Pacific Coast League drowns by hands of International League All-Stars
By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer
TOLEDO, Ohio — Durham’s Kevin Witt had a two-run homer and an RBI double to lead the International League to a 6-0 victory over the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star game Wednesday night.
Witt, who leads the IL with 23 homers and 63 RBIs, gave the IL a 3-0 lead with his home run to the picnic tables in right-center field.
Seven pitchers combined on a two-hitter for the IL. Portland’s Justin Leone was the first PCL hitter to reach base when he doubled off the left-field wall in the fifth inning.
Rain that fell much of the day ended just before the first pitch at Fifth Third Field, home of the Toledo Mud Hens, Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate.
IL starter Charlie Haeger, a knuckleballer from Charlotte who has 10 wins this season, retired the first six batters on 15 pitches. Heath Phillips, also from Charlotte, pitched two innings in relief and picked up the win.
Charlotte’s Jorge Velandia singled in the third inning and scored the first run on Ben Hendrickson’s wild pitch. Hendrickson, who is 7-2 with Nashville, gave up Witt’s homer three batters later. All three runs were unearned.
Witt, who played in Japan last season, played 39 games in Toledo in 2003 before spending the rest of the year in Detroit. Witt, in his 11th season of pro ball, had the run-scoring double in the fifth.
Syracuse’s Kevin Barker and Toledo’s Ryan Raburn hit back-to-back home runs off Sacramento’s Matt Roney in the seventh to make it 6-0.
Nashsville’s Tony Gwynn Jr. and Tucson’s Stephen Drew, brother of Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew, both went hitless for the PCL. Gwynn was 0-for-3 and hit into an inning ending double play in the sixth.
All-Star Game Notes
The PCL and IL announced Wednesday that the winners of each league will meet in a championship game on Sept. 19, in Oklahoma City. ... The PCL leads the series, 5-4. Before 1998, the game matched players from American League and National League affiliates. ... Buffalo’s Andy Marte, the winner of Monday’s home run derby, popped out to left in his only at-bat. ... Larry Parrish, a two-time major league All-Star, was the IL manager after leading Toledo to the league title last year. ... The game drew a sellout crowd of 11,300.
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