IL1 International League

International League News And Notes

Published on July 2, 2009 under International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS (www.Bisons.com)

OLLIE RETURNS: LHP Oliver Perez is set to make his second start with the Bisons tomorrow as the team hosts Rochester for its Independence Eve Celebration. For the southpaw, it will be his fourth rehab start as he continues to comeback from a right knee injury that landed him on the Mets disabled list on May 6 (retroactive to May 3). Perez first pitched with Buffalo on May 26 and allowed only three hits and one run in 4.1 innings (five strikeouts). Perez was last in action on June 28 with Class-A Brooklyn when he earned a win with five shutout innings.

ARMS RACE: A pair of Bisons starters are coming off of dominate Junes. RHP Nelson Figueroa was a perfect 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in five starts during the month. His ERA was the 4th lowest in the International League. On the year, Figueroa's 2.61 ERA is the 8th best in the IL. Meanwhile, LHP Jonathon Niese turned his season around in June. The southpaw was 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA in six starts. His month included a 24.1 consecutive scoreless inning streak. Niese was 0-4 with a 7.96 ERA in the first two months of the year (seven starts).

BISONS BATS HEAT UP: June was also a good month for the Bisons bats. Buffalo averaged .268 as a team during the month. The best work was done by the

1-2 hitters in the team's lineup. OF Cory Sullivan hit .326 (31-95) during the month with five doubles, eight RBI and 14 runs scored. Sullivan had a trio of four-hit games during June. OF Jesus Feliciano's hit .317 (32-101) in 26 games during the month and he now has the 9th best average in the League at .304. During June, Feliciano drove in a team-high 17 runs.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS (www.CharlotteKnights.com)

TORRES NAMED TO ALL-STAR TEAM: The Charlotte Knights will be represented at the 2009 Triple-A All-Star game by RHP Carlos Torres.  For the

26-year-old right-hander this will be the second straight season in which he was named to an All-Star team after making the Southern League mid-season All-Star team last year.  Torres has been one of the best and most consistent pitchers in Triple-A this season.  Torres is tied for the International League lead in strikeouts amongst active players with 84 and his 2.41 ERA is 7th-best in the IL.  Torres' 7 wins are tied for the 3rd-most in the IL.  His season was highlighted by a 5-inning perfect game that he threw on June 18 at Pawtucket.  Torres also set a single game career high in strikeouts on May 15 when he struck out 10 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee hitters in just 6 innings.

 

TEAM ON A HOT STREAK: The Knights are entering a 15-game stretch where they will play exclusively against their IL South rivals.  Nine of those 15 games will also be at home where the team has fared better (20-20) compared to on the road (17-21).  The Knights couldn't be playing any better as they prepare to play their division.  The Knights are winners of five straight and have won eight of their last ten games.  This includes a four game sweep of the Buffalo Bisons, which happened on the road.  The Knights will play their next five games against the 1st-place Durham Bulls.  They trail Durham by 7.5 games in the South standings.

 

NEW KNIGHTS NAMED SOUTHERN LEAGUE ALL-STARS: Several current Knights players were named to the Southern League All-Star team but will be unable to play in the game due to their recent promotion to Charlotte.  INF Brandon Allen, RHP Lucas Harrell, RHP Johnny Nunez and RHP Brian Omogrosso were all named to the Southern League mid-season All-Star team.  Allen, Harrell and Omogrosso were promoted to Charlotte in late June and Nunez was promoted to Charlotte on July 1.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (www.ClippersBaseball.com)

RUNNING MAN: Michael Brantley stole a base in five straight games (8 SB total) from June 25-29 to reach the 30 steal plateau for the second time in his career.  Brantley leads the League in steals (30) and has been caught only three times on the year.  Of the four players in the League with at least 20 steals, his 90.9% success rate is the best.  He is five steals short of tying his career high of 35 SB between West Virginia (18) and Huntsville (17) in 2007 and six steals shy of the 10th-highest total in Clipper history (Gerald Williams, 36, 1992).  Since joining the IL in 1977, the Clippers have boasted seven stolen base champions (most in the IL since '77).

BROWN DELIVERING: Through the first 11 games of June, Jordan Brown hit .175 (7-40) without any multi-hit games to bring his average down to .300 on June 14 (lowest since hitting .222 on April 14).  In his 18 games since, he is hitting .392 (29-74) with eight multi-hit games (each of last four) and is back in the top 10 in the IL in hitting (.326).  He also ranks 2nd in hits (89) and tied for 2nd in doubles (22).

EARLY LEAD SQUANDERED AGAIN: Monday night the Clippers lost their third straight game when scoring first.  On the season, the Clippers have tallied a run before their opponents in 44 games (3rd in the IL), going 27-17 (.614, 2nd-worst winning percentage), and their 17 losses when scoring first lead the League.  Last year, the Clippers struck first in 60 games (2nd-fewest) and posted a record of 43-17 (.717, 5th).

DURHAM BULLS (www.DurhamBulls.com)

FIVE STRAIGHT: Durham beat Columbus 9-6 on Tuesday in its last game.  The win gave Durham five straight victories, the second time that's happened this year.  The Bulls won the first six games of the season.

GOING DEEP: Outfielder Matt Joyce now has homered in three straight games, the first Bulls player to accomplish that feat this season.   As a team, Durham hit 17 homers during the just-completed eight-game road trip (Durham was 6-2), and now has 78, 2nd in the IL to Louisville's 82.  The trip included multi-homer games from Rhyne Hughes and Henry Mateo.  Durham now has more road homers (43) then homers at home (35).

MR. CLUTCH: Justin Ruggiano had three game-winning hits on this road trip, during which the Bulls went 6-2.  Wednesday June 24 he hit a solo homer in the 8th inning against Toledo, breaking a 2-2 tie in a 4-2 victory.  Friday his two-run single in the 15th inning was the difference in a 5-3 win.  Then Sunday he had the game-winning hit.  The last two game-winning hits have come after he was down in the count 0-2.

FAMILY MATTERS: The win on Tuesday made Durham 4-0 without manager Charlie Montoyo.  Montoyo left the club Saturday morning, 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 today.   Hitting coach Dave Myers and pitching coach Xavier Hernandez are running the club while Montoyo is gone.

GWINNETT BRAVES (www.GwinnettBraves.com)

PORTLAND BOUND: It was announced today that three Gwinnett Braves will be representing the International League at the Cricket Wireless Triple-A All-Star Game in Portland, OR. Barbaro Canizares, Brooks Conrad and Luis Valdez were all named to the IL All-Star Team. Canizares leads the League with 91 hits and ranks 4th with a .325 batting average (91-280). His 42 RBI and 19 doubles lead the club and he is tied for the team-lead with nine home runs. Conrad ranks 1st on the team and 5th in the League with 46 runs scored this season. He is tied with Canizares for the team-lead in home runs and is 2nd on the team with 38 RBI. Valdez leads the League with 33 appearances and is tied for 4th in the IL with 13 saves. He has converted 13 of 19 save opportunities this season and pitched to a 3-3 record with a 3.14 ERA (43.0 IP, 15 ER). Valdez has recorded 45 strikeouts and allowed just 12 walks.

AT LAST: Going into Tuesday's series finale with Louisville, the first minor league game to be broadcast on MLB Network, the Gwinnett Braves were 0-30 when trailing after seven innings. Things didn't look promising with two out in the 8th with the Bats leading 7-1, but a pair of doubles, a pair of singles, a walk, and a Reid Gorecki grand slam followed by a Jordan Schafer solo homer supplied Gwinnett with the 8-7 win. The G-Braves record when trailing after seven innings now stands at 1-30.  Tuesday's 8th inning now holds four Gwinnett Braves records. Gorecki's grand slam was the first in G-Braves history. Schafer's subsequent shot marked the first time that Gwinnett hit back-to-back home runs this season, and the seven runs were the most runs scored in an inning all season. It was also the largest come-from-behind win for the G-Braves.

 

G-BRAVES IN THE BIGS: Gregor Blanco and Diory Hernandez have had a large part in the recent resurgence in the Atlanta Braves' lineup. Blanco was 3-5 with two runs in the Braves' 5-4, 10-inning win Tuesday night and he was 1-4 with two runs in Wednesday night's 11-1 rout of the Phillies. Hernandez was 0-2 with two walks on Tuesday and hit his first major league home run on Wednesday. Relievers Kris Medlen and Boone Logan have also contributed out of the bullpen in the last two games. Medlen pitched one scoreless inning on Wednesday and Logan retired one batter and allowed one hit but no runs on Tuesday. There are currently seven players on the Atlanta roster that started the season with Gwinnett including Manny Acosta, Tommy Hanson, and Jo-Jo Reyes.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (www.IndyIndians.com)

STRIKEOUT SENSATION: Scheduled to pitch for the Indians on the Fourth of July is RHP Ian Snell, who in his last start set a Victory Field record with his 17 strikeouts against Toledo on June 28. The 17 punchouts broke Steve Parris' over 10-year old record of 16 strikeouts set back on April 28, 1998 against Charlotte and included a jaw-dropping 13 consecutive K's following a lead-off walk. The 13 consecutive strikeouts is the longest streak in baseball this season, three ahead of both Craig Clark (San Jose Giants) of the California League and Miguel De Los Santos (DSL Rangers 2) of the Dominican Summer League's streaks of 10 in-a-row. Snell's 17 total punchouts are also the most in all of Minor League Baseball this season, ranking two better than Louisville's Homer Bailey's total of 15 (also against Toledo back on April 26).

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: Indianapolis starting pitcher Brad Lincoln has been selected to participate in the 2009 All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Rated the Pittsburgh Pirates' top pitching prospect entering the season, Lincoln joins current teammates Tom Gorzelanny, Ian Snell and Neil Walker as well as former Indians Steve Pearce and Andrew McCutchen as participants in the All-Star Futures Game. Lincoln made his Triple-A debut with the Tribe on June 24 in Lehigh Valley and picked up the win after allowing just one run on two hits over 6.2 innings. The right-hander held the IronPigs to just one hit over the first six innings of the game to improve his overall statistics 2.20 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 81.2 innings (14 starts) between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis at that time.

OFFENSIVE EXODUS: On July 1, OF Jeff Salazar was promoted to Pittsburgh, capping what was over a month-long mass exodus of offensive talent from the Indians' roster. Before his call on July 1, Salazar was batting .266 with 76 hits, 39 runs, 10 home runs, 36 RBI and a team best 16 stolen bases. OF Andrew McCutchen batted .303 with 61 hits, 41 runs, eight triples, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases before he was called to Pittsburgh on June 3. INF Neil Walker batted .239 with 44 hits, 20 runs, 15 doubles, seven home runs and 32 RBI before he was placed on the disabled list on June 10. 1B/ OF Steve Pearce batted .277 with 64 hits, 31 runs, 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 43 RBI before he was recalled by Pittsburgh on June 20. OF Garrett Jones was batting .307 with 85 hits, 44 runs,

18 doubles, 12 home runs, 49 RBI and 14 stolen bases and ranked among the Top 10 in the IL in several offensive categories before his call to Pittsburgh Monday. Overall this season, these five offensive stars accounted for 53% of the team's total runs (175 of 332), 53% of the team's total hits (330 of 623), 46% of the team's total doubles (61 of 132), 68% (13 of 19) of the team's total triples, 76% of the team's total home runs (44 of 58), 59% (180 of 305) of the team's total RBI and 69% (47 of 68) of the team's total stolen bases.

RELIEVING THE PRESSURE: The Indianapolis bullpen was lights out  in the month of June as 10 relievers combined to post a 2.52 ERA (26 ER in 92.2) and collect 75 strikeouts in the season's third month. Relievers Chris Bootcheck (0 ER in 10.2 IP) and Mike Koplove (2 ER in 12.2 IP) have led the way for the Tribe relief corps as the duo allowed just two runs in a combined 23.1 innings pitched in the month of June. The duo has quickly become one of the best one-two punches in all the IL as Bootcheck ranks 3rd in the League with 14 saves and Koplove ranks 7th with seven holds.  Bootcheck also leads all hurlers in the IL, with at least 30 strikeouts, in strikeout to walk ratio with an 8 to 1 (48 SO vs. 6 BB) ratio, while both he and Koplove are tied for 3rd in the League with 30 appearances.

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS (www.IronPigsBaseball.com)

PHINALLY PHIVE-HUNDRED!: With a 6-1 win on Sunday (6/28), the IronPigs finally got to .500 (38-38) for the first time in Lehigh Valley history (220 G) and the first time for a Phillies' Triple-A affiliate since Ottawa was 22-22 on 5/25/07 -- span of 318 G (2 years, 1 month and 3 days). They had gone 0-4 in four opportunities this season [last: 5/11 at Toledo (L, 9-2) for a chance to get to 15-15] and were 0-6 in history.

PITCHING FITS: In the last 14 G, IronPig starters are 7-4 with 2.34 ERA (76.2 IP, 20 ER) with nine quality starts. The bullpen hasn't allowed a R in 17.0 IP

(6+ G) and is now 2-0, 1.14 (55.1 IP, 7 ER) in the last 16 G. Since the first series of 2009 (18 IP, 26 ER), the corps has a combined 2.46 ERA (238.0 IP, 65 ER).

ROD GETS NOD: The Phillies announced they would promote one of four IronPigs starters to take the spot of injured Antonio Bastardo in the rotation - Drew Carpenter, Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Kendrick or Rodrigo Lopez -- and they settled on Lopez. Lopez has gone 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in his last 3 GS (21 IP, 19 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 14 K) -- becoming the third LHV starter this month to tie the franchise record for most consecutive starts won (3, set by Brian Mazone in 2008).

BACK IN THE MA-ZONE: 2008 International League All-Star LHP Brian Mazone was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday and assigned to Lehigh Valley. The California native becomes the first player in IronPigs history to return to Lehigh Valley after leaving the Phillies organization for another affiliated team. Mazone, who opened the year on the DL until 5/2, was 0-1, 8.44 in 13 G, 0 GS with Triple-A Albuquerque. He was transferred to the Ogden roster 6/13-6/23 and then placed back on the DL until the trade (right calf strain). The 2006 IL leader in ERA (2.03) while with Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Mazone led the IronPigs in wins (9), losses (12) and games started (28) and finished with a 4.10 ERA.

LOUISVILLE BATS (www.BatsBaseball.com)

STUBBS STRUG-A-LING: OF Drew Stubbs is batting .106 (5-47) in his last 13 games. He ended a 0-19 streak with two singles on June 23, but is 3-28 since. His average has dropped from .309 on June 17 to its current mark of .271.  Despite his recent struggles, Stubbs was elected to the 2009 International League All-Star Team.  He has played tremendous defense in the outfield all season long and is 2nd in the League in stolen bases with 28.

LATE INNING COLLAPSE: Gwinnett scored seven runs in the 8th inning on Tuesday to come back and defeat the Bats, 8-7.  The onslaught was made possible by Chris Heisey's misplay in centerfield on a double by Brandon Jones, which opened the door for the big inning.  The seven runs are the most that the Bats have allowed in one inning all season long.  The previous high was five, which has happened five times this season, most recently the Syracuse Chiefs put up five in the first inning on May 24 en route to an 8-6 victory.  Last season, the most runs an opponent scored in an inning was seven, which happened three times (8/9 vs. Columbus, 6/11 at Pawtucket, 4/18 vs. Norfolk).

BRING THE JULY HEAT: After a very successful June (19-9) in which the Bats led the IL in wins and were 2nd in ERA (2.90) and average (.273), the Bats look to continue their torrid pace in July. Louisville's had one winning record in July (2008, 18-10) in the last six years and since becoming the Reds affiliate in 2000, they've had three winning Julys (2001, 18-11 and 2002, 17-11). The 2001-02 seasons were the first back-to-back winning months of July since 1989-90.

NORFOLK TIDES (www.NorfolkTides.com)

TRIPLED UP TWICE: After not seeing a triple play hit into since 1997, Harbor Park saw two in a span of four days last week as the Tides hit into two triple plays against the Pawtucket Red Sox. Remarkably, both triple plays occurred with the same runners on base, as both Joey Gathright and Justin Christian were running on the pitch before line drives were hit by Jolbert Cabrera and Brandon Snyder, respectively. According to the fine folks at Major League Baseball Advanced Media, there have only been 12 triple plays turned in all of Minor League Baseball this season, and the two the Tides hit into are the only triple killings that have been turned in the IL this year. In fact, there have now been just 15 triple plays turned in the International League this entire decade.

HIT MEN: Norfolk leads the IL with a .276 team batting average, and several Tides have had a strong run at the plate recently. Joey Gathright has hit safely in 19 of his last 24 games, hitting .389 (35-90) with 14 runs scored and 10 stolen bases over that stretch to up his average from .254 to .333. Melvin Dorta has hit safely in 10 of his last 14 games, hitting .391 (18-46) with a home run and 9 RBI. Dorta has also reached base safely in 13 of those 14 contests. Outfielder Justin Christian has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, hitting .367 (18-49) with three RBI and eight stolen bases over that span. Jolbert Cabrera has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 starts, hitting .324 (22-68) with a home run and 10 RBI over that stretch. Cabrera also has multiple hits in five of his last seven starts.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY: Norfolk enters play tonight trailing Durham by a full game for 1st place in the IL South. Today is just the fifth day since May 7 that the Tides have not had at least a share of 1st place in the division. Starting with tonight's game, Norfolk will play 25 straight games against South opponents, including eight against Durham and nine against Gwinnett. The Tides are 11-7 against the South so far this season, but they haven't played a divisional opponent since April 29.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX (www.PawSox.com)

A HOLIDAY RIVALRY: The 3rd-place Pawtucket Red Sox and the 1st-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees meet for five games over the long wrap-around holiday weekend. The match-up between the two teams who are separated by just 3½-games in the IL North (and who finished 1-2 in the division last year with SWB the division and eventual Governors' Cup champ and the Sox the Wild Card) begins tonight at McCoy Stadium with a 6:15 pm game followed by another 6:15 pm game tomorrow night. The series continues at PNC Field in Moosic, PA over the weekend for games on Saturday, July 4 at 7:05 pm, Sunday at 5:05 pm, and Monday at 7:05 pm. The PawSox come into this series trailing the Yanks by 3½-games, but in related news the Boston Red Sox lead the New York Yankees by 2½-games atop the American League East!

BRONZE MEDALISTS: Pawtucket is coming off an interesting 4-game split against the Syracuse Chiefs to begin this important 6-game homestand at McCoy. Both of the PawSox victories in games one and three came on the final swing of the game. On Saturday night in the series-opener the PawSox pulled-out a 3-2 victory on Freddy Guzman's RBI single in the bottom of the 9th-inning. Monday night the teams battled for nearly 5 hours before the PawSox finally outlasted the Chiefs, 6-5 in 14-innings on Travis Denker's game-winning double. The exact game time was 4 hours & 54 minutes which marked Pawtucket's longest game by time in nearly seven years since a 4:57 game on August 19, 2002 at Rochester (a 9-8 Sox win in 15-innings). In between those two dramatic victories, the PawSox were beaten by Syracuse on Sunday afternoon, 6-2 and Tuesday night, 12-0 so they ended the series exactly where they began (in 3rd-place behind 2nd-place Syracuse but by just a ½-game).

ANOTHER CHANCE GONE BY THE BOARDS: The PawSox (who are 41-36 on the season) had their fifth chance in the last week-plus to tie their season-high of 7-games above .500 with a victory Tuesday night. However, for the fifth time in as many opportunities, the PawSox lost that game. The failed chances have come on June 22, 24, 26, 28, and 30. The last time the Sox were 7-games over came on May 12 at 19-12. They had fallen to just 1-game over .500 on June 12 for the first time since May 2 when they were 11-10. Pawtucket has been .500 or better all season (the last time they were at .500 came on May 1 at 10-10). From Monday, June 22 to Tuesday, June 30 the PawSox have gone - loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. This streakless stretch - which was interrupted by a scheduled off-day on Wednesday, July 1 - has come on the heels of a 3-game PawSox winning streak from June 19-21 (the last time the Sox have either won or lost two in a row or more).

MONTHLY CHECK: The PawSox - who finished 15-13 in June - thus posted another winning month as they continue to build on their franchise-record which currently stands at eight consecutive winning (full) months dating back to April of the 2008 season. The Sox have not suffered a losing month since August of 2007 (15-16). Their streak began when they had winning months last year in April, May, June, July, and August (not counting a 1-0 record last September), and has continued this April (10-9), May (16-14) - with their victory on the final day of May doing the trick - and now June (15-13). Pawtucket had never even had five straight winning months until last season.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS (www.RedWingsBaseball.com)

DOUBLE DIPPING: The Red Wings played their third doubleheader of the 2009 season Monday night.  With Monday's sweep by Scranton/WB, the Red Wings have been swept two doubleheaders in a row and four times in their last six doubleheaders.  Rochester holds an impressive 19-9-25 record in doubleheaders (63-43 record) since Rochester changed affiliations to the Minnesota Twins in 2003.

BREAK ME OFF A WINNING RECORD: The Red Wings need to go 8-4 in their last 12 games before the All-Star break to clinch their fifth winning record at the All-Star break in the last six years (2008 Wings were 45-54 at the Break).  Rochester will play 90 games (62% percent of their 2009 schedule) prior to the break.  Last season Rochester played 99 games prior to the All-Star break which was the most games the Red Wings have played prior to an All-Star break since 1988 when the Triple-A All-Star Game was introduced.

STREAKS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN: The Red Wings finished with a 13-16 record in the month of June, their first losing month of June since 2002.  Rochester had a winning month of June every year of the Minnesota Twins affiliation (six consecutive seasons 2003-2008).  During the Twins affiliation Rochester holds a 108-96 record in the month of June.

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

SHOWDOWN SERIES: Three and a half games separates the Yankees and the Red Sox in the International League's North Division. It is also the margin between first and third place in a division race that has heated up over the last few weeks. On the 19th of June, SWB had a 6.0 game lead in the North after losing five straight games; six days later the lead shrunk down to 2.0 games. The two at Pawtucket then three at SWB mark the first meeting between the two clubs since the Yankees took three out of four at McCoy Stadium from May 21-23.

RECENT ROAD WOES: The Yankees limped home after dropping three of four on the team's recent trip to New York with a split vs. Syracuse and a two-game sweep at the hands of Rochester. After beginning the season on the road winning 11 of 12, including tying a franchise record with 10 straight wins away from home, SWB is 14-14 in its last 28 games away from PNC Field.

RUSSO KEEPS REACHING: Kevin Russo continued his consecutive games reaching base streak by getting aboard safely in both games on Monday's double header vs. Rochester at PNC Field. He pushed the mark up to 25 games dating back to May 4. The streak reached 24 with a lead off single in the bottom of the first inning in game one, tying former Yankee Todd Linden's team best for 2009. Russo pushed the streak to 25 with a sixth inning single in his final at bat in game two, setting the new season standard for the Yankees. In addition to 25 straight, Russo has reached base in 31 of the 32 games he has played in this season with the exception of April 15 at Buffalo when he was taken out of the game after initially injuring his hamstring with an 0-2 game. In the 25 games during his streak Russo is hitting .333 (32-96) with 14 runs scored and has an OBP of .423. Adam Rosales of Louisville (currently with Cincinnati) is the IL leader in '09 with 28 straight games reaching base.

UNIQUE DOUBLE HEADER: New Yankee outfielder Richie Robnett made his debut with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the second game of Monday night's double header vs. Rochester. While it was his first game with SWB, it was not his first game of the day. Robnett began his afternoon with the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League going 0-3 with a walk in a matinee loss to the Reading Phillies. Robnett received the news he had been moved up to Triple-A with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The outfielder jumped in his car drove the 131 miles between the two ballparks getting to PNC Field in time to start in left field in the second game of the DH. Robnett went 0-2 but played in two different Leagues, states and cities within six hours.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS (www.SyracuseChiefs.com)

DUKES ARRIVES IN SYRACUSE: Washington Nationals outfielder Elijah Dukes was optioned to Syracuse this week and will arrive in Syracuse on Saturday when the Chiefs begin a seven game homestand.  Dukes, 24, was batting .244 with 6 HR and 30 RBI in 59 games this season for the Nats.  His last (non-rehab) appearance in the International League was in 2006, when he batted .293  with 10 HR and 50 RBI in only 80 games for the Durham Bulls.

MARTIS TO JOIN CHIEFS ROTATION: Curacao native Shairon Martis was optioned to the Chiefs from Washington this week and will join the Syracuse rotation after starting the season with a 5-0 mark with the Nationals.  The 22 year old right-hander will make his first start with the Chiefs this weekend against Lehigh Valley.

NATS TRADE LANGERHANS TO SEATTLE FOR MIKE MORSE: The Washington Nationals were busy this week in the trade market.  Outfielder Ryan Langerhans was dealt to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for infielder Mike Morse who was on the Triple-A Tacoma roster.  Langerhans was batting .287 with

9 HR and 42 RBI for the Chiefs this season.  At Tacoma, the 27-year-old former 1st round pick by the Chicago White Sox was bating .302 with 10 HR and

52 RBI.  Morse will join the Chiefs tonight in Lehigh Valley.

THREE CHIEFS NAMED TO IL ALL STAR TEAM: For the first time since 2001 the Syracuse Chiefs have three players headed to the Triple-A All Star Game.  Second Baseman Seth Bynum, outfielder Jorge Padilla, and right-handed pitcher J.D. Martin will represent the Chiefs in Portland, Oregon on July 15.  The last time the Chiefs had that many All-Stars was in 2001 when Chris Latham, John Dillinger, and Matt DeWitt participated in Indianapolis.

TOLEDO MUD HENS (www.MudHens.com)

ALL-STAR: The Tigers future middle infield is looking strong with SS Brent Dlugach and 2B Scott Sizemore. Dlugach has been selected as an IL All-Star; he is batting .289 with 9 HR and 39 RBI this season, including a current 14-game hitting streak. Also, Sizemore has been selected as the Tigers representative at the Futures Game. Sizemore is batting .323 with 2 HR (9 total extra-base hits), 9 runs, and 8 RBI in 15 games with Toledo following a promotion from Erie June 15.

HISTORY LESSON: With his 2-run double on Monday at Indianapolis, 3B Mike Hessman moved into 4th place on the All-Time Mud Hens RBI list. He already holds the Modern Era record by a substantial margin (Hessman: 335, Scott Ullger: 233). All-time, Bobby Veach is the leader with 388. He is also five doubles away from tying Shawn Hare for most in the Modern Era (294).

PUT IT IN PLAY: Toledo hitters lead the IL in strikeouts by a large margin. The team has 719 strikeouts and the next closest is Durham with 597. So far this season, the Hens are 10-7 when their opponents commit two or more errors in a game, a result of putting the ball in play. Also, the Hens went 10-7 in June games during which they struck out less than ten times a game.

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International League Stories from July 2, 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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