Game 1 goes to Newark

Both the Mighty Men and Sugar Bears sent lefties to the hill in game one and both were doing well for 4 innings. The score was 0-0 until the bottom of the 5th when the wheels fell off for John Danks and the Mighty Men. J.D. Drew started things off with a one-out single, followed by a Manny Ramirez base hit. After the next batter popped out, it looked like the Mighty Men might escape unscathed. But Asdrubal Cabrera came through with a double, scoring two runs and giving the Sugar Bears the lead. Cabrera would score on an Edgar Renteria single and soon Newark had a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Mighty Men could not figure out Saunders, who retired 10 straight at one point. Finally in the 8th, Geovany Soto came through with a 2-run homer to bring the Mighty Men to within one run, but Newark came back with 3 more runs in the bottom half. The Mighty Men managed to get two runners on the bases in the 9th, but their two big guns - Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Hamilton - failed to plate anyone. Final score: 6-2 Newark.

The Mighty Men were held to just 3 hits in the game by Joe Saunders, who pitched 8.1 innings to earn the win. J.D. Drew was the offensive hero for Newark, going 4-4 with 2 runs scored. The two teams resume later today with Chien-Ming Wang taking the mound for Newark and Marietta counters with Shawn Marcum.