Hamels, Galarraga battle in classic duel

Now that's what I call a pitchers' duel! Sardine City and Amityville battled it out to a 1-0 finale, with the Sardines taking the win. Cole Hamels, starting for the Straphangers, got into some early "trouble" when he gave up a double to Ryan Garko. It would be the only hit he would give up. Hamels subsequently walked Jason Kubel, but struck out Torii Hunter to get out of the jam. In the bottom of the inning, Carlos Quentin hit a solo home run to give the Straphangers the 1-0 lead. Miguel Montero would get a double in the third inning, and that was all for the two teams' offenses. Okay, well Raul Ibanez would also walk in the 4th, but the bats would go silent after that. In fact, Hamels would retire 24 straight batters before he allowed Johnny Damon to reach base in the 9th on his own error. Taylor Buchholz came in to strike out the final batter and earn his 9th save. Hamels ended the night pitching 8.2 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk and striking out 7. Armando Galarraga, taking a tough loss, fell to 2-9 on the season, despite giving up only one run on 2 hits in 8 innings. Galarraga walked 1 and struck out 8.

Darren Oliver is up to his tricks again. Vancouver and Hillsborough, knotted at 3 ended up in extra innings again. Oliver, who had already pitched 2 shutout innings in the matchup, took the mound in the 10th. Sure enough, Oliver surrendered a home run to Mike Lowell, giving the Hitmen a 4-3 lead. The Fist went down in order in the bottom of the inning, sealing the fate of Oliver, who lost for the 4th time in 5 games - all to the Hired Hitmen. Vancouver's series with Hillsborough is now over, but the club has already announced that the next time the two clubs face each other, Oliver will be banished for the series. "We know Darren's got an illegitimate family living in Hillsborough" said bullpen coach Gregg Olson, "so we want to make sure his emotions don't get in the way of his pitching." Clubhouse cameras also caught Oliver accepting a package from a shady character wearing a Hillsborough baseball cap. Oliver denied any charges of impropriety.

Peavy schools Sardines

Jake Peavy put on a pitching clinic yesterday against the Straphangers. Peavy held the Hangmen to only 3 hits in pitching a complete game shutout, while striking out 14. Peavy becomes the first in the DMBL to 9 wins. Peavy's opponent, Cole Hamels, didn't do too shabby either in the contest. Hamels pitched 8 innings of 4-hit ball and struck out 8, but he gave up two runs, one of which was earned, and ended up on the losing end. It's now eight straight starts by Hamels in which he's given up two earned runs or less.

Tampa Bay pummeled the Newark Sugar Bears 10-3 behind Adrian Gonzalez's 4 RBI and 2 homers. Mark Buehrle held the Sugar Bears to 3 hits and one run in 7 innings. James Loney was 3-4 and Brian Roberts had 3 RBIs for the Plunkers.

Arkansas stunned the Endzone Animals yesterday with an 11-6 victory at the Eagle's Nest. Barry Bonds, Ryan Ludwick, and Adam Dunn each had 3 RBIs and at least one homer (Bonds had two).

Randy Wolf won his final start (7IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 6 K) for the Mighty Men, after getting repeatedly pounded in all his other starts. Unfortunately for Wolf, he still found a pink slip in his locker after the game. The Mighty Men activated starter Micah Owings from the disabled list and needed to make room. Wolf was last seen by the Mighty Men's headquarters throwing eggs with Brett Tomko driving the getaway car.

Post-Weekend State of the League

The Golden Falcons fell into last place in the Morris Division after a tough series with Newark over the weekend. The Falcons picked a bad time to get hit with various injuries, Alex Rodriguez, being the most notable absentee. After the sweep, the demoralized Falcons were shutout 8-0 by the Sardine City Straphangers. Cole Hamels finally got some run support and improved to 3-5 with 7.1 shutout innings. Hamels struck out 10. The Sardines have now won three in a row.

Some recent difficulty has left both division leaders hanging by a thread to their leads. The Rat Pack dropped two of three to the Bushslappers, including a one-run loss early Sunday, and is now clinging to a 1/2 game lead over the Sugar Bears. The Rats opened up a new series against the Morris-leading Endzone Animals by winning a close 4-3 (another one-run victory!) game. The Endzone Animals hold a one-game lead against the league's hottest team, the Vancouver Iron Fist, winners of 13 of their last 15 games.

Meanwhile the playoff picture begins to take shape as only six teams currently sport a winning record. The Tampa Bay Plunkers have been slumping lately and now trail sixth-place Hillsborough by a game and a half, while Carolina has fallen four games under .500 (3 games out of 6th). Hoboken, Blue Ridge, and Arkansas remain on the fringes of playoff consideration, but a hot streak could put either of these teams right back in the mix.

The Mighty Men have taken over the last place slot, while New Jersey and Sardine City keep it close to the bottom. The three teams have taken turns at the bottom.

Look for the All-Star Game ballot later this week. We'll be rolling out the Get Out the Vote buses in your neighborhood soon.

Arkansas, Carolina heat up

Arkansas once again unleashed their offensive might on Team Buddah. After pounding on them Tuesday 12-1, the Falcons scored another dozen in a 12-3 final. Adam Dunn, returning to the lineup after a weeklong injury, hit two homers and drove in four runs. Newcomers Ryan Ludwick (2-4) and Yorvit Torrealba (2-4, 3 RBI) also factored into the scoring. The Falcons scored early in the game, tallying 7 runs in the first inning.

Lefty Barry Zito has been struggling to get wins despite pitching fairly well this year, but that changed yesterday. Zito held the first-place Rat Pack to three hits in 7.2 innings, giving up only one run, to improve his record to 2-3. Travis Hafner started the scoring in the first inning with a 3-run dinger. The Cats have now won 4 of their last 5 and are only one game under .500.

D.C.'s John Maine outduelled Mark Buehrle in a 2-1 nailbiter against Tampa Bay. Maine held the Plunkers to one hit in 6.2 innings and struck out 8. The Bushslapper scored all their runs in the first inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Carlos Beltran and Paul Lo Duca.

Poor Cole Hamels had his fifth straight start in which he gave up 2 runs or less and yet his team could not provide enough run support. Hamels pitched six innings and struck out 10, giving up only two runs on four hits and four walks. But the Sardines could only muster three runs in support and ended up losing 4-3 after the Endzone Animals rallied to score two runs in the ninth. In his last three games, the Straphangers have scored seven runs combined for Hamels.

Randy Johnson's win over the Bombers yesterday put him in a tie with Pedro Martinez for second overall at 206. He's got a ways to go to catch all-time leader Greg Maddux at 221.

David Ortiz's 6 RBIs powered Vancouver to a 15-3 thrashing of Marietta. Chad Billingsley improved to 4-0 with a 6 inning, 3-hit performance, in which he surrendered 2 runs and struck out 6. Vancouver has now won 7 straight and nine of their last ten.

Straphangers break hex

Yesterday was a day for poorly-starting pitchers to redeem themselves.

Sardine City broke their long losing streak yesterday with a 4-2 victory over Blue Ridge. Cole Hamels, who had struggled so far this season, pitched six innings and allowed only one earned run, but did not factor into the decision. B.J. Upton scored the winning run in the eighth after leading off the inning with a double, then advancing on a wild pitch. Team owner Greg Calvosa said they found the cause of their struggles - a Chipper Jones jersey buried in the dirt just outside the dugout in their stadium.

Hillsborough and New Jersey threw out two of their slumping starters against each other, so you'd expect a 2-1 pitcher's duel, right? Tom Gorzelanny pitched a complete game, giving up only one earned run on seven hits and striking out 11. But that wasn't good enough! Justin Verlander pitched a solid 7.2 innings, only giving up one run, and striking out 7. He did not figure into the decision. The Hitmen ended up winning the game in the eighth when Billy Butler hit an RBI-double to take the lead.

Vancouver won their eighth straight game and completed the sweep of Hoboken with an 11-4 win yesterday. Chase Utley was 4-5 and Mike Lowell hit two homers and drove in four to lead the 18-hit onslaught.

Finally, A.J. Burnett pitched a 3-hit shutout of the D.C. Bushslappers to improve to 4-0 on the season. Burnett struck out nine and walked four in the effort. The Pack held their one game lead over the Philadelphia Endzone Animals for the best record in the league.

Day of Blowouts

D.C. pounded the snot out of Carolina yesterday, 15-8. Esteban German, filling in for the injured Luis Castillo, was 5-6 with three doubles and four runs scored. Lyle Overbay was 4-5 with 6 RBIs and Alfonso Soriano went 3-6 with 4 RBIs. Altogether, D.C. slapped out 20 hits and walked 10 times. Carolina starter Jason Jennings, no stranger to getting bitchslapped (bushslapped?), surrendered 13 runs and 14 hits in 4.1 innings.

Meanwhile in Hillsborough, the Hired Hitmen scored early and often against the South Boston Gang, taking the contest 12-4. Jason Bartlett was 3-3 with 2 stolen bases and Brad Hawpe hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth. With the win, Hillsborough evened up their record at 53-53.

Finally in Vancouver, the Iron Fist were once again shellacked, this time by Arkansas, 16-4. It looked like a close contest in the beginning. Starter Ben Sheets had given up five runs, but Vancouver climbed back to make it a one run game after a 4-run fourth. Then in the eighth all hell broke loose. You knew it was going to be a bad inning when Wes Littleton hit Barry Bonds with the first pitch. Both benches cleared, but it was mostly just a lot of screaming. Bonds was forced to leave the game. Littleton was able to get two outs, though he allowed two more to score, then the two-out rally began. Brian Sweeney was called in to stop the bleeding, but instead cut the wound deeper. Seven runs crossed the plate that inning and four more in the ninth. Orlando Cabrera was 5-5 in the game with 4 runs and 4 RBIs and Brandon Phillips also drove in four.

Meanwhile, in a return to sanity, Las Vegas and Sardine City's starters duelled but Vegas prevailed 2-1 in the end. Cole Hamels pitched well for the Sardines (7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K), but it was not enough against Oliver Perez's brilliant outing. A rare sight this year (Perez is 5-14 with an 8.87 ERA on the season), Perez pitched 8 innings, surrendering only one run and seven hits, while striking out seven.

Newark rallied to beat Team Buddah yesterday. The Buddahs were clinging to a 3-2 lead late in the contest, when Bobby Abreu hit a two run shot off Todd Jones, giving the Sugar Bears the lead back. Both starters pitched brilliantly but were not factors in the decision. Tom Gorzelanny limited the mighty Sugar Bear offense to three hits and one run in six innings, while Javier Vazquez struck out 12 Buddahs in 6.1 innings for the Sugar Bears.

Liriano-no? Almost

Yesterday was a light day - there were only four games.
Brett Myers was solid again yesterday, only allowing one earned run in 6.2 innings, but still lost, dropping to 0-12 on the season. That sort of thing tends to happen when your opponent almost throws a no-hitter against you! Francisco Liriano held the Rat Pack hitless over eight but, after walking the leadoff batter in the ninth, manager Graig Nettles pulled Liriano for specialist Chad Qualls, who promptly gave up the first hit of the game to Marcus Giles. Mariano Rivera came in to shut the door, but gave up a three-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman. Suddenly the lead was very shaky, but Rivera retired the next three batters in order. Liriano was upset that he didn't get to go for the no-no, but after 118 pitches and a DL stint recently in his past, Nettles wasn't going to take any chances. Liriano finished the night 8 IP, 1 ER, 0 hits, 3 walks, and 11 Ks.

Randy Johnson mowed down the Mudcats, limiting them to two runs over six innings and striking out nine. Johnson improved to 7-2 on the season and is now only 27 strikeouts away from 3000 and seven wins from 200 for his career.

D.C. edged Philadelphia after dropping the first two games against the Animals. Alfonso Soriano was 3-4 with two homers and three RBIs. Adam LaRoche had four RBIs in a losing cause.

The Sharks pounded away on Cole Hamels and the Straphangers. Hamels was not pitching badly, but left with an undisclosed injury in the fifth. Hamels picked up the loss and is now 2-10 on the season, but will miss at least two weeks. No word on who his replacement will be. Meanwhile, Kenny Rogers had a solid outing after returning from AAA to replace the injured Roy Oswalt. Rogers pitched 8.2 innings while surrendering only one earned run.

Blog Bits: In case you missed it, Greg Maddux's last start put him over 3000 innings for his career... Mike Piazza passed Edgar Martinez (1949) for eighth all-time on the hits list. Piazza now has 1950. Tony Gwynn is next with 1960.

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.