Hamels return sparks Sardine City

Vancouver's David Ortiz had a great weekend. He started out by hitting a pair of homers for Vancouver against Carolina on Friday, then followed up that effort with a 3-homer performance on Saturday. Five homers in two games, but they were all solo shots. Ortiz came back on Sunday to hit a two-run homer off Hillsborough's Felix Hernandez. After dropping four in a row to begin the week, Vancouver finished it up by taking three of four over the weekend.

Cole Hamels returned from injury Sunday for Sardine City and quieted any Brandon Claussen fans. Hamels shut down the Sharks, holding them to one run on three hits and two walks in six innings. Claussen will go back to sitting at the far end of the bench. Claussen was decent in his two game audition (1-0, 2.38 ERA), but the club decided they would be better off if they didn't tempt fate.

The Hoboken Cutters six game winning streak came to end Sunday in extra innings against Marietta. It took them 14 innings and eight pitchers, but the Mighty Men battled it out and stopped Hoboken's streak. The Cutters, still reeling from the tight loss, were stunned by New Jersey in their second game Sunday, 14-5.

Speaking of New Jersey, the team could not be any hotter. After winning only one of their first 10 games, the Buddahs have come back to win 6 of their last 7. The Buddahs are led by some very solid pitching, keeping their games close enough to squeak out some victories. Particularly effective has been first round selection Joel Zumaya.

Scrubs become stars

From the "Who'd have thunk it?" file: Brandon Claussen notched his first win of the year for the Sardine City Straphangers. Claussen pitched six innings allowing only two earned runs and three hits, while striking out four and walking two. The Sardines have now won both games that Claussen has started since taking over for Cole Hamels. Hamels pitched well in his only start and was the club's #1 draft pick, so there's not likely a controversy brewing here, but can Claussen keep it up?

Speaking of nobodies making good, South Boston's Greg Norton is off to a fine start. Norton hit his fourth homer of the season while going 4-4 last night against Las Vegas. Norton is batting .444 on the year with 10 runs, 11 RBIs, and a 1.252 OPS. While not officially a DMBL rookie, this is the first year that Norton has played.

Carolina has taken the role of punching bag for the two newest teams. After dropping two of three to Sardine City last week, the Mudcats have now dropped the first two games against New Jersey, both in extra innings. All of Team Buddah's victories have come in extra innings. In fact, Team Buddah has played in the most extra inning games in the league (5) and has a 3-2 record in those games.