News & Notes August 31, 2006

BUFFALO BISONS BISONS TAKE THRUWAY SERIES CAP: With their 6-2 win over Rochester last night, the Bisons clinched the 2006 Thruway Series Cup Championship. Each year since the Herd rejoined the International League in 1998, they have competed with their closest rivals, the Rochester Red Wings and Syracuse SkyChiefs, for a series championship that is named after the expressway that connects them all. This year, the Bisons went 11-5 against the SkyChiefs and already have an 8-5 record against the Red Wings. The championship is Buffalo’s fifth in nine years, also taking the cup in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.

ALL-STAR HONORS: Outfielder Jason Dubois was named to the post-season International League All-Star team on Monday. The slugger is closing in on a Bisons’ triple crown as he ranks first on the team with 21 home runs (T-7th in IL) and 83 RBI (4th in IL) and is just behind Franklin Gutierrez (.281) for those that qualify with a .276 batting average. Dubois also leads the team with a .489 slugging percentage, is tied for the lead with 52 extra- base hits and is 2 nd with 30 doubles. He would be just the third player to win the team’s triple crown in the modern era, joining Russ Morman in 1993 (.320, 22 HR, 77 RBI) and Benny Distefano in 1988 (.263, 19 HR, 63 RBI).

QUEST FOR QUALIFICATION: Hyang-Nam Choi has been dominating for the Herd of late, with only one earned since July 27. In his last nine outings (27.0 IP), Choi has allowed just 17 hits while striking out 27 batters. For the year, he leads the Bisons with 103 . Choi, however, still needs 8.1 of work by the end of the year to qualify among the League leaders in ERA. If he does qualify, his 2.37 ERA would be second only to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’ s Brian Mazone (2.03) in the League.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS K-MEN: With an in Tuesday’s game, Tim Redding moved a little to taking over the IL lead in strikeouts. Monday night Redding added 2 K bringing his total to 140, just 3 behind IL leader Ch ad Du rb in of Toledo who has 143. Durbin will square off against the Knights’ Stephen Randolph in Game 2 tonight. Randolph is also looking to make his move as he is currently just 6 K behind Durbin, while fellow Charlotte Knight Charlie Haeger is in 4th place with 130. Brandon McCarthy led the Knights in ‘05 with 130 K.

KNUCKLING HIS WAY TO THE TOP: Charlie Haeger has moved ahead of teammate Heath Phillips for the International League lead with 14 wins on the season. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Brian Mazone is currently tied with Phillips for 2nd with 13 wins. Haeger is also currently 4th in the IL with a 3.07 ERA.

KNIGHT S R ECEIVE TOP AW AR DS : Along with being named All-Stars, two Knights received Special Awards from the International League this week. was named Rookie of the Year and Heath Phillips was named Most Valuable Pitcher. Fields becomes the third Knights player to be named Rookie of the Year, as Billy McMillon received the award in 1996 and Aaron Miles took home the award in 2003. Phillips becomes the second Knights pitcher to win the Most Valuable Pitcher award, following Jon Garland in 2000.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS P AVANO REHAB: Carl Pavano pitched six innings in the Clippers 8-2 victory August 25 vs. Indianapolis. Pavano allowed two runs on eight hits and one . He struck out five. A few days later it was discovered that Pavano had pitched the game with two cracked ribs.

COLTER BEAN: It is hard to hide a man who is 6'6" but Colter Bean is the best kept secret in baseball. Bean set a remarkable record this season. For the past four seasons, Bean has been the workhorse of the . In April, Bean passed Royal Clayton to set the Clippers record (1977-present) for pitching appearances. Now Colter owns the all-time Columbus record (1876-present) of 214 games pitched. In his four seasons with Columbus, “ Beaner” has done it all. Long relief, closing, situational relief…whatever the manager needs, Colter is there. When manager Dave Miley needed a spot starter this season, he went to Colter and now Bean is the stopper in the Clippers rotation. In his five starts, the 2004 Clipper of the Year is 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA. He is averaging 10.73 strikeouts per nine innings of work as a starter. Bean has put up amazing numbers in Columbus. In 2003 he was 4-2 with a 2.87 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 69 innings. Colter was named the Clipper of the Year in 2004 as the middle relief man, posting a 9-3 record with a 2.29 ERA and 109 strikeouts in just 82.2 innings. Last season, Beaner was 4-7 with a 3.01 ERA with 82 K in 71.2 innings. In 2006 Colter is 9-2 with a 2.70 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 83.1 innings, but the road to New York has been crowded. Bean has made two trips to the Big Apple. He appeared in one game in 2005 and two this spring.

RUSS JOHNSON: The Clippers third baseman returned from the DL this week. Johnson had hurt his back fielding a ground ball in Charlotte on July 19. Russ .385 this week with three doubles, two home runs and five runs batted in. The LSU star has also helped out at first base and right field.

ANDY CANNIZARO: What must Andy Cannizaro have been thinking when the Clippers game in Durham was washed out by Hurricane Ernesto? The anniversary of Katrina brings back memories for Cannizaro. The shortstop’s house is on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. The Tulane alum feels fortunate that his home was not totally destroyed.

DURHAM BULLS RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY: Durham now has been rained out three times at home this season with one last night. Durham also was washed out three times in 1999, the most since the team went Triple-A in 1998.

GREAT GATE: With or without tonight’s doubleheader against Columbus, the Bulls will have their second-best season at the gate, with 507,547 tickets sold. The Bulls would have surpassed last year’s record of 520,371 were it not for the rainouts.

MVP: Kevin Witt left Durham last week, but Tuesday won the IL MVP. Witt still is the League leader in homers (36), RBI (99), extra-base hits (66), runs (82) and slugging percentage (.577). won the honor with Durham in ’99, as did in 2001.

MAC ATTACK BACK: Darnell McDonald, like Witt a post-season IL All-Star, continued to add to his impressive credentials with two hits and a stolen base Tuesday. McDonald has a League-best 152 hits, 32 doubles (3rd in the IL), 80 runs scored (2nd) and 29 SB (5th).

USA, USA: Lefty reliever Jeff Ridgway has done a solid job for Team USA in their Olympic pre-qualifying event in Cuba. The US team is 4-1 entering second round play tomorrow, and Ridgway has pitched in three games, allowing two hits and a walk and no runs while striking out five in 2.2 innings.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: Indianapolis, Toledo and Louisville are separated by just 1.5 games in the International League’s West Division heading into Thursday’s action. The Indians (74-64) and Mud Hens (74-64) are tied for first place, while the Bats (73-66) are 1.5 games back. In 2006, the Indians have spent 115 days in either first place or tied for the top spot. .Rochester (77-62) currently leads the Wild Card race by 2.5 games over Indianapolis and Toledo.

WINNING ON THE ROAD: Indianapolis owns the International League’s second-best road record (35-32, .522) heading into Thursday’s action. Only IL South Division-champion Charlotte (41-31, .569) boasts a better winning percentage away from home.

I WILL BLANK YOU: Indianapolis RHP Scott Strickland has recorded eight consecutive scoreless outings (13.2 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 17 SO, .182 BAA). The 30-year-old is 5-2 with four saves and a 2.02 ERA in 51 relief appearances this season.

PICKING IT UP IN AUGUST: Three Indians are hitting above .300 during the month of August -- INF G ookie Dawkins (.339, 21-62, 9 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI), UTIL Mike Edwards (.324, 33-102, 14 R, 8 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI) and OF Vic Buttler (.310, 18-58, 10 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI).

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: INF Craig Stansberry blasted the Tribe’s first grand slam of 2006 in the completion of Monday’s suspended game. The slam gave Indianapolis a 7-4 victory over Richmond. Stansberry’s performance was the first four-RBI game by an Indian since INF Chris Richard accomplished the feat on May 30 at Syracuse. Indianapolis crushed four grand slams in 2005.

LOUISVILLE BATS BURN BABY BURN: RHP Mike Burns, who was traded to the for RHP Ti m B a us her on Monday, has a chance to set the Louisville franchise record for lowest ERA by a reliever (minimum of 50.0 innings). The record is held by Mark Grater, who set the mark with a 2.02 ERA in 1991. Burns left the Bats with a 1.75 ERA in 56.2 innings.

NO 1-2 PUNCH FOR THE BATS: With OF Chris Denorf ia's recall to Cincinnati Tuesday, the Bats will not have two players finish first and second in the IL batting race this season. Denorfia left with a .349 average in 357 plate appearances; he needs 389 plate appearances over the course of the season to qualify for the batting title. In his first year in Triple-A, OF Norris Hopper leads the IL with a .347 average, 37 points higher than second place Josh Phelps. The last Louisville player to lead a League in batting average was Dmitri Young, who finished with a .333 average in 1996 while with the Redbirds in the American Association.

CHASING HISTORY: RHP Scott Chiasson's 29 saves ties him for second place with Willie Smith (1994) in saves in a season in Louisville franchise history. Mike Perez holds Louisville's all-time saves record with 31 set in 1990. Chiasson is tied for second in the IL in saves and leads the League with 59 appearances. Chris Booker (2005) and Brian Shackelford (2004, led IL) appeared in 59 games for the Bats during the last two seasons. Trever Miller was the last Louisville pitcher to appear in more than 59 games when he pitched in a League-leading 65 games in 2002. Howard Hilton holds the Louisville record for most games, appearing in 70 games in 1989.

SWEET CLIMBING THE LADDER: With 139 victories, Manager Rick Sweet is moving up the all-time managerial wins list. He is currently in sixth place and needs one win to tie 's 140 victories set during the 1998-99 seasons. Dave Miley holds the all-time record with 296 wins while he was Louisville's manager from 2000-July 2003; Miley was hired by Cincinnati to become the Reds' interim manager July 28.

NORFOLK TIDES THINKING PINK: The Tides will be wearing pink jerseys for tonight’s “Breast Cancer Night’’ matchup with the Indianapolis Indians. Special Tides coupons (which were available at local Farm Fresh supermarkets) that are redeemed at the Harbor Park box office or Ticketmaster outlets for tonight’s game will direct $1 to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

FAST FIRSTS: The Tides have plated a run in the first inning in eight of their last ten games. Since August 20, Norfolk has outscored their opponents 19-1 in the first frame, and the Tides continued their stretch on Tuesday with five first inning runs in a 10-0 win over Louisville.

MAJOR LEAGUE PIPELINE: Norfolk has had 61 different players appear on their roster this year, 25 of whom have appeared on a Major League roster at some point this season. Nine other players who have been with the Tides this year have appeared on a big league roster prior to 2006, upping the total to 34 players on the Norfolk roster this season who have appeared in the Major Leagues. 15 of the 24 players on the Tides’ current roster have big league experience.

OTTAWA LYNX PENN BREAKS THE GOOSE-EGG: RHP Hayden Penn became the first member of the Lynx to win a weekly award this season when he was named IL Pitcher-of-the-Week for the week ending August 27. Penn won both his starts, against Pawtucket and Syracuse, allowing only one run and striking out 18 batters over 13.2 innings.

SENS-ATIONAL END TO THE 2006 SEASON: The Lynx may be on the brink of mathematical elimination, but that doesn’t mean there is no reason to go to the park this weekend. It’s the last call for baseball in 2006, so the Lynx are going out with style. Sunday’s game against Buffalo is Fan Appreciation Night and Hyundai Sunday. It’s all about the fans, as the Lynx will be giving away a ton of prizes. If three consecutive Lynx players hit home runs (back-to-back-to-back) in the bottom of the 6th inning, one fan will win a brand new, fully loaded Hyundai Sonata! Monday’s game marks the end of the regular season, and members of the Ottawa Senators hockey club will be here to help us celebrate the end of another great season. They will take batting practice and throw out the first pitch, in addition to signing autographs. We will also auction off their special BP jerseys to benefit Roger’s House, the Sens’ charity of choice.

LEAGUE LEADERBOARD LOADED WITH LYNX: RHP Julio Manon leads the IL with 30 saves. RHP Brian Bowles’ 3.13 ERA is the 5th-best ERA among IL starters, his 10 wins are good for a tie for 5th and his 149.2 innings are good for 7th place. Bowles is tied with teammate Brian Burres fo r the team lead in wins. Burres is tied for 5th in the IL in wins with 10, and he's tied for 9th in the IL with 110 strikeouts. Lynx 1B Andy Tracy is 10th in the IL with 20 homers, he's tied for 13 th in the IL with 70 RBI and is tied for 3 rd in walks (68). Tracy also has the highest fielding percentage among IL first basemen (.997). RHP Winston Abreu is one win behind Bowles and Burres with 9 wins (tied for 12th in the IL), the most of any Lynx reliever. OF Val Majewski is tied for 7th in the IL with six triples. Lynx catcher Eli Whiteside has thrown out 37% of would-be base stealers this season, good for a tie for 9th-best in the IL. Lynx catchers on a whole are tied for 3rd place for throwing out potential base-stealers (36%). Hayden Penn’s two complete games have him tied for 2nd-most in the IL.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX PAWSOX PLAYER AWARDS: A pair of PawSox players were presented with year-end awards prior to Pawtucket’s game on August 30 at McCoy Stadium. The awards were voted on solely by PawSox players. The 2006 PawSox MVP Award went to 1B/OF . Bailey has been a mainstay in the middle of the PawSox line-up all season and currently is hitting .272 in a team-high 130 games while also leading the club in both HR (22) & RBI (79). The 27 year-old from Washington state has been among the International League leaders in HR, RBI, and both on-base pct. and slugging pct. all season. LHP Craig Breslow was chosen as the PawSox Most Valuable Pitcher for 2006. Breslow is 7-1 with a 2.69 ERA in a team-high 39 relief appearances for the PawSox this season. The 26 year-old lefty leads the team with 77 strikeouts in 67 innings, has held opponents to just a .200 batting average, and has earned 7 saves. The Yale graduate and Connecticut native has also been recalled to Boston for two different stints this July and August.

PAWSOX GET BETTER IN A HURRY: The PawSox are expecting some major (Major League!) reinforcements on injury rehab assignments from Boston beginning tonight. Red Sox OF Trot Nixon (on Boston’s disabled list since July 31 with a strained right bicep muscle) will be at McCoy tonight when the PawSox host Ottawa at 7:05 p.m. The plan is for Trot to DH tonight, play RF on Friday, and DH again on Saturday. Nixon, who was the PawSox MVP in 1998 when he led the team in batting (.310), HR (23), RBI (74), and SB (26), has also rehabbed with the PawSox in 2004 & 2005. C (on the Red Sox DL since August 1 with an injured left knee that required arthroscopic surgery) is expected to arrive at McCoy on Friday to catch (possibly 5 innings) and then catch again on Saturday night (possibly 7 innings). Varitek, the Red Sox captain who has been sorely missed during the Red Sox current slump, played for Pawtucket in August of 1997 after being acquired from Seattle along with RHP for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb. Jason hit just .197 in 20 games for the PawSox during that final month of 1997 and made the last out of the PawSox IL playoff semi-final loss in Game 4 in Rochester (that tidbit courtesy of crack Rochester PR guru Chuck Hinkel). Varitek was recalled to Boston right after that playoff series and has been with the Red Sox ever since. SS Alex Gonzalez (Red Sox DL on August 22 – retro to August 19 with a right oblique strain) should also be at McCoy to play shortstop on Friday and Saturday nights. Gonzalez never played for Pawtucket but he did play for Charlotte of the IL in 1998. Nixon was hitting .294 with 7 HR & 47 RBI in 92 games this season, Varitek was at .243 with 11 HR & 50 RBI in 85 games, and Gonzalez was batting .270 with 9 HR & 43 RBI in 96 games. Heading into tonight’s action, the Red Sox were 9-21 since Nixon went out, 8-21 in Varitek’s absence, and 2-10 since Gonzalez went down.

SERIOUS SITUATION: The PawSox – who are a season-low 7-games under .500 at 66-73 on the year - have lost 6 of their 8 series played this month. The only winner thus far was a 3-game sweep of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at home August 16-18. They did split their most recent series (4 games) vs. Rochester this week. Since the beginning of August they have lost 3 of 5 at home to Syracuse, been swept in a 3-game set in Rochester, lost 3 of 4 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, been swept in a 2-game set at home to Buffalo, swept the 3-game series from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at McCoy, dropped 3 of 4 in Ottawa, lost 2 of 3 in Syracuse last week, and split a 4-gamer at home vs. Rochester this week. Pawtucket is 11-18-11 in their 4 0 seri es p l ay ed t o dat e.

RICHMOND BRAVES MAN OF THE MATCH: Anthony Lerew enjoyed a remarkable night Wednesday. The Braves right-hander earned a complete game win in the Braves rain-shortened five inning win over Louisville. His major contribution, however was on offense. Lerew was two for two at the plate, including a game- tying three run homer in the fifth. He is hitting .800 (4-5) with Richmond this season. Lerew also struck out seven in five innings. Since returning from Mississippi in August, Lerew has 30 strikeouts in 23 innings. Lerew’s home run was the second by a Braves pitcher in six days after the club had gone three years without a pitcher hitting a home run.

KINGS OF THE HILL: Jonathan Johnson has 12 strikeouts in his last 7.1 innings. He has allowed just two earned runs in his last 12 outings over 18.2 innings pitched (0.96 ERA). Kyle Davies has allowed just one run in 15 innings on his rehab assignment. Manny Acosta has not allowed a run in his last five appearances over five innings. Will Startup has allowed one in his last 10 appearances over 12.2 innings (0.71 ERA). After allowing four runs in his first two outings with the Braves, Rich Scalamandre has not allowed a run in seven straight appearances over eight innings. Ryan Basner has not allowed a run in his first four Triple-A outings, sandwiched around a two inning scoreless stint for Mississippi Saturday.

MASH UNIT: Davies is one of four players currently with the Braves who is on Atlanta’s Disabled List, joining OF Brian Jordan, INF Willy Aybar, and RHP Phil Stockman. The Braves have had a total of eight players assigned to Richmond on rehab assignments (others included Horacio Ramirez, Macay McB ride, Chuck James, and Kelly Johnson). Jordan, who had not previously played for Richmond, is a former football and baseball star at the University of Richmond and is in the Spiders Athletic Hall of Fame.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS EXTRA, EXTRA: With Tuesday night’s win the Red Wings moved to an International League best 16-3 in extra inning games this season. Rochester has won 11 of their last 12 and 18 of their last 22 extra inning games dating back to last season. The 16 extra inning wins are the most by an International League team since 1979 when IL records for begin. From 1998 to 2005 Rochester had just a 53-78 record in extra inning games.

THESE HOTELS AREN’T SO BAD: The Red Wings enter tonight’s game in Buffalo with a 36-35 record away from Frontier Field this season. If the Red Wings can win tonight they would have their first winning road record since 1993 when the Red Wings had a 37-34 record away from Silver Stadium.

PERFECT 10: The Red Wings entered the month of August having had a .500 or better record in nine consecutive months (May 2005 through July 2006). Rochester currently has a 14-14 record in August and needs a win tonight in Buffalo to extend this streak to 10 consecutive months with a .500 or better record. It would be the first time Rochester has had 10 consecutive months with a .500 or better record since monthly records began in 1980.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RED BARONS PLAYOFF SPOT CLINCHED, DIVISION TITLE AWAITS: Now that a playoff spot is assured, the Red Barons have their sites on the IL North title. The magic number to clinch the division over Rochester stands at 1. The Red Barons have only finished 1st in their division three previous times, 1992 (Eastern), 1999 (North) and 2002 (North). In 2000 and 2001 they were the Wild Card winner.

CAN WE HAVE A RECOUNT?: When the IL post-season All-Star Team and Special Awards were announced it was a bit of a surprise LHP Brian Mazone was nowhere to be found. All he has done this year is go 13-3 with a 2.03 ERA. He is currently tied for 2nd in wins and leads in the ERA race by almost a full run – 0.93 to be exact. With one scheduled start left he will be the likely ERA champ. If that margin holds up it will be the biggest difference in the ERA race since the Red Barons joined the League in 1989 and maybe much longer. The previous biggest gap was 0.62 in 2004 when Ben Hendrickson (Ind) beat Brad Halsey (Col). The next biggest was 0.53 in 1995 with Richmond’s Jason Schmidt beating teammate Matt Murray 2.25 to 2.78. Mazone’s 2.03 ERA would also be the 2nd lowest in the IL in the past 18 years just behind Hendrickson’s 2.02.

FIRST OF MANY EXPECTED MOVES?: The first of several possible September 1 promotions has occurred. Red Barons Player of the Year has been promoted to Philadelphia. Taking his place on the roster will be 2004 #2 pick Jason Jaramillo. The Oklahoma State University product spent the entire season at -A Reading where he batted .248 with 25 doubles, 6 HR and 39 RBI. He also walked 32 times while striking out just 55. Defensively he threw out 36 of 98 runners (.367). During the month of August he hit .304 with 10 RBI.

SYRACUSE SKYCHIEFS EASTERN LEAGUE MVP HAVING NO PROBLEM ADJUSTING TO TRIPLE-A: SkyChiefs outfielder Adam Lind was named the MVP of the Eastern League on Wednesday after hitting .310 with 19 HR and 71 RBI in 92 games this season. In 33 games in Triple-A Lind is hitting .394 (43-109) with 5 HR and 18 RBI. Lind has reached base at least once in 21 of the last 22 games and has a hit in 18 of the last 20. Over the last 20 games he has reached base at least twice 14 times and is hitting .478 (32-67) with 13 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs and thirteen runs batted in while walking twelve times compared to six strikeouts. In just 33 games played in Triple-A Lind has been intentionally walked five times already.

BARKER HAS HIS WALKING SHOES ON: SkyChiefs Kevin Barker drew four walks Tuesday night and now has an IL best and career high 80 on the season. Barker also leads the IL with a Syracuse modern franchise record 39 doubles and with one more double would become just the third player in franchise history with 40 or more doubles. Tony Bungiovanni hit 46 for the 1938 Syracuse Stars and Dom Dallessandro hit 40 for the 1936 Stars. The 31-year old leads the team with 18 HR and 76 RBI and with 2 more home runs and 4 more RBI, Barker would become the first player with 20 HR and 80 RBI in back-to-back seasons since in 1946 and 1947.

LOOKING FOR THE IL TRIPLES CROWN: SkyChiefs centerfielder Wa yne Lydo n hit his League leading 12th triple of the season Tuesday night. Butch Davis finished the 1992 season tied with B ernie Williams with 9 triples and finished the 1991 season tied for the IL lead with Jeff Gardner with 12. The last Syracuse player to finish the season with sole possession of the IL Triples crown was Glenallen Hill with 15 in 1989. Lydon is also the first player since Bell in ’91 to have 10 or more triples and 20 or more stolen bases in the same season.

TOLEDO MUD HENS STRIKE THREE: That’s a phrase Mud Hen hitters have heard a lot this season, as they have struck out a League and franchise-high 1,148 times. The aggressive swinging has, however, led to a League-high 150 home runs. Toledo is not in any danger of losing the lead in Ks as the next closest team is Syracuse with 1,046.

FIREMAN LEE: Hens closer Lee Gardner is on the brink of establishing a Toledo record. Gardner is currently tied for first on the all-time single season list with 28. Lee picked up his last save on August 18 versus Richmond but has not gotten the opportunity to break the record since. On the season, Gardner is 5-5, 3.12 ERA, with 28 saves. Eddie Gaillard saved 28 games for Toledo in 1997.

FOUR THE LOVE OF POWER: The Mud Hens have smacked quite a few home runs as a team this season, leading the IL with 150. As it has been a team effort in the long ball department, four current Hens are the main reason for all the trots around the bases. OF Ryan Ludwick leads all Hens with 27 big flies; he is also 2nd in the IL in that category. INF is next in line with 24 round trippers and INF Josh Phelps has 23 long balls. Let’s not forget OF Ryan Raburn who has crushed 20 home runs himself. When Raburn eclipsed 20 home runs, it was the first time in Toledo franchise history that four or more players have hit 20 dingers.

FOR RYAN OUT LOUD – HE’ S GOOD: Hens outfielder Ryan Ludwick was named IL Batter-of-the-Week for August 21-27. Ludwick became the fifth Hen this season to be named player of the week, joining Zach Miner, Wil Ledezma, Humberto Sanchez, and Jordan Tata. Ludwick belted six home runs and batted in 11 runs during the course of the week and led Toledo to four consecutive wins.