International League Playoffs

Tim Redding allowed just 4 hits and a walk to shutout Toledo.  He struck out 12 and walked one over 126 pitches.  He's been on absolute fire lately for the Knights.  Charlotte scored three in the 3rd inning and two in the 4th inning.  All of the 3rd inning runs came on (gasp!) 2-out hits by Jerry Owens, Jorge Velandia and Ernie Young.  Catcher Gustavo Molina doubled in both runs in the 4th.  Owens and Angel/Andy Gonzalez had two hits and Josh Fields went 1-2 with two walks.  The Charlotte lineup was Owens CF, Velandia SS, Fields 3B, Young DH, Rogowski 1B, Gonzalez LF, Ruben Rivera RF, Pedro Lopez 2B and Molina C

Notable players on Toledo are Dustan Mohr, Ryan Ludwick, Josh Phelps and Mike Hessman (who hit .165 with 24 homers and 129 K in 390 PA!)

Game 2 is tomorrow in Toledo.

Mark Buehr...err, Valerio De los Santos, got torched for 6 runs in 6+ innings.  Ozzie Gui...err, Razor Shines allows him to face a good hitter in the 7th inning with 2 runners on and with his pitch count at 108.  De los Santos had been a LOOGY until about 3 weeks ago.  First pitch was doubled to center and both runners scored, effectively killing off the game.  Josh Fields had a 2-run triple with one out in the 6th to cut the lead to 3-2, but the next two batters failed to score him and the Knights wouldn't get another hit.  Casey Rogowski and Pedro Lopez both took 0-fers for the second straight game.  Agustin Montero retired all 5 batters he faced.

Game 3 is tomorrow in Charlotte, well, technically Fort Mill, SC.

A hot crowd of 1,785 saw Heath Phillips allow 4 home runs in a 9-batter span and fail to make it out of the 3rd inning as Toledo won 6-2 for the second straight night.  Ernie Young hit a 2-run homer in the 4th inning for the only Charlotte offense.  Josh Fields went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts against 22 year old Eulogio De la Cruz, who spent the regular season as a swingman in AA.  Casey Rogowski and Pedro Lopez each took the collar again and are 0-22 in the series.  Playing right field was one time Kansas City product Mark Quinn, who actually had 20 homers in 2000 and finished 3rd in the RoY voting and 17 bombs the next year before succumbing to Royal disease and forgetting how to do anything positive.  I had no clue he was in the Sox organization.  Hell, I'd almost forgot he existed.  He went 0-4 with 3 K's.

David Espinosa hit a 3-run pinch-hit home run off Jeff Farnsworth in the top of the 10th inning to give Toledo a 5-2 lead and a return trip to the IL championship series.  Josh Fields did not start this game for some reason, but did pinch hit and play 3B later in the game.  Lance Broadway pitched well, allowing two runs and four hits over six innings with 11 K's and one walk.  Agustin Montero retired all 9 batters he faced, striking out 5.  That's 16 K's for Charlotte pitchers in the first 9 innings.  Bobby Smith hit a ground rule double with the bases loaded and one out in the 7th inning to tie the game at 2.  After an IBB, Pedro Lopez grounded into a 1-2-3 DP to end the inning.  Lopez went 0-15 in the series.  The attendance was 1,567.