VERLANDER BLOWS SMOKE: BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Black Mesa----Justin Verlander allowed a hit to start the game, but then went five innings before allowing another base knock, and twice got late-inning double plays to keep himself in the game, going all the way as the host Anomalies whitewashed the Rockets, 6-0. Verlander (8-4, 2.97) needed 117 pitches to go all the way, allowing just three scratch singles (Dye, Sanchez and Damon) en route, while his teammates collected more than twice as many base knocks in the first two innings against losing pitcher Jarrod Washburn (6-9, 4.50), who was in the showers before the second frame was done with, as Morneau, Matsui and Kearns all drove in runs.

Still, what did all this mean? At 47-51, neither Black Mesa or the 43-55 Rockets figured to finish in the first division this year. This brings the question of whether or not either club will become sellers down the stretch, with the trade deadline (Game Day 108) fast approaching. There are perhaps just two weeks left for BARB GM’s to make deals to improve their club’s chances for next year, or else try to improve their chances for next season.

In other BARB action:

BROOKLYN 2, POTTSYLVANIA 1
WP: Taylor Tankersley (2-1, 2.70)
LP: Orlando Hernandez (0-1, 0.00)
SV: Rodriguez (20)

Felipe Lopez, pinch-hitting for Mark Buehrle, came around to score on an Ichiro single after reaching on SS Chone Figgins’s error, and Bob Wickman and three other relievers made the unearned run stand up, as the Moabs improved to 55-42, just two-and-a-half games behind Eastern co-leaders Darwin and Worcester. And this team thinks it’s a seller?

In the only bright spot for Pottsylvania, new IF Aaron Hill went 2-for-2 and drove in the Creepers only run in another low-scoring game as the defending Central champs uses the stretch drive to evaluate young talent for 2008.

WORCESTER 7, LAS VEGAS 5 (10 innings)
WP: Juan Rincon (2-0, 4.05)
LP: Mike McDougal (5-7, 3.02)

Trailing 2-1 entering the ninth, the Eliminators would need to score six runs in their final two innings to pull out an extra-inning win and stay atop the competitive East. The mercurial Scott Olsen had outdueled Elims starter Chris Young, but when Joe Mauer followed Hanley Ramirez’s leadoff double with a pinch-homer off Vegas closer Mariano Rivera, they had to think they had things in the bag. But the dangerous Luchadores scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth off Chad Cordero and Juan Rincon to tie the game at 5-5. The Elims finally put their hosts in the tenth when Robinson Cano hit his seventh shot of the year with a man aboard off Mike McDougal.

ARIZONA 6, YUMA 3 (10 innings)
WP: Francisco Cordero (5-3, 2.91)
LP: Rafael Soriano (6-6, 3.97)

Magglio Ordonez, showing signs of awaking from his first-half slumber, belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the tenth, a walkoff shot, as the D-Backs got a rare come-from-behind win against West arch-rival Yuma. In the game, Jake Peavy and Josh Beckett matched up well, but both clubs gave up runs in the middle frames due to poor relief work, leading to a 3-3 tie that went extra innings. What made the win even weirder was the failure of the Yuma offense, which worked a total of nine walks off Arizona pitching, but was only able to get a big hit with runners aboard once, when Brian Roberts hit a two-run single in the sixth to tie the game.

DARWIN 9, OAKEYLAND 3 (1st game of DH)
WP: John Smoltz (6-6, 2.99)
LP: Kevin Millwood (5-8, 4.21)

DARWIN 2, OAKEYLAND 1 (2nd game of DH)
WP: Scott Kazmir (10-7, 3.92)
LP: Joe Blanton(6-7, 4.28)
SV: Hoffman (20)

Lance Berkman’s 31st HR of the year snapped a 1-1 tie in the first inning of the opening game in the doubleheader, and his teammates would go to score six runs in their last three at-bats versus relievers Aaron Fultz and Scott Baker, and Scott Kazmir took a 2-0 lead into the sixth before needing some relief help in the nightcap as the visiting Finches handled the slumping Ballers. Oakeyland, which at one point had gone over .500 and was challenging Central-leading Las Vegas, is in danger of falling out of the race after losing 7 of 10 games since the All-Star Break.

By sweeping the double-dip, Darwin pulled into a first-place tie with Worcester. The two East clubs are tied with a league best 58-40 mark, but only three games separate the pair from the other two contenders. There’s probably going to be a team in the East that wins 90 games, but fails to make the playoffs!