Plunkers end slump, Peavy deals

Tampa Bay broke their 7-game slide with a 5-4 extra-inning defeat of the Bushslappers. D.C. jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Plunkers crept back and tied it with a 3-run 6th inning. Finally, Kenji Johjima broke the tie in the 10th with an RBI single, his second RBI of the night. The loss put D.C. into a 5th place tie with Hillsborough. The Hitmen won their 5th straight - an 8-1 rout of the Hoboken Cutters. Dan Haren evened his record at 8-8 with a 7 inning performance, giving up only one run on 3 hits.

Vancouver's Jake Peavy led the Fist to their 9th straight victory and shut out the Mighty Men on only one hit. Josh Bard's single in the 5th was the only hit that the Mites could muster. Peavy struck out 13 en route to his league-leading 16th win. Peavy also leads the league with 4 shutouts on the season.

Fausto Carmona has quietly put together an excellent season for the Sardine City Straphangers. Yesterday he improved to 11-5 on the season as the Straphangers beat the Endzone Animals 6-3. Carmona now ranks 7th in the league in ERA (3.66). The Straphangers still sit on the cusp of playoff contention - 7 games behind D.C. and Hillsborough.

Division leads shrink as top cats fall

Hoboken stunned the Rat Pack yesterday 5-1 behind Matt Garza's 7 inning effort. Aaron Rowand was 3-5 and Hunter Pence had 2 RBIs to help the Cutters pull off the upset. The Rat Pack saw their lead drop to 1/2 a game as the Sugar Bears bested Tampa Bay 7-1. Jack Cust had a homer and 3 RBIs and James Shields pitched 8 innings for the W. The loss knocks the Plunkers back down to .500.

Meanwhile, Vancouver's lead in the Morris Division shrank to 1 1/2 games as the Fist dropped a 5-3 decision to the Sardine City Straphangers. Fausto Carmona pitched a complete game and improved to 5-3 on the season. Kurt Suzuki hit two homers in the win. The Sardines have now won 9 of their last 12. The slumping Endzone Animals were able to capitalize on the loss by taking a 6-3 win over the Falcons. Yovani Gallardo won his 8th of the season by holding the Falcons to 3 hits and 3 runs over 6 innings. Albert Pujols was 3-4 with 3 RBIs in the contest.

Shakeup in Hillsborough

The Hillsborough Hitmen shook up their roster yesterday after mediocre results in the first two weeks of the season. The Hitmen placed injured first baseman Dmitri Young on the disabled list and released Ryan Spilborghs and Bengie Molina. Spilborghs was 1-9 in four games and Molina was 1-10. The Hitmen picked up outfielder Ryan Ludwick, cut from Vancouver's roster before the season started to take Young's place. Former South Boston Gang backstop Ramon Hernandez was signed to take over catching duties, and DMBL veteran Mike Cameron will take over in the outfield.

Carlos Pena's 4 RBIs led the Rat Pack to a decisive 11-3 victory over the Plunkers. Tampa starter Jered Weaver was pounded for 7 runs in 1.1 innings. Every player in the Rat Pack lineup got at least one hit, and only two of them didn't have at least two. Starter Chris Young and reliever Francisco Rodriguez combined for 16 strikeouts in the game.

Philadelphia's 8-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of fraternal rival Carolina, 5-1 yesterday. Tim Hudson held the Animals to one run and four hits in 8.1 innings. Paul Konerko, subbing in for injured Ryan Garko, got his first hit of the season - a two-run homer in the fifth of Johan Santana.

Fausto Carmona rebounded from injury and a putrid start with a solid outing against Team Buddah yesterday. The Straphangers routed the Buddahs by a 10-4 margin. Kevin Youkilis hit a three run homer and Ryan Theriot hit a bases-loaded triple to lead the Sardine City offense.

Buddahs drop 9 in a row, Rats lose first

The Buddahs were so full of hope after winning their opening day matchup, but things have gone very sour since then. Team Buddah has now lost their 9th straight game after a 4-3 nailbiter to the Morris-leading D.C. Bushslappers. In the nine game skid, the Buddahs have been shut out three times and have scored more than 3 runs only once. New Jersey faces Hoboken tomorrow - the only team that they have beaten thus far - and then they face Marietta Sunday, so maybe they'll break that slide yet...

Roy Halladay shut out the Falcons yesterday in a 6-hit complete game. For Halladay it was his first win of the season. Halladay moved into the top 10 in career shutouts, tied with Andy Pettitte. Grady Sizemore's 3-run homer in the third gave the Mudcats all the runs they'd need, though they added a few more just for good measure.

Rich Hill of Vancouver had the other shutout of the day, though not a complete game. Hill only pitched six innings, but struck out 7 in the 5-0 victory over the Bombers. Hill had been roughed up in his previous two starts - he had a 17.36 ERA entering the game - so it was good to see the lefty right his ship, at least for one start. Troy Percival pitched a 3-inning save, his first since 2005 when he was with the Phoenix Dragons.

Sardine City's Fausto Carmona returned from injury (perhaps a bit early?) and was rocked by the Mighty Men. Carmona lasted only two innings and gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks. Meanwhile Marietta's Daniel Cabrera was brilliant, picking up his first career complete game and holding the Sardines to one earned run on five hits, while striking out eight. Third baseman Ryan Braun committed his sixth error of the season in the game.

Finally, the Rat Pack was dealt their first loss of the season, an 18-5 drubbing by the Sugar Bears. Jack Cust had two home runs and 6 RBIs and Bobby Abreu was 4-6 with 4 runs and 3 RBIs to help the Sugar Bears remind everyone that they are still the team to beat. The two clubs face each other again today - remember that this week they are offering a free preview of the DMBL Extra Innings package!

Sardine City suffers first injury

The Sardine City Straphangers suffered the first real injury of the season when starter Fausto Carmona left after the first inning while hobbling to the dugout. Carmona drew the wrath of Sardine City management. "We were really hoping to get more than 14 pitches out of our #1 starter--ugh" said co-owner Chris Calvosa after the game. Carmona will be replaced by Scott Baker, recently released by Hoboken. To make room the Straphangers will release outfielder Alfredo Amezaga. Amezaga, who had been told as a practical joke that he was one of the final roster cuts before Opening Day, at first thought it was a joke. "No way they are going to cut me after that," he said as his bags were being taken to a taxi cab, "but those heartless bastards did anyway!"

Tampa Bay, after chasing out Carmona, went on to win their first victory of the season. Starter Roy Oswalt went the distance, giving up only one run on six hits. Kenji Johjima went 3-4 for the Plunkers.

Vancouver pounded away on Hillsborough for the second straight day, winning 11-2. Andre Ethier was 4-4 with 2 RBIs and David Ortiz hit his second homer of the season. Hitmen starter Justin Verlander was shelled to the tune of seven runs in 1.1 innings.

Jason Giambi's two home runs propelled the D.C. Bushslappers to a 5-2 win over the Endzone Animals. Giambi hit his first shot in the first inning, a 2-run bomb off Johan Santana. Giambi then hit a solo shot in the fifth.