BROOKLYN: EARLY LEAD IN WEST AT WORLD CHAMP'S EXPENSE

Justin Verlander couldn't survive a fourth-inning error by Ryan Howard, but the big man and new teammate John Buck battled back to tie the game in the sixth, then beat the best closer in BARB history to take an early two-game lead in the Eastern Division.

Verlander (3 IP, 6 H, four runs, three earned) failed to retire a batter in the fourth, and in an unusual move former Yuma closer Huston Street came in to stop the bleeding with two men on and none out in the fourth against visiting Worcester. The defending world champs were eager to get in the 'W' column in this young season, and by the time Hanley Ramirez had made the last out they were nursing a 4-0 lead.

But Brooklyn battled back in the sixth. Troy Tulowitzki banged a leadoff double off Ted Lilly, and scored one out later on Howard's RBI single. C John Buck, getting a start against a tough lefty, tomahawked a ball into the bleachers for a two-run shot, and just like that, the game was tied. That was all for Lilly, who went 5 and 1/3 innings in his first start with the Eliminators, giving up four earned. Rookie Craig Kimbrel finished off the sixth without allowing any more damage, and he and 2009 setup star Heath Bell fanned six of the next nine hitters they faced to keep the game tied.

Ryan Madson did the same thing for Brooklyn, however, with the former Yuma setup man scattering two hits over three frames...setting up a dramatic ninth. With the score knotted 4-4, Neftali Feliz (1-0, 4.50) proved mortal, giving up a single to Teixeira and, with one down, a ringing double to the RF corner by Joe Mauer. 'Tex' easily scored, but Mauer was rung up at third when he over-ran second, on a fine relay from RF Ben Zobrist.

Still, the world champs had done what they do best: string together many hits late in a ball game to beat good pitching, and hand a one-run lead to Mariano Rivera. Rivera led all of BARB in saves last year with 36, and has killed more rallies in the loop's eight seasons than any other pitcher.

Lights out? Not quite, because Buck singled with one out, Zobrist hit a soft flare over short to put Buck on second, and Brooklyn had some bullets left on the bench. PINCH-hitter Jed Lowrie hit a slow roller to Cano that forced Zobrist for the second out, but put runners at the corners. PINCH-hitter Ian Stewart, who lost his starting job at 3B to Adrian Beltre, singled sharply to easily score Buck from third, tieing the ballgame, and putting Lowrie into scoring position. Then, with two out, a previously-hitless Andrew McCutcheon sliced one past Cano .....scoring Lowrie with the winning run, walk-off, GAME OVER!

Just an April win, but after being nosed out on an extra day in a single-game playoff after an injury-plagued year, it was a sweet one for Brooklyn, giving the Moabs a (very early) 2-0 lead in the division against the world champs, and doing it with the bench strength that they hope will be the difference in 2011.

In other BARB action:

SIN CITY 5, FROSTBITE FALLS 0

WP: Edison Volquez (1-0, 0.00)
LP: Cole Hamels (0-1, 4.26)

The rechristened Cowboys continued to play road warriors, keeping the host Squirrels without a win, as young gun Edison Volquez threw blanks for eight frames and added an RBI groundout at the expense of Cole Hamels to win on the road in Frostbite Falls. Volquez's accomplishment was all the more notable, as his teammates played sloppy defense (errors by Sanchez and Wright) to create run-scoring opportunities in the fourth and sixth.

YUMA 10, PHILADELPHIA 5

WP: Tyler Clippard (1-0, 0.00)
LP: Edward Mujica (0-1, 6.00)
SV: Kuo (1)

Matt Cain was gone by the fourth, but the host Rebels blew a 5-0 lead, with Ryan Zimmerman going deep and Ryan Braun adding three hits to pound the home team's bullpen in Philadelphia. How ironic that the 'City of Brotherly Love' should witness a late beatdown between two sibling rivals!

CASSELTON 5, AC/BC 1

WP: John Danks (1-0, 1.29)
LP: Clayton Kershaw (9-1, 2.25)
SV: Nathan (1)

Former AC/BC (Darwin) shortstop Miguel Tejada took reliever Hideki Okajima deep, John Danks outpitched Clayton Kershaw, and a day after faltering in their road opener, new Toads closer Joe Nathan collected his first save of the year to help the defending Central champs claim their first win of 2011, on the road at...um....AC/BC.

ST. FRANCIS 4, CENTRAL CALIFORNIA 3

WP: Bronson Arroyo (1-0, 3.38)
LP: Hideki Kuroda (0-1, 3.24)
SV: Cordero (1)

Bronson Arroyo gave up a long bomb to Matt Holliday, but otherwise was in command, sticking around long enough to outlast Kuroda, who allowed a tie-breaking double to pinch-hitter Juan Uribe to lose what had been a decently-pitched ball game. Francisco Cordero, coming up an uneven 2010 season that saw him released by Yuma, picked up his first save of 2011 to bring the Friars to .500.

NEW ENGLAND 9, LOS ANGELES 8

WP: Jonathan Papelbon (1-0, 0.00)
LP: Matt Lindstrom (0-1, 4.50)

Backup catcher David Ross hit a go-ahead double in the bottom of the 13th, and Jonathan Papelbon picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief, but the most impressive numbers were those put up by 2011 draftee Evan Meek, who came into the game with his club trailing 8-5 in the sixth. But Dustin Pedroia hit a solo shot off Edwin Jackson, and former St. Francis OF Carlos Quentin hit a two-run blast off Rafael Perez in the seventh. In the meantime, Meek proceeded to stitch together five innings of no-hit ball.