Litsch trying to forget about dreadful start

Arkansas continued their mastery over division rival Hillsborough, sweeping the Hitmen after a 3-2 final. The Falcons got on the board early in the first inning on a sac fly by Rick Ankiel, but the Hitmen tied it up in the 6th on a Billy Butler single. Carlos Lee gave them the lead the next inning with a solo home run, but the Falcons tied it up in the bottom half on a sac fly. In the 8th inning, David Wright hit a double that scored Jody Gerut, giving the Falcons the 3-2 lead. Joakim Soria pitched the 9th for his 15th save. The win was Arkansas' 6th straight and the Falcons now stand only one game below the .500 mark and 6 games behind idle Vancouver for the 6th playoff spot.

Ben McDonald favorite Tim Lincecum pitched a complete game victory over the Sardine City Straphangers to improve to 14-1 on the season. Lincecum held the Sardines to 2 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks. Carlos Quentin drove in both runs for the Straphangers and had 2 of the 3 hits.

Lincecum is now tied with Newark's Chien-Ming Wang for the league lead in victories after Wang picked up his 14th in a 10-4 drubbing of D.C. Wang's outing (6 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 5 K) was far less impressive however. Newark spread out the offense as all 9 starters got at least one hit in the game.

New Jersey's Jesse Litsch picked up his 5th victory, improving to 5-10 after an 8-3 win over the Ant Slayers. Listch, as you may recall, got off to a disastrous start. After a 7-4 loss to Newark back in May, Listch's stat line read 1 win, 10 losses, 8.11 ERA. With a schedule looming ahead that included games against Vancouver, Las Vegas and Hillsborough, things didn't look like they'd change any time soon. But Team Buddah stood by him faithfully and are now being rewarded. After two solid starts against Vancouver (and 1 win to show for it), Litsch's confidence appeared to be returning. He got roughed up against the Rat Pack, but bounced back with another W against Hillsborough. Since that forgetable day in Newark, Litsch has gone 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 8 starts. He's averaged more than 7 innings per start, giving the bullpen a much-needed break.