IL1 International League

Scranton/WB & Toledo Are In; Four Teams Battle for Final Two Spots This Weekend

August 31, 2007 - International League (IL1) News Release


Just four days of baseball remain in the 2007 International League regular season, and it is still unclear where either of the two first round playoff series will begin on Wednesday, September 5. Last night the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees needed either a win or a loss by Rochester to clinch the IL North title - they received both. Newly crowned IL Manager-of-the-Year Dave Miley has guided his club to 80 wins this season, the most of any International League club. The IL West Division was locked up back on Sunday as the Toledo Mud Hens clinched their third straight trip to the postseason. Skipper Mike Rojas has led the Mud Hens to a 9.5 game advantage in the West, the largest lead of any team in the League. The IL South Division remains up for grabs heading into the weekend, although the Durham Bulls took a major step forward last night by defeating Richmond 5-1. Durham survived a stretch where they played Richmond six times in ten days, winning four out of the six to take a 2.0 game lead over the Braves going into the season's final weekend. Richmond still leads the Wild Card chase, but Rochester (0.5 GB) and Buffalo (1.5 GB) are within striking distance should the Braves falter. The Red Wings host the Bisons for a four-game season finale beginning tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Frontier Field.

The International League Playoffs will begin on September 5 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 (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) while the South Champion will face the West Division Champion (Toledo) in a best-of-five first round series. Following a pair of games hosted by the Wild Card club and South Division winning club, 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 11 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 the Wild Card club on September 13 for the final three games as necessary.

MiLB.TV - Your Ticket to the 2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs

Can't be there to see your favorite IL team in the 2007 postseason playoffs?

The game might be as close as your computer screen. MiLB.TV, the home of

more than 700 Minor League games this season, will be streaming live for much

of the 2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs.

Any playoff games played in Buffalo, Durham, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and

Toledo will be streamed live on MiLB.TV. The 2007 Bricktown Showdown

Triple-A Championship Game will also be aired live on MiLB.TV for the second

consecutive season.

More information, including access to MiLB.TV, is available by visiting the

official website of Minor League Baseball: www.MiLB.com.

Exploring the Potential First Round Matchups

As the Toledo Mud Hens prepare to defend their back-to-back Governors' Cup titles, here is a look at how the IL West Champions have fared against the two clubs they might face next week in the first round. If the regular season series has been any indication, the Mud Hens seem to matchup better against Richmond than they do against Durham. Toledo won 8 out of 11 games versus the Braves this season, including the last five in a row. The Hens' hit .294 versus Richmond pitching, compared to just a .253 average for the Braves in the same 11 games. Durham, on the other hand, out-hit Toledo .276 to .244 in the series between the Bulls and Mud Hens. Toledo won 7 of the 12 games, but five of those wins came back in April.

Toledo vs. Durham Toledo vs. Richmond

4/13 W 5-4 @ TOL 7/12 W 5-3 @ TOL

4/14* W 6-4 @ TOL 7/13 L 7-5 @ TOL

4/15 L 8-0 (7) @ TOL 7/20 L 8-5 @ RIC

4/16 W 6-0 @ TOL 7/21 W 4-1 @ RIC

4/21 W 10-2 @ DUR 7/22 W 7-4 @ RIC

4/22 W 7-4 (16) @ DUR 7/23 L 4-3 @ RIC

6/30 W 13-7 @ DUR 7/28 W 4-1 @ TOL

7/01 L 7-5 @ DUR 7/29 W 2-1 @ TOL

7/02 L 3-1 @ DUR 7/30 W 10-3 @ TOL

7/03 L 6-5 @ DUR 7/31 W 8-4 @ TOL

8/09 L 9-3 @ TOL 8/15 W 8-7 @ RIC

8/10 W 4-0 @ TOL 8/16 Cancelled: Rain

Overall vs. Durham: 7-5 Overall vs. Richmond: 8-3

Home vs. Durham: 4-2 Home vs. Richmond: 5-1

Road vs. Durham: 3-3 Road vs. Richmond: 3-2

*4/14 game suspended, completed 4/15

The other first round series is sure to involve the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees as champions of the IL North, but their opponent remains a mystery with four teams still a legitimate possibility to finish as the Wild Card. Scranton/WB is clearly more familiar with their division foes in Buffalo and Rochester, with whom all of their 16 games have come within the last three months, but neither team poses an easy matchup. The Yankees won just once in eight tries at Rochester, while in the last three weeks Buffalo took three out of four against Scranton/WB at home to stay alive in the playoff chase. If the Wild Card comes out of the South, the Yankees will see a team they haven't played in at least two months. Dave Miley's club swept a four-game set in Richmond back in May, outscoring the Braves 26-11, but that came just a month after losing three of four to Richmond at home. The Yankees also took five of their eight games against the Bulls, but won by an average of just 1.8 runs while Durham won its three games by an average of 5.0 runs.

Scranton/WB vs. Buffalo Scranton/WB vs. Rochester Scranton/WB vs. Durham Scranton/WB vs. Richmond

6/05 W 15-4 @ BUF 6/01 L 7-4 @ SWB 6/09 L 8-1 @ SWB 4/09 W 8-5 @ SWB

6/06 L 7-2 @ BUF 6/02 W 9-4 @ SWB 6/10 W 2-1 @ SWB 4/10 L 4-3 @ SWB

6/07 L 3-2 @ BUF 6/03 L 4-1 @ ROC 6/11 W 6-4 @ SWB 4/11 L 10-3 @ SWB

6/08 W 11-9 @ BUF 6/04 L 7-2 @ ROC 6/12 W 2-1 @ SWB 4/12 L 5-0 (7) @ SWB

6/26 W 5-0 @ SWB 7/28 L 3-0 @ SWB 6/18 W 7-5 @ DUR 5/19 W 5-4 @ RIC

6/28 L 6-2 @ SWB 7/29 W 3-0 @ SWB 6/19 L 8-4 @ DUR 5/20 W 13-4 @ RIC

6/29 L 5-4 (11) @ SWB 7/30 L 3-2 @ ROC 6/20 W 7-4 @ DUR 5/21 W 3-1 @ RIC

8/03 W 7-6 (7) @ SWB 7/31 L 3-1 @ ROC 6/21 L 5-1 @ DUR 5/22 W 5-2 @ RIC

W 2-1 (8) @ SWB 8/10 L 7-6 @ ROC

8/04 L 4-3 @ SWB 8/11 L 4-1 @ ROC

8/05 W 2-1 @ SWB 8/18 L 2-1 (10) @ SWB

8/06 W 6-4 @ SWB 8/19 W 5-4 @ SWB

8/12 L 9-4 @ BUF 8/21 L 3-1 (7) @ SWB

8/13 W 5-4 (11) @ BUF W 1-0 (7) @ SWB

8/25 L 6-1 @ BUF 8/23 W 5-2 @ ROC

8/26 L 4-3 @ BUF 8/24 L 6-3 @ ROC

Overall vs. Buffalo: 8-8 Overall vs. Rochester: 5-11

Home vs. Buffalo: 5-3 Home vs. Rochester: 4-4

Road vs. Buffalo: 3-5 Road vs. Rochester: 1-7

While Others Fight for the Last Two Playoff Entries,

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Toledo Look Ahead to Postseason

NORTH DIVISION: For the second consecutive season, the IL North Championship belongs to the team from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (New York Yankees). The SWB Yankees are the IL's hottest team, having gone 21-10 so far in August, including an amazing 16-3 home record at PNC Field. Scranton/WB's ERA of 3.27 this month is far and away the best mark in the League. Still, of concern to the Yankees is the fact that nine of their ten losses this month have come at the hands of the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins) and Buffalo Bisons (Cleveland Indians), two teams hoping to land the Wild Card berth and face off against Scranton/WB in the first round. The Bisons will invade Rochester's Frontier Field for a season-ending four-game set beginning tonight, being billed locally as the biggest series between the New York rivals since they met in the 1961 Governors' Cup Finals (won by Buffalo 4 games to 1). The Red Wings need a split in the series to finish ahead of the Herd in the final standings, but they also need to make up a ½ game on current Wild Card leader Richmond, who finishes the season with four games against Norfolk. Buffalo, currently trailing Richmond by 1.5 games, needs to win at least three of their last four to pass Rochester in the standings. The Bisons, after winning five out of six August 22-27, have suddenly lost three straight at an inopportune point in the season. Rochester, on the other hand, has won three out of four, though the Red Wings managed only a split in last night's doubleheader in Ottawa. Stan Cliburn's club wasted a great pitching performance by Nick Blackburn in Game 1 (6.0 IP, 5 H, 5 K) by losing 1-0. Ottawa got an unearned run in the 1st when Javon Moran singled, was bunted over to 2nd, then advanced and scored on a wild pitch and passed ball. Rochester managed just two hits in the loss. The Red Wings came back and won the nightcap 3-2 in 8 innings, but the Game 1 loss cost them a chance to enter the weekend atop the Wild Card standings. While the Bisons and Red Wings fight for their playoff lives this weekend, the Yankees are in the enviable position of preparing for the postseason with five games (including a split doubleheader tomorrow) in Pawtucket. Scranton/WB (80-58) is currently 1.0 game better than Toledo (79-59) in the quest to finish with the IL's best regular season record for the second straight season. The last International League team to accomplish that feat was the Buffalo Bisons in 2000-01. The regular season title would be nice, but the Yankees have another goal in mind when it comes to making history - winning the first Governors' Cup Championship in the history of the Scranton/WB franchise.

WEST DIVISION: With a victory Sunday at Indianapolis, the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers) clinched their third straight IL West Championship. While the Mud Hens and Indians finished the 2006 regular season as co-champions of the division, Toledo made sure there would be no such drama this time around. The Mud Hens took five out of seven games last week against the Tribe to put away Indianapolis and allow manager Mike Rojas to turn his attention towards the postseason. Toledo will face its third different first round opponent from the IL South in three years, after dispatching of Norfolk (3-2) and Charlotte (3-1) in 2005 and 2006. It remains to be seen who the postseason hero will be this time for the Mud Hens, a club that has lost a few of its key components in recent days. Staff ace Ron Chiavacci (12-6, 3.39 ERA) was disabled earlier this week with a sore shoulder, and is questionable for the playoffs. Another key man in the rotation, Virgil Vasquez (12-5, 3.48 ERA), along with IL postseason All-Star outfielder Timo Perez (.309,

13 HR, 69 RBI) have been recalled to Detroit. Those losses certainly don't make things any easier, but Mike Rojas will still be bringing plenty of talent with him into the playoffs. At the top of that list is the IL's Most Valuable Player for 2007, third baseman Mike Hessman, who leads the circuit with 31 HR and 101 RBI. The starting rotation, even if Chiavacci and Vasquez don't return, still boasts a pair of 10-game winners in Yorman Bazardo (10-6, 3.75 ERA) and Dennis Tankersley (10-7, 4.41 ERA). Jason Karnuth (2-2, 3.15 ERA, 5 SV) and Aquilino Lopez (3-4, 2.49 ERA, 24 SV) have been a tremendous combination in the 8th and 9th innings, part of an outstanding bullpen that also includes Vic Darensbourg (5-2, 1.79 ERA) and Bricktown Showdown veteran Eulogio De La Cruz (3-0, 3.18 ERA). Undoubtedly the Mud Hens would like to finish off the regular season on a high note to give the club some momentum heading into the playoffs. Toledo dropped three in a row before last night's 6-2 win versus 3rd-place Louisville. The Hens will now travel south to Columbus to begin a stretch of five games in four days against the 4th-place Clippers. Columbus leads the season series with Toledo 6-5.

SOUTH DIVISION: With four games to go, the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) hold a 2.0-game edge over the 2nd-place Richmond Braves (Atlanta Braves) in the South. However, the Bulls have a magic number of 3 to win the division, because if Richmond makes up the 2.0-game difference they would win the title by percentage points. To do that, the Braves will now need some help, having missed a golden opportunity last night to catch the Bulls. Durham came to The Diamond for a pair of games Wednesday and Thursday, managing to keep their hold on the division lead by splitting with Richmond. The Braves won the first game in exciting fashion. Durham cracked the scoreboard when Chris Richard got a two-out RBI single in the 4th, but the Braves came back with a Doug Clark homer and a Brandon Jones RBI-hit in the 5th and won the game 2-1. Last night Durham led a close game 2-1 heading into the 7th when a three-run homer by Jason Pridie put the game out of reach, with the Bulls winning 5-1. The two teams now square off against their respective in-state rivals for a home-and-home series to wrap up the regular season. Richmond heads to Norfolk to play the 3rd-place Tides, against whom they are 7-5 so far this year. Durham welcomes in the 4th-place Charlotte Knights this evening, a team they have beaten 10 out of 12 times already this season. A split of the four games would guarantee the Bulls a postseason berth for the seventh time in their first ten years in the International League (Durham has a magic number of 2 to clinch at least the Wild Card). The Braves, if they are unable to catch Durham for the IL South crown, must perform well enough against Norfolk to stay ahead of both Rochester (0.5 GB) and Buffalo (1.5 GB) to win the Wild Card.

WILD CARD STANDINGS: W L PCT. GB

Richmond 74 63 .540 --

Rochester 75 65 .536 0.5

Buffalo 73 65 .529 1.5

SERIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

August 31-September 3: Buffalo @ Rochester - The Bisons and Red Wings square off in a season-ending showdown as both teams fight for the Wild Card.

August 31-September 1: Charlotte @ Durham;

September 2-September 3: Durham @ Charlotte - The Bulls face the Knights in a four-game home-and-home series, with Durham hoping to clinch the IL South title.

August 31-September 1: Richmond @ Norfolk;

September 2-September 3: Norfolk @ Richmond - The Braves must fare well in the four-game series against their in-state rivals to win either the division or Wild Card berth.

Governors' Cup Champion Will Advance to Bricktown Showdown

The International League postseason contenders have been keeping an eye on the Pacific Coast League playoff picture. The club that wins the IL's Governors' Cup trophy will advance to the one-game Triple-A Baseball Championship in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, September 18 - the Bricktown Showdown, live on ESPN2. The winner of the Bricktown Showdown will be crowned the champion of Triple-A Baseball for 2007.

In the PCL's pre-determined format, the Pacific North winner (Salt Lake) plays the Pacific South winner in the first round, while the American North champ (Nashville) plays the winner of the American South. Currently, Sacramento needs just one win over Tucson to clinch the Pacific South, while in the American South, only 1.0 game separates New Orleans and Albuquerque.

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International League Stories from August 31, 2007


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