D.C. pounds Buddahs

D.C. unloaded on Team Buddah yesterday to the tune of an 18-4 drubbing. The Slappers totalled 20 hits, scoring all but one run in the first five innings. Starter Tom Gorzelanny took most of the damage, surrendering 12 runs (10 earned) and 10 hits in just 3.1 innings. Sammy Sosa and Carl Crawford were both 4-6 and Carlos Beltran had 2 HRs and 5 RBIs in the contest. Derrek Lowe won his 3rd game while pitching six innings of three-hit ball and striking out 7.

Marietta opened up their Battle of the Basement series against Sardine City with a 2-1 squeaker. Micah Owings was lost for the better part of a month, but the Mighty bullpen did a fine job to limit the Sardines to only one unearned run on 11 hits and struck out 9 Hangmen. Cole Hamels took the hardluck loss, pitching 6.1 innings and striking out 8. B.J. Upton was 3-5 in the game and raised his average to a league-leading .393.

Straphangers break hex

Yesterday was a day for poorly-starting pitchers to redeem themselves.

Sardine City broke their long losing streak yesterday with a 4-2 victory over Blue Ridge. Cole Hamels, who had struggled so far this season, pitched six innings and allowed only one earned run, but did not factor into the decision. B.J. Upton scored the winning run in the eighth after leading off the inning with a double, then advancing on a wild pitch. Team owner Greg Calvosa said they found the cause of their struggles - a Chipper Jones jersey buried in the dirt just outside the dugout in their stadium.

Hillsborough and New Jersey threw out two of their slumping starters against each other, so you'd expect a 2-1 pitcher's duel, right? Tom Gorzelanny pitched a complete game, giving up only one earned run on seven hits and striking out 11. But that wasn't good enough! Justin Verlander pitched a solid 7.2 innings, only giving up one run, and striking out 7. He did not figure into the decision. The Hitmen ended up winning the game in the eighth when Billy Butler hit an RBI-double to take the lead.

Vancouver won their eighth straight game and completed the sweep of Hoboken with an 11-4 win yesterday. Chase Utley was 4-5 and Mike Lowell hit two homers and drove in four to lead the 18-hit onslaught.

Finally, A.J. Burnett pitched a 3-hit shutout of the D.C. Bushslappers to improve to 4-0 on the season. Burnett struck out nine and walked four in the effort. The Pack held their one game lead over the Philadelphia Endzone Animals for the best record in the league.

Hoboken rolls along

Hoboken continued their roll, smashing Marietta 14-6. Mighty Men starter Gil Meche was mercilessly pounded for 11 runs in five innings, earning the starter a spot on the bench. "He's lucky we didn't go to Paul Byrd" said owner David Landsman after the game. Meche's ERA ballooned to 6.96. Hoboken's Vicente Padilla improved to 10-3 on the season, despite giving up five runs. Josh Bard and Ian Kinsler each had four RBIs and a homer in the game. Hoboken has now won six straight and is only 1/2 a game behind Marietta, who lost four in a row.

David Ortiz continues to mash the ball, hitting two homers in a 5-4 loss to Carolina yesterday. Ortiz now has 32 homers on the year. Chris Carpenter rebounded well after his 11-run performance last week - pitching seven shut out innings, but the Vancouver pen blew it with a 5-run eighth inning which included a bases-loaded walk.

Carlos Beltran's 5 RBI led D.C. to a 12-4 rout of the Falcons. John Maine pitched six shutout innings despite surrendering six walks and five hits.

New Jersey's Tom Gorzelanny held the Rat Pack to only three hits and two runs over eight innings. The rookie has had some trouble with run support this year, but managed to get his fourth win of the season. Gorzelanny is only 4-8 despite a decent 4.17 ERA this year.

Newark barely survived their game against Sardine City yesterday. After a close 4-4 tie led the game to extra innings, the Straphangers played "small-ball" in the top of the 10th and manufactured the go-ahead run. Usually reliable B.J. Ryan was brought in to close the game in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn't meant to be. Nick Johnson scored to tie it on a Nick Swisher single and then later Manny Ramirez singled in Mark DeRosa to win it for the Sugar Bears.

Brandon Webb and Aaron Harang both pitched complete games in yesterday's South Boston-Philadelphia game, but it was Harang who came out on top. Harang limited the Animals to only one run on three hits, while striking out 10.

Manny Happy Returns

When Manny Ramirez hit his 23rd homer of the year yesterday against New Jersey, it tied him with Mike Piazza for #6 on the all-time list. It was Ramirez's 394th homer of his career. Ramirez also is sitting at 397 doubles for his career. When Ramirez hits 400 in both categories he will be only the second player (Barry Bonds being the first) to accomplish the feat.

Speaking of Newark, the Sugar Bears are now on a 9-game winning streak that has opened up a 9 1/2 game lead over the Honolulu Sharks for first in the Hanover Division. The Sugar Bears won an interesting 6-0 game yesterday in extra innings against New Jersey. Randy Johnson and Tom Gorzelanny started the game for their respective teams, but the offenses couldn't score any runs. Gorzelanny's earlier effort should be noted. The rookie held the league's mightiest offense to a mere two hits in nine innings of work. Gorzelanny walked six but allowed no runs in his effort. After pitching his nine innings, Gorzelanny was lifted in favor of Todd Jones. Jones immediately gave up two singles, then a sacrifice bunt, and then two more singles before being lifted in favor of Mike Wuertz who gave up the Manny Ramirez three-run homer to give the Sugar Bears a 6-0 lead.

One of the hottest teams has been the D.C. Bushslappers. With yesterday's 3-1 victory over Vancouver, the Bushslappers have finally reached the .500 mark for the first time this season. The Slappers have won 3 in a row and 12 of their last 14 games. John Maine improved to 6-1 on the season by holding the Iron Fist to one run on three hits and striking out 8 in 8 innings.

Rookie pitchers impress

Revenge Factor Alert: Newark's Javier Valentin went 5-5 vs his former team, the Arkansas Golden Falcons.

Marietta's Francisco Liriano pitched a complete game against Carolina, and is now an impressive 3-0 in preseason. Marietta acquired the young hurler in the offseason from Las Vegas and is counting on the rookie to be their ace.

Sardine City's Andruw Jones had a big day against South Boston yesterday. Jones was 3-3 with 2 home runs against the Gang. Jones was the second player taken by Sardine City in the dispersal draft.

Hillsborough's John Lackey had some control problems against Newark but otherwise turned in a solid effort. Lackey walked eight batters in his seven innings of work, but only surrendered one run and four hits. "Everybody is trying to gain their command in the spring" said Lackey after the game.

Rookie Tom Gorzelanny was once again impressive for New Jersey. Gorzelanny pitched seven strong innings in a bid to make the team's starting rotation. So far he is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA in the spring. Meanwhile, in the same game, Vancouver's Chad Billingsley worked his way out of a possible rotation spot. With fellow rookie Scott Olsen struggling, Billingsley has not taken advantage of the opening. "We feel that Chad will do better in AAA" said team pitching coach Dennis Eckersley. Billingsley's next turn in the rotation will be taken by Randy Wolf.

Newark and Arkansas made some roster shakeups yesterday. Newark released outfielder Ryan Church and rookie reliever Kurt Birkins to make room for a couple of middle relievers. Arkansas once again gave up on young shortstop Bobby Crosby. Arkansas had hoped that Crosby would be their shortstop of the future two years ago, but Crosby has not progressed as they had hoped. "We may yet see Crosby back in Falcon gold" said owner Stump Matiash, "but for now we need to go in a different direction."

Spring Opener Notes

Wednesday was a big day for the DMBL's newest franchises. Although they both dropped their opener, the two teams rebounded with a win in their second games.

Team Buddah was spanked by Hoboken in their first game, but shut down Marietta in game 2. Rookie pitcher Tom Gorzelanny pitched eight strong innings, surrendering two unearned runs and 5 hits. Ichiro Suzuki (2-4, 3RBI) and Preston Wilson (2-3, 2 RBI) were the hitting stars in game 2.

Meanwhile the Sardine City Straphangers were pounded by Honolulu 11-2 in their first game, but rebounded nicely in a 5-3 victory over Vancouver. Veteran Tom Glavine, a former Ironfister, pitched eight innings, while two more former Vancouver players, Andruw Jones and Ken Griffey each collected two hits.

All eyes were on Honolulu pitcher Jered Weaver in Sharks camp. The first overall pick gave up five runs in eight innings, but otherwise pitched well. "We're pretty happy with him" said Sharks pitching coach Randy Myers. "He had some jitters that he needed to work out. We expect more from him next time out."

Hillsborough's C.C. Sabathia and Carolina's Roy Halladay each pitched complete game shutouts on opening day. "I think Roy's ready" said Carolina manager Lenny Dykstra.

Arkansas first baseman Justin Morneau collected six RBIs in his game against Philly and now has nine in two games. "I'm looking forward to collecting some steaks this year" said Morneau in reference to Zane Smith's hitter of the week award sponsor.