GAME DAY 50-SOMETHING

YUMA 4, LAS VEGAS 0

WP: Carlos Zambrano (5-1, 4.35)
LP: Ian Snell (3-6, 5.74)

Brian Roberts snapped out of a funk that had seen his average plummet to .220 with four hits, and Carlos Zambrano gooseegged the host Luchadores, working hard (135 pitches) but spacing out just five hits. Only one Luchadore hitter reached second in the game, and that hitter (Prince Fielder) struck out in his other three shots at ‘Big Z’, who became the fourth Yuma starter this season to pitch a shutout.

CASSELTON 5, OAKEYLAND 2

WP: John Lackey (1-2, 7.65)
LP: Jeff Francis (4-4, 3.49)

Shaking off a terrible start since returning from the DL, John Lackey went the distance on just 117 pitches while teammate Adrian Beltre hit a two-run double in the first and an RBI single in the fifth against a so-so Jeff Francis. Despite the win, the Horned Toads are a BARB-worst 19-35 since the season began and look to be on target for having the first pick in next year’s Draft unless some of their veterans start producing.

POTTSYLVANIA 4, BLACK MESA 2

WP: Cliff Lee (3-5, 4.16)
LP: Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.03)
SV: Wagner (9)

Juan Pierre singled, took second on a bad throw by Adam Dunn, stole third, and then scored on a triple by Jose Reyes as the Creepers used speed to rattle Justin Verlander and the Anomalies. Cliff Lee’s bid for a complete game came up just short, as he needed help from Billy Wagner, but based on games like this Lee seems to be a find off the scrap heap for GM Jeff Moore.

S-MART 2, LEXINGTON 0

WP: Hideki Kiroda (3-3, 5.57)
LP: Derek Lowe (3-3, 3.90)
SV: Romero (4)

Up-and-down rookie Hideki Kiroda lowered his ERA nearly two full points with seven strong innings, combining on a five-hitter with J.C. Romero, as the Boom Sticks pitching and defense made Alex Rodriguez’s two-run shot in the first off Derek Lowe stand up. The blast was ‘A-Rod’s’ BARB-leading 20th of the season...

BROOKLYN 6, WORCESTER 1

WP: Scott Baker (2-3, 7.20)
LP: Tim Hudson (0-4, 4.72)
SV: Rodriguez (13)

Snake-bitten Tim Hudson, winless since being acquired in a trade with Oakeyland, took a 1-0 lead into the seventh but could only watch in horror as relievers Joe Thatcher and Joaquin Benoit gave up RBI singles, as the Moabs rallied to make a winner of rookie Scott Baker. This makes the fourth time in seven starts (four losses, three no-decisions) that Hudson has handed the lead to a bullpen but watched things unravel. To make matters worse, the Eliminators loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth but were unable to make contact against Francisco Rodriguez.

DARWIN 7, FROSTBITE FALLS 2

WP: Zack Grienke (6-1, 3.43)
LP: Tim Lincecum (5-4, 3.22)
SV: Wakefield (1)

Milton Bradley snapped a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth with his eighth HR of the season, and Cristian Guzman had an RBI triple among his three hits as the Finches put up seven runs in the late frames against the host Squirrels. With such a cornucopia of scoring, the Unnatural Selections were able to use Tim Wakefield in long relief, and as it happens, with three innings of scoreless the ancient knuckleballer became eighth Darwin hurler to pick up a save this season.