Sugar Bear streak ends at 17

With the new win streak record already in hand, the Sugar Bears let down their guard yesterday and lost 6-2 to Carolina, officially ending their 17 game winning streak. John Maine held the Sugar Bears in check for 6.1 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6. Bengie Molina was 3-5 with 2 RBIs as the Mudcats piled on in the middle innings. The Mudcats remained 1/2 game up on Hillsborough.

Meanwhile, the Hitmen took game 2 against Las Vegas in a possible playoff preview. Dan Haren and Josh Beckett duelled in a scoreless game for 8 innings. Then in the top of the 9th Kelly Shoppach hit a 2-run double off Hideki Okajima to break the tie. After retiring the first two batters in the bottom of the 9th, Mike Gonzalez got into some trouble after giving up a single and a double to Rats batters, but left both stranded to preserve the shutout.

Vancouver edged Sardine City 4-3 behind a solid performance from Ben Sheets (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 9 K) and gained a game on their playoff pursuers. Philadelphia lost a tough one to Hoboken, 7-6. In the bottom of the 9th, the Animals held a 6-5 lead, but Miguel Cabrera hit a solo homer to tie the game up and send it to extra innings. In the 10th, Ian Kinsler won the game for Hoboken with a walkoff single. Arkansas had a tougher challenge, taking on the wild card leader, Marietta. But Marietta's offense was alive and well Thursday night and took the game 7-4, knocking the Falcons 3 games behind the wild card, with 8 games to go.

Sugar Bears break record, win 17th straight

The Sugar Bears beat Carolina 5-4 yesterday to break the record for longest winning streak. Are they done? It's up to Carolina right now. Some interesting streak notes:

• The Sugar Bears have won their last three games all by the same 5-4 score, including a 14-inning victory against Vancouver.
• Since the streak began, the Sugar Bears have won 4 extra-inning games and 8 one-run games.
• The Sugar Bears have defeated seven teams, five of which are either playoff teams or still alive in the playoff race.
• During the streak, Newark has only had one shutout and has only scored in double digits twice.
• Only four of the 17 games were played on the road.
• The Sugar Bears played Vancouver in two series during the streak, and won 3 of the games by that magical 5-4 margin
  

With D.C.'s loss yesterday, Hillsborough and Las Vegas officially clinched a playoff spot. Only one playoff spot remains. Vancouver added a little breathing room by picking up a game on both Philadelphia and Arkansas. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 7.

Newark ties streak record

Newark snuck by Vancouver 5-4 yesterday to win their 16th straight game, tying the record held by Arkansas and Vancouver. Newark will try to break the record against Morris Division-leading Carolina. The last time Newark took on the top of the Morris Division they swept Hillsborough right out of the top spot. Of course that sweep made it possible for the Cats to move into first place. This time Hillsborough will be waiting in the wings to try to make up their 1/2 game difference. It won't be easy for the Hitmen as they will face the Rat Pack.

Carolina and Marietta both clinched playoff spots with wins yesterday. The Cats defeated Amityville 4-3, while Marietta pounded Philadelphia 13-2. Las Vegas and Hillsborough have both clinched at least a tie for a playoff spot. One of them will clinch tonight, depending on who wins their head to head matchup, while the other can clinch with an Arkansas loss to Marietta. Meanwhile, the final wild card team, Vancouver, hasn't even clinched a winning record, as they prepare to take on Sardine City. Vancouver is only one game up on Arkansas with Philadelphia trailing by only 2 games. All other teams are mathematically eliminated, except D.C., who will be officially out with their next loss or Vancouver's next win.

Sugar Bears close in on streak record

The Sugar Bears won their 15th straight game yesterday, a 5-4, 14-inning marathon against Vancouver. The Sugar Bears are now only one game shy of tying the record for longest winning streak, currently shared by the 1996 Vancouver Iron Fist and the 1993 Arkansas Golden Falcons. Newark will have to do it tonight again versus the Fist, who have now lost 5 straight and are in serious danger of losing their wild card status.

Hillsborough and Carolina meanwhile continue their battle atop the Morris Division. Both teams entered yesterday tied for the lead. Hillsborough blanked the Straphangers 10-0 on John Lackey's 2-hitter. Lackey struck out 7 and walked 1 in winning his 12th. The Cats also took care of business, taking a 7-3 decision against Amityville. Dustin Pedroia was 5-5 for Carolina. The Cats continue their series against the Ant Slayers today, but the Hitmen have the day off.

Both playoff hopefuls Arkansas and Philadelphia dropped their matches against Hanover playoff teams. The Falcons lost an 8-5 heartbreaker as the Rat Pack scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to come back and win. Chris Davis hit the walkoff grand slam to win it for Vegas. Meanwhile, Philly also lost a close one to Marietta - a 10-inning, 4-3 loss. With the Animals winning 3-2 in the 9th, Josh Hamilton came through with a game-tying single to send it to overtime. In the 10th, pinch hitter Kurt Suzuki came through with the game winning base hit.

Ant Slayers have been slain

The Ant Slayers' winning streak has finally been snapped at 7 thanks to a 1-0 brilliant pitching effort from Jon Danks. The Mighty Men pitcher held the Slayers to only 2 hits over 8 innings, while striking out 7. Poor Jon Lester did all he could to keep the streak alive, pitching 7.2 innings of 3-hit ball, giving up only one unearned run. But it wasn't enough. The game's lone run scored in the 6th when Adrian Beltre singled in Kevin Youkilis from second.

Hoboken wished that they could break their streak. Yesterday the Cutters lost 7-6 to Team Buddah making it 7 straight losses. The Cutters had a nice 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the 8th, but the Buddahs exploded for 4 runs to claim the lead. Elijah Dukes was 2-4 in the contest with 3 RBIs. Hoping to get rid of some bad juju, the Cutters released transaction posterboy Matt Joyce. Joyce will now try to latch on to his 5th team this season.

D.C. recently cut the volatile Oliver Perez after a disappointing start to his season, but Philadelphia was quick to claim the lefthander. After passing through waivers, the Endzone Animals wasted no time throwing him into a game. Perez started yesterday's matchup against the Falcons and, well, the results were not pretty. Perez was torched for 7 runs (6 earned) in 1.2 innings. Perez said that it was not fair to make him pitch on Cinco de Mayo. The Mexican-born pitcher was all set to celebrate his new-found freedom with some friends at a local Chevy's restaurant when he got the call that he was starting. "Generalissimo Seguín would have been very dissapointed" said Perez in a post-game conference. "My corazon was not in the game. Perhaps next time they will think twice and check the calendar when they start me." After the game, general manager and owner Bocci Pucci said "We thought he would have been proud to start the game on such an historic date, but I guess he'd rather be eating tacos and guacamole."

Playoff picture begins to take shape

Marietta's streak finally came to an end at ten games after dropping the first game to Sardine City yesterday. Tom Glavine pitched a solid game to earn his 8th win of the season. Offensive heavyweights Juan Pierre and Josh Barfield each had three hits to break Sardine City's own little five-game losing streak. Marietta has put some distance between themselves and the rest of the wild card pack - Marietta now stands five games ahead of fourth-place D.C.

While the top half of the playoff order seems pretty much set, the bottom half looks to be a little more contestable. D.C. won two games to hold onto the fourth spot yesterday. Against New Jersey, the Bushslappers slapped out 20 hits in 14 innings, including a 4-run 14th to win 11-7 against the Buddahs. The Slappers also scratched out a 3-2 win over the Falcons after trailing most of the game.

Hillsborough is holding on at number five after splitting yesterday's games. J.D. Drew went 3-4 with 5 RBIs to lead Philly to a 9-3 victory over the Hitmen, but Hillsborough overcame the loss with a 7-3 beating of Honolulu. Carlos Delgado drove in four and C.C. Sabathia won his 10th.

Vancouver split two close games yesterday to remain in sixth. The Fist dropped the first game, 5-4, to South Boston, after the Gang scored runs in each of the last three innings to win the game. But in a nailbiter later in the day, Vancouver edged the Mudcats in ten innings, 9-8, thanks to a huge day from David Ortiz (4-6, 6 RBIs, 3 HR).

The last two teams fighting it out are Honolulu and Hoboken. Honolulu beat Hoboken early in the day yesterday, only to lose to Hillsborough later. Hoboken went on to drop their second game to Marietta. As it stands now, Honolulu is one game out of the last playoff spot and Hoboken is 1 1/2 behind Honolulu. Carolina and Arkansas are still somewhat alive, but need to get on the ball quickly.

Tuesday is roster expansion day as all teams rosters can expand to the full 30 player limit. While some teams have a slew of inelligibles, others will benefit from an increased bench and/or bullpen. We'll take a look at some of the callups on Wednesday.

Mighty Men streak into Wild Card lead

The Mighty Men kept rolling along yesterday with a 5-2 win over Carolina. Mike Mussina contributed a solid eight innings, surrendering only two runs on five hits. Milton Bradley hit a three-run homer in the third to give the Mites the lead and that proved to be enough for Moose. The win was the eighth in a row for the Mighty Men. Marietta has now opened up a 4 1/2 game cushion on D.C.

Speaking of which, D.C. fell victim to the classic "revenge factor" when El Duque Hernandez threw a gem against the Slappers. Duque surrendered only one run and five hits through seven and struck out nine. Hernandez was cut March 31st by D.C. after only one appearance - a disastrous mopup appearance where Duque gave up five runs in 1.1 innings. El Duque finally got his revenge and his first win on the season as the Rat Pack won 8-4 Wednesday.

Vancouver has made a late season revival, winning three of the first four in a crucial series with Hoboken. This time it was Ben Sheets, limiting the Cutters to one run in seven innings. Scott Spiezio got his first start since joining Vancouver and went 3-5. Vancouver is now sitting in sixth place overall, a half game ahead of Hoboken and one game ahead of the Sharks.

Arkansas and Newark battled it in a 10-inning contest. Newark jumped out to a 6-0 lead early, but the Falcons came right back with a huge 6-run third inning. The Sugar Bears went up 8-7 in the top of the tenth after a Manny Ramirez solo shot to lead off the inning. Orlando Cabrera made things interesting in the bottom of the tenth when he reached base on a single and stole second with only one out, but Cabrera got greedy and was thrown out trying to steal third.

Monday Squeakers

Vancouver pounded out 20 hits against the Buddahs yesterday, though it took them 11 innings to pull off the victory. Moises Alou hit five of the hits and drove in three runs. Mike Piazza had four hits for New Jersey, putting him at 1998 for his career.

Newark barely escaped with a 9-8 victory over Hillsborough. The score bounced back and forth between the two teams. The Hitmen held a 6-3 lead until a 5-run seventh gave Newark an 8-6 lead. But the Sugar Bears couldn't hold on and the Hitmen tied it up in their half of the ninth. Mark Teahen then hit the winning single in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to give the Sugar Bears their seventh straight win.

Derek Jeter tied Edgar Martinez for 10th on the all-time hits list as Marietta eked out a 6-5 victory by D.C. Jim Thome had a three-run homer in the contest and A.J. Burnett got the win despite surrendering five unearned runs in 6.1 innings. A Wes Helms error and a passed ball by Jorge Posada allowed four runs to score for the Bushslappers in the third inning yesterday and Jeter's error in the fifth gave D.C. their fifth run of the game.

The new guys are having an immediate impact for Hoboken. Brandon League picked up his ninth victory of the season after pitching two scoreless innings and Greg Norton had two RBIs to help the Cutters edge the Mudcats 7-6.

Cutters deal Wainwright to Gang

South Boston and Hoboken finalized a deal yesterday. Hoboken sent young starter Adam Wainwright to South Boston in exchange for role player Greg Norton and reliever Brandon League. Both players were not in the Gang's future for next year. South Boston has plans to convert Wainwright into a starter next season, though he'll continue to work out of the pen this year.

Hillsborough's winning streak ends at 11 games after a 6-1 loss to Jake Westbrook and the Buddahs yesterday. Westbrook pitched eight innings and surrendered only four hits and one run. Meanwhile, Hillsborough starter Justin Verlander also broke the streak of quality starts by surrendering five runs in 5.1 innings.

Francisco Liriano improved to 12-1 with an impressive performance against Carolina yesterday. Liriano shut down the Cats for seven innings, holding them to three hits and zero runs while striking out 8. The Mighty Men won the game 4-1.

D.C. scored six runs on five homers in a 6-1 victory over Las Vegas yesterday. All five home runs were solo shots. Anibal Sanchez pitched a brilliant eight innings, holding the Rats to only three hits and one unearned run over eight innings.

Hoboken held on to win a tight 3-2 win over Vancouver. Once again the Iron Fist came up just shy of tying the game up in the ninth. Hoboken had led the game 3-0, but Vancouver scored two on a David Ortiz homer in the ninth. Former Vancouver reliever David Riske, who was recently recalled from AAA Weehawken, retired the final batters for his first save of the season.

Final reminder! This weekend is the last chance to make any trades this year or to claim any players off waivers who will be elligible as keepers next year.

Philly tightens grip on Morris lead

Ramon Hernandez's two homers gave the South Boston Gang all that they would need against the lackluster Sardine City Straphangers. Chuck James shut out the Sardines for 6.1 innings and the Gang's bullpen held on for a 7-0 final. South Boston has now won five of their last six though they have a long way to go to be back in contention.

Hillsborough won their 11th straight are now alone in fifth place overall. John Lackey turned in another quality start for the Hitmen, holding the Buddahs to one run in eight innings to improve to 13-6. Carlos Delgado had a three run pinch-hit homer in the sixth to lead the Hitmen to their 7-1 victory.

It took Philadelphia 14 innings to get past the Honolulu Sharks 5-4. The Animals have now won six in a row and are appearing to take a firm hold on the Morris Division lead. Philly is now 6 1/2 games up on the Bushslappers. After starter Matt Cain was roughed up for four runs in five innings, the Philly bullpen held the Sharks to a mere three hits in the final nine innings and surrendered zero runs. The pen also struck out 12 in those nine innings.

Vancouver rallied in the late innings against Hoboken to send their game to extra innings, only to watch the Cutters win the game in the 10th. The Cutters accumulated a 5-0 lead through seven, but Vancouver finally got on the board in the eighth when David Ortiz hit a solo homer. Vancouver scored three more to tie it up in the ninth after Jason Isringhausen's two-base error opened the floodgates. A Chris Shelton double in the tenth put Hoboken back on top to stay.

Hitmen starters get it done

Check out the league message board for some rules discussions. One suggestion deals with outfield elligibility and another is about stadiums. Also don't forget the trade deadline is this Sunday, July 15th.

Hillsborough is up to 10 wins in a row now with a 4-2 win over New Jersey. The Hitmen have gotten some great results from their starters lately and yesterday was no exception. Jeremy Bonderman pitched eight innings and allowed only two runs and five hits, while striking out seven and walking one. Bonderman improved to 10-9. The Hitmen have eight quality starts in their last nine, and the one that didn't quite qualify was a solid five inning performance from C.C. Sabathia that ended early due to rain.
Billy Wagner notched his 25th save of the season and 250th of his career in Vancouver's 5-2 win over Hoboken yesterday. Wagner now leads the league by one save over Philly's Francisco Rodriguez who is still the front-runner for the Eck.

Arkansas' Curt Schilling took his first lost of the season yesterday. Schilling, who started out in AAA to begin the season on a rehab assignment, won his first four decisions since taking Ervin Santana's spot in the rotation a month ago, but he hit a brick wall yesterday. Schilling wasn't that bad (7 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 7 K) considering the opponent but the Arkansas offense couldn't find enough offense to keep up with the Sugar Bears.

Woeful Woody

D.C. broke their hex yesterday with an 8-6 win over Honolulu. D.C. moved back into sole possession of fourth place overall. Frank Thomas had five RBIs in the game including a grand slam in the eighth that gave the Bushslappers the lead.

Woody Williams' woes continued against his former team Vancouver yesterday. Williams lasted only 3.2 innings, surrendering 5 earned runs and eight hits. Williams was fortunate enough to escape with a no decision. Marietta came roaring back in the sixth inning, knocking Vancouver starter Jake Peavy out of the game. Jim Thome hit his 30th homer in the game, a 9-7 victory for the Mighty Men.

Meanwhile, Hillsborough continued to roll, winning their ninth straight. Sure it took them 11 innings to beat the Cutters, but the Hitmen kept their streak alive. The game was tied 3-3 going into the 10th, but Geoff Jenkins hit an RBI double to give the Cutters the lead. It was short-lived, however, because the Hitmen tied it up in the bottom of the 10th. After a quick top of the 11th, the Hitmen started off their half of the 11th with a leadoff double. With two outs to go, Russell Martin hit a weak grounder to Ian Kinsler at second. Kinsler hesitated then panicked and threw the ball past Chris Shelton and into the dugout, scoring Ryan Howard from third and losing the game for the Cutters.

D.C., Hillsborough head in opposite directions

The Sugar Bears' streak is over at twelve after a doubleheader sweep at the hands of South Boston. The Gang took the first game thanks to a 2-homer, 5-RBI outburst from Ramon Hernandez and a solid outing from Dontrelle Willis. Randy Johnson did notch his 2000th career strikeout in the match, but he did not provide much help outside of that. The second game was much closer, but the Gang scored two runs in the eighth (seems to be a popular inning for comebacks) to take the lead 4-3. Brandon League won the game in relief and improved to 8-2.

Francisco Liriano shut out Vancouver 6-0 yesterday to improve to 11-1 on the season. Liriano held Vancouver to 6 hits in 6 innings and the Marietta pen finished the game off. The win spoiled the DMBL debut of Chad Billingsley who only gave up one run over seven innings of work, while striking out six. Billingsley took the place of the struggling Ben Sheets. Sheets was sent down to AAA to work on his mechanics. Vancouver got them back, however, in the second game as Moises Alou blasted three home runs (all solo shots) to help squeak by 8-7. Vancouver actually hit six homers in the contest, though they only managed 8 runs. Gerald Laird was the only one to hit a homer with a runner on base.

D.C. has hit a wall lately, losing their eighth straight game after a marathon 17 inning loss to Honolulu yesterday. D.C. has now dropped into a fourth place tie with Honolulu and is only one game ahead of Hoboken and Hillsborough for sixth place. It's a very tight race lately - 1 1/2 games separates third place Marietta from seventh place, so it'll be very interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.

The anti-Bushslappers have been the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen who have won eight straight and are now tied for the sixth playoff spot with Hoboken. Hillsborough shut down the Cutters yesterday with back-to-back solid performances from Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez. Verlander held the Cutters to only three hits and one run over seven innings in game one and Felix struck out nine in seven innings, while giving up only five hits and one run.

Remember Brett Myers' struggles earlier this season? Well those struggles are ancient history. Since starting the season at 0-12 with an 8.40 ERA, Myers has gone on a bit of a hot streak. He's 5-1 since that low point and has brought his ERA down to 6.34, including seven quality starts in his last eight outings and a recent Pitcher of the Week award.

Take note that the DMBL trading deadline will be this Sunday. After this point, any players that are signed off the waiver wire are not elligible to be kept after the season is over.

Wakefield, Williams prove poor reinforcements

Carolina took two from D.C. yesterday thanks to some solid pitching from starters Clay Hensley and Roy Halladay. Halladay, who had the better outing of the two, pitched a complete game, holding the Bushslappers to only two runs. Bill Hall, who hit a homer in each of the games, has quietly put up a solid season. Hall hit his 33rd and 34th homer of the season in yesterday's games and is batting .283 with a .974 OPS.

Tim Wakefield made his season debut for the Falcons against Vancouver yesterday. Unfortunately for Wakefield, Vancouver showed no mercy to the former Iron Fister. Wakefield gave up seven runs, six earned, in only 2.1 innings pitched, while giving up five hits and two walks and striking out none. Wakefield was recently signed by Arkansas to replace struggling Daniel Cabrera in the rotation.

Jake Peavy shut down the Falcons in game two of the doubleheader, pitching a 3-hit complete game. Peavy surrendered only one run - a Lance Berkman solo shot - in the contest while striking out nine.

Speaking of replacement players, Marietta had hoped that Woody Williams would enjoy a change of scenery and replaced Gil Meche in their rotation, but so far it's been a disaster. Most recently, Williams was rocked for six runs in 2.2 innings against the Sharks and now sports a 12.10 ERA on the season. Williams will probably be given one more chance - his next start is against the team that traded him, Vancouver.

Philly ended their four-game slide by pounding Boof Bonser and the Hoboken Cutters 10-2. Vernon Wells had 3 RBIs and Erik Bedard improved to 11-5 in the contest.

The Sugar Bears completed a 5-game sweep of Team Buddah and have now won 10 in a row. The Sugar Bears are now 49 games over .500.

Mighty Michael Young

The Mudcats ended Newark's 11 game winning streak yesterday behind the power of Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli hit two homers and drove in four to help the Cats stop the Sugar Bears 7-4. Starter Carlos Zambrano was shaky despite the 6-2 lead handed him. Zambrano walked nine in 4.2 innings, though he only allowed two hits. The bullpen, which had been so awful just one night earlier, proceeded to shut down the Sugar Bears. Almost all of the culprits from Tuesday's debacle contributed to the victory - David Weathers got the W and Scott Linebrink got the save, while Fuentes had to settle for a hold.

Vancouver's Michael Young decided to put his team on his back and carry them to victory singlehandedly. Young was 2-4 with 2 homers and drove in all 6 runs for the Fist, including a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to give the team the lead. "I'm sick and tired of these chumps not hitting" said Young after the game. Vancouver only managed five hits in the game. Starter Greg Maddux, who pitched seven solid innings but got a no-decision, now stands at 2991 innings in his career.

Things got wild in Hoboken yesterday as the Cutters eked out a 12-11 victory over New Jersey. The Cutters got off to a quick 8-0 lead after three, but the Buddahs were not done. Team Buddah scratched and clawed to bring the lead down to 8-7, but the Cutters scored three more in the bottom of the seventh to open up an 11-7 lead. The Buddahs then rallied in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 11. After holding the Buddahs in the top of the ninth, the Cutters looked to be in position to win the game after two straight singles to lead off the ninth. But Mike Cameron hit into a double play, clouding the chances for the Cutters. Omar Vizquel came through, however, and singled in the winning run. Ichiro had his second straight 4-hit game and Mike Piazza also had four hits and moved into ninth place all-time with his 1942nd career hit.

Wagner blows

Well by now everyone knows that Alex Rodriguez's consecutive games streak is over at 1054 games. The streak started back in 2000, lasted through four ownership changes, a position change from shortstop to third base, and several playoff appearances. Honolulu's Miguel Tejada now holds the longest current streak at 930 games. Nick Punto will replace A-Rod for now, unless another replacement is signed off the waiver wire.

Billy Wagner had his 50th career blown save and sixth of the season. Wagner inherited a 6-3 lead in the ninth inning, but Wagner was wild. Wagner walked the first two batters he faced, then hit Reed Johnson, then threw a wild pitch. Wagner allowed three runs to score, all without a single base hit and left the bases loaded. Chris Britton was brought in and got Vernon Wells to line out, but the winning run scored on the sacrifice.

Perhaps in the most unlikely pitchers duel of the season, Carolina's Jason Jennings and South Boston's Dontrelle Willis battled it out for eight innings before Ramon Hernandez broke the tie with an RBI-single. Jennings lowered his ERA to 7.69 and Willis to 8.55.

All good things must come to an end

Matt Diaz's hitting streak ended last night at 23 with an 0-4 against South Boston. Despite getting a hit during all five straight losses prior to yesterday, the streak came to an end in a victory for the Mighty Men. Apparently Diaz was just satisfied in passing Miguel Cabrera for the season-high hitting streak. "No way Cabrera should have that recognition...he doesn't deserve it" said Diaz after the game. "Anyone but a damned Cutter." It is unknown why Diaz is so livid with the Hoboken organization at this time. Meanwhile South Boston's five-game winning streak also came to a halt after the 8-6 Marietta victory.

The Mudcats shocked the Animals again yesterday, besting them and ace starter Johan Santana 4-1 yesterday. Santana was not involved in the decision as he and Mudcat starter Carlos Zambrano had dueled to a 1-1 tie through seven innings only to watch J.J. Putz give up RBI doubles to Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore in the eighth. The Cats have a ways to go to climb back into the playoff picture, but at least they're on the right track again.

D.C.'s hardluck pitcher Anibal Sanchez finally got his first win yesterday against Vancouver. Despite a 2.55 ERA and five quality starts, Sanchez was 0-5 in his first eight games this year. Sanchez was not at his best yesterday (8 IP, 5 ER, 1 K) but the Bushslappers finally scored some runs for him, giving Sanchez his first career DMBL victory. Jose Reyes was 5-6 in the game with three stolen bases. "Sanchez begged me before the game to do what I could to win the game for him" said Reyes after the game. "I told him to stop crying and act like a man."

The Gang's all here

The Mudcat moves seem to have worked for one game anyway. The Cats edged the first-place Animals 4-3 yesterday behind a solid outing from Roy Halladay (though he didn't figure into the decision) and three-hit games from Rocco Baldelli and Aramis Ramirez.

Still waiting, Barry....

Cliff Lee is making a case to stick in the Sharks rotation with a solid outing yesterday against the Rat Pack. Lee is now 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts filling in for the injured Jered Weaver.

South Boston has been on a little bit of a run lately, winning their fifth straight against Marietta yesterday. Aaron Harang shut down the Mighty Men for 7 innings, allowing only an unearned run and striking out 10. Poor Jeff Suppan finally pitched an outing for Marietta without getting destroyed, but had to settle for the loss (and lowering...yes lowering... his ERA to 10.13). During the game Matt Diaz extended his hitting streak to a league-high 23 games, besting Miguel Cabrera's earlier streak of 22.

Hoboken certainly got their revenge on Tuesday's smackdown from Newark. Hoboken pounded on the Sugar Bears to a 13-5 tune. The Cutters had 21 hits in total. Geoff Jenkins was 5-6 with 3 RBIs and Miguel Cabrera was 4-5 with 4 RBIs and a homer.

Philly's obsession with Khalil Greene continues as the Animals re-signed the shortstop for the second time this season. His playing time should be limited though as the club activated David Eckstein from his month-long sting on the DL.

Thome Boy

A few items of note. Jim Thome hit his 400th DMBL homer yesterday in Marietta's loss to New Jersey Sunday. It was Thome's ninth of the season. Thome is just the fifth player to reach 400. Moving into number seven on the all-time list was Manny Ramirez, who took last week off. Ramirez returned Sunday and hit his 14th homer of the season to help defeat the Sharks.

The Falcons are still waiting on Bonds to hit his 600th. Bonds has been stuck on 599 since Tuesday's game with South Boston. In fact, Bonds is mired in a 2-22 (.091) slump since that game.

Newark's Kevin Millwood, who had come up one strikeout short in his last outing, finally got his 1000th career strikeout in the Game against the Sharks. Millwood improved to 4-1 on the season.

Don't look now but Marietta's Matt Diaz has an active 21-game hit streak, which is only one less than Miguel Cabrera's hit streak earlier in the season. Diaz streak began with a 5-5 night against Las Vegas and he is hitting .426 (40-94) during the course of the streak, raising his average from .233 to .341.

Beckett, Schmidt come up Aces

Well Miguel Cabrera's hit streak came to an end at 22 yesterday after the Cutters were shut down by Brad Penny and Team Buddah. Penny didn't give up an earned run, but the numbers show that he was more lucky than good. Penny walked four and gave up six hits in seven innings, while only striking out one. The Buddahs also had three errors, so that may have contributed to it. Penny improved to 4-2 on the season.

The highest hit streak now is Marietta's Todd Helton, at 16. Teammate Matt Diaz also has a 15 game hit streak, so I'm guessing there's a little sidebet going on in that clubhouse as to who stops hitting first.

Josh Beckett pitched a gem yesterday - a complete game, four-hit shutout of Arkansas, which means Barry Bonds will have to wait another day to hit his 600th homer. Beckett has not had a good DMBL career to date. He is 3-2 with a 4.70 ERA on the year, which if he continues on this pace would be a career year for him. Expectations are low for Beckett this year and being the number five starter should alleviate a lot of the pressure he might have felt in previous seasons.

Beckett's line was impressive, but Jason Schmidt had an equally impressive start against Sardine City. Schmidt and the Sharks blanked the Straphangers 2-0 as Schmidt went the distance and allowed a mere two hits and three walks while striking out eight. Schmidt is now 4-2 on the season. The Sharks begin their big series with Newark today.