D.C. stuns Philly at home to move into second

D.C. scored a big upset over the weekend, taking two of three against the Endzone Animals. Shawn Hill pitched 7.2 shutout innings and struck out 11 to help the Slappers win game one 5-0. Philly evened it up (and then some) with a 14-0 drubbing in game two. Brandon Webb pitched a 6-hit complete game and Mark Teixeira hit 2 homers and drove in 5 runs to lead the Animals. Game three was a close match. With a 6-5 lead going into the seventh, D.C. rallied for three runs to take the lead for good. Ryan Zimmerman had two triples and scored three runs to lead the Slapper offense. D.C. ends the series in a tie for second place with Philadelphia, 2 1/2 games behind Vancouver.

As hot as D.C. is, that's how cold Hillsborough has become. The Hitmen broke their five-game losing streak with a 10-9 win over first-place Vancouver. Ryan Howard was 2-4 with 4 RBIs and five other Hitmen had three hits each in the game. The Hitmen now sit in fourth, one game under .500 (29-30).

Tampa Bay is back on the radar after taking two of three from Sardine City. Tampa Bay is now one game over .500 and in sixth overall. Tampa was down 3-0 entering the ninth inning, but a pair of walks left reliever C.J. Wilson with a bases loaded jam. Casey Blake, pinch hitting for Kenny Lofton, hit a grand slam to give the Plunkers the 4-3 win. Lee Gardner retired the side in order for his 10th save.