Slowey, Lester duel to 1-0 finish

Don't forget to get those votes in for the All-Star game! Less than two weeks away!

New Jersey and Amityville battled it out in a 1-0 pitchers duel. Seth Smith broke the tie in the 6th with a solo home run. Kevin Slowey went 8.1 innings for Team Buddah, holding the Ant Slayers to only 4 hits and striking out 5. John Lester was the hard luck loser for Amityville, pitching 7.1 innings and striking out 8.

Ichiro Suzuki kept up his hot hitting, going 4-6 with 3 RBIs and leading Marietta to a 15-9 victory over Hoboken. The "other Suzuki", Kurt, also contributed a 3-6, 3 RBI game including a home run. The Mighty Men scored in every inning except the 9th, when they just sent up random fans from the bleachers to bat in their place.

Hillsborough thoroughly dominated Arkansas in a 13-2 win yesterday. Not only did the Hitmen score 13 runs on 18 hits and saddle Falcons starter Ricky Nolasco with 10 earned runs, but they also held the Falcons to only 5 hits. Ryan Howard fell one double short of hitting for the cycle.

First half, pitching review

Though he didn’t start the all-star game, it’s tough not to call Tim Lincecum of Las Vegas the first half’s Ben McDonald Award winner, especially after closing out the first half with a near-perfect game. Lincecum is the league’s leader in ERA (2.96), wins (11), winning percentage (.917), quality starts (13) and strikeouts (136). In fact, Rat Pack pitchers ranked 1-2-3 in strikeouts at the break: Lincecum, Haren (125) and Burnett (118). But teammate Josh Beckett had a worthy first-half as well, earning the starting nod in the all-star game. Just 6-4 at the break, Beckett was right behind Lincecum in most every pitching category. Even if Lincecum slows down in the second half, it could be a Rat Packer going home with the McDonald this year.

But if this year’s winner doesn’t come from Las Vegas, a safe bet could be placed on the Carolina Mudcats, whose rotation boasts three pitchers in the top 10 in the league in ERA: Roy Halladay (3.31), Daisuke Matsuzaka (3.31) and Carlos Zambrano (3.50). Halladay ended the first half as the league’s leader in complete games (7) and innings pitched (127 2/3) while Matsuzaka had the lowest batting average against (.170). It’s no surprise that Carolina (3.66) and Las Vegas (3.87) finished the first half ranked 1-2 in team ERA.

Newark’s Chien Ming-Wang could make a case for the trophy, matching Lincecum for the league lead in wins (11-2), and right behind Halladay in innings pitched (125). Hoboken’s Jeremy Guthrie finished second to Dustin Pedroia in Pat Listach Award voting last year and also has followed it up with a solid sophomore, ranking 3^rd in ERA (3.28). His 7-6 record could look better if not for a shaky Cutters bullpen.

It’s unclear whether the Mighty Men get their name from their fearsome batting lineup or their impressive starters, three of whom have nine wins at the break: Mike Mussina (9-4), John Danks (9-2) and Ervin Santana (9-6). Or perhaps it’s the bullpen that makes Marietta so mighty, led by future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera’s league-leading 18 saves and rookie Brad Ziegler’s league-high 11 holds at the break.

Cliff Lee of Arkanas hit the all-star break on the DL, but a strong second half might put the lefty hurler into the mix for the McDonald. Only 7-6 at the break, Lee still had an ERA of 3.70 with 101 strikeouts.

Youngster John Lester has been a workhorse, logging 118 innings in the first half with a 3.51 ERA but just a 6-5 record to make a forimidable lefty-right, 1-2 punch in Amityville. Teammate Roy Oswalt finished the first half strong after a slow start, going 9-4 with two shutouts.

Greg Maddux has experienced a resurgence in Vancouver, coming off the bench for the Iron First and starting 10 games in the first half, including three complete games. The all-time league leader in starts, wins, and innings pitched, Maddux may only be 3-3 at the break but he sports a 3.36 ERA with eight quality starts. It must be rubbing off, as Zach Greinke is 8-5 with four complete games and a 4.09 ERA.

Another day, another Mighty deal

The Mighty Men have kept the trade wires steaming with another pair of deals. Last night the Mighty Men acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the Amityville Ant Slayers in exchange for pitcher Jon Lester. Lester was taken in the second round of last year's draft by the Mighty Men and was probably the ace of the staff in 2008, for whatever that means. Nevertheless, scouts liked what they saw in Lester and think that 2009 could be a breakout year for the youngster. Meanwhile Gonzalez was seen as expendable, considering the Ant Slayers already had James Loney on the roster. Gonzalez had a very good rookie year for the Honolulu Sharks in 2007, but regressed slightly with Tampa Bay. With the acquisition of Gonzalez, recently-acquired Kevin Youkilis will likely be shifted over to third base. This looks like bad news for incumbent third baseman Edwin Encarnacion though.

The Mighty Men followed that up with a morning deal sending farmhand Todd Wellemeyer to the D.C. Bushslappers for a 7th round draft pick. Wellemeyer was disastrous in a relief role for the Mighty Men, but he still has some upside. The Bushslappers seem to think that he would do well in the starting rotation, so he will get every chance to make the staff.

Harang, Lester duel in 1-0 battle

Philly battled the Mighty Men to a 1-0 victory. Newly-acquired Aaron Harang turned in a gem (8.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K) to win his first as a member of the Endzone Animals. Jon Lester ended up on the hardluck end of the decision despite pitching 7 innings of 1-run ball. Chris Young was the difference in the game with a solo home run in the 4th inning.

Arkansas put an end to Tampa Bay's 6-game winning streak with a 17-7 blowout. The Falcons busted out with 11 runs in the 7th inning. The Plunkers fell back to a full game behind Hillsborough. Arkansas, at 6 1/2 games, is still alive for the final playoff spot, though they are a longshot.

Vancouver held off the Sugar Bears and escaped with a 5-4 win over the Hanover Division leaders. The game was tied 1-1 until the Fist rallied for three runs in the 7th, but the Sugar Bears quickly tied up the game in the 8th when Bobby Abreu hit a 3-run homer. Newark got into trouble in the bottom of the inning and Vancouver took the lead on a fielder's choice. Billy Wagner, struggling for much of the season, got out of trouble in the ninth and recorded his 9th save.

The Rat Pack was upset by Blue Ridge in an unlikely 13-7 defeat. The Bombers scored 6 runs in the 8th inning to snatch victory away from the Rats. Jose Vidro was 4-5 with 3 RBIs, Jeremy Hermida was 3-3, and Hunter Pence was 3-4 to lead the Bomber offense.

Lester, Francis stymie opponents

Marietta's rookie pitcher John Lester hurled a 3-hit shutout of New Jersey. Lester struck out 5 and walked one en route to his first DMBL win. Joe Blanton pitched well (CG, 5 hits, 3 ER) on the opposite end, but took the loss. Amazingly only six hitters (out of 18) between the two squads were able to get hits!

Tampa Bay once again knocked around the defending champs 8-1. The Sugar Bears are now in unfamiliar territory with a 1-2 record. Torii Hunter hit his third home run and drove in four runs as the Plunkers capitalized on a pair of errors by Marco Scutaro and Matt Stairs. Jeff Francis was brilliant, limiting the Sugar Bears to only 3 hits over 8 innings and striking out 6.

Sardine City pounded the Vancouver bullpen in the latter stages of their 10-5 win over the Iron Fist. Vancouver was cruising with a 5-2 lead entering the seventh, but slowly the wheels started coming loose and finally fell off in a 5-run eighth inning. Raul Ibanez had two doubles and 3 RBIs and Ken Griffey had two solo home runs for the Straphangers. David Ortiz remained red-hot for Vancouver, hitting his third homer, while going 2-3 with 2 RBIs.

Adrian Beltre's triple in the second inning highlighted a 5-run second inning for the Bushslappers, leading to a 6-3 victory over Blue Ridge. Alex Rios hit two homers in the loss.