Playoff Dish: Sept. 8

Staff Report
September 8, 2006

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See also: Thursday's Playoff Dish

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INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Rochester 11, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5 (Rochester leads series 2-0)

Quinton McCracken went 4-for-4 with a home run and Garrett Jones and Andres Torres also homered as Rochester pounded Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take a commanding lead in the best-of-5 series.

Toledo 6, Charlotte 2 (Series tied 1-1)

Veteran righthander Chad Durbin struck out six, while allowing only four hits in a complete-game win over Charlotte to even their playoff series. Chris Maples homered for the Mud Hens, while Josh Phelps and Jack Hannahan also provided RBI singles.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Tucson 4, Salt Lake 2 (Tucson leads series 2-0)

Dustin Nippert outdueled Dustin Moseley to bring Tucson within one win of advancing in the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Nippert allowed just three hits and struck out seven in 7 1/3 innings. Moseley allowed four runs, two of them earned, to pick up the loss.

Round Rock 4, Nashville 3 (Series tied 1-1)

Round Rock scored two runs in the final two innings to rally to beat Nashville. J.R. House doubled in the eighth to tie the game 4-3. Mike Rodriguez doubled in Cody Ransom in the ninth with the winning run.

EASTERN LEAGUE

Portland 10, Trenton 3 (Series tied 1-1)

Jacoby Ellsbury had a pair of hits and catcher George Kottaras made a huge splash in his Red Sox debut, homering to lead the Sea Dogs past Trenton, 10-3. Yankees righthander Tyler Clippard took the loss for the Thunder. Clippard, who hadn't lost since June 29, allowed four runs on six hits, struck out five and walked two over six innings of work.

Akron 12, Altoona 0 (Akron leads series 2-0)

Akron jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the bottom of the first, powered by a grand slam by DH Brian Barton. Outfielders Trevor Crowe and Ryan Goleski combined to go 5-for-8, and lefthander Aaron Laffey earned the win by pitching six strong innings. Altoona righthander Josh Shortslef lasted just 2/3 of an inning, allowing eight earned runs on seven hits.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE

Huntsville 2, Chattanooga 0 (Huntsville leads series 1-0)

Stars righthander Corey Thurman combined with two relievers on a two-hitter, as Huntsville topped the Lookouts, 2-0 in the opener. Reds righthander Homer Bailey was solid, allowing a run on five hits over six innings, but the Chattanooga offense could not get untracked.

Montgomery 4, Jacksonville 3 (Montgomery leads series 1-0)

Justin Ruggiano hit a two-run double in the seventh inning as Montgomery rallied for its first postseason win in team history. Outfielder Jason Pridie went 3-for-4 and righthander Jeff Niemann earned the win with 6 2/3 strong innings. Jacksonville righthander Spike Lundberg took the loss despite whiffing 11 over 6 2/3 innings.

TEXAS LEAGUE

Tulsa 6, Wichita 0 (Wichita leads series 2-1)

Tulsa stayed alive in the Texas League playoffs, as third baseman Ian Stewart led the offense by going 2-for-5 with a home run in the Drillers' 6-0 victory. Righthander Steven Register allowed four hits over five shutout innings and struck out five as the Drillers staved off elimination.

Corpus Christi 7, Midland 3 (Corpus Christi wins series 3-0)

Corpus Christi completed its sweep of Midland, as Josh Bonifay went 3-for-5 with three doubles in the Hooks' 7-3 win Thursday. Corpus Christi outscored Midland 16-6 in the series, and wrapped up the first round behind righthander Chance Douglass' six-inning, nine-strikeout performance.

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE

Visalia 6, Stockton 1 (Series tied 1-1)

Visalia lefthander Jonathan Barratt pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits, as the Oaks evened their best-of-three playoff series against Stockton. Visalia jumped on Ports starter Michael Rogers for five runs over four innings, the knockout blow coming on an bases-loaded triple by Fernando Perez in the fourth.

High Desert 3, Lake Elsinore 2 (Series tied 1-1)

High Desert broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of unearned runs in the seventh and held on for a 3-2 win against Lake Elsinore to force a deciding game in the best-of-three series. The Mavericks followed a one-out error by Storm shortstop Skip Adams with three consecutive singles and a bases-loaded walk. John Gragg picked up the win for High Desert, allowing two runs--one earned--on four hits over seven innings.

CAROLINA LEAGUE

Kinston 5, Salem 0 (Kinston wins series 2-0)

Salem came into Thursday's game with a 28-5 record on the road in the second half, but Stephen Head drilled a two-run homer in the third inning and the Indians got more strong pitching from lefthander Scott Lewis and righthander J.D. Martin to close out the Southern Division series with a 5-0 win. Lewis and Martin combined on a four-hit shutout, whiffing 11. Kinston has now won 11 Southern Division championships in their 20-year affiliation with Cleveland.

Frederick 2, Wilmington 1 (Series tied 1-1)

Frederick staved off elimination with a 2-1 win against Wilmington despite managing just one hit against Blue Rocks righthanders Michael Bowden and Justin Masterson. The Keys cobbled together a run in the fourth and a run in the sixth thanks to walks and errors. Bowden allowed both runs--one earned--on a lone hit and three walks while striking out five over 5 1/3 innings, and Masterson worked 3 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings of relief, but it wasn't enough to keep Frederick from forcing a decisive third game.

FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE

Dunedin 3, Fort Myers 2 (Dunedin wins series 2-1)

Ron Davenport's walk-off single up the middle with the bases loaded in the 11th inning propelled Dunedin to a 3-2 win in the decisive third game against Fort Myers. The Blue Jays advanced to face St. Lucie in the best-of-five championship series. Fort Myers righthander Anthony Swarzak and Dunedin righthander Orlando Trias each went seven strong innings but neither factored in the decision. Blue Jays reliever Connor Falkenbach picked up the win with four scoreless innings on just one hit. Dunedin now faces St. Lucie for the FSL championship.

MIDWEST LEAGUE

Peoria 6, Beloit 1 (Series tied at 1-1)

Peoria received an outstanding pitching performance from righthander Scott Taylor, as the 2005 fifth-rounder allowed one unearned run over seven innings. With three hits and a RBI first baseman Ryan Norwood was the offensive star for the Chiefs.

Fort Wayne 4, West Michigan 0 (Series tied at 1-1)

Wade LeBlanc stole the show for the Wizards as they evened their series with West Michigan at a game apiece. The Alabama alum fanned seven and walked none in 5 2/3 shutout innings. Left fielder Will Venable had three hits and third baseman David Freese drove in two runs with two doubles.

Quad Cities 11, Kane County 6 (Series tied at 1-1)

For the second half of the season the Quad Cities lineup has resembled a college all-star team, and last night they did the job. Shortstop Tyler Greene (Georgia Tech) and center fielder Shane Robinson (Florida State) led the charge as Greene went 3-for-5 with four RBI while Robinson was 4-for-6 with three runs scored. Though the Swing had 20 hits, just two went for extra bases.

Lansing 4, South Bend 3 (Lansing wins series 2-0)

The Lugnuts prevailed by a 4-3 score for the second straight night as righthander Adrian Martin scattered 11 hits over six innings to earn the win. Lansing scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the first innings when South Bend shortstop Pedro Ciriaco made an error on the first play to open the floodgates.

SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE

Thursday was a travel day in the SAL, and the pitching matchups for tonight are as follows: Lexington lefthander Brian Bogusevic (2-5, 4.65) will face Lakewood lefty Matt Maloney (16-9, 2.03), and Rome goes with lefthander Adam Stanley (3-7, 3.69) against Augusta righthander Ronnie Ray (8-6, 3.53). Lakewood and Augusta lead each series, 1-0.

NORTHWEST LEAGUE

Boise 5, Salem-Keizer 1 (Boise leads series 1-0)

Cubs lefthander Mark Pawelek had his longest and best outing of the year in Boise's postseason opener against regular-season juggernaut Salem-Keizer, holding the Volcanoes scoreless on three hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. Pawelek, a first-rounder in 2005 out of a Utah high school, handed off to lefthanded closer Jeremy Papelbon, who allowed just an unearned run on no hits and a walk in 2 1/3 innings to pick up the save. Cubs 2006 first-round pick Tyler Colvin went 3-for-4 with a home run to power the Hawks offense.