Louisville Closing in on West Title; Three Other Playoff Slots Still Up For Grabs in Final Weeks
August 21, 2009 - International League (IL1) News Release
With 18 days remaining in the 2009 International League regular season, the Louisville Bats appear headed towards a second straight IL West division championship. The Bats have won 12 of their last 18 games, pulling out to an 8½-game edge over 2nd place Toledo. With a magic number of 10, Louisville may be the only team feeling certain about its chances in the playoff hunt. Though in a tighter race than the Bats, the hottest team in the League appears to be the Gwinnett Braves, winners of 9 of 11. Their recent success includes taking three of four against 2nd place Durham (who they now lead by 3 games) and two out of three so far in a four-game series at 3rd place Norfolk (who they lead by 7 games). With an 11-3 victory last night over the Tides, Gwinnett now owns the League's best record at 73-53. The two top teams in the IL North, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Syracuse, each split a doubleheader yesterday. The Yankees lead over the Chiefs remains at 3 games, with four still to be played between the two clubs. Syracuse is a bit closer in the Wild Card race, trailing Durham by 2 games. The Bulls and Chiefs square off in a crucial four-game series in Syracuse beginning tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.
The International League Playoffs will begin on September 9 in the home ballparks of the South Division Champion and the Wild Card club. In the IL's predetermined format, the Wild Card club will face the North Division Winner while the South Champion will face the West Division Champion in a best-of-five first round series. Following a pair of games hosted by the Wild Card club and South Division winning clubs, the series will shift to the opponents' stadiums for the final three games as necessary.
The survivors of the two first round battles will advance to the best-of-five Governors' Cup Championship Series to begin on September 15 in the city of either the South or West Division Champion. After two games, the series will resume at the home of either the North Division Champion or Wild Card club on September 17 for the final three games as necessary.
Durham Seeking Fifth Finals Appearance of the Decade The Durham Bulls could be approaching their fifth Governors' Cup Finals appearance since 2000, which would tie them with seven other teams for the most for any franchise in one decade. Durham won back-to-back titles under Bill Evers in 2002 and 2003, then finished as the League's runner-up each of the last two seasons under Charlie Montoyo. If they return to the playoffs and again win in the first round, the Bulls will join this list of teams to have appeared in half of the Governors' Cup Finals of a particular decade. They'll be the first to accomplish the feat in the IL's 14-team era.
International League Stories from August 21, 2009
- Bats Blow Away Indians 15-6 - Indianapolis Indians
- Bulls Fall To Knights, Finish Homestand 4-4 - Durham Bulls
- Tide Beat Gwinnet - Norfolk Tides
- Bisons Add LHP Derrick Ellison to Roster - Buffalo Bisons
- Bisons Game Notes August 21st - Buffalo Bisons
- Louisville Closing in on West Title; Three Other Playoff Slots Still Up For Grabs in Final Weeks - IL1
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.
