IL1 International League

International League News And Notes

June 25, 2009 - International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS (www.Bisons.com)

FELICIANO ON A TEAR: OF Jesus Feliciano has been the most consistent hitter in the Bisons lineup all season. He has hit safely in 22 of his last 27 games since May 23. During that stretch, Feliciano has averaged .374 (37-99) with seven doubles, 16 RBI and 18 runs scored. The solid month stretch has raised Feliciano's average 51 points to .311 -currently 9th best in the International League. On the season, Feliciano leads the Herd in hits (69) and runs scored (27).

IN LIKE A LAMB: Veteran INF Mike Lamb is getting into a great rhythm at the plate. Lamb has hit in 11 straight games entering play on Thursday. Since

June 8, he has averaged .415 (17-41) with three doubles, a triple and seven RBI. The 11-game hit streak is the second-longest for a Bisons batter, two games shy of INF/OF Wily Mo Pena's 13-game stretch from May 25-June 7. After a slow start, Lamb's hot streak has raised his average 53 points to .232.

NIESE-LY DONE: LHP Jonathon Niese has put his rough start to the season well behind him. The Mets' #3 prospect (Baseball America)is scheduled to start for Buffalo again tonight and will take an 18.1-inning scoreless streak into his game against the Gwinnett Braves. After allowing just two early runs in 2-0 loss to Indianapolis on June 7, Niese hasn't allowed his opponents to score. He pitched 7.1 shutout innings to beat Durham on June 12 and then blanked Charlotte over seven innings on June 20. Over the last three starts, Niese has lowered his ERA from 8.05 to 5.55.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS (www.CharlotteKnights.com)

PEFRECT GAME: Knights RHP Carlos Torres pitched the first perfect game in the team's history on June 18 at Pawtucket.  Torres becomes the first Knights player to pitch a no-hitter since Tetsu Yofu no-hit the Durham Bulls on 8/1/04.  Torres is also the first player in Knights history to pitch a perfect game.  This was the first no-hitter in the International League this season.  The Knights nearly had a no-hitter earlier in the season when RHP Jose Contreras pitched 7.2 innings of no-hit ball on May 18 vs. Toledo.

 

TORRES DOMINATES: RHP Carlos Torres pitched 3.1 innings of perfect baseball to begin Tuesday night's game vs. Louisville.  Torres had pitched 9.0 consecutive innings of perfect baseball dating from his June 12 start at Lehigh Valley to Tuesday night.  He did not allow a run in 14.1 consecutive innings over his last three starts.  He also had four strikeouts Tuesday which gives him 82 on the season.  His 82 K ties him with Louisville's Homer Bailey for the most amongst active players in the International League.  Torres is now just 8 strikeouts behind former Gwinnett Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson for the League lead.

 

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: If a game has been close, the Knights have usually ended up on the winning end.  The Knights last three wins have all come in one run games.  The Knights got a walk-off two RBI double from INF Wilson Betemit to win on Sunday afternoon over Buffalo.  They then scored a bunch of runs early and got strong pitching performance from starter RHP Jack Egbert and were able to hold on to beat the Bisons again on Monday afternoon.  They then had another good start from RHP Carlos Torres to get the win 3-2 on Tuesday.  The Knights are 9-7 in one run games and 9-7 in two run games this season.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (www.ClippersBaseball.com)

BACK ON TRACK: In the last two games (2-0), the Clippers are hitting .346 (28-81) while scoring 8.5 runs per game after hitting .235 (92-392) and scoring 2.9 runs per game in their previous 12 (2-10).  They have jumped back into the #1 hitting spot in the IL at .276, one point ahead of Norfolk.  With runners in scoring position, they are hitting .355 (11-31) over the last two, compared to .172 (15-87) in the previous 12.

BASH BROTHERS: Last night Andy Marte and Matt LaPorta became the second and third Clippers to reach the 9-HR plateau this season (Jordan Brown).  Last season, Columbus had only two players hit as many as 9 HR with Yurendell de Caster's 10 round trippers leading the team (the second lowest team-leading total in franchise history). 

BASH BROTHERS, PART II: Both home runs hit by Columbus last night led off the inning, as Andy Marte's shot started the 4th inning and Matt LaPorta's began the 9th.  LaPorta now has 5 HR to start an inning (2nd most in the IL behind Steve Pearce's 6 HR), while Marte has 3 HR to lead off.  The Clippers have 14 lead off homers, good for a tie for 5th in the League with Pawtucket, but have yet to hit a long ball to lead off the game.

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR LOVULLO: Today will be Torey Lovullo's 500th game managed in the IL (248-251).  He previously managed his 1,000th career regular season game on April 24 of this year vs. Indianapolis (W, 9-7).

DURHAM BULLS (www.DurhamBulls.com)

STOPPING THE STREAK: Rehabbing LHP Scott Kazmir helped the Bulls stop their longest losing streak since becoming a Triple-A team in 1998.  On Monday, Kazmir went six innings, allowing a run on five hits, as the Bulls ended an eight-game skid with a 3-1 win over Pawtucket.  The previous longest streak was seven games.  From June 1-7 in 2001, the Bulls lost seven straight, at home against Pawtucket and then at Indianapolis.  In 1998, the first Triple-A season, the Bulls lost seven straight from July 17-23 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Pawtucket.  Since Durham Bulls Athletic Park opened in 1995, the Bulls have had two longer streaks in A-ball with the Atlanta Braves.  In 1997, the Bulls dropped 10 straight from June 4-12, and from May 16-31 in the first season of the park, 1995, the Bulls dropped 13 in a row.

SOME CROWD: Durham drew 8,666 on Monday for the matchup between the Bulls and Pawtucket to see Kazmir and Pawtucket's Clay Buchholz.  Durham set a single-game Durham Bulls Athletic Park record on Friday for the opener of the series with a paid attendance of 11,300.  For the four-game series against Pawtucket, the Bulls sold 40,239 tickets, also a DBAP record.

SLAM CENTRAL: Durham's Ray Sadler hit a grand slam in the 3rd inning at Toledo on Tuesday, a 13-inning 11-10 loss.  It was Durham's sixth grand slam this year.  Justin Ruggiano has done it three times, while Chris Richard has done so twice this season, and that came in the same game.  The six grand slams are more than their parent club, the Tampa Bay Rays, have hit in any individual season.

FAMILY MATTERS: Bulls Manager Charlie Montoyo will leave the club after Friday's game at Toledo, and it's unclear when he will return to the ballclub.  Charlie's son Alex, who turns two on October 17, is due to have his third open heart surgery next week.  Hitting coach Dave Myers and pitching coach Xavier Hernandez will run the ballclub while Montoyo is gone.

GWINNETT BRAVES (www.GwinnettBraves.com)

WES ON FIRST: Gwinnett Braves utility man Wes Timmons has spent time all over the infield on defense this season, playing at least nine games at first, second and third base. Now he's beginning to spend more time there on offense, as well. Timmons extended his on-base streak to 21 games Wednesday vs. the Buffalo Bisons. He is 2nd in the International League with a .415 on-base percentage. His streak is the longest in the League this season. Adam Rosales of Louisville and Roger Bernadina of Syracuse both own longer streaks, but each of their streaks date back to last season. Timmons has hit safely in 23 of his last 27 games and is batting .363 (32-88) with 21 runs, seven doubles and 21 walks in that span.

WHEN GORECKI GOES FIRST: Reid Gorecki has been in the leadoff spot 21 times this season including 18 times this month. Gorecki has recorded a hit in each of the 21 games that he has been in the leadoff spot. He is now batting .299 (26-87) with 15 runs, six doubles, three triples, four home runs and nine RBI in those 21 games. On Monday at Louisville, Gorecki hit his second home run to leadoff a game (off of Homer Bailey). He also led off the game on June 7 vs. Columbus with a home run (off of Jack Cassel). Gwinnett has won seven of its last eight games that Gorecki has led off.

WILD CARD: The Gwinnett Braves are tied with International League North Division-leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the most wins (41) in the International League. The G-Braves are a half-game behind South Division-leading Norfolk (40-31, .563) but are now leading the IL Wild Card race by a half-game. After starting the month off with eight losses in the first 13 games, the G-Braves have won seven of their last 10 games - which is tied with Syracuse for the second-best mark in the League. Lehigh Valley has won eight of its last 10 games.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (www.IndyIndians.com)

ROCK THE VOTE: OF Garrett Jones and C Erik Kratz continue to state their case for International League All-Star votes with their recent hot streaks at the plate. In their most recent contest against Lehigh Valley on June 24, Jones collected two hits in four at-bats, while Kratz added a double and run scored. Jones has now posted multiple hits in seven of his last 11 games and continues to be one of just seven players in all of Minor League baseball and one of two players in the International League with double digit home runs (11) and double digit steals (14).  The speedy slugger Jones has also already surpassed his original season-high of 10 steals that came back in 2004 when he was with the New Britain Rock Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Jones also continues to rank among the IL's best in several offense categories, including hits (3rd, 79), total bases (3rd, 129), RBI (3rd, 45), home runs (T-6th, 11), runs (T-8th, 40), stolen bases (T-8th, 14), doubles (T-8th, 17), slugging percentage (T-9th, .502) and batting average (10th, .307). Along with Jones, Kratz has also been red hot for the Tribe as of late as the slugger has hit safely in each of his last six games and continues to lead all active IL catchers, who have played at-least 10 games, with 44 hits, while also ranking tied for 1st in runs scored (22) and 2nd in batting average (.284). Kratz also leads all catchers in the International League and all backstops in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization with six stolen bases.

LOVIN' LINCOLN: In his Triple-A debut on Wednesday, Pirates top pitching prospect Brad Lincoln allowed just one run on two hits and struck out four in 6.2 innings of work to pick up the victory. He held Lehigh Valley to one hit through the first six innings and two hits overall, the same amount of base knocks that he himself had at the plate as he collected two singles in three plate appearances. Rated by Baseball America as the Pirates' number one pitching prospect (number four overall), Lincoln posted a 1-5 record, 2.28 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 75 innings over 13 starts with Double-A Altoona before joining the Tribe.

RELIEVING SOME PRESSURE: RHP Chris Bootcheck and RHP Mike Koplove continue to prove why they are two of the best relievers in the League and deserve A All-Star consideration. Both men showed why they are the anchors of the Tribe bullpen with scoreless appearances on June 24 in Lehigh Valley. Koplove allowed one hit and struck out one in 1.1 innings of work to record his fifth hold of the season, while Bootcheck struck out one in a perfect 9th to collect his team leading 12th save. Bootcheck hasn't allowed a run in his last 11 outings (10.2 IP) and has struck out 18 and walked just three during that stretch, while Koplove has yet to allow a run in seven outings (9.0 IP) with the Tribe. Bootcheck leads all hurlers in the IL (with at least 30 strikeouts) in strikeout to walk ratio with an 7.8 to 1 (47 SO vs. 6 BB) ratio and along with Koplove rank among the IL leaders in saves and appearances, as both are tied for 3rd with 28 appearances while Bootcheck also currently ranks 4th in the IL with 12 saves and Koplove remains tied for 11th with six saves.  The Tribe bullpen as a whole has also been quite dominant over the last 18 games as they have posted a 2.39 ERA, allowing just 16 earned runs in their last 60.1 innings while striking out 54 and walking just 30.

FANTASTIC FIELDING: Entering play today, Indianapolis ranks 1st in the International League with a .981 fielding percentage and has committed the fewest errors (50) in the IL this season. The Indians defense also continues to get out of jams by way of the double play as they have turned at least one double play in 15 of their last 19 games and currently sit atop the International League with 26 double plays turned in the month of June, while also maintaining the 3rd position in the IL with 73 double plays turned so far this season.

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS (www.IronPigsBaseball.com)

RED-HOT HOGS: The 'Pigs had a franchise-high seven-game winning streak 6/14-6/20 - eclipsing the previous mark of four (done twice in 2008). It was the longest by a Phillies' Triple-A affiliate since the SWB Red Barons won 8-straight games 7/25-8/1/06 (they also won 10 in a row in 2006, from 4/15/06-4/25/06). On Tuesday night, the 'Pigs pulled into sole possession of 4th place (passing Rochester) -- for just the second day in franchise history (LHV was in 4th on 4/16/09). They've been tied for 4th place starting four other days in team history: 4/14-15; 4/17-18. The 'Pigs have never been at .500 in franchise history. On 5/11, they lost 9-2 in a chance to get to 15-15, and are career 0-6 with a chance to get to .500+. The Phils' Triple-A affiliate hasn't been .500 since Ottawa was 22-22 on 5/25/07.

GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE: In the last 10 G (9-1), LHV is batting .288 (101-351) and .330 (33-100) w/ RISP, averaging 7.4 R/G. The 'Pigs have scored 74 R in these 10 G after scoring just 76 R in the previous 21 G (5/23-6/13).  After not scoring 4+ in an inning for 250 innings (30 G from 5/14-6/13), LHV has done so in 6 of their last 94 innings (12 G). In the past 10 G, LHV has scored multiple R in 19 of past 87 (22%) innings -- after doing so 19 times in previous 22 G.

THE MIGHTY TRACY, PT 1: Friday at Norfolk, this past week's IL Batter of the Week -- 1B Andy Tracy -- had an historical night for Lehigh Valley (3-3,

2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, SB). He: [1] Set a franchise record for R with 4 R (prev. 3 done 19 times). [2] Tied a franchise record with 5 RBI (set by Tracy 5/16 vs. NOR; tied by David Newhan 6/16 @ DUR). [3] Tied a franchise record with 2 HR in a game (done 5 times, four by Tracy once by Brennan King 6/3/08 @ IND). [4] Tied his franchise record with 9 TB in a game (set 8/7/08 @ ROC). Tracy, the only 'Pigs player to ever win IL Batter of the Week honors, has now done so 3 times in his LHV career.

THE MIGHTY TRACY, PT 2: "MR. JUNE": 1B Andy Tracy is batting .319-5-20 (23-72, 7 2B, 15 BB) in 21 G in June. Last season, he hit .446-4-18 (11 2B,

16 BB) in 25 G and was named the Phillies' Minor League Player of the Month. Since 2003, Tracy is batting .340-36-124 in 141 G in June (174-512, 43 2B, 3B, 121 R, 90 BB).

LOUISVILLE BATS (www.BatsBaseball.com)

LEHR PERFECTION: RHP Justin Lehr (10-2, 3.38) recorded his League-leading 10th victory of the season last night and his fifth since being acquired from Philadelphia on May 23. In last night's victory, he pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only three hits while striking out four.  In his six starts with Louisville, he is 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA. Four of Lehr's six starts are quality starts and just once has he allowed more than two runs with the Bats (6/8 vs. LHV, 4 ER).

COMPLETELTY: LHP Matt Maloney pitched his third complete game of the season in Tuesday night's 3-2 loss to the Charlotte Knights.  In the defeat, Maloney went 8.0 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs.  It was the sixth complete game by a Louisville pitcher this season; Homer Bailey (5/2 G2 @ BUF, 5/18 G2 @ NOR), Justin Lehr (6/13 @ COL) and Maloney (4/12 G1 vs. COL, 6/1 @ SWB). The Bats had three complete games thrown by a Louisville starter last season: two by Maloney and one by Josh Fogg.

SOME QUALITY TIME: Louisville starting pitchers have 41 quality starts out of 72 games this season (57%) and the Bats are 27-14 when a pitcher throws a quality start. The team had eight in April (6-2), 18 in May (9-9) and 15 so far in June (12-3). In 2008, Bats starters had 68 quality starts out of 144 games (47%).

SUMMER TIME (16-6): With the calendar officially turning to summer, the Bats are heating up, winning 16 of 22 in the month of June. Louisville is guaranteed of being above the .500 mark in June for the first time since 2007 and have already eclipsed their June win total that season (15-13). Louisville has had losing Junes in three of the last five years (2004, 13-15; 2005, 14-15; 2008, 13-15). However, the team had two winning Junes back-to-back in 2006-07; they went 22-7 in 2006, one shy of the franchise mark for most wins in a month (August 2008, 23-7) and 15-14 in 2007. The Bats are 2nd in the IL in batting average (.273) and lead the League in ERA (2.60) this month.

NORFOLK TIDES (www.NorfolkTides.com)

MEN OF STEAL: The Tides lead the IL with 31 stolen bases in June, having done so on 38 attempts in 22 games. Norfolk was 15-for-19 on steal attempts in 19 games in April and 23-for-34 in 30 games in May. Justin Christian has swiped 10 bases in June to give him 22 for the season (a total that is tied for 3rd in the IL), while Joey Gathright has stolen nine bases this month to give him 12 in 34 games with Norfolk. The Tides have already swiped 14 bases in six games this homestand.

SNYDER PROMOTED TO NORFOLK: This past week, infielder Brandon Snyder was promoted to Norfolk from Double-A Bowie. Snyder was having a fantastic season with the Baysox, as he ranked among Eastern League leaders in slugging percentage (1st, .597), batting average (2nd, .343), on-base percentage (2nd, .421), RBI (T-3rd, 45), doubles (T-3rd, 19), extra-base hits (T-3rd, 30) and home runs (T-4th, 10). The 22-year-old was rated as the number nine prospect in the Orioles system by Baseball America prior to the season, and he's hit .238 (5-21) with two doubles and four RBI in his first six games with the Tides.

HIT MAN: Outfielder Jeff Fiorentino has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games, hitting .386 (23-61) with a home run and 10 RBI over that stretch. Fiorentino has also reached base safely via a hit or a walk in 28 of his last 29 games, and for the season he's hit .421 (16-38) with runners in scoring position.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX (www.PawSox.com)

COMEBACK KINGS: The Pawtucket Red Sox have won 7 of their last 11 games and all 7 of those victories have been come-from-behind wins. The PawSox have won seven times since June 14 (all after trailing at least at some point during those games) and they pulled off their most exciting comeback Tuesday night in Norfolk when (down to their last strike) Chris Carter tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI single with two outs in the 9th-inning and Bubba Bell won it with his first Triple-A HR with one out in the 10th-inning as the Sox captured yet another 1-run victory, 6-5. Pawtucket now has 15 come-from-behind wins this season (9 of those coming in June alone), 6 last at-bat wins, and they are a League-best 17-8 in 1-run games.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY: Pawtucket has certainly enjoyed their first foray to the South, where the warmer and drier climes have agreed with them to the tune of a 4-2 record thus far on their 8-game southern road trip. Pawtucket won 3 of 4 in Durham over the wrap-around weekend to capture their first series victory in over a month since they took 3 of 4 at home vs. Buffalo from May 16-19. On the season the PawSox are 5-4-10 in their 19 series played to date. The Sox have split the first two games of their current 4-game set in Norfolk and this afternoon face old friend RHP David Pauley who won 21 games for the PawSox during parts of the 2006-2008 seasons.

WILD RIDE: Pawtucket's recent resurgence has put them just 1½-games behind in the IL Wild Card race as they pass the half way point of the season (today marks game #72 of 143 that the PawSox are slated to play). Pawtucket is 1½-games in back of the current IL Wild Card-leading Gwinnett Braves. The PawSox were the IL Wild Card last season - bowing to eventual Governors' Cup Champion Scranton/WB in the IL semi-finals.

GETTING IN TUNE IN JUNE: The PawSox had their best month of the season last June when they went 20-9 in June of 2008. This June they are 12-10 with 6 games remaining this month. The Sox have a 3.52 ERA in June while Sox hitters are batting .237 with 12 HR & 84 runs scored (opponents have scored 75 runs). Some individual June leaders for the PawSox with less than a week remaining in the month: three Sox relievers have yet to allow a run in June as closer Fernando Cabrera is 0-0, 0.00 in 7 RA with 6 SV (0 R in 8.2 IP), LHP Billy Traber is 2-0, 0.00 in 7 RA (0 R in 11.1 IP), and RHP Jose Vaquedano is 1-0, 0.00 in 6 RA

(0 R in 9 IP). On the offensive side, INF Travis Denker leads the team with 16 RBI in June and OF Chris Carter paces the club with 3 HR this month.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS (www.RedWingsBaseball.com)

NOT SO MUCH HOME, SWEET HOME: The Red Wings enter today's game with a five-game losing streak at Frontier Field.  Rochester looks to avoid their first six-game losing streak at Frontier Field since 2002 when the Wings lost six in a row July 22-August 4.  The most consecutive losses Rochester has had at Frontier Field is eight games, June 5-13, 1999.  Rochester went 0-8 on an eight-game homestand June 5-13, 1999 and was swept in back-to-back four-game series by Columbus and Scranton/WB.  The Red Wings have lost 10 of their last 13 and 13 of their last 18 games at Frontier Field.  Rochester has been outscored 121-75 in their last 18 games played at Frontier Field.  The Red Wings have just a 16-21 record at Frontier Field this season and look to avoid their first home losing record since 2002 (30-41 record).

FLOWER CITY SHERIFF: Red Wings reliever Jesse Crain hasn't allowed a run in his last 16 appearances with Rochester (dating back to the 2004 season).  Crain has a 1-0 record with six saves and a 0.00 ERA over those 16 games, allowing just eight hits while walking four and striking out 29 in 22.1 innings of work.  The last time Crain allowed a run in a Red Wings uniform was June 12, 2004 at Buffalo when he allowed six runs (one earned) on three hits in 1.0 inning of work.

HALFTIME SHOW: With Tuesday night's loss the Red Wings will hit the halfway mark of the 2009 season (Thursday) with a losing record.  It's the 9th time since 1998 Rochester has hit the halfway mark with a record below .500 (exceptions are 2004: 39-33, 2006: 44-28 and 2007: 39-33).  Rochester will also hit the halfway mark of the 2009 season with 35 or less wins.  It's the first time the Red Wings have had back-to-back seasons (2008: 31-41) with 35 or less wins at the halfway mark since 2001 & 2002 when Rochester had 25 wins (2001) and 30 wins (2002).  The 2008 team did end up with a winning record (74-70).

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES (www.SWBYankees.com)

ONE SIDED SERIES: The Chiefs have dominated the season series with the Yankees so far winning eight of 10 games played between the two clubs. Syracuse took three of four at Alliance Banks Stadium May 25-27 and won three of four at PNC Field June 2-5. The Chiefs have dominated the season series, outscoring SWB 49-36 in ten games and out-hitting SWB .270 to .266.  Pitching has been the biggest difference in the matchups this season. The Chiefs ERA is over a run and a quarter better than SWB (3.73 to 5.06).

MAKE UP! MAKE UP!: The Yankees will have three doubleheaders (provided there is no more rain) in the upcoming weeks, beginning with a twin bill against Rochester on June 29 at 5:35 p.m. to make up for a rainout on April 20. The Yankees will be busy on the team's upcoming eight day road trip to Ohio, with four games in four days at Columbus (July 20-23) and then six games in four days at Toledo, including two games in which the Yankees will be the home team due to rainouts at PNC Field. The make up games are slated for the first two days in Toledo on July 24 and 25, with SWB designated as the home team in the first game played each night. Friday will be a 5:30 p.m. first pitch and Saturday's DH will begin at 6:00 p.m.

RECORD TYING WIN PUT ON HOLD: Kei Igawa fell short in his first attempt at tying the SWB franchise record for most wins in a career at 26. The left-hander took the loss on Tuesday night and currently sits at 25-12 in his SWB career and is one victory away from tying and two away from setting the franchise mark for career victories by a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher. The record is currently held by Evan Thomas, who went 26-25 in 72 career games (67 as a starter). Igawa has made 48 appearances in a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre uniform with 46 of them coming as a starter. In 2008 he set a franchise mark for the most wins by a left-handed starter and tied Joe Roa's standard for most wins in season by a SWB pitcher with 14.

STILL TIED UP AT 21: With his 21st homer of the season in Game 2 of the doubleheader against Indianapolis last night, Shelley Duncan is once again tied for the Minor League lead in home runs. Duncan's three run shot pulled him even with Mitch Jones of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (LA Dodgers) and Sean Rodriguez of the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees (LA Angels). Duncan's 64 RBI are tied for 2nd in the minors with Randy Ruiz of Triple-A Las Vegas (Toronto Blue Jays), four behind the 68 of Andrew Locke of the Double-A Corpus Christie Hooks (Houston Astros) of the Texas League.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS (www.SyracuseChiefs.com)

OLSEN REHAB TO CONTINUE: Initial plans called for Nationals pitcher Scott Olsen to make two rehab starts for Syracuse before returning to the big leagues, but the left-hander is now scheduled to make a third start for the Chiefs on Monday, June 29 at Pawtucket.  Olsen picked up the win on Wednesday at Scranton/WB by holding the Yankees to a pair of runs over six innings of work.

CLIPPARD GOES NATIONAL: Tyler Clippard was recalled by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday after appearing in 24 games for the Chiefs, all in relief.  The right-handed has dominated IL hitters over his last 14 games, having allowed no runs over 19 innings while giving up only five hits and striking out 18 batters.  Clippard had made only 9 relief appearances in his six-year professional career prior to this season.

MOCK GOES THE DISTANCE: Garrett Mock tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout against Columbus on Monday, becoming the first Chiefs pitcher to throw a nine-inning shutout since Chad Gaudin on May 15, 2005.  Ironically, Gaudin's gem also came against Columbus on a Monday at Alliance Bank Stadium.  Mock needed only 96 pitches and recorded 10 strikeouts in the game.  Mock began the season in the Chiefs bullpen before being promoted to Washington on April 20.  He returned to Syracuse a month later and was inserted into the starting rotation, where he has gone 2-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 27.2 innings over five starts.

TOLEDO MUD HENS (www.MudHens.com)

THE WINNING FORMULA: So far the Mud Hens are 12-9 in June, and their pitching has been phenomenal all month. In April, the Hens were 10-10 with a

4.57 ERA and 10-20 with a 4.32 ERA in May. So far in June, the Hens pitching staff holds an 3.13 ERA. The cliché says good pitching and timely hitting wins ballgames -- this month, in games they have won the Hens are batting .292 with runners in scoring position, but .140 in similar situations in their losses.

THE PITCHERS: Luke French has struck out six or more batters in four of his last five starts, all while posting a 1.53 ERA (6 ER/35.1 IP) and 2-1 record. He has also struck out six or more in seven of his 12 starts this season. After his ten "K's" in Game 2 of the Sunday doubleheader, French not only established a career-high but also claimed the team lead in strikeouts. His 16 innings pitched and 18 strikeouts for the week of June 15-21 led the IL and his 1.13 ERA

(2 ER/16 IP) in those two games helped him be named IL Pitcher of the Week. Also on the mound, in his last start Ruddy Lugo was one inning short of making his outing a fourth straight "quality" start, but he still maintained another streak after the game. He has not surrendered more than four earned runs in a start this season, certainly a mark that is reflected his team leading six victories. Also, Scot Drucker has not allowed a run for 14 innings as he enters tonight's start. This streak spans two starts and two relief appearances dating back to June 1 vs. Charlotte.

THE SLUGGERS: The last five games, the Hens' third and fourth hitters, Clete Thomas and Jeff Larish, have a combined .561 average (23-41), with 7 doubles, 10 RBI, and 14 runs scored. In Tuesday's walk-off victory, the two went 9-11 with 7 runs, including the winning hit and run. Larish's five hits in that game were the first time a Hens' player had that many since Mike Hessman on 4/7/07; it was the first time it has happened at FTF since 8/25/02 when Craig Monroe raked five.

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