Triple-A World Series Notes

by Press Release
Published on August 18, 2000 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)

PCL Teams Look to Clinch; IL Races Stay Close

With four teams in the Pacific Coast League starting to think about magic numbers to secure positions in the 2000 playoffs, International League Division leaders are doing a lot of scoreboard watching to keep track of those creeping up behind them. Four teams from each League advance to the post-season (which begins on September 6) with the Champions of each circuit earning the right to represent their League in the 2000 Las Vegas Triple-A World Series. All four PCL Division Leaders (Albuquerque, Memphis, Sacramento, and Salt Lake) have at least a 9.5-game cushion over the nearest second place club and could clinch by this time next week. In the IL North, Buffalo, which had a six-game lead on August 10 now must look out for Pawtucket, only two games back. Indianapolis has a three-game lead on Columbus in the West while Durham is 5.5 games ahead of Charlotte in the South. Pawtucket remains the leader for the IL's Wild Card position, with a three-game advantage over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The thoughts of magic numbers are far from the thoughts of the IL clubs.

Winning the League Championship earns the team a spot in the 3rd Annual Las Vegas Triple-A World Series. The 2000 event will feature the post-season champion from each Triple-A league in a best-of-five game series to begin Monday, September 18 from Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Afternoon Games; No Off Day Highlight

2000 Triple-A World Series Schedule

Going back to a format that proved popular during the inaugural 1998 Las Vegas Triple-A World Series, the 2000 event will feature two afternoon games in Las Vegas. The Triple-A World Series Planning Committee has also eliminated the mid-week off day from the past two years, compacting the series into a five-day maximum affair. The schedule of events for the 2000 Las Vegas Triple-A World Series:

Day, Date Event Time Site

Sunday, Sept. 17 Opening Reception 7:00 pm The MGM Grand

Monday, Sept. 18 Triple-A World Series Game 1 12:00 Noon Cashman Field

Lake Mead Dinner Cruise 7:00 pm Lake Mead

Tuesday, Sept. 19 Triple-A World Series Game 2 6:00 pm Cashman Field

Wednesday, Sept. 20 Triple-A World Series Game 3 12:00 Noon Cashman Field

Thursday, Sept. 21* Triple-A World Series Game 4 6:00 pm Cashman Field

Friday, Sept. 22* Triple-A World Series Game 5 6:00 pm Cashman Field

* - denotes if necessary

All games will be televised on ESPN2. Call the Las Vegas Stars (702-386-7200) for game and event tickets and for reservations at the MGM Grand, the official host hotel of the 2000 Series.

Pennant Races Brewing in IL North, West

Note: The IL playoff structure features a Wild Card Position along with the three Division Champions.

NORTH DIVISION: The Buffalo Bisons (Cleveland Indians) looked to be the run-away winner of the IL North Division with a comfortable six game lead over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (Philadelphia Phillies) at this time last week. But now the Bisons' advantage is just two games, thanks to a nine-game winning streak by the Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston). The Red Barons are still in contention, five games back of the Bisons for the Division-lead and three behind the Sox in the Wild Card race. The PawSox have been the IL's hottest team of late - and have been winning games in all fashions. During the winning streak, Pawtucket has won four one-run games, two extra-inning contests, and squeezed in a 21-4 pounding of Rochester on Tuesday. Pawtucket's success has been a team effort with no individual among League-leaders in any major offensive category. Dernell Stenson has 8 HR and 23 RBI in his last 24 games, while Jim Chamblee has hit .350 in his last 8 contests. The PawSox middle infield took a hit this week when Boston promoted Lou Merloni (.410 in 11 games) and David Eckstein (.246) was claimed on waivers by Anaheim. Two familiar names will start for Pawtucket in this weekend's pivotal series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - on Saturday former Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen makes a rehab start, while Ramon Martinez does the same on Sunday. Buffalo remains in the Division lead despite a shaky trip north of the border to Ottawa. The Bisons won only one of five games against the Lynx (currently 49-71) and will play four more against the club over the next three days. After an unscheduled off day Monday (flight delays didn't allow Ottawa to get home from Durham), Buffalo was swept in Tuesday's double-header, earned a split on Wednesday, and lost yesterday afternoon's affair. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has dropped five of eight since last Friday, but Evan Thomas remains a stalwart in the rotation. He tied the club record for victories with his 12th last Friday and pitched well Wednesday (2 ER, 7 K in 7.0 IP) but lost a 4-2 decision to Syracuse. He is currently tied for first in the League in wins, 2nd in strikeouts (118) and 7th in ERA (3.35).

SOUTH DIVISION: The Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) hold a 5.5 game advantage over the Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox), the IL's largest advantage, but as this past week proved, no lead is safe. Surprisingly, the Bulls were the victim on Monday as Louisville ended an 11-game losing skid with a 4-1 decision at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Durham was also on the losing end of last night's possible playoff preview with Indianapolis, falling 10-4 to the Tribe. But, there have been some positive developments for the Bulls. Outfielder Ozzie Timmons hit a walk-off home run on Tuesday against the RiverBats, putting him in the League-lead with 27 HR, 92 RBI and 90 runs scored. He also is ninth in the circuit with a .308 batting average. First baseman Ryan Jackson, the reigning IL Player-of-the-Week, has also been hot. The former Duke University standout has hit .306 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in his last ten games and ranks among IL leaders in average, doubles, and hits. Outfielder Alex Sanchez paces the circuit with 40 stolen bases. Durham skipper Bill Evers joined Scranton/WB's Marc Bombard as the only active minor league managers with 1,000+ career wins when the Bulls defeated Ottawa last Saturday. After losing three straight at home against Columbus on Tuesday & Wednesday, Charlotte swept a doubleheader at Cooper Stadium last night to move within 5.5 games of their in-state rivals. White Sox top prospect Kip Wells tossed a six inning complete game two-hitter in the nightcap.

WEST DIVISION: With a 10-2 record in their last 12 games, the Indianapolis Indians (Milwaukee Brewers) have been one of the IL's best teams of late and hold a three-game lead over the Columbus Clippers (New York Yankees). The Indians swept two games in Columbus last weekend to take a two-game advantage. The lead stretched to three during the week as the Clippers dropped two in Norfolk but a doubleheader sweep of Charlotte on Tuesday closed the gap to 1.5 games. After last night's two losses to the Knights coupled with Indianapolis' win at Durham, the lead is again three games. The Indians' have been led by third baseman Jose Fernandez and outfielder Lyle Mouton during their recent streak. Fernandez is batting .316 with 3 HR and 8 RBI in his last ten games (he had a pair of homers last night in Durham) while Mouton has hit at a .406 clip with 12 RBI in his last eight. Horacio Estrada won his 12th game last night, tying Scranton/WB's Evan Thomas for the League-lead - he is also 8th in the League in ERA (3.38). The Tribe was also strengthened by the return of infielder Santiago Perez from Milwaukee yesterday. After tonight's game in Durham, Indianapolis continues the South Division road trip with two games at Richmond and two at Charlotte. The Indians are 13 games over .500 (38-25) this season. Columbus (4-6 in their last 10 games) continues to be led by reliever Jay Tessmer who leads the League with 54 appearances and 31 saves. Tessmer's 31 saves are the third-highest total in IL history - with 17 games remaining, the right-hander has an outside shot at tying or breaking the League record of 37 set by the Clippers' Mike Draper in 1992. Outfielder Kerry Robinson has hit .472 in his last nine games while infielder Alfonso Soriano is batting .375 in his last eight. One of the most inspirational stories of the year belongs to infielder D'Angelo Jimenez who joined the club Monday on a rehab assignment. An IL All-Star last year, Jimenez broke his neck in January and it was doubtful he would play at all this season, but he had three hits in Wednesday's win at Charlotte.

WILD CARD STANDINGS: Pawtucket 73 52 .584

Scranton/WB 71 56 .559 3.0

Columbus 68 59 .535 6.0

Charlotte 64 59 .520 8.0

SERIES TO WATCH (AUGUST 18-25)

August 18 - Indianapolis @ Durham; Charlotte @ Columbus - West and South contenders square off - the road teams were victorious last night.

August 19-20 - Scranton/WB @ Pawtucket - The Red Barons look to close the PawSox' Wild Card advantage.

August 22-24 - Buffalo @ Scranton/WB - If they can make up ground in the Wild Card race, the Red Barons could use this series to do the same in the Division.

August 23-24 - Columbus @ Indianapolis - As in the Buffalo/Scranton/WB series, the challenger faces the Division leader.

NOTE: Due to weather-related postponements, Pawtucket will only play 143 games. All other contending clubs will play the full 144-game schedule.

Pacific Coast Leaders On Record-Breaking Paces

A new PCL attendance record is set, while a second club threatens to surpass the new mark. There are races down to the wire for the batting, ERA, home run and strikeout titles. Two clubs are closing in on division titles, with two more not far behind. And the 2000 Salt Lake club closes in on a league record. All of this activity with just three weeks to go in the regular season. Details below.

PACIFIC CONFERENCE

NORTHERN DIVISION: Through games of August 17, the Salt Lake Buzz (Minnesota Twins) hold a comfortable 9½-game lead over the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners) and have lowered their magic number for clinching the division to eight. The Buzz has won five of its last ten games, while the Edmonton Trappers (Anaheim Angels) and Calgary Cannons (Florida Marlins) have been eliminated from the race. Calgary has won just three of its last ten, but trails Edmonton by four games: those two teams meet in eight of the final 12 games of the season. Salt Lake has scored 899 runs in 127 games, an average of 7.08 per game. They are still on pace to surpass the modern PCL record of 960 runs scored, set by the 1983 Albuquerque Dukes and stand a good chance of scoring over 1,000 runs. Two Buzz players, John Barnes (99) and Doug Mientkiewicz (90) are close to triple-digits in runs scored, and Mientkiewicz (89) and Brian Buchanan (97) are gaining ground on 100-RBI seasons. Barnes (.367) continues to lead former teammate Mario Valdez of Sacramento (.356) in the batting race and the two went head to head beginning Tuesday. Alan Mahaffey has won his last two starts, and the lefty-righty combination of Todd Rizzo (58) and Gus Gandarillas (58) are tied for the league lead in appearances. In the pitchers' strikeout race, Tacoma's Ryan Anderson is on the disabled list, but leads with 143 whiffs. Edmonton's Scot Shields is one good game away at 136.

SOUTHERN DIVISION: The Sacramento River Cats (Oakland Athletics) saw their magic number drop to seven through Thursday's games. They have won six straight and lead the Las Vegas Stars (San Diego Padres) by 12 games. The Tucson Sidewinders (Arizona Diamondbacks) are 6½ games behind the Stars and were mathematically eliminated on Wednesday. The Fresno Grizzlies (San Francisco Giants) are three wins away from getting back over the .400 mark. Sacramento's attendance has passed the 680,000 mark with 13 home dates remaining. They're neck-and-neck with Memphis for the best average attendance and have a chance to catch the Redbirds in late August. Right-handed starter Justin Miller improved to 3-0 with a win on Monday in Calgary; he is now 3-0, 2.32 since his July 23rd promotion from Double-A Midland. Outfielder Rusty Keith also paid short-term dividends, batting .500 (8-for-16) with six extra-base hits and six RBI in a four-game promotion from Class-A Modesto. Mario Encarnacion, another River Cats outfielder, has three home runs and 11 RBI in his last ten games. In the battle for the ERA crown, Memphis' Clint Weibl (2.74) took over the lead last night from Nelson Figueroa (2.81) and Barry Zito (3.19) who are not currently in the league (Figueroa in the IL and Zito with Oakland) and will not have the minimum number of innings pitched to qualify for the title. But don't rule out Sacramento's Jon Ratliff (3.03) and Ariel Prieto (3.34) who are each one start away from having enough innings to qualify.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

EASTERN DIVISION: The Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) have pulled away from their Divisional foes and have reduced their magic number to six, through games of August 17. The Redbirds hold a 13½-game advantage over the Oklahoma Redhawks (Texas Rangers) and a 14-game lead over the New Orleans Zephyrs (Houston Astros), while the Nashville Sounds (Pittsburgh Pirates) were mathematically eliminated on August 16th. Ernie Young is battling Phil Hiatt of Colorado Springs for the home run and RBI crowns, trailing Hiatt by one in homers (34-33) and by six in RBI (101-95). The two will battle head-to-head August 19-22 in Memphis. There are multiple contributors to the Memphis offense: Steve Bieser has eight hits in his last 22 at bats (.364), Luis Garcia has nine hits in his last 28 at bats (.321) and Keith McDonald is ten for his last 27 (.370). The Redbirds team ERA is still a shade under 4.00 (3.97), led by Clint Weibl (9-4), who now leads the PCL with a 2.74 ERA. Britt Reames (6-2, 2.28) may run out of time before he has enough innings to qualify, but he's also having a doozie of a season. With Gene Stechschulte (4-1, 2.45, 26 saves) in the major leagues, Rick Heiserman (5-3, 5 saves) could be the go-to guy, along with last year's saves leader David Wainhouse (22 for Colorado Springs). The Redbirds broke the old PCL attendance record of 713,224, set by the 1994 Salt Lake Buzz, on Wednesday August 16, and have ten more home dates to establish a new mark.

CENTRAL DIVISION: The Albuquerque Dukes (Los Angeles Dodgers) saw their magic number for clinching the division drop to eight with three straight wins at Memphis as the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Colorado Rockies) were taking three at New Orleans. The Dukes lead by ten games with 17 left to play. The Omaha Golden Spikes (Kansas City Royals) are 17 games behind and the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs) were mathematically eliminated on August 10th. Dukes catcher Paul LoDuca remains en fuego, batting .385 with 17 runs scored and 17 RBI in his last 16 games. The other Dukes catcher, Angel Pena, had a great week as well, clobbering four home runs, including three in one game last Thursday, and driving in 12 runs. Shortstop Shawn Gilbert has continued his hot streak, batting .373 with 17 runs scored, five doubles, four HR and 16 RBI in his last 19 games. Second-sacker Hiram Bocachica is remaining consistent down the stretch, batting .348 (16/46) with 15 runs scored, six HR and 11 RBI in his last ten games. Third baseman Jeff Branson has 11 hits in his last 29 at bats (.379) and first baseman Kevin Grijak has seven hits in his last 23 at bats (.304), including a pair of homers. Lefty starter Chris Michalak took a step toward the top ten in ERA by allowing just one earned run in 6 2/3 innings in a victory on August 11; last night he tossed a complete game that lowered his ERA to 3.85. Lefty Onan Masaoka and righty Chad Ricketts combined for 11 innings of relief in nine appearances with just two earned runs allowed, and Al Reyes earned a win and saved a pair of games.

SERIES TO WATCH (AUGUST 18-25)

August 19-22 - Colorado Springs @ Memphis - Hiatt and Young go head-to-head for home run and RBI title.

August 19-22 - Nashville @ Albuquerque - The final four regular-season home games for the Dukes ... maybe forever!

Pacific Coast League Stories from August 18, 2000

• Triple-A World Series Notes - OSC Original by Press Release

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