Deja vu for Vegas, Buddah

Don't forget that tomorrow there will be a morning doubleheader and then we're off for about a week, resuming games, hopefully, on June 1. Take advantage of the time off to vote for the All-Star Game!

New Jersey and Las Vegas experienced a weird case of deja vu yesterday as both lost two key players to injuries, just as the two have recently returned from DL trips.

Team Buddah lost outfielder Alfonso Soriano in his third game back from injury. Soriano only had 9 at bats before succumbing to another injury. Hey, at least Team Buddah won the game 9-2 as his replacement at DH, Yuniesky Betancourt, went 2-3 with 2 RBIs.

Meanwhile Las Vegas just activated shortstop Jeff Keppinger on May 18th, but he only lasted three games as well. Keppinger went 3-4 in his final game and was replaced by outfielder Ryan Church at shortstop. "I never played shortstop, man!" said a terrified Church "Whose idea was this???" Church's anguish only lasted two innings, but he was still seen shaking in the clubhouse after the game.

Sardine City's Phil Hughes outdueled Vancouver's Chad Billingsley in a 1-0 match. Hughes struck out 11 in seven innings of work, while only giving up three hits. Billingsley, who struck out 9 in 6 innings, lost his first decision of the year. Billingsley got in trouble in the sixth when he gave up a leadoff single to B.J. Upton. After striking out the next batter, Billingsley loaded the bases on two walks. Billingsley struck out the next batter, but Willy Taveras lined a base hit up the middle that scored the games only run. Billingsley then struck out his third batter of the inning, but the damage was done.

Justin Verlander was impressive in a complete game 6-3 victory over the Mudcats yesterday (7 H, 10 K, 1 ER). Nevertheless, the Hired Hitmen have announced that they will be offering many of their players up for trade, including Robinson Cano, Ryan Howrd, Brad Hawpe, C.C. Sabathia, and Verlander. "Some people say it might be a little early to write off this season" said Hitmen owner Brent Campbell, "but the we want to get a head start on next season. The early bird gets the worm."

Sardine City suffers big losses

Hoboken scored five runs in the first inning against Arkansas and then kicked it into auto-pilot the rest of the way. Luckily for them, it was enough, escaping with a 5-4 win. Hanley Ramirez was 4-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Miguel Cabrera was 0-5 and ended his league-high 16-game hitting streak. He may not be on top for long as David Wright extended his 15-game streak with a 1-4 night.

Sardine City took a tough 16-3 loss, but they ended up losing even more. Rookie hurler Phil Hughes was lost for a month with an undisclosed injury. Scott Baker seems to be the likely replacement, but the Straphangers haven't issued a public statement yet.

Mariano Rivera made his 800th appearance for the Mighty Men. Unfortunately for them, he ended up taking the loss - a 5-4 squeaker to Hillsborough. The Hitmen have now won six straight and have moved up to second in the Morris Division and fourth overall (though in a weird scheduling quirk, they actually are percentage points behind 5th place Tampa Bay).

The Buddahs took out their offensive frustrations on Blue Ridge yesterday. Tied up at five and going into extra innings, the Buddahs scored six runs in the top of the frame and won 11-6. It was the second highest-scoring game of the season for New Jersey. Kazuo Matsui, entering the game for starter Ty Wigginton, was 3-3 with 3 RBIs, and Shane Victorino was 3-6 with 2 doubles.

Slappers get slapped

D.C. kept falling to new lows, this time losing 12-0 to the punchless Team Buddah. Joe Blanton pitched seven shutout innings, giving up only five hits to win his first of the year - this despite a 2.40 ERA. Buddah shook up their lineups a day ago after team owner Mike Hornick gave an inspirational locker room speech. Josh Fields, who was 3-5 with 4 RBIs, said the talk gave him the drive to score more runs. "We were all wearing WWBD wristbands" said Fields..."what would Buddah do? Indeed..." Meanwhile, D.C.'s luck could not be any worse as starter Sean Marshall, who was picked up to start in place of injured starter Shawn Hill, was hurt in the first inning. "I don't know what we'll do" said owner Jamie Landsman. "We're running out of possible Shawns." Shawn Chacon and Shawn Camp are eagerly awaiting a phone call. D.C. has now lost seven of their last eight.

Since we're on the topic of lopsided wins, Philly one-upped the Buddahs by shellacking Hillsborough 16-0. Matt Cain pitched 8.2 innings and surrendered only 4 hits, while striking out 7. On the offensive side, Gary Sheffield had 2 homer and 4 RBIs. The Animals scored 11 runs in the final three innings.

Sardine City's Phil Hughes won his first DMBL career victory after holding the Mighty Men to 2 runs and 3 hits in 6.1 innings. B.J. Upton was 4-6 with 3 runs and 2 stolen bases and Raul Ibanez was 3-5 with 3 RBIs.

Moises Alou had 6 RBIS and was 3-6 to lead Vancouver to a 15-6 blowout win over Blue Ridge. Vancouver scored 11 runs in the final two innings, particularly inflicting damage on reliever Trevor Hoffman (2/3 inning, 6 earned runs, 6 hits, 1 walk). Alou now has a 13-game hitting streak, the second longest active streak.

The Rat Pack held on to a 6-5 win over Newark, getting some revenge for the two-game sweep when the Rats last visited Newark. Most of the scoring happened early on in the game - the game was tied at five from the fourth inning on. But in the ninth inning, Placido Polanco led off with a double, then Matt Holliday hit a double to drive Polanco in for the win.