GAME DAY 11

LAS VEGAS 2, BROOKLYN 0
WP: A.J. Burnett (1-1, 3.11)
LP: Roy Oswalt (1-2, 4.76)
SV: Rivera (3)

The slugging Luchadores won their third straight in uncharacteristic fashion, as A.J. Burnett fanned ten and combined with Mariano Rivera on the road in Brooklyn, with Alex Gordon and Jason Kubel hitting RBI singles to account for the scoring against Roy Oswalt. Las Vegas leads BARB with 17 home runs as a team, but their club ERA of 5.67 is 11th in the loop. Perhaps Burnett’s strong outing is a sign that the franchise is righting itself after a tough start, but concerns remain about lack of bench strength and left-handed relief, both of which have been exploited by East clubs.

S-MART 6, DARWIN 1
WP: Javier Vazquez (1-1, 0.59)
LP: Tom Glavine (1-1, 5.14)

Javier Vazquez allowed a two-out solo homer to David Ortiz in the first, then shut down the Finches the rest of the way as the Boom Sticks improved to 4-5, good enough for a two-game lead atop the moribund Central Division. Miguel Tejada had three hits, including his second homer of the season, to lead S-Mart’s attack. Vazquez’s strong outing lowered Josh Purves’s club’s team ERA to a surprising 2.83, 2nd-best in the league.

BLACK MESA 6, YUMA 5
WP: Takashi Saito (3-0, 0.00)
LP: Manny Corpas (0-1, 10.13)
SV: Papelbon (3)

The Anomalies bullpen continues to dominate Western Division foes, as setup man Takashi Saito became the first BARB hurler to earn three wins, albeit all in relief, when Adam Dunn and Jason Varitek both went deep as part of a five-run eighth at home in Black Mesa. It was Dunn’s team-leading third HR in seven games and spoiled a great outing by Roy Halladay, who took a shutout into the seventh.

LEXINGTON 1, CASSELTON 0
WP: Zack Greinke (2-0, 1.72)
LP: Aaron Harang (0-1, 3.00)

In the best-pitched game of the year so far, starters Zack Greinke and Aaron Harang both went the distance, with the young Greinke twirling a three-hit shutout to edge Harang, who gave up a two-out solo home run to B.J. Upton for the game’s only run. Greinke was so dominant that no Casselton hitter ever reached second base, and continued an early season trend of strong starting pitching for the Rebels. Lexington leads all of BARB with a 2.11 team ERA through 11 games, two of which were shutouts. Interestingly, despite Greinke’s excellence, the Rebels’ fifth starter was rumored to be available on the open market . . .

(Frostbite Falls and Pottsylvania were idle)