K-Rod cracks top 10 in all-time appearances

Francisco Rodriguez passed Jason Isringhausen to move into 9th all-time in appearances, with 542. K-Rod tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's game one, a 7-6 home win over Amityville.

With 31 appearances this year, Rodriguez is on pace to move into the top 5 in 2012. He passed Rick Aguilera (513) earlier this season to break into the top 10 and also is second among active pitchers, trailing only Mariano Rivera (1,156). Isringhausen is active, with 541 appearances, but hasn't signed on with a franchise this season. A busy year and K-Rod could very well reach Billy Wagner, who's 4th all-time with an even 700 games; he's averaged 64 appearances over his first eight seasons.

Though he hasn't yet recorded a save, K-Rod is enjoying a fine season in his return to Las Vegas, who selected him at the end of the 6th round this year. He's 1-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, but even more impressively, only 4 of 24 inherited runners have scored (.167).

K-Rod also stands 8th all-time in saves with 128 but hasn't been a full-time closer since his days with Blue Ridge (2008-2010). He needs only two saves to match Roberto Hernandez for 7th all-time.

Now in his ninth season, Rodriguez broke in with Philly as a 2nd round pick (20th overall) in 2004. He notched a career-high 34 saves in back-to-back campaigns in 2006 and 2007 and then was shipped to Las Vegas with Erik Bedard in exchange for Mark Teixeira and a 3rd round pick. But it wasn't the last time he'd be traded; in fact, K-Rod has been shipped off to other teams five times in his career.

By July 2008, the Rat Pack exchanged him for Joe Nathan in a deal with then-D.C. (now Bridgewater) but he never threw a pitch for the Bushslappers. Mere weeks later, he was included in a seven-player deal to Blue Ridge. He spent a few good years with the Bombers, who then dealt him to Newark for an 11th-rounder before the start of last season. He didn't spend much with the Sugar Bears either, going to Marietta in a giant eight-player deal early in the 2011 campaign.

R.I.P, Gary Carter

Baseball lost a legend yesterday with the death of Gary Carter.

"The Kid" was a long-time manager for the Honolulu Sharks. He also managed the Columbia Rattlesnakes and, most recently, the D.C. Bushslappers.

Carter was eligible in the first three seasons of the DMBL, but he never got the call. His best year during that stretch was the inaugural season of 1991, when he hit .254/.324/.406 in MLB.

More trades

Seems as though Newark and D.C. have broken open the floodgates.

Immediately following the other day's Abreu deal, D.C. has acquired shortstop Erick Aybar from Vancouver for their 3rd round pick in 2011 and prospect Cameron Maybin. Aybar was a trade deadline pickup for the Fist this past season, but his solid play earned him the main part of a platoon role down the stretch. However with young Elvis Andrus as the apparent shortstop of the future for Vancouver, Aybar was deemed expendable. Maybin has been a hot prospect for a while now, even had a stay in Vancouver's farm two years ago. The Fist hope that maybe he'll finally put it all together and live up to the hype.

Today, the third deal of the offseason was consummated between Philadelphia and Hillsborough. The Hitmen traded lefty C.C. Sabathia to the Endzone Animals for their 1st and 5th picks in 2011 and reliever George Sherrill. Sabathia was 14-9 with a 3.92 ERA for the Hitmen this season and has been a solid starter for most of his career (though the 3.92 ERA was his career low). Sherrill had a rough 2008 season, but he should be a good candidate for a bounceback in '09.

Buddahs stun Vegas, take 2 of 3

New Jersey stunned Las Vegas in a 5-1 victory, taking 2 of 3 from the Rat Pack. Although the Rats are almost a lock to make the playoffs, dropping a series to last place New Jersey can't help when it comes to positioning. With the loss, the Rats fell into 5th place overall, 1/2 game behind the Mudcats and 3 1/2 ahead of 6th place Vancouver. They're still not in any real danger of falling out of a playoff berth - they are currently 9 1/2 games ahead of 7th place Philadelphia.

Carolina inched one game closer to first place with an 8-4 victory over Arkansas. Carlos Zambrano allowed 2 unearned runs and 7 hits in 7 innings of work to improve to 13-8 on the season. Grady Sizemore, subbing for the injured Vernon Wells, was 2-5 with 3 RBIs.

The Hired Hitmen fell to D.C. 7-3. Another injury replacement, this time Howie Kendrick playing for Felipe Lopez, was 3-4 with a double in leading the O-Bomber offense. David Bush continues his resurgence for D.C. Before joining the O-Bombers, Bush was 6-8 with a 6.17 ERA for Philly and Sardine City. He's been 2-2 with a respectable 4.61 ERA since D.C. signed him, including 3 straight quality starts.

Vancouver's Ben Sheets pitched a 9-hit shutout against former teammate Hiroki Kuroda and the Endzone Animals. Sheets struck out 8 and walked 1, improving his record to 11-8. Meanwhile, Kuroda has struggled since being acquired by Philly, but facing Newark twice in 4 starts will do that to you. Yesterday's outing against the Fist was his best yet since changing uniforms - 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 7 K.

Amityville horrifies Mighty Men

Amityville stifled Marietta once again, this time a 3-hitter by Armando Galarraga. Galarraga, who had been 3-17 entering the game, blanked the Mighty Men, striking out 6 and walking only one. Yesterday, the Mighty Men were three-hit by Dallas Braden. This, of course, coming on the heels of a 3 game set where they scored 7 runs in each game... Marietta will try to reverse their fortune against Blue Ridge today.

Carolina's 5-run outburst in the 6th inning yesterday led the team to a 5-3 win over D.C. The rally was capped by a 3-run Bengie Molina home run off starter Chris Young. Meanwhile, Hillsborough was shellacked by Blue Ridge 11-6 - and it would have been worse if not for a meaningless 5 runs in the 9th inning. Chris Ianetta was 2-5 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs for Blue Ridge. Vancouver meanwhile knocked off Las Vegas in a 12-inning marathon. Victor Martinez's bases loaded single scored the winning run in the 12th to give the Fist a 5-4 victory and 3-game sweep of the Rats. After the dust settles, that leaves the Hitmen with a shrinking 4 1/2 game lead on Carolina, with Vancouver 6 games off the mark.

Philadelphia's hopes for a playoff run took a hit yesterday after a 6-2 loss to the arch rival Falcons. Arkansas exploded for 6 runs in the 6th in which David Wright hit a 3-run home run. Rookie Jair Jurrjens improved to 11-6 in the victory. The Falcons are now only 1/2 a game behind the Animals as the top challenger to the wildcards.

Mighty Men, Mudcats battle to 1-0 final

Marietta and Carolina battled to a 1-0 final in extra innings yesterday. Ervin Santana and Roy Halladay started for their respective teams. Santana, however, left in the 5th inning with an undisclosed injury. Mike Adams picked up the slack for Marietta, pitching 4.1 innings in relief and giving up only 1 hit. Halladay however, lasted 9 innings before the Cats called to their bullpen. Halladay only surrendered 4 hits and struck out 9. So at the end of the 9th inning, neither team scored and both teams had 4 hits each to show for it. Mariano Rivera and Edwar Ramirez both continued the shutout for the next two innings. In the 12th, Marietta replaced Rivera with Hong Chi-Kuo who gave up a leadoff hit to Vernon Wells. After striking out the next two batters, Kuo gave up a game winning double to pinch hitter Cody Ross. In total, the two teams combined for 13 hits and 26 strikeouts...oh yeah and 1 walk.

The Ant Slayers were clinging to a shaky 2-0 lead over Arkansas yesterday. Dallas Braden had held the Falcons scoreless over 6.2 innings, but things went south in the 9th. With Arthur Rhodes pitching, the Falcons started the inning with two hits. Rhodes was replaced after the next batter by Octavio Dotel. Dotel gave up a sac fly then served up a 2-run, game winning homer to Jody Gerut.

The final game of the evening was Las Vegas' 13-2 trashing of the O-Bombers. The Rats collected 20 hits, spoiling the D.C. debut of David Bush. Alex Gordon was 3-5 with a homer and 3 RBIs, as every Rat Pack starter had at least one hit in the game.

Ramirez family reunion?

Ramirez won a close game against Ramirez last night, although Ramirez was 0-4 and didn't factor into the result. Well, that's one way to put it. Brian McCann's solo home run in the 9th off reliever Edwar Ramirez gave D.C. the 3-2 win over the Mudcats. Taking the loss was another reliever, Ramon Ramirez. A third Ramirez, Aramis was 0-4, and Manny and Hanley were involved in other games.

John Lackey won his 10th game as Hillsborough eked out a 3-2 win over Blue Ridge in 10 innings. Lackey went nine innings in the game, watching as the Hitmen tied it up in the top of the 9th on a Carlos Lee single. Lackey ended his 9 as the score was tied 2-2, but in the top of the 10th, Shin-Soo Choo doubled in the winning run. Mike Gonzalez struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced to earn his 20th save. By the way, this is the only game of the day without at least one Ramirez...

Ok, we're going to continue the Ramirez Report. Manny Ramirez only went 1-5, but his team, Newark, won 5-3 against the Straphangers. In defeat, Alex Ramirez was 2-5 with a double. Yeah, we forgot about Alex, but not about Horacio, who just plain sucks and is a free agent anyway. He's already gotten more press than he deserves...

The Final Ramirez, Hanley, was 2-5 with a double and an RBI in leading his Cutters to a 7-4 win over New Jersey. Aaron Cook held the Buddahs to just 4 hits and one earned run in 6 innings to improve to 8-7 on the season.

Standings wrapup

D.C.'s 5-1 win over Sardine City yesterday was their 6th straight, vaulting the team back into contention. The O-Bombers sit just 3 games under the .500 mark, but still 7 1/2 games behind the final wild card spot. The Morris Division has become quite a logjam, with Philly at 52-52, Arkansas 1/2 game behind them, followed by D.C. The only team that looks out of it at this point, is Blue Ridge, who lost their 7th straight yesterday, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Sugar Bears.

Vancouver took a 3-1 victory over Marietta yesterday, winning 2 of 3 against the Mighty Men. The Iron Fist are now tied for 2nd place in the Morris Division, just one game behind the slumping Mudcats. Vancouver, with 59 victories, actually has the most wins in the division, but with 47 losses, they are statistically in third place.

In the Hanover Division, the Sugar Bears hold a more comfy lead, now up to 3 1/2 games over second place Las Vegas. The Sugar Bears have now won 4 in a row and 7 of their last 9. Vegas has been keeping pace, winning 7 of 10 and have actually moved into 2nd place, but have to wait for the Sugar Bears to come back down to earth. With their loss, the Mighty Men have dropped to third. The rest of the Hanover Division should already be thinking about next season.

Maholm, Lilly battle in 1-0 struggle

Paul Maholm outduelled Ted Lilly yesterday as the Iron Fist blanked the Bombers 1-0. Maholm was called in for an emergency start when Hiroki Kuroda was used in extra innings the day before. Maholm had won a roster spot after spring training but lost it first to Kuroda, then to Greg Maddux. Meanwhile, Maholm pitched 7.2 innings of 4-hit ball, striking out 10 and walking three in his return start. Lilly went the distance for Blue Ridge, holding the Fist to only 4 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 5. The sole run scored in the 6th when Victor Martinez doubled in Curtis Granderson to break the 0-0 tie.

Arkansas and D.C. once again went into extra innings, this time Arkansas won it 9-8 in 12. With a 5-5 tie in the 10th, D.C. scored three runs, but the Falcons came back, tying the score on a 2-run Ivan Rodriguez home run. Finally in the 12th, Skip Schumaker drove in Rodriguez on a single over the shortstop's head.

Newark won its 6th in a row behind a 2-hit shutout by Chien-Ming Wang. Wang improved to 13-2 on the season in the 4-0 victory. Ramon Vazquez was 3-3 in the game for Newark.

Newark, Amityville capitalize on lackluster bullpens

Newark won its 5th straight and Hoboken lost their 5th straight as the Sugar Bears defeated the Cutters 8-5. The Cutters actually held a 5-3 lead entering the 9th inning, but their bullpen fell apart. Ramon Vazquez singled in a run after reliever Chad Bradford had put two of the first three batters on base, followed by four straight run-scoring singles, giving the Sugar Bears an 8-5 lead. It could have been worse for the Cutters, as Manny Ramirez was retired with the bases loaded for the final out. Bobby Abreu was 3-5 with 3 RBIs and Vazquez finished 3-4.

Speaking of comebacks, Amityville mounted a nice little come-from-behind win against the Rat Pack, when Trevor Hoffman failed to hold on to a 4-2 lead. Hoffman entered in the 8th with runners on first and second and promptly gave up a three-run shot to Eric Hinske. Hoffman fell to 1-7 on the season and now sports a spiffy 9.56 ERA.

Hillsborough scored 7 runs in the 2nd inning to propel the team to a 13-3 blasting the suddenly ice cold Mighty Men. Kelly Shoppach was 3-5 with 4 RBIs, Mike Lowell was 2-3 with 3 RBIs, and Brad Hawpe was 3-5 with 2 RBIs to lead the Hitmen offense. Mighty Men starter Ryan Dempster was blasted for 7 runs in 1.1 innings as the Mighty Men dropped their 4th straight.

Justin Morneau homered in the 9th to send the D.C.-Arkansas game to extra innings. But it was all for naught, when Hideki Matsui gave D.C. the lead back for good in the 13th. But that wasn't the longest game of the evening. Vancouver and Blue Ridge went 16 innings before Chris Ianetta broke the tie in the bottom of the inning to give the Bombers a 6-5 victory.

Vancouver implodes in spectacular fashion

Vancouver seemed to be cruising, entering the 8th inning with a 6-1 lead over Arkansas, but manager Darren Daulton thought starter Greg Maddux had one more inning in him... Things looked good at first - Maddux retired the first two batters, but then it all fell apart. The next two batters singled, then Lance Berkman drove them in with a double. David Wright singled next, then Rick Ankiel hit another to drive in Berkman. That was enough for Maddux, and closer Billy Wagner was brought in to preserve the 6-4 lead. Wagner gave up a single to his first batter that made it a one-run game, then served up a 3-run homer to J. J. Hardy, losing the lead. The Falcons scored 7 runs in the inning and won the game 8-6 as the demoralized Iron Fist were sent down in order in the 9th.

Carolina got revenge on Hillsborough and evened their series with a 5-4 victory. Magglio Ordonez and Xavier Nady each had 2 RBIs and Dustin Pedroia was 3-5. John Maine improved to 9-3 on the season with a solid 6.1 inning effort. The Cats are now 1/2 game out of first.

Marietta's 10-game winning streak came to an end, smashed to bits in a 12-5 Sardine City victory. The Straphangers scored 7 runs in the 4th inning, then 4 more in the 5th to seal the deal. Starter Jon Danks gave up 8 runs, though only one was earned. Orlando Hudson's error in the 4th opened the floodgates and allowed Sardine City to extend the inning. The Sardines only managed 11 hits and one walk, but were extremely efficient, leaving only 2 men stranded in the game.

D.C. won their 7th game 13-6 against Blue Ridge. Jose Reyes was 4-5 with 3 RBIs, and almost hit for the cycle, but decided to get an extra triple instead. Reyes leads the league with 14 triples. Brian McCann also was 3-5 with a homer and 5 RBIs and Matt Kemp was 2-5 with a homer and 4 RBIs.

Newark bullpen stifles Cutters

Newark shut out the Cutters last night on three hits, mostly thanks to their bullpen. Starter Chien-Ming Wang left the game after 2 innings after a torrential downpour delayed the game for almost an hour. The key performer was Manny Delcarmen who pitched a perfect 3 innings and struck out 4. Jason Giambi and J.D. Drew drove in all of the runs on home runs in the 4th inning. It was Newark's 5th in a row.

Another red-hot team is D.C., who took their 6th straight in a 9-4 win over Arkansas. Ryan Zimmerman was 3-5 with a homer and 4 RBI and Jose Reyes contributed a triple and a home run. D.C. still has a ways to go as the club is still 8 games under .500 and 6 games behind Vancouver, who occupies the final playoff spot.

Speaking of Vancouver, Hiroki Kuroda, pitching in the place of injured Jake Peavy pitched a complete game shutout of Blue Ridge, holding the Bombers to 5 hits and striking out 2. It was Kuroda's first career victory in the DMBL. Peavy will miss another one or two starts, but after that, will the Fist keep Kuroda in the rotation? He was an early season replacement for Paul Maholm, but he was injured after his second start, replaced by Greg Maddux, who has since been the Fist's most effective starter. Will another injury bring Kuroda back into the mix? Stay tuned.

Welcome Back!

Yesterday was a day filled with welcome back parties. After many injuries, several players returned to their respective lineups.

D.C. welcomed back Ryan Zimmerman, who had been out almost two months with a rare disease he suffered while in the jungles of Borneo. Zimmerman responded by getting two hits, including his first home run of the season in D.C.'s 2-0 blanking of Hillsborough. But Zim wasn't the only O-Bomber to return. First baseman Todd Helton also returned to the lineup after being out 3 weeks and contributed a double and an RBI. That's all well and good for the O-Bombers, but Hillsborough also had a return. Ron Belliard had missed several weeks as well, but came right back into the leadoff spot. Unfortunately for Belliard, he was 0-2 with a walk and was lifted for a pinch hitter late in the game. By the way, despite the 2-0 final result, this was far from a pretty game from the two hurlers. Both teams had trouble locating the strike zone, and issued a combined 13 walks. Felix Hernandez went the distance for the Hitmen and accounted for 7 of the walks himself, while his opponent, Todd Wellemeyer, issued 5 and a wild pitch in his 6.2 innings of work.

Sardine City activated Evan Longoria, but the Sardines were idle Wednesday. Amityville also activated starter Jered Weaver, but after giving Manny Parra one more good-bye start. Parra gave up only 2 earned runs in 5.2 innings in the 2-1 loss, but walked 5 and struck out 9. Parra was sent back down to the team's farm team to work on his control. Weaver will take Parra's next start in the rotation.

I guess this whole pitching decently while walking a ton of batters was a recurring theme of the day. John Maine improved to 7-3 on the season in a 10-2 blowout of the Falcons. Maine only allowed 2 runs but walked 5 in 6 innings. Meanwhile, Vancouver's Jake Peavy limited the Endzone Animals to only 3 hits and 2 runs in 7.2 innings, but also walked 5 in the Fist's 7-2 victory. Maybe those 10 strikeouts helped a bit?

Sugar Bears end Vegas hot streak

Vegas finally lost, ending a 5-game winning streak at the hands of the Newark Sugar Bears. Placido Polanco hit a 2-run single to tie the game up in the 8th and send the game into extra innings, but the Sugar Bears quickly regained the lead. With one down in the 10th, J.D. Drew hit a home run to win the game for Newark and end the Rat Pack's streak.

Another game that went into extra innings was D.C.'s match with Vancouver. Vancouver tied the game up in the 7th at 3-3, but D.C. quickly scored two more to take a 5-3 lead. Omar Infante hit a 2-run homer to once again tie the game. Finally in the 10th, Carlos Beltran hit a 2-run homer to give the O-Bombers the victory.

Tomorrow's doubleheader will take place early in the morning, then we'll be off for the rest of the weekend. Don't forget to vote for your All-Stars if you haven't done so already!

Carolina-Sardine City double shutout ends in OT

Carolina and Sardine City were scoreless for 13 innings in yesterday's standoff. Tim Hudson left the game early with undisclosed pains, but the Carolina pen had held the opposition to only 5 hits. Meanwhile, Dustin McGowan was doing the same thing on the other side, pitching 8 innings and holding Carolina to 5 hits as well. Because of Hudson's early departure though, the team had burned through their relievers early and had to call on starter Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 13th. In the top of the 14th, the shutout was broken as Carlos Delgado popped a homer over the centerfield wall. Dice-K seemed to be cruising, striking out the first two batters, but appeared fatigued when he walked Stephen Drew. Manager Mark Carreon elected to go to Roy Halladay. On his second pitch, Conor Jackson deposited the ball into the left field bleachers, ending the game by a 2-1 count.

Las Vegas edged Newark yesterday 3-2, taking their 5th straight victory. Tim Lincecum improved to 8-1 with 7 innings of shutout ball. Lincecum held the Sugar Bears to 5 hits and 2 walks and struck out 7. The Rats scored all three runs in the 6th inning, then held off the Sugar Bears who tried to claw back in the later innings. Richie Sexson was 3-4 with 2 RBIs in the game.

D.C.'s Jose Reyes hit two triples in yesterday's 11-6 loss to Vancouver, giving him 76 in his career and 10 on the season. Not only did that break a tie with Roberto Alomar (74) for 4th all-time, but it also passed Deion Sanders (75) and put Reyes within one of the all-time mark, held by Kenny Lofton (77). The 25-year old Reyes should easily obliterate the old mark.

New Jersey and Amityville agreed to a swap for disgruntled outfielder Alfonso Soriano. Soriano had been limited to a platoon role this season, but excelled in the limited time, hitting .353 with a 1.193 OPS in 51 at bats. With Amityville, Soriano should get more playing time. New Jersey receives Philadelphia's 2nd pick next year as well as Amityville's 6th round pick.

Amityville's 10-run inning makes Ants of Hillsborough

Players of the week will be announced next Tuesday...

The Ant Slayers scored 10 runs in the 7th inning to rally past the Hired Hitmen 12-5 yesterday. The Slayers started the inning off with a solo Pat Burrell home run and capped it off with a three-run Clint Barmes homer. Torii Hunter and Garrett Atkins also homered in the inning. Burrell was 3-4 in the game.

Las Vegas rallied back from a 2-0 deficit in the late innings to secure a 3-2 victory over Blue Ridge. Alex Gordon's triple in the 7th led to the Rats' first run of the game. Then Chris Davis and Richie Sexson hit solo home runs to give the team the lead. Trevor Hoffman sent down the Bombers in order to record his 7th save.

The Landsman brothers battled it out to an 8-7 final in extra innings. Marietta took a 5-3 lead in the 3rd when Brandon Phillips hit a triple that scored Adrian Beltre. Phillips would score on a fielder's choice. D.C. took the lead in the 6th when Casey Kotchman hit a 3-run homer, giving the O-Bombers a 7-5 cushion. D.C. got in trouble the next inning though and Marietta tied it up on an Adrian Gonzalez RBI single. Finally, in the 10th, Marietta won the game on a walk-off single by Brian Giles.

Newark battled back from a 6-0 hole but the Falcons pulled it out. Arkansas led 6-0 in the 6th, but Newark chipped away until they tied it up in the 8th. But David Wright hit a two-run shot that gave the Falcons the lead back in the 9th. Ramon Vazquez hit a solo homer to lead off the 9th for Newark, closing the gap to 8-7, but Bobby Abreu grounded into a double play to end the game.

Jesse Litsch won for just the second time this season as he limited Vancouver to only one run on 5 hits in 7 innings. Litsch improved to 2-10 on the season. Chad Billingsley took a tough loss as he gave up only one earned run (and one unearned) in 5.2 innings. Billingsley struck out 8 while giving up 4 hits and 3 walks.

Joba Chamberlain was spectacular once again striking out 11 in 7 innings, giving up zero runs and 3 hits in a 9-1 Sardine City victory over Philadelphia. Conor Jackson hit two home runs in the game.

Mussina picks up milestone win against slumping Cutters

The Cutters kept their streak intact - unfortunately for them. The slide hit 8 games in the 8-3 defeat to the Mighty Men. The Cutters gave Mark Buehrle his first start of the year, but it did not go well. Buehrle lasted 5.2 innings, giving 7 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits. Meanwhile, Marietta started Mike Mussina pitched a solid game to improve to 8-2 on the season. The win, Mussina's 169th of his career, tied Kevin Brown for # 8 on the all time list. Moose is now only one behind Tom Glavine (170) and two behind John Smoltz (171), both of whom are inactive this year.

The Sugar Bears once again rallied to win, this time taking a victory from D.C. 6-5. D.C. held a 5-2 lead in the 8th, but the Sugar Bears scored two in the inning to make it a 5-4 ballgame. In the top of the 9th, Jonathan Papelbon retired the two of the first three batters, giving up a single to Jason Giambi. But after giving up another single, lefty Arthur Rhodes was brought in to face Jack Cust. Cust proceeded to smash a hard liner past the first baseman for a double, scoring both runners. Joey Devine retired the side in order to pick up his 9th save.

The Arkansas Falcons scored 8 times in the late innings of yesterday's game against Hillsborough to pick up an 11-5 win. Lance Berkman was 2-5 with a homer and 4 RBIs. Jeremy Affeldt, signed yesterday afternoon, was put to the test immediately and picked up a 3-inning save.

Crawford leads Bombers to 5 straight

Blue Ridge continued their hot streak, taking their fifth straight and sweeping Arkansas with an 8-6 win. The Falcons scored 6 runs in the first inning but the Bombers would not be deterred. The Bombers took the lead with a 5-run 4th inning that featured a 2-run Mark DeRosa home run. Neither starting pitcher lasted long. Gavin Floyd was chased in the first inning and the Falcons' Ricky Nolasco was ousted in the 4th, but the bullpens did the job. The two bullpens only gave up one run in their 12.2 innings combined - and that one earned run was given up by Jose Valverde, who left the game with an injury. Carl Crawford was 4-5 with 3 RBIs, missing the cycle for the second straight day by one home run.

Jose Reyes was 5-5, leading his team to a 7-2 win over Vancouver. Reyes had a double and a triple, plus a stolen base in the contest. Oliver Perez held the Fist to only 2 hits over 6.2 innings, but he was wild, giving up 4 walks and 2 runs. In the game, Ryan Spilborghs' hitting streak came to an end - yes we got the death threats about jinxing him yesterday, thank you Chester M. in Tacoma.

Amityville knocked off Hoboken 8-6 yesterday, perhaps basking in the positive glow of picking up outfielder Lastings Milledge off waivers from D.C. Milledge was 1-2 in the game, but the team said he brought something more to the game. "It's the intangibles that Milledge brings and a general positive outlook" said teammate Pat Burrell. Burrell was so inspired by Milledge's optimism that he hit a 3-run game winning home run yesterday.

Newark took the rubber match of their series with Vegas yesterday, but it wasn't easy. The two teams battled it out for 14 innings, until Newark broke the 2-2 tie with a 4-run inning. Vegas tried to rally but could only score one more run - OK, the Sugar Bears practically gave it to them when Joey Devine walked two batters and then Scott Downs tossed a pitch in the dirt to score the lone run, but I digress.

Light Monday in the DMBL

Yesterday was a very light day on the DMBL schedule with only three games on the docket.

Vancouver took care of Hillsborough 10-3 to take the best of three series two games to one. Jeff Clement, in a rare start at DH, was 3-5 with 4 RBIs and Chase Utley was 3-5. Amazingly, the Iron Fist didn't hit a single home run in the game. Billy Wagner, for some insane reason, pitched 3.1 innings in relief, ceding one earned run and striking out 5.

D.C. rallied to earn the victory against Philadelphia yesterday. With the score 7-4 in Philadelphia's favor going into the 8th, the O-Bombers scored three runs to tie it up. Dan Uggla and Jose Reyes both made key errors that led to a run that gave Philly the lead back. In the 9th, Jay Bruce led off with a solo home run to tie the game up at 8. Hideki Matsui then hit a 3-run home run to give D.C. an 11-8 lead. That left the 9th to automatic Jonathan Papelbon, who sent down the Endzone Animals in order for his 5th save. Matsui ended up 3-5 with 6 RBIs in the game.

In the last game of the day Team Buddah and the Sugar Bears battled it out into extra innings. The Sugar Bears held a slim 5-4 lead in the 9th, but a Fernando Tatis sac fly tied the game up and sent it to OT. The Sugar Bears did nothing in the top of the 10th. Alfonso Soriano led off the bottom with a double then moved to third on a single by Casey Blake. Finally, Robinson Cano hit a weak dribbler to second base that Mike Fontenot tossed to first base to get the out - but the game was over! "I thought if I really impressed the ump with my fundamentals, he might not notice Soriano scoring" said Fontenot after the game.

D.C. loses game, third bagger

C.C. Sabathia improved to 4-1 on the season with a victory over Blue Ridge yesterday. The Hitmen won their third straight to stay atop the Morris Division. Sabathia lasted 8 innings, striking out 9, and holding the Bombers to 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. Carolina kept pace, taking out the O-Bombers 5-1. Vernon Wells was 3-4 and Ben Molina had a 2-run homer to lead the Mudcat offense, while Daisuke Matsuzaka held D.C. to only 2 hits in his 5.2 innings of work, striking out 9 in the process. The news got worse for D.C. as third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was lost for almost two months due to injury.

Team Buddah added insult to injury to the Cutters with a 6-3 victory. Mike Jacobs was 2-4 with 3 RBIs and Casey Blake hit a two-run homer that gave the Buddahs a 3-0 lead in the 4th. Hanley Ramirez was 3-3 in the team's defeat.

Manny Ramirez hit a 3-run bomb to propel the Sugar Bears to a 6-3 victory over Sardine City. Ramirez singled in another run to give him 4 RBIs on the night. The Sugar Bears only had 7 hits in the contest, but they also walked 7 times. Newark starter Joe Saunders pitched 6 solid innings, giving up only one run. The Sugar Bears have now won 4 in a row.

Philly edged Arkansas 6-5 yesterday behind Chris Young (2-3, 3 runs) and Jimmy Rollins (3-4, 2 RBIs). The Endzone Animals kept their transaction streak alive by cutting Aaron Miles and signing Kyle Davies.