Playoff positioning

Last week, it was Vancouver and Marietta limping toward the finish line and it looks like this week, it's Carolina and Hillsborough's turns. Both teams, still atop the Morris Division, have now lost 4 straight. Hillsborough's loss is a little easier to explain. They're facing the top team in the league, the Sugar Bears, who have now won 10 in a row. The Hitmen gave them a bit of a fight, coming to within one run of tying the game up. But Joey Devine closed the door in the 9th to pick up his league-leading 33rd save. Meanwhile, the Mudcats were shamefully defeated 10-7 by the last-place Team Buddah. The Buddahs scored 8 runs in the 6th to overcome a 6-2 deficit. Casey Blake hit two home runs and drove in three runs and pinch hitter Matt Joyce hit the three-run homer that put them over the top.

Vancouver seems to have righted the ship, winning three straight after snapping a 4-game losing streak. Jake Peavy pitched a complete game, holding the Ant Slayers to 2 runs on 5 hits, and striking out 7. The Fist won the game 6-2. The Mighty Men also won, 5-2 against Blue Ridge, but have not put together back-to-back victories in about 2 weeks now. Ryan Dempster gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in 6.2 innings to get the win and Derek Jeter was 3-3 with 2 RBIs in the match.

Philadelphia stayed hot on Vancouver's tail with a 5-4 win over Las Vegas yesterday. The Animals were held to only 2 hits in the entire game, yet were able to score 5 runs thanks to the Rat Pack staff surrendering 5 walks and some very timely hitting. The Animals scored their first 3 runs after two runners walked and Mark Reynolds hit a 3-run homer. The same formula worked again in the 9th when the Rats walked the leadoff runner only to watch Mark Teixeira hit a 2-run homer. Lest you think the Rats were too unlucky in this game, the Pack only collected 6 hits in the game, though they walked 5 times. Philly remains 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.