Ankiel makes 'em count

We mentioned that Rick Ankiel recently became the first DMBLer to appear as both a pitcher and a position player. Did you know that Ankiel's first hit in his DMBL career was a home run on Opening Day against D.C.? Well that's nothing... Ankiel is now hitting .400 on the season - 4 hits in 10 at bats and all 4 hits are home runs. That works out to a 1.600 slugging percentage! Well, it goes without saying that Ankiel has earned a little more playing time with this performance. He started the season on the bench and now has landed a role starting against right handers.

Mike Mussina's start against the Sugar Bears wasn't very memorable - 6.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 9 Ks - but it was his 363rd career start, moving him past Kevin Brown for 7th overall. His 9 strikeouts brought him to 1997, three shy of becoming only the 7th to 2000 for their career.

Hillsborough won their 5th straight, a 6-3 victory over D.C. yesterday, sending the Hitmen into first place - percentage points ahead of Vancouver. Aubrey Huff was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs to lead the Hitmen, while Felix Hernandez finally put together a good start (6 IP, 9 H, ER, BB, 5K).

Chad Billingsley stymied the slumping Endzone Animals in a 3-1 victory for Vancouver. Billingsley pitched 7.1 innings, allowing only one run on 5 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 8. Billy Wagner again notched a save, his 5th - tops in the league.

Blue Ridge not only lost the game to Amityville 4-2, but also lost catcher Chris Ianetta to injury for the better part of a month. Batting third in the game, Ianetta took the first pitch for a called strike. Ianetta protested, asking how can a pitch that bounced in the dirt be a strike, but the umpire ignored him. The next pitch came in high over Ianetta's head. Ianetta stared down the pitcher Jon Lester and made some kind of off-colored joke about the pitcher's bout with cancer. Lester then uncorked a pitch in at Ianetta's hands sending him to the ground in obvious pain. Ianetta charged the mound, punching Lester with his injured hand and then screamed in pain when he realized it was the one that the ball hit. Blue Ridge signed DMBL retread Jason Kendall to take his spot on the roster.