Yuma---Poking around .500, the low-scoring Darwin Finches finally got some big offense against a division rival, as Finches OF Josh Hamilton doubled, tripled twice and homered in an epic performance against the West-leading (48-41) Firebirds.
Hamilton tripled in his first at-bat, but was stranded when rookie Brian Matusz got David Ortiz to make the final out hitting it to the deepest part of the yard. The Finches got their way, however, in the third with some two-out thunder: after Yadier Molina singled, Hamilton went the other way for his second three-bagger of the game, scoring Molina. Then, of all people, the lumbering Ortiz clanked a ball off the wall in right that eluded Vladimir Guerrero, and he ended up on third: DARWIN 2, YUMA 0!
Guerrero must've been still smarting from the miscue, but he's swung a hot bat lately, and he continued the trend in the bottom of the inning, hitting a sac fly off Josh Johnson between RBI singles from Ryan Theriot and Ryan Braun to help put the Firebirds back on top.
That didn't last long! Hamilton came up in the fifth against Matusz with Molina aboard and two out, and roped a bomb to the upper deck in RF, that went out in a hurry to put the Finches temporarily back ahead. Then, in the eighth, with the score tied 4-4, Hamilton doubled with one out off Rafael Soriano (1-2, 3.78) to put the go-ahead run into scoring position with a hot (.450 in his last 20 AB) Ortiz at the plate. Soriano and company walked Ortiz to go after the lamentable Aaron Rowand, but the Finches countered with a pinch-hitter: left-handed James Loney, who skied a ball out to the corner in right.....a FAIR ball, gone, a three-run home run, and a 7-4 Darwin lead!
Hideki Okajima (7-1, 3.74) got the win, as Hamilton and defensive replacement Milton Bradley both made fine running catches in the ninth to support closer Ryan Franklin, who despite allowing two hits picked up his team-leading 17th save! 'Ham', mobbed in the clubhouse, was humble, allowing that he hadn't produced much in the first half despite collecting 30 doubles, second in the loop only to Frostbite Falls 3B Evan Longoria. "But," Hamilton said hopefully, "the difference between some of my doubles and a homer is just an inch, so maybe that's a good sign."
In other BARB action:
BROOKLYN 6, LOS ANGELES 1
WP: Jon Lester (8-4, 3.24)
LP: Tom Gorzelanny (0-1, 3.65)
Corey Hart drove in four runs with three hits, including a pair of long balls, and the Moabs lineup managed to put six runs on the board despite being minus all of the following: 1B Ryan Howard, 2B Chase Utley, SS Troy Tulowitzki, 3B Brandon Inge and OF Mike Cameron. Utley, "Tulo" and Inge are all nearly ready to return, but Howard just went on the DL, casting yet another pall on the Moabs (52-40) second-half chances.
FROSTBITE FALLS 3, CASSELTON 2
WP: Paul Maholm (3-4, 4.88)
LP: Bobby Jenks (5-4, 2.54)
John Lackey took a two-hit shutout into the eighth, but Rickie Weeks hit an RBI single in the inning to make it a one-run ballgame, and in their final ups one frame later the Squirrels put together a rally against struggling Bobby Jenks, with Adam Lind punching a one-out single through a drawn-in infield for a walkoff hit and Jenks' second blown save in as many tries against host Frostbite Falls (48-41).
POTTSYLVANIA 5, OAKLAND 0
WP: Cliff Lee (8-5, 3.79)
LP: Derek Lowe (5-10, 6.05)
Cliff Lee did it all, singling in the second as part of a three-run inning, hurling seven-plus innings of shutout baseball, and (for good measure) hitting a one-out HR off Matt Capps in the sixth to seal a win for visiting Pottsylvania (44-46) as the Creepers won their fifth straight.
The collapse of Oakland United continued on Game Day 99, as the club finally confirmed long-standing fears and placed productive 1B Kevin Youkilis on the disabled list with a hand injury that would require season-ending surgery.
WORCESTER 5, ARIZONA 2
WP: Ryan Dempster (10-5, 3.93)
LP: James Shields (4-6, 5.43)
SV: Rivera (23)
Hanley Ramirez and Robinson Cano both homered for the Eliminators, and Ryan Dempster
became just the fifth BARB hurler to reach 10 wins for the season as the Elims improved their BARB leading W-L record to 56-37. Arizona had a 2-0 lead after three innings due to Andre Ethier's 17th HR of the year, but could not prevent the bleeding and fell to 48-42, 6 and a half games back in the Central race.
MADTOWN 7, BLACK MESA 3
WP: Hideki Kiroda (11-4, 3.79)
LP: Erwin Santana (2-7, 6.90)
Matt Holliday went deep twice, and Pedro Sandoval had three hits, including his 13th bomb of the year, as the host Murlocs (49-44) kept pace in the West with Yuma by winning a slugfest with visiting (but fading) Black Mesa. The Anomalies got a pair of boundary belts in a losing effort from the leadoff spot, as Curtis Granderson connected twice, but they were no match for Kiroda, who became the second BARB hurler to reach 11 wins.
HAMILTON EXPLODES!
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