Tampa, D.C. find their way

Vancouver's 11-game winning streak came to an end after a 4-2 extra inning defeat at the hands of Team Buddah. Oliver Perez and Ben Sheets dueled it out before giving way to the bullpen. Troy Percival, perhaps left in an inning too long, gave up two solo home runs to Adam LaRoche and Jhonny Peralta. Vancouver threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but struck out twice with the bases loaded. Vancouver opened up a 7-game lead on second-place Philadelphia and has moved into second place overall - percentage points ahead of Las Vegas.

Tampa Bay seems to have righted their ship and won five in a row before being blanked by Blue Ridge in the second half of yesterday's doubleheader. Tampa Bay had lost 7 straight before the recent streak and have a lot of ground to make up before they threaten Hillsborough again.

Another team that has seemingly found their way back on track is D.C. After a recent slump that saw them lose 7 of 8, D.C. rebounded with a four game winning streak, including two beatdowns of fraternal rival Marietta yesterday. D.C., who had found themselves tied with Hillsborough for 5th place, have now gained back some ground, holding a 2-game lead on the Hitmen.

Don't forget that the trading deadline is this Sunday, July 20th! There are many rumors floating around and many teams have players up on the block. Will there be a blockbuster? Stay tuned...