Unit close to historic marks

Randy Johnson is now only one strikeout away from 3000 for his career. Johnson will be the first to achieve the mark in DMBL history. The win gave him nine for the season and 195 for the year. Johnson is looking to become the third pitcher to reach 200 career wins this season. By the way, Johnson should buy Mark DeRosa some cigars or something. DeRosa drove in six runs in the game to lead the Sugar Bears to a 15-3 victory over South Boston.

Honolulu held on to defeat the Bushslappers 3-2 in extra innings. Honolulu jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and starter Jeff Francis was limiting D.C. to only one run on three hits in his seven innings of work. But D.C. got to reliever Chad Bradford in the eighth and we were off to extra innings. Frank Catalanotto finally won the game with a double in the bottom of the 12th, scoring Eric Chavez, who had reached earlier on an error.

Marietta broke their losing streak by beating a struggling Vancouver team 6-1. Ben Sheets was rocked again prompting team owner Yaro Zajac to wonder if Sheets might be hiding an injury. Regardless, Sheets may be seeing time in AAA if he doesn't straighten out, but most of the Vancouver starters have 5.00+ ERAs anyway. A.J. Burnett pitched brilliantly for Marietta, holding the Iron Fist to only one run on four hits through seven innings.

Team Buddah ripped Arkansas starter Daniel Cabrera to shreds. Cabrera surrendered seven runs in only 1 1/3 innings. The Buddahs were up 8-2 after two innings and never looked back. Brad Penny earned his 10th win of the season for New Jersey.

The Straphangers continued their tough stretch yesterday. After facing the Hanover-leading Sugar Bears, the Sardines now face the Morris-leading Endzone Animals. Erik Bedard held the Sardines in check, holding them to three runs over seven innings and picking up his 10th win of the year. Sardine City starter Adam Loewen pitched well (better than Bedard even), but did not factor into the decision as Matt Capps lost it in the eighth.

Mighty Men pitching shuffle

Well, after Tuesday's debacle in Marietta, David Landsman had enough. Gil Meche was banished to AAA and Paul Byrd was sent packing. The Mighty Men acquired Woody Williams from Vancouver, who was himself banished to AAA after a less than stellar start to the season. Williams hopes for a new start and a change of scenery might do him well. Vancouver received an 8th round draft pick as compensation.

Hoboken kept the streak alive (seven in a row now) by sweeping Marietta, 5-3 thanks to a solid Jon Garland start. Garland held the Mighty Men to three runs, two earned, in 7.2 innings. Chris Duncan hit his 20th homer of the season.

Joe Crede and the Sardine City Straphangers almost made it exciting again in Newark yesterday. Crede was 3-4 with 6 RBIs and 2 homers in the game. The Sardines' big 4-run eighth inning had the team within one run of the Sugar Bears, but Newark's Jim Edmonds hit a 2-run bomb to dash the hopes of the Straphangers. Nick Johnson was 4-4 in the game. Cole Hamels fell to 2-11 on the season.

Yesterday was a busy day on the waiver wire. Honolulu signed up Jose Valverde and sent him to AAA. Newark picked up former South Boston farmhand Joey Gathright as a potential pinch runner. And finally, Philadelphia picked up journeyman outfielder Trot Nixon to take the spot of recently-injured Jeff DaVanon.

Hoboken rolls along

Hoboken continued their roll, smashing Marietta 14-6. Mighty Men starter Gil Meche was mercilessly pounded for 11 runs in five innings, earning the starter a spot on the bench. "He's lucky we didn't go to Paul Byrd" said owner David Landsman after the game. Meche's ERA ballooned to 6.96. Hoboken's Vicente Padilla improved to 10-3 on the season, despite giving up five runs. Josh Bard and Ian Kinsler each had four RBIs and a homer in the game. Hoboken has now won six straight and is only 1/2 a game behind Marietta, who lost four in a row.

David Ortiz continues to mash the ball, hitting two homers in a 5-4 loss to Carolina yesterday. Ortiz now has 32 homers on the year. Chris Carpenter rebounded well after his 11-run performance last week - pitching seven shut out innings, but the Vancouver pen blew it with a 5-run eighth inning which included a bases-loaded walk.

Carlos Beltran's 5 RBI led D.C. to a 12-4 rout of the Falcons. John Maine pitched six shutout innings despite surrendering six walks and five hits.

New Jersey's Tom Gorzelanny held the Rat Pack to only three hits and two runs over eight innings. The rookie has had some trouble with run support this year, but managed to get his fourth win of the season. Gorzelanny is only 4-8 despite a decent 4.17 ERA this year.

Newark barely survived their game against Sardine City yesterday. After a close 4-4 tie led the game to extra innings, the Straphangers played "small-ball" in the top of the 10th and manufactured the go-ahead run. Usually reliable B.J. Ryan was brought in to close the game in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn't meant to be. Nick Johnson scored to tie it on a Nick Swisher single and then later Manny Ramirez singled in Mark DeRosa to win it for the Sugar Bears.

Brandon Webb and Aaron Harang both pitched complete games in yesterday's South Boston-Philadelphia game, but it was Harang who came out on top. Harang limited the Animals to only one run on three hits, while striking out 10.

Remembering Rod Beck

This past weekend, former DMBLer Rod Beck passed away. "Shooter" was a key member of the early Arkansas World Series run in 1993 and 1994. Although he didn't win in those seasons, Beck finally earned that World Series ring in 2001 as a member of the Newark Sugar Bears. Beck's finest season was either 1994 with Arkansas (12-6, 3.04 ERA, 11 saves, 113 K) or in 2004 with Carolina (3.69 ERA, 34 saves). Beck ended his career after that 2004 season with 91 career saves, a 3.74 ERA in 381 appearances. Beck also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagle Wings and the Louisiana Lightning. Beck was 38 years old.

Carolina and Vancouver played a marathon 14-inning game yesterday, with the Mudcats winning in the bottom of the 14th on an Aramis Ramirez homer that led off the inning. Brian Sweeney, taking one for the team, had already pitched four innings and began his fifth when he surrendered the solo shot. Carolina's bullpen held Vancouver hitless for the final seven innings of the game, while Vancouver surrendered only four hits in the final seven.

Hoboken picked up their fifth straight victory by routing the Mighty Men in Marietta yesterday. Omar Vizquel was 4-6 and Miguel Cabrera and Josh Bard each hit a homer and drove in three runs in the 11-5 victory.

Cutters cuttin' it up

The Hoboken Cutters have rocketed up into the sixth overall spot with a four-game winning streak. Jarrod Washburn improved to 12-6 with a win over the struggling Las Vegas Rat Pack yesterday. The Cutters thumped the Rats 12-4, behind Player of the Week Ian Kinsler's 3-4, 3-RBI night. The Cutters had a decent 13 hits in the game, but racked up 12 walks.

Joe Saunders' luck ran out last night, sort of. Saunders only threw eight pitches in the game, but after a lengthy rain delay, Don Mattingly decided it would be best to pull the youngster. And though the Sugar Bear pen was solid, only allowing two runs in the final 8 2/3 innings, it was enough to stick Saunders with the loss. Roy Oswalt, fresh from a recent DL stint, pitched brilliantly for Honolulu, allowing only one unearned run in six innings, while striking out four. The shaky Tom Gordon pitched the final two innings for his 15th save.

David Ortiz's two homers gave Vancouver a much-needed victory over Sardine City yesterday. Ortize drove in six runs while hitting his 29th and 30th homers of the year. Vancouver is now sitting on the outside looking in from seventh place. Greg Maddux pitched a strong game to improve to 8-4 on the season.

A 4-run eighth inning propelled the Buddahs to a 7-3 victory over Marietta yesterday. Austin Kearns and Yuniesky Betancourt both hit homers in the inning. Kearns was 3-3 and Nomar Garciaparra had a 3-run homer in the contest.

Clemens, Johnson, nearing milestones

Arkansas' Roger Clemens is now just one win away from 200 for his career. He will join Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez as the only others to achieve the mark. Clemens was a bit shaky in the game, a 9-3 win over Philadelphia, but he improved to 10-6 on the season thanks to a solid bullpen and a completely ineffective Erik Bedard. Another Falcon, recently-acquired Craig Biggio is one hit away from 1500 career hits.

Randy Johnson is now only eight strikeouts away from 3000. Johnson pitched a complete game, 7-hit, shutout against Honolulu, as Newark took the game 6-0. Johnson struck out six and walked none.

Hoboken had an impressive 11-7 win over Las Vegas Thursday. With a 7-4 lead late in the game, Hoboken narrowed the lead to 7-6 after a Mike Napoli homer in the eighth. In the ninth, Hoboken tied the game up with a Miguel Cabrera single, then with two outs and the bases loaded, Ian Kinsler took Damaso Marte deep for a walk-off grand slam. By the way, it was the first appearance for Marte since the Rat Pack signed him a few days ago. Welcome to the team!

There will be no games tomorrow to clean up after today's Take Your Dog to Work Day festivities.

Thomas, Soriano set marks

Brandon Webb pitched a complete game against the Falcons, surrendering two runs on seven hits and striking out five. Webb improves to 9-5 on the season. The Endzone Animals were trailing 2-1 after five, but they scored nine runs between the sixth and eighth innings to seal a 10-2 victory.

Frank Thomas led D.C. to an 8-5 victory over South Boston yesteday. Thomas was 3-5 with 4 RBIs and two homers on the night. His two homers moved him past Larry Walker into a 10th place tie on the all-time home run list and tied for sixth on the all-time RBI list. Alfonso Soriano quietly extended his hitting streak to a season-high 24 games, moving ahead of Matt Diaz who had the previous longest streak.

The Cutters won on a night when starter Vicente Padilla was a bit wild. Padilla pitched seven innings and allowed four runs, while walking three and striking out one. That doesn't sound too bad, until you see that Padilla also hit three batters in the game. Two of the hit batters came in the second inning when Padilla hit Kaz Matsui and Chone Figgins consecutively to load the bases. Luckily the next batter flew out to end the inning. "I just can't stand those Rat bastards" said Padilla in a post-game interview. "They deserved to get hit six times!" Closer Jason Isringhausen recorded his seventh save of the season and the 150th of his career (the fifth DMBLer to achieve the feat).