Bus Leagues Express: August 25

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Half of the International League playoff field set: On back to back nights, the Indianapolis Indians and Charlotte Knights clinched the West and South divisions of the IL respectively, locking in half of the league’s postseason bracket. Indianapolis punched their ticket by virtue of their Thursday win and Columbus’, the two time defending champs, loss. It’s the first time since 2000 that they’ve won the division and second time reaching the playoffs as a Pirates affiliate. Charlotte reduced their magic number to zero last night with their win over Pawtucket and Norfolk’s loss to Durham. The remaining two spots seem likely to come from the North division; Empire State will surely win the division, and Pawtucket and Lehigh Valley are the top wild card competitors.

Ruf leads Eastern League All-Stars: When the Eastern League announced their postseason All-Star roster Friday, it was no surprise that Darin Ruf was the first baseman. With his blast on Friday, he ran his total up to 34 homers on the season and 16 in his last 22 games. There are no Bus Leagues Top 100 Prospects, but there is some talent. Aaron Hicks is having a very good turnaround season, and his tools seem to be translating to baseball skills now. Two of Ruf’s teammates, Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez, are players the Phillies will be counting on in the upcoming seasons.

Singleton reaches 20 homers in style: A year after being traded to Houston in the Hunter Pence package, Jonathan Singleton is enjoying his best year as a professional. Although his rate stats are nearly identical to those he posted with Lakewood in 2010, his performance has mostly been consistent throughout the season. His overall stats weren’t carried by two months as he tired down the stretch. Friday night, he hit the 20 home run milestone in walkoff fashion to defeat Midland 7-6. The 20 homers shatters a career high for Singleton, and reduces Corpus Christi’s magic number to two. Conveniently, they play San Antonio this weekend, the team chasing them. That means they need just one more win to clinch their playoff berth.

Zimmer undergoes minor elbow surgery: After making nine appearances and pitching nearly 40 innings for two Royals affiliates, Kansas City first rounder Kyle Zimmer had surgery to remove some bone chips in his elbow. This is a minor procedure that plenty of pitchers have per season, and it was known before the draft that eventually, Zimmer would have to go under the knife. He was just okay with low-A Kane County but combined with his Arizona League numbers, Zimmer had more than a strikeout per inning and only eight walks. The surgery isn’t expected to affect his offseason or preparedness for spring training.

GCL Marlins throw another no-hitter: The GCL Marlins became the second team in the minors to throw two no-hitters Friday afternoon with their abbreviated perfect game over the playoff-bound GCL Cardinals. Three Marlins combined to complete the five innings without allowing a baserunner, although none of them were involved in the prior no-hitter. The rehabbing A.J. Battisto pitched the first inning, and he was followed up for an inning by a fellow rehabber, Corey Madden. Hayden Fox picked up the balance of the game and was credited with the win. It was the 17th no-hitter of the minor league season.

Pineda homers against old team: A player in his second season in the U.S. being traded can make for a difficult adjustment, but fortunately for Jeremias Pineda, he just had to drive a few miles across Ft. Myers. Pineda was traded from Boston to Minnesota in the Danny Valencia deal, but he’s struggled since the trade. His Red Sox OPS was .981, but it’s dropped nearly 400 points with the Twins. However, his home run on Friday was his first of the season, and it helped set up today’s winner-take-all game against the Red Sox. The winner will advance to the playoffs, and the loser will head to instructs.

On tap today

MiLB.TV schedule

Drake Britton hopes to continue turnaround

Justin Fitzgerald looks to keep up hot streak for Richmond

GCL Twins and Red Sox play a win or go home game for GCL finale