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2003 TRIPLE-A ALL-STAR GAME NOTEBOOK The International League All-Stars out-slugged the Pacific Coast League All-Stars 13-9 Wednesday July 16, 2003 at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis. The IL's one-two Pawtucket punch of Anton French and Lou Collier combined for six hits, six runs scored, two steals, two home runs and three RBI. Red Wings All-Star Michael Restovich pinch-hit in the sixth with the bases loaded against Colorado Springs lefty Cory Vance. Vance's third pitch resulted in a passed ball to allow a run to score; Restovich walked two pitches later to re-load the bases. He went out to play right field in the bottom of the inning. Restovich also batted in the eighth against Nashville's Mark Corey, with Syracuse catcher Kevin Cash on base. Restovich grounded into a double play on a close call at first. Maurice LaCroix Lou Gehrig Most Valuable Player: Johnny Estrada, Richmond Braves At 3:30 pm, only tickets for the grass Bluff area in left field remained. Wednesday's attendance: 15,214. The figure is second only to 2001's ASG crowd of 15,868 in Indianapolis...A late afternoon threat of showers forced the tarp on the field for a short period; The IL took a quick version of batting practice after the tarp was removed, while the PCL club hit in air conditioned comfort under the stadium...Coming into Wednesday, the PCL had won four of five games since the leagues went to the IL vs. PCL format in 1998. Prior to that, the game was played in an American League vs. National League format... Former Wing Mark Smith pinch-hit in the fifth inning against Memphis righthander Jason Ryan, drawing a walk before Ross Gload's single tied the game at 6-6. Smith then scored a run after Johnny Estrada's third hit of the game. One inning later, Smith singled against Vance. In the seventh, Smith drew another walk, and he fanned against Brad Clontz in the ninth...Another former Red Wing, Richmond's Jesse Garcia, grounded out in the sixth and flied out in the eighth. He also made an outstanding fielding play in the eighth, taking a hit away from Rob Stratton..The combined 22 runs was a Triple-A ASG record, surpassing the 17 runs scored in the 1993 in Albuquerque...RWB.com caught up by phone with former Red Wing pitcher Grant Balfour, who was in Minneapolis waiting to watch the game on ESPN2. Balfour was selected to the IL All-Star staff, but was promoted to the Twins a few days after the team was announced. Does Balfour feel any regret about not being in Memphis? "I'm quite happy to watch it on TV," Balfour told RWB.com. "My ultimate goal is to be here in the big leagues. Having the chance to pitch in the Triple-A All-Star Game would be great, but at the end of the day I can only be concerned about working hard to stay up here." The Twins open an eight-game homestand Thursday...New Britain Rock Cats OF Josh Rabe made it to the semi-finals in Tuesday's Double-A Eastern League All-Star Home Run Derby. Former Red Wing Ivanon Coffie, now playing for Bowie, finished second in the contest. Wednesday's All-Star Game in New Britain was sold out.
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