Greinke dominates Animals

Zack Greinke improved to 9-0 on the season with a masterful performance against Philadelphia yesterday. Greinke held the Animals to 2-hits in a complete game shutout, walking one and striking out 14. Greinke lowered his ERA to a league-leading 1.94 and extended his strikeout league. Greinke now has 90 Ks on the season. Meanwhile, Vancouver poured on the offense, scoring 8 runs. Every starter got a hit except slumping Chase Utley.

Hillsborough held off a late rally by Bridgewater and won 7-5, retaining control of the Morris Division by 1/2 a game. Wandy Rodriguez gave the Hitmen 6.1 innings of shutout ball, holding the Mallers to 5 hits and striking out 7, but the bullpen almost gave it all up for him. It looked like the final inning would be no problem as the Hitmen retired 2 of the first 3 batters, but soon Hillsborough got into trouble. With runners on first and second Felipe Lopez lined a single that scored Erick Aybar, then Derrek Lee followed up with a 2-run double. After intentionally walking Carlos Beltran, George Sherrill finally got Jose Lopez to pop up and end the game.

Well Hoboken's Edwin Jackson gambit didn't pay off, at least not right away. Jackson was hammered for 5 runs in 4.1 innings against the Sardines, but the Cutters escaped with a 7-6 victory anyway. The Cutters, who were down 5-0 at one point, clawed their way back, until in the 9th inning, they were trailing 6-5. Jose Bautista, who had entered the game earlier when Michael Young left with an injury, hit a two-run walkoff homer to win the game.

Meanwhile, Newark, who grabbed Blue Ridge's other castoff Chris Iannetta, also got a victory despite not getting anything from their new merchandise. Iannetta was 0-3, but was hit by a pitch and scored in his Newark debut.

And of course there's Blue Ridge, who did the casting off, who got pummeled by Amityville 9-2. Matt Kemp was 4-5 with 3 RBIs and Nelson Cruz hit 2 homers and also drove in 3 runs for the Ant Slayers. Jon Garland, who replaced Jackson, was hit for 6 runs in 6.1 innings, giving up 10 hits and 2 walks, while striking out only one.

Mr. Popularity

Blue Ridge, trying to shake things up Tuesday, released pitcher Edwin Jackson and catcher Chris Ianetta. Ianetta was just the backup catcher, though it seemed he was doing an adequate job (.241/.313/.552, 3 HRs in 29 ABs). But Jackson...Jackson was a solid part of the Bombers rotation. Jackson was 4-2 with a 4.21 ERA so it was a bit surprising to see him let go. Well as soon as he hit the waiver wire, his agent was getting calls left and right. Four teams had a filed a waiver claim with the commissioner's office for Jackson. Hoboken happened to be in the right place at the right time, as far as the standings go, and were awarded the claim for Jackson. Jackson will replace Anibal Sanchez in the rotation.

Jackson first appeared on the DMBL scene back in 2004 when Harrison drafted him in the 4th round. Jackson stayed in the minors all year but was no protected for the 2005 draft. Harrison must have seen something in the young hurler, so they drafted him again in 2005, this time with their 7th round pick. This time Jackson did not last with the club and was released in May. Would the Rats take him again in 2006? This time it was Vancouver who took a flyer on the pitcher in the late stages of the Supplemental Rounds, but he didn't even make it to Opening Day. By 2007, after being draft three times as an ineligible player, teams had begun to give up on Jackson. No one signed him in '07 but in 2008, Marietta took a chance with their 15th round pick. Jackson would finally see some action in 2008, getting into 5 games, but no starts. Jackson ended up 0-2 with a 4.82 ERA and 2.14 WHIP in 9.1 innings. Marietta was unimpressed and left him unprotected. Blue Ridge drafted Jackson in 2009 in the 8th round and he was protected for the first time for the 2010 draft. So Jackson now signs for the 6th time in his short career and tries to find a home. Will it be Hoboken?