GOOSE EGGS

The Pottsylvania Creepers and Los Angeles Wolverines are, arguably, BARB’s worst teams. The Creepers have a better record by a few games, but they actually have a worse run differential. In any case, it was the two lowest-scoring teams facing off on June 17. The pitching staffs didn’t disappoint…

Mark Buehrle faced off with Tim Hudson in this matchup in Chavez Ravine, and the wily veterans showed good stuff all night long. Buehrle walked four and allowed three hits over eight innings, striking out six. The only time he faced a runner in scoring position with less than two outs was the fourth inning, but he induced a double play to end the threat. He didn’t earn a decision, though.

Hudson was even better. Seven innings, three hits, five K’s and no walks. He retired the last 12 hitters he faced. But he left with the score tied, as well.

Neither starter allowed a run, meaning it was 0-0 into the late innings. Buehrle came out to start the ninth and immediately allowed a double to Starlin Castro. He was instructed to intentionally walk Logan Morrison before Creepers closer Carlos Marmol entered. Marmol showed his wild side, going to a 3-2 count on his first hitter, Carlos Santana, before the young catcher grounded into a force at second and beat out the throw to first. Marmol struck out the next hitter after going 3-2 again, bringing up Mike Stanton. The big flychaser hit a soaring drive on the first pitch he saw, but it fell a few feet short of the left field fence and regulation ended without a run.

Pottsylvania made a charge in the 10^th, with Danny Valencia, Blake DeWitt and Erick Aybar all walking with two out. Michael Pineda stepped up big, however, getting Matt Kemp to roll over and ground out to first.

The contest stayed scoreless through 12 without much of a threat from either side.

DeWitt did his best to un-tie it, but his booming shot (relatively speaking) over Stanton’s head in right field bounced up against the wall for a double. After Aybar grounded out, Kemp lined a single to right. Stanton showed off his arm, gunning down a stunned DeWitt at home! Kemp advanced to second, but two were out and Carlos Pena, who is almost an automatic out these days, came up to face Matt Lindstrom.

Pena must have guessed correctly on the 2-2, however. Lindstrom didn’t bother turning around to watch as Pena did what he does best (when he makes contact), launching a no-doubter to right-center field. 2-0, Creepers!

Santiago Casilla, who came on in the 12^th, gave up an infield single to Castro in the bottom of the 13^th but retired the other three batters, and Pottsylvania ended up in the win column.

But as BARB nears the half-way point, the Creepers will have to work hard to stay above Los Angeles. The Wolverine youngsters are continually improving, and eventually the run differential has to show up in the standings, right?

In other BARB action:

BROOKLYN 8, YUMA 7 (16)

WP: Neftali Feliz (7-3, 3.20)

LP: Aaron Crow (0-1, 9.00)

SV: Madson (1)

Andrew McCutchen’s second home run of the day provided the only run in extra innings and made a winner of Neftali Feliz in Arizona. McCutchen, who also drove in single runs in the second and fourth innings, hit a solo shot to give the Moabs a 6-5 lead in the sixth, but Yuma tied the game in the eighth. Feliz threw five hitless innings, including being perfect through the first four, before handing the ball off to Ryan Madson for his first Brooklyn save.

CASSELTON 1, PHILADELPHIA 0

WP: Ernesto Friero (5-0, 2.23)

LP: J.J. Putz (2-1, 1.93)

Curtis Granderson drove in, and scored, the only run in a scintillating pitchers’ duel with an eighth-inning homer off of J.J. Putz as the defending Central Division champs picked up a game on the second-place Rebels. John Danks, the Horned Toads’ starter, allowed four hits through six innings and only threw 69 pitches, but management removed him for a pinch-hitter with a chance to score in the seventh (which obviously didn’t pan out). Ernesto Frieri came on in relief and allowed one runner on a walk (before erasing him on a double play) in three innings for the win.

AC/BC 9, WORCESTER 0

WP: Chad Billingsley (5-7, 4.14)

LP: Johnny Cueto (0-5, 9.38)

Chad Billingsley, Brian Duensing and Matt Capps combined on a seven-hit shutout of the vaunted Eliminator offense, but the big story from Anaheim was Alex Gonzalez. The shortstop was 4-for-5 with a double and homer (missing the cycle by a triple), three runs and seven RBI for nearly all of the AC/BC offense. After hitting a three-run double in the fifth and three-run homer in the, Gonzalez had a chance for the cycle in the eighth, but he flew out.

SIN CITY 6, NEW ENGLAND 2

WP: Kyle Lohse (1-0, 5.47)

LP: Roy Halladay (10-3, 2.54)

Roy Halladay struck out eight in seven innings in his first start as a Yankee Stomper, but nine Cowboys hits scored six runs off of “Doc” in the sixth and seventh innings and Sin City went on to the victory. Jaime Garcia went 5.1 innings of one-run but wasn’t involved in the decision because he threw 93 pitches and was taken out with a runner on third base. Miggy Cabrera hit his third home run in two days in the losing effort.