his IL streak alive at 24 games over different seasons.

TOUGH NIGHT AT THE OFFICE: Jose Valdez suffered his first loss of the season in the Yankees last game Tuesday night in Indianapolis allowing two runs (both earned) on one hit and four walks in 0.1 innings of work. It was just the second loss of the season for the Yankees bullpen which saw its collective record drop to 11-2 with nine saves. The last loss for a SWB reliever was by David Robertson vs. Buffalo at PNC Field on April 21, the first loss of the year for the Yankees, snapping their franchise record 11-game winning streak.

STILL NEED THREE FOR 1500: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise came into the 2009 season (its 21st since moving from Old Orchard Beach, Maine prior to the 1989 season) knocking on the door of 1,500 regular season wins. Entering the 2009 season the franchise had a career mark of 1,477-1383 (.516). With a 20-5 start, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's franchise record currently sits at 1,497-1,388 (.519).

BEST MONTH EVER: The Yankees finished off the most successful opening month of the season in franchise history with a 12-6 win over the Norfolk Tides on April 30. At 17-3 SWB had an .850 winning percentage, easily surpassing the previous high for winning percentage of .714 held by three different versions of the Red Barons. The '92 Red Barons (August), the '01 Red Barons (July) and the '04 Red Barons (June) all posted 20-8 records during their best months. Not counting the month of September, the '09 Yankees played the fewest games in a month since the 1998 Red Barons squad, who also played 20 games in the first month of the season.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS (www.SyracuseChiefs.com) MARTIN BECOMES TRIVIA QUESTION: Right-handed pitcher J.D. Martin became the first Chiefs pitcher to get a base hit this season and became the first pitcher to get a hit since Ken Clay in 1975 against Rochester in Game 1 of the Governors' Cup playoffs.  The last regular season pitcher to get a base hit for the Chiefs was Dave Pagan on August 28, 1975 vs. Charleston at old MacArthur Stadium.

CHIEFS LOAD UP HARRISBURG: The Chiefs assigned three players this week to their Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, Harrisburg.  Joining the Senators are third baseman Joel Guzman, catcher Luke Montz and infielder Freddie Bynum.  The Senators immediately won three straight games.

DMITRI YOUNG ON HIS WAY TO SYRACUSE: Former Major League All-Star Dmitri Young is scheduled to make a stop in Syracuse this month after his stay at the Nationals extended spring training site in Vierra, Florida.  Young injured his back in spring training.  He has been playing everyday and appears ready to join the Chiefs this week.

TOLEDO MUD HENS (www.MudHens.com) KEEP SENDING 'EM!: The Mud Hens are currently the IL leaders in stolen bases with 34, which includes OF Wilkin Ramirez leading the League individually with 10. Toledo did have a League-best base-stealer last year in OF Freddy Guzman (56), but the team has not had the stolen base crown since 2004. That year, the team swiped 120 bags. The Toledo Modern Era record for steals is 204 set in 1994. They are currently on pace to swipe 188.

THE BIG MOVES: Within one week of baseball, two Hens players have accounted for four roster moves. On April 28, 1B Jeff Larish was optioned to Toledo to make room for LHP Clay Rapada on Detroit's roster, who was recalled by the Tigers. Then, after pitching two games for the Major League club, Rapada was optioned to Toledo on May 5 and Larish was again recalled by Detroit.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH: Last year at the end of April the Hens were the leaders in RBI and the far-and-away leaders in the IL with 39 home runs, led by the top two in the League in 3B Mike Hessman and 1B Jeff Larish. Hessman is off to a slow start this season, and through May 6 is only hitting .155 (15-97) with 3 HR. Toledo is now on top of the "speed" categories instead. The team leads in stolen bases (34) and triples (12), including 2B Will Rhymes (4) who is 2nd in the IL.

HOME WOES FOR THE ROAD WARRIORS: Toledo is set to open an eight-game homestand Friday at Fifth Third Field, which has not been the friendliest place for the Hens this season. The Hens are 3-7 with a 6.13 ERA at home compared to 9-7 with a 3.62 ERA on the road.

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International League Stories from May 7, 2009


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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