FROSTBITE, LEXINGTON MAKE PLAYOFFS!

The Frostbite Falls Flying Squirrels secured their fifth playoff spot in their history with a rousing six-run seventh against the Finches bullpen, rallying to win their final game of the year on the road in Australia by a score of 9-7, and in the process eliminating both Yuma and Worcester from wild-card contention. Frostbite Falls (87-65) tied Western Division winner Lexington for the loop’s second-best record, and it was a team effort.

The Finches, resting their rotation for the playoffs, started rookie Max Scherzer, and the youngster had his best day in a Darwin ‘uni’, taking a 3-1 lead into the sixth. But Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 9.37) and Kevin Gregg were dreadful in relief, allowing the Squirrels to bat around and go up 8-3. Magglio Ordonez and Aki Iwamura both smacked doubles with the bases loaded, and Victor Martinez and Brad Hawpe both delivered fly balls to score runs. All of this made Squirrels rookie Tim Lincecum (10-9, 3.37) a happy camper. Darwin didn’t go down without a fight: both Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman came off the bench to collect pinch-hits against Eric O’Flaherty, and the Finches scored four times to narrow the score, but in the ninth Joe Nathan delivered his 28th save to put his team in the post-season.

In other BARB action:

WORCESTER 4, BROOKLYN 0

WP: Joba Chamberlain (3-2, 2.65)
LP: Ubaldo Jiminez (7-7, 5.31)

Joba Chamberlain flirted with a no-hitter for six innings and Alex Rios and Garret Atkins both went deep as the Eliminators (86-66) went out in style, finishing just one game behind the Squirrels in the East and tied with Yuma for the loop’s third-best record. Alas, there are only four playoff spots and so the Elims found themselves again eliminated in the last day despite a strong (11-5) finish.

LAS VEGAS 2, OAKEYLAND 0

WP: A.J. Burnett (14-8, 3.48)
LP: Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-10, 4.53)

A.J. Burnett fanned nine and allowed only one hit through seven frames in a playoff tuneup, as the Luchadores (76-76) managed to finish at .500 and ‘win’ their second straight Central Division crown despite a disastrously bad final month (7-14) that saw their overworked bullpen collapse. Burnett was therefore given a long leash in his last two starts, and Jimmy Rollins hit an RBI triple and scored off ‘Dice-K’ in the third to give him all the runs he would need.

S-MART 2, POTTSYLVANIA 0

WP: James Shields (11-12, 3.91)
LP: Cliff Lee (6-14, 5.60)

James Shields became only the second BARB hurler this season (Roy Halladay was the other) to go ten innings in a complete game victory, winning a scoreless duel with the Creepers’ Cliff Lee when Gary Sheffield hit a two-run bomb with one down in the bottom of the tenth. The Boom Sticks (65-87) thus finished with a .500 mark in September after a post All-Star Break collapse, eleven games out of first place. The Creepers, meanwhile, achieved the dubious distinction of losing 100 games and will draft ahead of all other returning teams in 2009.

CASSELTON 9, YUMA 5

WP: Aaron Harang (9-11, 4.63)
LP: C.C. Sabathia (18-7, 2.79)

Needing another epic outing from their ace and a win to force a one-game playoff, the Yuma Firebirds instead were stunned as C.C. Sabathia (the loop’s winningest pitcher, and likely Cy Young winner) was touched for five runs in the first by the cellar-dwelling Horned Toads. Sabathia retired leadoff hitter Ricky Weeks, but loaded the bases for James Loney (who tripled) and left them loaded two runs later for reliever Manny Corpas. When, two innings later, journeyman Kendry Morales singled with the bases loaded off the normally-reliable Rafael Perez, the rout was on. Yuma (86-66) thus finished one game behind idle Lexington, thus crowning the Rebels.

DIVISION WINNERS EXPRESS RELIEF, SATISFACTION

"The Frostbite Falls Flying Squirrels Baseball Club is very excited that our players persevered and made the playoffs once again,” said Squirrels GM Andrew Haynes. “It is good to be back in the running for the World Championship after a one-year hiatus. Last year, the club fell one game short of making the playoffs for the fifth-straight season. They made it to the final four teams each of the first four seasons (2003-2006), winning the World Series three times and finishing as runner-up to Brooklyn in their only non-championship season, 2004.

“After starting the season with one of the best teams in the league and dealing with many injuries to important players, to see our guys step up and finish the season on a roll is great,' said GM Jack Zduriencik. 'Our guys who have come from the Nomads, Carlos Beltran, Evan Longoria, Joakim Soria and Cole Hamels, just to name a few, are excited to go back and play at the place where they once had (temporary) residence.”

“If you think we're just pleased with making it, you're wrong,”said owner Andrew Haynes. “I know we have three BARB World Series trophies at team headquarters, but the desire to win is still there. This matchup with Lexington will be pitting the two best pitching staffs in BARB against each other, so I expect it to be a dogfight.”

“The Squirrels might have a slight advantage in experience, because Ronald Melkonian's Viper/Conquistador/D-Back/Rebel franchise has never made the playoffs."

The Rebels, meanwhile, are juiced. According to GM Melkonian, “Today is a special day for many of us, as well as the city of Lexington. We finally made it after a long four years, and mark my words: WE AREN'T STOPPING HERE! We are going all the way folks and we have the best players to accomplish the feat. With the best rotation hands down, and bats that strike fear in all the arms in BARB, we ARE THE TEAM TO BEAT! Las Vegas... their child's play! Frostbite... no problem! Darwin... isn't it hunting season already?!”

VEGAS CLINCHES . . . BY DEFAULT

VEGAS CLINCHES BY DEFAULT

CASSELTON 8, OAKEYLAND 7

WP: John Danks (4-6, 6.33)
LP: Brad Lidge (5-7, 3.77)

James Loney’s two-run single with two out and the bases loaded capped a four-run ninth against Brad Lidge and the Ballers, stopping their six game winning streak and giving the staggering (1-9 over the last 10 games) Las Vegas Luchadores the division…but what a way to win.

The idle Central Division leader clinched by default despite the fact that Oakeyland, with one game in the season against the Luchadores, could finish in a tie with Las Vegas should they win, with identical 75-77 records (is this a great division, or what?). This happens because Las Vegas is already 13-10 in the regular season against the Ballers, and one more loss would still lead them with a 13-11 tiebreaker and the division title.

Still, how much confidence can the Luchadores have, knowing that they have dropped so many games down the stretch and could even finish below .500?

But, if that wasn't bad enough, nothing else in the league was resolved on Saturday other than the possibility of more unpredictable scenarios:

S-MART 6, LEXINGTON 1

WP: Garrett Olson (7-15, 6.22)
LP: Johann Santana (13-10, 3.39)

Garret Olson worked eight strong innings in easily his best start of the season, and Alex Rodriguez added an insurance run with his BARB-leading 49th homer of the year as the Boom Sticks played spoiler against the West-leading Rebels, who dropped their final game of the season to finish at 87-65, one game ahead of idle Yuma….which still has a game to play against cellar-dwelling Casselton. Santana (5 IP, 4 ER) was hurt by a rare error on the part of 1B Adrian Gonzalez, but he also got himself in trouble by pitching around ‘A-Rod’, then serving up a two-run double to Delmon Young.

If Yuma bests Casselton, winning their 87th game, forcing a tie in the West with Lexington, then (based on their 12-12 mark against one another) the two clubs will meet in a (gulp) one-game playoff….

FROSTBITE FALLS 6, DARWIN 0

WP: Cole Hamels (10-14, 3.66)
LP: Jonathan Sanchez (2-2, 6.84)

Cole Hamels struck out 11 Finches, and the Squirrels jumped all over Jonathan Sanchez in a spot start for the recuperating Darwinians, with Corey Hart’s 13th HR and every starter but DH Luke Scott collecting at least one hit. Hamels took a one-hitter into the seventh before needing some bullpen help from Russ Springer, and with the win the Squirrels (winner of three BARB championships) moved a game ahead of Worcester, but still tied with Yuma (and behind Lexington) in the wild card race. Should Lexington win the West and Yuma tie Frostbite Falls with an 87-65 record, Frostbite Falls would have to wait for the winner of a one-game playoff in the West, then play a best-of-three series with the loser of that game! Ay Caramba, what complications!

GAME DAY 151

AND NOW...A (GULP) 4-WAY TIE?!?!?!

VEGAS’S LOSING STREAK REACHES EIGHT

Yuma----Charles Oliver’s troops got on the board first, but couldn’t hold serve in the late innings, and Jake Peavy (10-7, 3.81) fanned 10 Luchadores en route to a 6-2 win in front of the raucous Firebird faithful at the expense of visiting Las Vegas, which has now lost its eighth straight game and ninth of its last ten to fall below .500 (75-76), yet, incredibly, the Central Division club maintained a half-game lead over hard-charging Oakeyland, which can now control its destiny.

Brett Myers (9-8, 4.71) got an early 2-0 lead in this contest thanks to Jimmy Rollins’s ninth homer of the season, but was undone by Vladimir Guerrero. The Firebirds star earned his paycheck on Game Day 151: homering in the fifth, his 24th of the season, to help tie the score, singling in the go-ahead run in the sixth, and (for good measure) adding an insurance run in the eighth on a fielder’s choice. Peavy, meanwhile, was close to unhittable after the first, and Yuma (86-65) won its fifth straight.

Las Vegas has just one game left to play, but it’s on the road, against Oakeyland. If the Ballers can just beat Western doormat Casselton one more time, they will move into a tie and play a win-one, winner-take-all game at home against Vegas. This could be an absolutely historic collapse for the defending Central champs…shades of the ’64 Phllies!

WEST CLUBS HOLD WILD CARD ADVANTAGE

Yuma not only stayed one game behind West-leading Lexington, but also stayed ahead of Eastern clubs like Worcester and Frostbite Falls in the wild card race. While all the pundits have predicted that the wild card would emerge, yet again, from the ultra-strong East, in point of fact both of those runner-ups trail Yuma and Lexington. The nightmare scenario, though, is not that no Eastern club would make it: rather, the biggest thing to shuffle through is the possibility that four teams could all finish 87-65 (gulp)!

Both of these scenarios became possibilities because the West-leading Rebels overcame Alex Rodriguez and the visiting S-Mart Boom Sticks to win 5-4 at Lexington, sending GM Ronald Melkonian’s troops to a franchise-record 87th win of the season. Josh Beckett (10-7, 3.19) pitched eight passable innings, the big blemish being ‘A-Rod’s’ BARB-leading 48th circuit shot of the season. But the Rebels had a bigger day with the home run ball, pounding Chuck James and Alan Embree, getting big flies from B.J.Upton, David Wright, Adrian Gonzalez and J.J. Hardy. It was Lexington’s eighth straight win, setting up the following scenario:

Lexington, at home, with Johann Santana on the mound

Yuma, at home, with C.C. Sabathia on this hill

And the very real possibility that both will win against sub-.500 opponents, leaving Frostbite Falls and Worcester both needing sweeps of their final series to force any kind of playoff.

In other BARB action:

FROSTBITE FALLS 12, DARWIN 9

WP: Ben Sheets (10-11, 4.10)
LP: Oliver Perez (12-5, 3.48)

The visiting Squirrels scored five times in the fifth against a wild Oliver Perez, and despite a pair of late home runs from DH David Ortiz, the Finches were unable to come back against Andrew Haynes’ bullpen, as Frostbite Falls used five arms in relief of an effective but ginger Ben Sheets.

BROOKLYN 4, WORCESTER 2

WP: Fausto Carmona (10-4, 2.89)
LP: Jon Lester (6-3, 2.91)
SV: Rodriguez (32)

DH Jeff Kent, just off the DL, doubled home a run and added a sac fly, and Francisco Rodriguez picked up his BARB-leading 32nd save of the season in relief of Carmona as the Moabs (77-73) assured themselves to finish at least two games above .500 in what is otherwise a disappointing year for Brooklyn. The loss dropped the Eliminators into a tie for second in the Eastern Division and a potential four-way tie in the wild-card race, greatly muddying the league’s postseason picture.

FINCHES TAKE THE EAST!

FINCHES TAKE THE EAST!
Down Under---Tim Lincecum (6 IP, 2 hits) outpitched Scott Kazmir. Albert Pujols reached base four times and scored three runs. In the ninth, the visiting Squirrels handed a three-run lead to their closer, the superb Joe Nathan. Vintage Frostbite Falls, and textbook managing…but it all ended up in a shocking 5-4 loss, as the Unnatural Selections pulled a rabbit out of their hat, coming from behind to win their eighth straight game and in the process clinched the Eastern crown.

Early on, things went Frostbite’s way. Pujols doubled to lead off the second and scored the game’s first run on a double-play ball. Darwin got a home run ball in the fourth with a runner on from Lance Berkman (#22), but Kazmir drilled Michael Young to start the sixth. Pujols and Magglio Ordonez walked to load the bases with one out, and Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run double to give the Squirrels a 3-2 lead (and knock out Kazmir!). Frostbite Falls added an insurance run in the eighth when Encarnacion singled home Pujols and took a 4-2 into the ninth.

Joe Nathan, owner of 27 saves, was brought in to pitch the ninth, but it was a strange situation. The Squirrels, losers of five of their previous eight games, had not been able to place Nathan in a save situation for more than a week, and had strained their bullpen considerably with a 15-inning loss to Worcester the previous day, a game that had seen each team combine to use thirteen pitchers…including Nathan, who had fanned four over 2.2 innings without earning a decision in the 7-4 setback. So perhaps Nathan was simply not his usual self. Or maybe the Finches just had the rabbit’s foot going that day.


Whatever the reason, here’s how it went down: Berkman fanned on a 1-2 pitch, but DH David Ortiz reached when RF Corey Hart uncharacteristically lost a ball in the lights and ‘Big Papi’ ended up on second, a two-base error. Cristian Guzman pinch-ran for Ortiz. Chipper Jones, unable to start at 3B due to various nagging injuries, came off the bench to pinch-hit for Ty Wiggington. Jones worked a 3-0 count and then was ‘unintentionally’ walked rather than serve up a cripple pitch. Pinch-hitter Milton Bradley grounded slowly to Renteria, who threw to Young to force Jones. Then, with runners at the corners, another pinch-hitter (Ryan Doumit) singled home Guzman with two out. Yadier Molina singled home Bradley and when the throw went home in a vain attempt to prevent the tying run, Doumit was able to chug into third. Chone Figgins then lined an 0-1 pitch between Renteria and Encarnacion to score Doumit…

…AND THE PANDEMONIUM WAS ON!

The home dugout erupted, and the scoreboard emitted fireworks in the shape of a vast ‘Tree of Life’ all the while flashing the fact that the other Eastern contender (Worcester) had just dropped a close 3-2 decision to Brooklyn. With their 90th win, Darwin had clinched the Eastern division at the expense of visiting Frostbite Falls (84-64). The slumping Squirrels limped off the field, knowing that they would now need to win out to have any hope of edging Worcester (85-63) for the last remaining playoff spot.


In the clubhouse, a maniacal P.Z. Myers was heard to cackle, ‘How about them godless liberals?” without eliciting any apparent agreement from wildly-celebrating Finches. “I want to thank God for my teammates,” said injured RHP John Smoltz, who has spent most of the season on the DL but had joined the club for the final weekend as a show of support for Darwin’s pennant run. Smoltz and some other veterans have clashed with Myers, or at least the perception of Myers as speaking for the beliefs of ballplayers.

In other BARB action:

BROOKLYN 3, WORCESTER 2

WP: Roy Oswalt (8-10, 4.66)
LP: Jesse Litsch (9-6, 3.97)
SV: Rodriguez (31)

Chase Utley hit a two-run home run, his 26th of the year, to run his BARB-leading RBI total to 130, and ace Roy Oswalt and closer Francisco Rodriguez combined on a four-hitter to edge sibling rival Worcester. In the process, Brooklyn (75-73) played the ‘spoiler’ role to the hilt, as this win coupled with Darwin’s victory of Frostbite Falls denied Worcester the division title. Rodriguez’s 1-2-3 ninth gave him a BARB-leading 31 saves with four games left in the season, and almost certain Fireman of the Year honors.

CASSSELTON 4, OAKEYLAND 3

WP: John Lackey (9-9, 4.73)
LP: Matt Garza (3-10, 5.10)
SV: Benoit (2)

John Lackey won his first game in nearly a month with seven solid innings, and the much-mocked Horned Toads got a clutch homer from rookie Geovanny Soto (his 23rd of the year) to stop the visiting Ballers (73-75) winning streak at seven games and keep the club 1.5 games off the pace in the Central. The loss lowers Las Vegas’s ‘magic number’ for clinching the division to three with just four games to play.

LEXINGTON 6, S-MART 1

WP: Brandon Webb (15-10, 3.32)
LP: Hideki Kiroda (3-7, 7.21)

Brandon Webb won for the first time in nearly a month by going all the way, as the Rebels make the big push for the Western Division crown. Lexington (85-64) has won six straight, but with three games left in the regular season its’ lead over sibling rival Yuma is still but one game. In this contest, it was 3B David Wright who had the big blow, smacking a three-run bomb, his 26th HR of the season, and raising his BARB-leading total of runs scored to 116…

“DICE-K” ZEROES IN FOR PLAYOFF BID

“DICE-K” ZEROES IN FOR PLAYOFF BID
Casselton---Needing another win to stay alive in the Central race, the visiting Oakeyland Ballers got the world, as Daisuke Matsuzaka fanned 14 and ended up with a no-hitter against the cellar-dwelling Horned Toads! Matsuzaka (10-9, 4.66) would allow only two baserunners in the affair, a third-inning free pass to Geovanny Soto and a two-out, deep breath-inducing four-pitch walk to Ricky Weeks in the ninth.

But, if Matsuzaka was on fumes, he didn’t show it, pumping a fastball over the plate to Jose Guillen, who DRILLED it…back, back…and caught by hard-charging Andruw Jones just in front of the wall in dead center. “Dice-K” had a no-hitter, Oakeyland (73-75) a fifth-straight win, and with four games left, a legitimate shot at catching Las Vegas, which has lost eight of its last ten down the stretch.

It wasn’t all the “Dice-K” Show, of course: LF Conor Jackson drove in a pair of runs off Aaron Harang (8-11, 4.59), and rookie 3B Andy LaRoche collected three hits and scored twice, but in the end Matsuzaka was the hero, having made a huge statement. For, if it came down to it, with the season on the line in the next few days, he would doubtless work on short rest given the club’s injury problems, what with the loss of rookie LF Carlos Quentin and the sidelining of 3B Mike Lowell.

In other BARB action:

YUMA 6, LAS VEGAS 5

WP: Rafael Perez (8-2, 1.49)
LP: Mariano Rivera (4-4, 2.55)

Travis Hafner came off the bench to hit a game-tieing solo homer leading off the seventh against Brian Bannister, and Shane Victorino hit a walkoff double in the ninth against sore-armed Mariano Rivera, as the Firebirds (83-65) stayed within one game of West-leading Lexington while handing the slumping Luchadores (75-73) their fifth straight loss. Las Vegas’s ‘magic number’ has been stuck at four for an entire week, stunning fans who figured they would already have the division clinched by now.

LEXINGTON 4, S-MART 3

WP: Francisco Cordero (9-4, 3.50)
LP: Jose Valverde (6-6, 3.28)

Boom Sticks 3B Alex Rodriguez hit his BARB-leading 47th homer of the year in the ninth as an insurance run to give his team a 3-1 lead going to the bottom of the frame, but the Rebels (84-64) came off the deck to score three runs off Jose Valverde, the big blow being a two-run walkoff single off the bat of David Eckstein to settle the contest. It was the fifth straight win for Lexington, but with four games left in the season, anything can happen in this wild division.

DARWIN 4, FROSTBITE FALLS 2

WP: Randy Johnson (12-4, 3.34)
LP: Cole Hamels (9-14, 3.81)
SV: Putz (20)

45-year-old Randy Johnson needed relief in the sixth leading only 2-1, but Aaron Rowand smacked a two-run double and Kevin Gregg overcame a solo HR (#33) by Albert Pujols as the host Finches (89-58) won their seventh straight. Frostbite Falls (84-63) thus fell a game behind Worcester in the race for the wild card and now need to take four of their remaining six games (plus get some help from Brooklyn) to repeat as East champs.

Neither 3B Chipper Jones nor LF Milton Bradley, both nursing nagging injuries, started in the game for Darwin, and manager PZ Myers indicated he would continue to go with Chone Figgins and Ty Wigginton down the stretch, as well as rest SS Cristian Guzman as much as he could. “We’re banged up,” admitted Myers. In a further move, the Finches sent rookie Max Scherzer back to the minors and recalled veteran Tim Wakefield.

WORCESTER 5, BROOKLYN 4 (12 innings)

WP: Matt Guerrier (6-2, 2.36)
LP: Taylor Tankersley (1-1, 6.50)

Scott Downs blew a save in the eleventh and was then placed on the DL with a torn elbow ligament, and Mark Teixeira made a costly error that led to a go-ahead run in extra innings for the Moabs, but in the end the host Eliminators rallied in the bottom of the twelfth to improve to 85-62 and stay four games out in the East and take a one-game lead in the race for the wild card. Grady Sizemore beat the percentages by singling off Taylor Tankersley with one out, and Alex Rios had a two-run double, a walkoff hit, to keep the injury-laded club in the hunt.

In a piece of positive news, the Eliminators confirmed that RHP Jeremy Guthrie and sparkplug OF Carl Crawford would come off the DL and be able to play a role in the season’s final five games.
Stay tuned...

SABATHIA WINS 18TH TO KEEP FIREBIRDS CLOSE

SABATHIA WINS 18TH TO KEEP FIREBIRDS CLOSE

Yuma---Needing a win to avoid falling further behind West-leading Lexington, the Yuma Firebirds (82-65) got a gem from their ace, C.C. Sabathia, who twirled a four-hit shutout en route to his BARB-leading eighteenth win of the year. In the process, Sabathia lowered his ERA to 2.59, pulling into a tie with Rebels hurler Rich Harden for the BARB lead in that category.

With the win, regardless of what happens the rest of the way for Yuma, Sabathia essentially nailed down this year’s Cy Young:

Wins: leads BARB with 18, three more than the runner-up (Scott Kazmir)

Innings pitched: leads BARB with 219, ten more than the runner-up (Gil Meche)

Shutouts: leads BARB with 6, three more than runner-up (Danny Haren)

Of course, C.C. also had help: OF Nick Markakis put Yuma on the board with a solo homer in the fourth, his 19th shot of the season, then added an RBI single as part of a four-run fifth against A.J. Burnett (13-8, 3.64) and the Firebirds went on to win rather handily, 5-0, to hold off the visiting Luchadores attempt to clinch the Central. Las Vegas (75-72) has lost four straight, but with just five games left and a two-and-a-half game lead over Oakeyland, can probably---probably---coast to the end.

Meanwhile, Yuma definitely needed the heroics from Sabathia and Markakis: they picked up a half-game on idle Lexington, and they stayed within striking distance (2.5 GB) of the wild card race seemingly dominated by Eastern contenders.

In other BARB action:

DARWIN 5, FROSTBITE FALLS 3

WP: Gil Meche (14-12, 2.88)
LP: Ben Sheets (9-11, 4.03)
SV: Putz (19)

Ben Sheets allowed a leadoff home run to Chone Figgins, then matched Gil Meche pitch-for-pitch for five innings before running out of gas, and Figgins (playing left for the ailing Milton Bradley) added an RBI single as part of a four-run sixth to send the host Finches (88-58) to their sixth straight win. Darwin can clinch a playoff spot with two more wins, and they will own the East outright by splitting their final six games.

BROOKLYN 4, WORCESTER 0

WP: Rafael Betancourt (9-4, 2.62)
LP: Scott Olsen (1-5, 6.27)
SV: Rodriguez (30)

Veteran Ken Griffey snapped a scoreless pitcher’s duel with a solo home run (#26) in the eighth, and Francisco Rodriguez notched his BARB-leading 30th save as the recently-eliminated Moabs played spoiler against sibling rival Worcester. With the loss, Worcester (84-62) remained in a tie with Frostbite Falls for the lead in the wild card race. ITEM: in the event of a tie at the end of the season, Worcester would win the tie-breaker based on their solid record (16-8) vs. the Squirrels, whereas if Frostbite Falls tied Darwin, they would beat out the Finches, whom they have handled (12-6) in the regular season to this point.

Stay tuned!

FINCHES SLAY MOABITES: DARWIN, LEXINGTON TAKE COMMAND OF DIVISIONAL RACES

EXTRA-INNINGS DOMINATE GAME DAY 150

Brooklyn---The Eastern-leading Darwin Finches finished off the playoff hopes of the host Moabs on Game Day 150, but they needed twelve innings to complete a three-game sweep and an exceptional day from RHP Zack Greinke (11-7, 4.36), who scattered two hits in six scoreless innings in relief of starter Oliver Perez to win for the first time since being sent to the bullpen in late August.

Greinke came into the game with the Unnatural Selections riding a high: the Finches had knocked out Brooklyn ace Roy Oswalt (7-10, 4.79) on Milton Bradley’s team-leading 24th homer of the year, while Scott Kazmir scattered four hits over seven frames to improve to 15-5, 3.10 in Darwin’s 5-2 victory. In the second game, Chad Billingsley (6-5, 3.98) overcame a first-inning run with help from Josh Hamilton, whose two-run triple keyed a five-run fifth against Scott Baker (6-11, 6.45) as the Darwinians went on to win 8-3.

This set up an absolute must-win game for the Moabs in the series finale if they were to have a shot at the playoffs with eight games left in the regular season. Perez got off to a rocky start for the Finches, but Placido Polanco tied up the game 3-3 with a rare homer, his sixth of the season, off Fausto Carmona. The so-so Perez would depart in favor of Greinke, but Carmona would put up zeroes the rest of the way. Ken Griffey twice hit doubles with one out, the only hits that Greinke would allow in his long relief stint, but each time the Finches were able to pitch around BARB RBI leader Chase Utley to get out of scoring threats. So it was, in the twelfth, Bradley would get a shot at Brooklyn’s fourth hurler of the day, Duaner Sanchez. Bradley had hit his 25th of the year leading off the game, and with two out drilled a ball just over the wall for his second blast of the game and third of the series. Darwin led, 4-3, and in the bottom of the inning J.J. Putz went after his 18th save of the year. It wasn’t easy: Ichiro Suzuki worked a 3-2 pitch for a walk to open the frame and stole second to put the tieing run in scoring position. But Putz fanned Griffey and Cabrera, the Finches intentionally walked Utley, and Troy Tulowitski’s opposite-field liner was snagged by Lance Berkman at first for the final out: the Finches had eliminated the Moabs in 12 innings, and now owned a three-game lead with seven to play.

A good position, but not one that guaranteed much of anything, however, since the Finches had seven games left with Frostbite Falls and Worcester had seven left with slumping Brooklyn. If both of their rivals could win five or more of their remaining games, Darwin could be on the outside looking in. Stay tuned!

In other BARB action:

WORCESTER 7, FROSTBITE FALLS 4 (15 innings)

WP: Pedro Feliciano (4-3, 2.45)
LP: Joakim Soria (4-6, 2.43)
SV: Guerrier (4)

The ragged Eliminators pen outlasted the host Squirrels, and the visiting Eliminators overcame a pair of HR (30,31) by 1B Albert Pujols, and Mark Teixeira cashed in an error by Michael Young with a two-run triple to help Worcester win its biggest game of the year, a marathon that went fifteen frames and had a bit of everything.

Elims starter Jon Lester had outlasted Felix Hernandez, sending a 4-2 lead to his mates in the pen. But Pujols’s second homer of the game sent Lester to the showers leading off the eighth, and pinch-hitter Brad Hawpe tied the game two batters later with an RBI single, forcing extra frames. Frostbite Falls would leave the bases juiced, however, and would then leave runners on five of the next seven frames, ratcheting up the tension. In the fifteenth, the Squirrels’ eighth pitcher (Joakim Soria) retired the first two hitters, then gave up a soft single to Jason Bay. Young then threw away Alex Rios’s ground ball to put runners at the corners, and Teixeira tripled home a pair.

Matt Guerrier, the fifth Elims hurler, then worked a scoreless fifteenth for his fourth save of the season, and with their final series with sibling rival Brooklyn, Worcester had to feel pretty good to pull out the extra-inning win, which keeps them tied with Frostbite Falls (84-61) for the loop’s second best record, still in contention for the East crown and ahead of both Yuma and Lexington for a coveted wild card spot.

OAKEYLAND 4, YUMA 3 (13 innings)

WP: Brad Lidge (5-6, 3.83)
LP: Matt Capps (2-2, 2.70)

What is it with all these extra-inning games? They take so long to write up! In this one, much-maligned Nick Swisher kept his club hanging on in the Central race with three hits, including a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the thirteenth to beat Matt Capps and the visiting Firebirds, scoring J.D. Drew after neither club had scored since the fourth, a span of nearly nine innings.

Oakeyland (72-74) has now won four straight games facing elimination, keeping Vegas’s ‘magic number’ for clinching the Central at four games while playing some tough contests against Western contenders. Yuma, meanwhile, fell to 81-65, their fifth straight loss, falling a game-and-a-half behind sibling rival Lexington.

LEXINGTON 12, POTTSYLVANIA 1

WP: Josh Beckett (9-7, 3.19)
LP: Pedro Martinez (0-8, 9.15)

Former ace Pedro Martinez’s miserable 2008 campaign with the hapless Creepers reached new lows, as the visiting Rebels (83-64) won their fourth straight, knocking out Pedro with a five-run first keyed by a double from Adrian Gonzalez, who later smacked his 25th homer of the season as part of the rout. Josh Beckett, meanwhile, showed signs of shaking off the erratic outings that marked his play prior to going on the DL last month, allowing only one run (unearned) through eight frames. But, how much can you draw from that? After all, this is the Creepers, who with a league-worst 51-95 mark will in all likelihood be drafting ahead of all other BARB teams in the spring of ’09…

Stay tuned!

BROOKLYN, OAKEYLAND STAY ALIVE

BROOKLYN, OAKEYLAND STAY ALIVE

Office of the League Commissioner---With ten games or less remaining in the BARB season, the Brooklyn Moabs and Oakeyland Ballers took care of ‘must-win’ games to keep themselves in the playoff hunt. Brooklyn was formally eliminated from contention from the Eastern playoff spot by Darwin’s 10-3 win over Worcester, but remained in play for the wild card spot with a one-sided (11-1) drilling of Frostbite Falls.

Oakeyland, meanwhile, picked up a game in the standing over Central-leading Las Vegas by winning an extra-inning thriller at home, but they are already eliminated from wild card consideration with a 70-74 record: with eight games left, they are five back and Las Vegas’s ‘magic number’ for clinching a second straight divisional title is down to four.

BROOKLYN 11, FROSTBITE FALLS 1

WP: Anthony Reyes (1-1, 3.30)
LP: Cole Hamels (7-12, 3.94)

Anthony Reyes picked up an easy win when Ubaldo Jiminez could not continue after a third-inning rain delay already leading 7-0, as Chase Utley and Miguel Cabrera capped a big inning with run-scoring doubles off an ineffective Cole Hamels. Utley (.321, 41 doubles, 14 triples, 23 HR) leads all BARB players with 126 RBI and has emerged as an MVP candidate. Frostbite Falls (83-59) fell a game behind Darwin in the East with ten games remaining.

DARWIN 10, WORCESTER 3

WP: Randy Johnson (11-4, 3.41)
LP: Joba Chamberlain (2-2, 3.03)

The Finches sent twelve men to the plate in a seven-run second in which Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman bookended bases-loaded doubles around a throwing error by Hanley Ramirez, and 45-year-old Randy Johnson allowed only two runs through 100 pitches before needing relief help from Max Scherzer. With the win, Worcester (82-60) fell games two games behind Darwin in the East, but remain just one game out of the wild card.

OAKEYLAND 3, BLACK MESA 2 (13 innings)

WP: Brad Lidge (4-6, 3.86)
LP: Takashi Saito (10-3, 1.80)

Takashi Saito, just off the DL, walked two batters with one out then allowed a winning double to rookie 3B Andy LaRoche, as the Ballers (70-74) kept themselves alive in the Central. Todd Wellemeyer pitched brilliantly for Black Mesa, nurturing a 2-1 lead for eight frames, but Jonathan Papelbon allowed an RBI triple to tie the score in the ninth and force extra innings.

S-MART 7, YUMA 3

WP: Javier Vazquez (13-6, 3.03)
LP: Edinson Volquez (5-9, 3.50)
SV: Wilson (5)

Rookie Edinson Volquez gave up a homer on the first pitch of the ball game to Dan Uggla, then failed to retire any of the next six hitters as the Boom Sticks sent him to the showers trailing 4-0, with former Firebirds SS Miguel Tejada going 4-for-4 with his 13th circuit shot of the season. S-Mart then held on against a late rally, with Brian Wilson striking out pinch-hitter Josh Bard with runners on to end the game. It was the third straight loss for the Firebirds (81-63), and their lead with eight games to play in the West is still just one game over sibling rival Lexington.

LEXINGTON 8, LAS VEGAS 7

WP: Brandon Webb (14-10, 3.47)
LP: Francisco Liriano (0-2, 11.74)
SV: Cordero (4)

Brandon Webb, loser of five of his last seven decisions, gave his possible Cy Young candidacy a boost with seven solid innings, only to nearly see his teammates in the bullpen give the game away in a wild game that featured seven homers, including a pair by Rebels CF B.J. Upton. Prince Fielder hit his 43rd blast of the year in a losing cause to get the Luchadores (75-69) close.

AND NOW . . .

A THREE-WAY TIE!

With twelve games left to play, Darwin, Frostbite Falls and Worcester all sport identical 82-58 records, as the Unnatural Selections (who once led this division by as many as five games) are in danger of missing the playoffs all together!

To make matters worse for the Darwinians, it came at the end of a four-game set with the Eliminators that saw Matt Caskey's troops first take two of three from Darwin on the road in Australia, then win the opening game of a three-game set at home. In each case, Worcester rallied against Darwin's fading bullpen. In the latest debacle, Darwin led 4-0 behind Oliver Perez after six-and-a-half innings. But rookies Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, called to pitch relief, gave up five hits and three walks, as the Eliminators batted around to score seven runs, the big blow being a bases-loaded triple by Hanley Ramirez. Darwin scratched out a run in the top of the eighth on a Jeter throwing error, but Worcester answered with Grady Sizemore's two-out RBI triple off Hideki Okajima, and in the ninth new closer Brandon Morrow dispatched all the Darwin hitters for his ninth save of the year.....WORCESTER 8, DARWIN 5! Jon Lester, who had been outpitched by Perez for six frames, ended up getting the win, improving to 6-2 with a 3.92 ERA while Kershaw (1-1, 6.57) took the loss.

With the win, the Eliminators have now won 9 of 13 games since this month began, while in comparison Darwin (4-8) and Frostbite Falls (5-7) have losing records.

But what of the Squirrels, who recently shuffled their roster and added an extra pitcher? They got a good start as well from their man, Tim Lincecum, but through five-plus he was also being outpitched by Brooklyn's Fausto Carmona (9-4, 2.93). Carmona took a shutout into the sixth, and a 2-0 lead thanks to solo homers off the bats of Ryan Howard (31) and Ken Griffey (24), but in the bottom of that frame the Squirrels put their first two men on, moved runners over, and after a sac fly, got a go-ahead bomb from Magglio Ordonez, his second in as many games. From that point, it was up to Frostbite Falls' bullpen...and eventual winner Eric Flaherty (5-1, 4.18), Russ Springer and Joe Nathan (save #27) were up to the task! FROSTBITE FALLS 3, BROOKLYN 2!

So, with the Squirrels and Elims both winning and Darwin dropping its third contest in four games with Worcester, the Eastern Division was all knotted up at 82-58! This sets up the following dramatic finish in the East:

Darwin on the road for 5 more games against Worcester and Brooklyn, then 7 straight (at home) versus Frostbite Falls.

Frostbite Falls at home for five more games against Brooklyn (2) and Worcester (3), then 7 straight on the road at Darwin.

Worcester at home for 2 more games with Darwin, a three-game series at Frostbite Falls, then 7 straight (at home) versus their sibling rivals in Brooklyn.

The schedule thus, curiously, favors Worcester with two more home games than either Frostbite Falls and Darwin. It will probably come down to which team pitches the best: will it be the Squirrels, who have moved to a four-man rotation of Sheets, Hamels, Lincecum and Hernandez? Will it be Worcester, whose rotation has been riddled by injuries but has posted a BARB-leading 3.31 team ERA since Sept. 1st? Or will it be Darwin, whose bullpen has blown a BARB-leading four saves since the same date while posting a 4.82 team ERA?

Stay tuned!

In other BARB action:

S-MART 12, YUMA 5

WP: Alan Embree (12-2, 3.11)
LP: Roy Halladay (8-12, 3.82)

A five-run third benefited middle reliever Alan Embree, as neither starter Hideki Kiroda or Roy Halladay were able to escape a wild second inning that saw the two clubs score 11 runs between them. The Boom Sticks, however, were able to keep up the scoring, taking it to the tiring bullpen of Jon Rauch and Trevor Hoffman. Meanwhile, S-Mart third sacker Alex Rodriguez scored four times without virtue of a hit, reaching five times on three walks (one intentional) and two errors. "A-Rod" leads the loop with 45 HR....and 37 (!) intentional walks!

LEXINGTON 5, LAS VEGAS 1 (1st game of DH)

WP: Josh Beckett (8-7, 3.35)
LP: A.J. Burnett (13-7, 3.69)

LAS VEGAS 3, LEXINGTON 2 (2nd game of DH)

WP: Brian Bannister (6-3, 3.75)
LP: Mike Gonzalez (1-1, 6.04)

Josh Beckett, who has battled injuries this season, came off his second stint on the DL to put the hurt on host Las Vegas, twirling a three-hitter and getting homers from mid-season acquistions Curtis Granderson and Adrian Gonzalez. Beckett would go all the way, giving the Rebels pen a break, and propelling the Rebels to a win in the opening game of a twi-night doubleheader in Las Vegas.

But in the nightcap, with Johann Santana locked in a duel with Luchadores starter Brian Bannister, the Rebels took a 2-1 lead into the ninth on the strength of former Vegas C A.J. Pierzynski's RBI single. Hanley Ramirez led off the bottom of the ninth against Santana by walking on a 3-2 count. Former Moabs reliever Mike Gonzalez came in to pitch to the left-handed hitting Prince Fielder....who then hit his team-leading 42nd HR, a two-run, game-winning walkoff job to stun the Rebels!

Lexington thus fell to 79-64, but still picked up a game in the standings against Yuma, which dropped their game versus S-Mart. Meanwhile, the Luchadores (75-68) lowered their 'magic number' to clinch the Central Division to four games.

OWINGS A HIT IN RELIEF, PENNY BAD AS SQUIRRELS SHUFFLE

Brooklyn----Ryan Howard (29) and Brian McCann (10) both homered with runners on, but the biggest blow belonged to Moabs middle man Micah Owings, who keyed a three-run third with a pinch-double off Brad Penny (4-6, 4.72), making his first start in a Squirrels ‘uni’ since coming off the DL. Owings (11-9, 4.47) would allow two runs, one earned, in three innings in relief and get the win with help from four late runs scored by his teammates after bailing out ineffective starter (4 IP, 5 ER) Ubaldo Jiminez.

As a result, the Moabs (71-67) pulled within eleven games of East-leading Darwin.

Ironically, both Penny and Owings came off the hill limping---Owings, complaining of a stiff shoulder, came out in the sixth after giving up an unearned run on a Miguel Cabrera throwing error; Penny, meanwhile, never made it past the third and after the game had plenty to say….and it was all ugly.

“What more do I have to do?” Penny complained in the locker room to reporters while the game was still going on. “I’m trying to pitch hurt. I came off the DL to pitch, but that doesn’t mean I’m one hundred percent. I think I really have kind of let myself in a mess here. I hurt, and I probably made things worse trying to pitch, all because they haven’t talked to me about extending my contract. I don’t think they want me back, and if that’s the case, I don’t want to be here.”

Penny, wrapped in ice, then staggered out of the clubhouse rather than return to the dugout. An unnamed club official allegedly muttered that Penny’s competitiveness had gotten the better of him, but it rang insincere to some observers with just fourteen games left in the Squirrels regular-season campaign.

In other news, the Squirrels surprised some insiders by cutting 3B Hank Blalock, who had been struggling to find his stroke (.245, 6 HR, 25 RBI) in limited action since coming off the DL. Despite Blalock's reputation, Frostbite GM Andrew Haynes had come to a decision: “Unfortunately, Hank hasn't been healthy most of the year, so he hasn't had much of a chance to show us what he can do. Because of that and the fact that we have someone younger and more durable at third in Edwin Encarnacion, we have given Hank his unconditional release.”

The Squirrels also confirmed that they would keep both OF Luke Scott and Matt Murton on the playoff roster after first mulling the possibility of cutting Murton (who is out of options). Instead, Frostbite Falls will go with a four-man rotation (Sheets, Hamels, Lincecum and Hernandez) and seven relievers, keeping 14 position players. As Haynes explained, “With Hank we would have been forced to make other choices that would have been detrimental to the success of the pitching staff. The Frostbite Falls Flying Squirrels Baseball Club wished Hank all the best in the rest of his playing career."

In other BARB action:

WORCESTER 5, DARWIN 4 (1st game of DH, 12 innings)

WP: Brandon Morrow (2-3, 4.89)
LP: Zack Greinke (10-7, 4.46)

DARWIN 5, WORCESTER 2 (2nd game of DH)

WP: Scott Kazmir (14-5, 3.13)
LP: Jeremy Guthrie (12-9, 3.22)
SV: Gregg (10)

Hanley Ramirez led off the top of the 12th with his 22nd home run to break a 4-4 tie, as the gritty Eliminators overcame a poor start by Jesse Litsch (4 IP, 4 ER, 0 K) to earn a win in the opening game of a twi-night doubleheader on the road in Australia. It was the second time in three games that Matt Caskey’s team came up with a big win against Darwin’s bullpen, having beaten J.J. Putz in the season opener. The Finches avoided a sweep in the series by getting seven strong innings from Scott Kazmir in the second game with help from Lance Berkman, whose two-run single gave Darwin the lead in the fifth. Kevin Gregg, the club’s least-trusted reliever after several mid-summer meltdowns, nevertheless gave Putz and the rest of the pen a breather with two hitless frames.

Despite the split, Worcester has to be thrilled: they are in better position than anyone could’ve dreamed in mid-August, when they were six games out. Now, at 80-58, they are just one game out of the wild card and two games off the Finches BARB-leading victory total….and fourteen games left to play in the East.

LAS VEGAS 10, CASSELTON 7

WP: Aaron Heilman (8-3, 2.96)
LP: Brad Hennesey (2-8, 4.35)
SV: Rivera (25)

Jimmy Rollins had three hits, including his 8th circuit shot of the year, and the Luchadores went on to outslug the visiting Horned Toads, improving to 74-66. Despite four straight wins from the Ballers, Vegas’s ‘magic number’ to clinch the division was reduced to seven with just twelve games to play.

OAKEYLAND 5, LEXINGTON 3

WP: Joe Blanton (9-10, 4.20)
LP: Danny Haren (11-5, 3.78)
SV: Lidge (23)

Carlos Quentin hit a two-run home run, and Joe Blanton shrugged some poor outings to allow just two earned runs over eight frames and keep Oakeyland’s slim postseason chances alive. Meanwhile, the Rebels (77-63) continued to stumble in the final weeks, falling three games back of Yuma with twelve games to play.

In another piece of bad news for GM Ronald Melkonian, it appears that mid-season acquisition Brandon Phillips may be lost with broken fingers that may require surgery.

YUMA 10, POTTSYLVANIA 3

WP: Matt Cain (8-9, 4.04)
LP: Cliff Lee (6-12, 5.72)

Ryan Braun scored on a wild pitch in the first, hit his team-leading 30th home run in the seventh and in-between got the key hit, tripling home a pair of runs and scoring to lead the Firebirds (80-60) attack, making West-leading Yuma the league’s fourth team to reach the 80-win mark. Yuma’s ‘magic number’ for clinching the division is now down to ten games…with twelve to play.

FINCHES STUNNED BY HAWPE, HALTED BY INJURIES

Frostbite Falls---Sure, they have the best record (81-54) in all of BARB. Sure, they lead the league in runs scored and are fourth in ERA. And, yes, they have healthy pitching staff. But none of that mattered on Game Day 142, as Brad Hawpe came off the bench in the bottom of the ninth to hit a three-run bomb off J.J. Putz (2-3, 2.91), a pinch-hit, walkoff job that absolutely crushed the Unnatural Selections.

“Hawpe has our number,” conceded Darwin skipper PZ Myers. “I guarantee you we are never going to give him anything to hit again. This has to be about the seventh time this year he had a clutch hit against us, and I know for a fact that last year he homered against us four times. I wish they’d trade him to a Central Division club, because he does more damage against us than anyone in their lineup after Albert (Pujols).”

Hawpe’s heroics made a winner out of Carlos Marmol (5-2, 2.76), who was caddying for hard-luck case Cole Hamels, who is just 5-9 despite a fine 3.71 ERA and nearly a strikeout an inning. Oliver Perez, who had his worst start in a Darwin ‘uni’ last week (1 IP, 6 BB), was better than Hamels this time, fanning eight over seven-plus frames and leaving with a 3-2 lead. But the Squirrels’ ninth-inning rally erased that bad luck, and if the clubhouse was any indicator, the Eastern Division leaders were feeling the heat.

Darwin, if it cinches a playoff spot, will limp into the postseason with a few bad wheels.
OF Rick Ankiel has not started for over a week and may need surgery for a sports hernia. IF Carlos Guillen has a pinched nerve in his back and has not been able to swing a bat in over a week. Both players are unlikely to play the rest of the year, and will likely miss the post-season.

Meanwhile, 3B Chipper Jones (who has played through many nagging injuries this season) has had a flareup of shoulder tendinitis that has not responded to off-the-counter steroids, and can no longer play the field. For now, the Finches will give Jones some days off and only use him in the lineup as a DH…which puts David Ortiz on the bench. In all likelihood, Darwin will call up IF Mark Loretta to fill Ankiel’s spot and then wait and see about Guillen and Jones. Loretta could see time around the infield, as could utility man Chone Figgins. The Finches could also call up Jeff Clement from AAA and use the productive bat of Ryan Doumit around the infield, or even in the outfield. So they have options. It’s just not going to be the dominant lineup of much of the summer.

In other BARB action:

YUMA 6, LAS VEGAS 3

WP: Edinson Volquez (5-8, 3.35)
LP: Francisco Liriano (0-1, 9.00)

Rookie Edinson Volquez allowed Prince Fielder’s 41st homer in the first, then settled down, finishing with a four-hitter and a complete game in outlasting highly-touted but erratic lefty Francisco Liriano, just called up from AAA. Vladimir Guerrero and Ryan Zimmerman both went yard for the Firebirds, but the big blow was Ryan Braun’s team-leading 29th boundary belt, a three-run blast to chase Liriano in the fifth. With the win, Yuma (79-60) pulled a half-game ahead of idle Lexington with just 13 games left in the season….!

BROOKLYN 7, WORCESTER 6

WP: Rafael Betancourt (8-4, 2.76)
LP: Pedro Feliciano (3-3, 2.85)

PITCHER Micah Owings hit a game-tying pinch-home run leading off the eighth against reliever Heath Bell, and Pedro Feliciano failed to record an out in the bottom of the ninth as the Moabs, led by SS Troy Tulowitzki, rallied to beat the visiting Eliminators. With the loss, Worcester fell three behind East-leading Darwin at 78-57, but they are only one game behind Frostbite Falls in the wild card spot…with just 17 games left to play!

BOOM STICKS BUSTED

Jeremy Hermida and J.J. Hardy hit solo home runs off an otherwise-effective Scott Shields (9-12, 4.39), and spot starter Derek Lowe overcame a pair of ninth-inning errors to go the distance as the Rebels edged the S-Mart Boom Sticks by a 4-3 score, thereby pulling within a half-game of West-leading Yuma and...in the process....eliminating the Boom Sticks from the post-season.

Things weren't always this way. S-Mart had pulled within a game of Central-leading Las Vegas as recently as June 1st, riding a home run surge from Alex Rodriguez, who had missed two weeks in the early going but who is arguably the favorite for league MVP honors this year after hitting .321 with 45 HR and 96 ribbies in 421 at-bats. But things unraveled for the club after that, with injuries to Jake Westbrook, Todd Helton, Gary Sheffield and Jason Isringhausen proving too much to bear for a team with a thin bench and uneven rotation. Lowe (8-5, 4.20) was brilliant, allowing just six hits and needing 111 pitches only because of errors by corner IF David Wright and Adrian Gonzalez.

With the loss, S-Mart becomes the fourth BARB team to be eliminated from postseason contention, joining Casselton, Pottsylvania and Black Mesa. The Oakeyland Ballers, therefore, are the last obstacle between Las Vegas and a second straight Central title. And the Luchadores, perhaps buoyed by the recall of LHP Francisco Liriano, is playing its best ball of the year down the stretch. Their 23-7 record since August 1st is tops in the league, keyed by an 11-game winning streak, and....against the Firebirds...more of the same:

LAS VEGAS 6, YUMA 4

WP: Brian Bannister (5-3, 4.00)
LP: Roy Halladay (8-11, 3.83)
SV: Rivera (24)

Prince Fielder homered twice, bringing his team-leading total to 40 (second in the league), and rookie Brian Bannister had his best-ever start in BARB despite fanning only one hitter, allowing three runs over eight frames to push the Luchadores to their third straigth win, and a season-high eight games over .500 (73-65). Las Vegas now owns the league's sixth-best record, and their magic number for clinching the division is now just eight games !

As for the Firebirds, the loss had them fall to 78-60, just a half-game in front of hard-charging Lexington, as they mustered only two hits after the third.

WORCESTER 5, BROOKLYN 4

WP: Jon Lester (5-2, 3.66)
LP: Scott Baker (5-10, 6.55)
SV: Morrow (8)

The Eliminators needed to use five relievers to do it after a pair of rain delays, but they held on to edge their sibling rivals on the road in Brooklyn to win for the 19th time in their last 30 games, the best mark in the East since August 1st. In the process, Worcester pulled into a tie with sluggish (14-15 since Aug. 1st) Frostbite Falls for second place in the East, three games behind the idle Darwin Finches.

It all happened because Jon Lester managed to outlast one of the rain delays for a solid four-and-two-thirds of an inning, and back-to-back homers in the drizzle off Scott Baker by Jermaine Dye and (most painfully) former Moab Jason Bay.

GAME DAY 139

Black Mesa---The secret’s out. The ‘Half Life’-inspired baseball team, despite a terrific start, has finally ‘decayed’ out of existence, joining Pottsylvania and Casselton as the league’s teams that will miss the post-season, as visiting Central Division leader Las Vegas (72-65) put an 8-2 licking on the host Anomalies.

Matt Holliday hit his 30th home run of the year, but it was Prince Fielder’s two-run single in the first that was the first scoring, and with all the offense A.J. Burnett (13-6, 3.64) had little trouble talking his manager into letting him work deep in the ballgame. Burnett (8 IP, 2 ER, 7 K) would bookend a pair of single-run innings between the second and the sixth, but would not be seriously challenged by Black Mesa’s increasingly one-dimensional attack. Jarrod Washburn (7-15, 5.55) was hurt, as many Anomalies hurlers have been hurt of late, by the decision to play OF Reed Johnson in the middle of the diamond with many Anomalies IF injured or otherwise on the outs. Washburn would allow six runs, but only four were earned.

In other BARB action:

BROOKLYN 10, DARWIN 9

WP: Matt Lindstrom (3-3, 4.16)
LP: Brandon Lyon (1-4, 2.71)
SV: Rodriguez (29)

The Finches put a six-run fourth on Roy Oswalt and the Moabs pen, but the host Darwinians couldn’t handle the good fortune, allowing four late runs in part due to errors by SS Cristian Guzman and 1B Lance Berkman, and with Francisco Rodriguez on the mound for his BARB-leading 29th save, it was yet another win staving off elimination for the Moabs, who are eleven-and-a-half games back with 19 contests left on their dance card.

WORCESTER 6, FROSTBITE FALLS 3

WP: Jeremy Guthrie (12-8, 3.14)
LP: Ben Sheets (9-9, 3.80)
SV: Morrow (7)

Derek Jeter scored three times, driving in the game’s first runs off Ben Sheets, then helping the speedy Elims abuse Squirrels catcher Victor Martinez with a successful double steal as Worcester (77-56) pulled within a half-game of the wild card lead and only three-and-a-half games out of first in the ultra-competitive East.

LEXINGTON 7, POTTYLVANIA 5

WP: Francisco Cordero (8-3, 3.34)
LP: Brad Thompson (2-6, 6.45)
SV: Street (21)

Recently-recalled rookie Jay Bruce hit a solo homer, his sixth of the season, then helped trigger a SIX-run eighth against the Billy Wagner-less Creepers pen, an inning capped by Adrian Gonzalez’s 23rd circuit shot, a three-run blast, and the recently-abused Rebels pen came through this time to help Lexington improve to 76-60, a game-and-a-half out of first in the West with just SIXTEEN games left. . . .

FINCHES: GET TRIPLE PLAY, LOSE DOUBLE DIP

Down Under---With an opportunity to reclaim sole possession of the lead in the Eastern Division, the Darwin Finches instead went down in flames not once, but twice to the visiting Worcester Eliminators, who have rather quietly moved up in the race by taking a twinight doubleheader from the Unnatural Selections, on the road in Australia.

In the opener, a wild Chad Billingsley (5-4, 3.75) and the Darwin pen blew a 3-2 lead, as the Elims scored four times in the seventh in part by cashing in a pair of errors by Chipper Jones, with Alex Rios getting the big hit, a two-run single off former starter Zack Greinke. The Finches, however, would make this game interesting for Jesse Litsch (9-5, 3.96), who would nearly let the home team get back in the game with a three-run home seventh. Scott Down came on with the bases loaded, however, to fan David Ortiz and end the threat.

A bright moment for the Finches came in the top of the ninth, and again Rios was involved. Trailing 7-6 and needing a quick 1-2-3 inning, Darwin instead put two on with nobody out. Rios lined a ball at Placido Polanco, who stepped on second to double off Grady Sizemore, then whipped the ball over to Lance Berkman….a TRIPLE play! Wow, but it would end up being just a curiosity, for Matt Guerrier sent the Finches down in the final innings for his third save of the year. Worcester had won the opener, 7-6!

In the nightcap, Finches starter Oliver Perez fared as bad as Billingsley. Perez walked the bases loaded with two out, then gave up an infield hit to Mark Teixeira to plate a run. When Perez did the SAME thing in the second, the Finches had seen enough and again called on Greinke. This time, the call to the former starter was successful, as Greinke fanned Garret Atkins, but the Finches still trailed 1-0 and had to be demoralized by Perez’s disastrous (1 IP, 1 ER, 6 BB) outing.

Darwin managed to tie the game up with a scratch run in the sixth on Ryan Doumit’s triple, but could otherwise muster no offense against Eliminators starter Jeremy Guthrie. In the ninth, with the ancient Tim Wakefield the fourth pitcher of the day for the Finches, Derek Jeter singled, stole second and scored the go-ahead run on Derek Lee’s six-hopper through the middle, and Heath Bell (8-7, 3.34) and Brandon Morrow (save #6) made it stand up, a 2-1 victory.

Worcester (75-54) is now only one-and-a-half games behind Frostbite Falls (77-53) for the wild card spot, and only trail the Finches (78-52) by one game more. Darwin manager PZ Myers achieved a mark of sorts by being ejected in both halves of the twin bill, and observers speculated that the Finches were starting to run out of gas.

In other BARB action:

LEXINGTON 8, LAS VEGAS 5

WP: Juan Cruz (3-3, 6.97)
LP: Aaron Heilman (7-3, 3.07)
SV: Gonzalez (1)

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 21st homer, a three-run show, J.J. Hardy added a bases-loaded double, and another new Gonzalez (reliever Mike) worked two innings to earn the save and keep Lexington (73-59) within striking distance of West-leading Yuma. With the win, the Rebels snapped the Luchadores season-high 11-game winning streak, but Vegas (69-63) still holds a five-and-a-half game lead with 20 games to play in the Central.

YUMA 4, S-MART 3 (12 innings)

WP: Manny Corpas (8-7, 3.52)
LP: Jose Valverde (4-5, 3.15)

Roy Halladay worked ten innings in an attempt to outduel James Shields, but neither would figure in the decision of this extra-inning thriller, won in the 12th by Yuma’s bench. Shane Victorine singled to open the inning off Valverde, and pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt worked a walk. The Firebirds then shocked the Boom Sticks by pulling off a double steal, and Russell Martin hit a bloop for a walkoff win.

Alex Rodriguez hit his BARB-leading 45th HR of the year in the loss for the Boom Sticks, who will be eliminated by any combination of losses or Vegas wins equaling four…in other words, any day now.

CREEPERS ELIMINATED

LAS VEGAS 7, S-MART 4

WP: Brett Myers (8-7, 4.61)
LP: Garrett Olson (4-15, 6.37)
SV: Rivera (22)

Jimmy Rollins set the tone, reaching base to leadoff the game when he was hit by rookie Garrett Olson, then coming around all the way from first on Matt Holliday’s double. A flustered Olson then hung a curveball to Prince Fielder, who hit it halfway to another kingdom for his team-leading 38th boundary belt of the season. With the win, the Luchadores (69-62) have won their season-high eleventh straight game and now lead the moribund Central Division by six-and-a-half games with just 21 games to play.

POTTSYLVANIA 3, OAKEYLAND 1

WP: Cliff Lee (6-11, 5.54)
LP: Joe Blanton (8-10, 4.36)

Cliff Lee fanned eight Ballers while reaching the eighth, and Matt Kemp, finally getting some regular playing time with Abreu out, homered in the second to give the Creepers all the runs they need. Despite the win, however, Jeff Moore’s troops were formally eliminated from the post-season by Las Vegas’s 11th straight win, and they thus became the first team to be eliminated this season.

DARWIN 7, BLACK MESA 6

WP: Kevin Gregg (6-4, 3.32)
LP: Glen Perkins (0-3, 3.98)
SV: Putz (14)

Kevin Gregg and the rest of the Darwin bullpen blew a 6-4 lead, allowing six consecutive baserunners to start what would become a four-run eighth for the host Anomalies, but in the top of the tenth Chipper Jones hit a clutch single to score Cristian Guzman and the sporadically-used J.J. Putz, still rounding into form, worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame to preserve the victory. With the win, the Finches (78-50) have won their fifth straight, and fourth since acquiring RHP Gil Meche to fill out their rotation. Darwin now leads the Eastern Division by the narrowest of margins over Frostbite Falls, with Worcester still in striking range at four-and-a-half back and 24 games left to play.

YUMA 7, FROSTBITE FALLS 4

WP: C.C. Sabathia (16-5, 2.59)
LP: B.J. Ryan (6-1, 5.42)
SV: Perez (3)

Sabathia allowed the tying run to score in the top of the seventh, but his teammates then rallied for three runs off the Squirrels bullpen, capitalizing on a pair of infield errors (Renteria, Young) and another clutch performance by Nick Markakis, the Firebirds hottest hitter down the stretch. Markakis hit his 17th circuit shot in the first to give Yuma a 3-0 lead at the time, and it was hit two-run single in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Firebirds the margin of victory this time.

With the win, Yuma (75-57) achieved its greatest lead over division rival Lexington in many moons, a two-game margin with 20 games left to play in the Western Division.

CURRENT WILD CARD STANDINGS

Frostbite Falls Flying Squirrels (77-51)
Worcester Eliminators (73-54, 3.5 games back)
Lexington Rebels (72-59, 6.5 games back)
Brooklyn Moabs (65-62, 11.5 games back)
Oakeyland Ballers (62-68, 16 games back)
Black Mesa Anomalies (58-74, 21 games back)

GAME DAY 136

BROOKLYN 15, CASSELTON 1

WP: Fausto Carmona (9-3, 2.86)
LP: Barry Zito (5-15, 6.34)

For a team that has been looking to next year, the Moabs have won a lot of games of yet by lopsided margins! Fausto Carmona took a shutout into the ninth before allowing a solo HR to Jose Guillen, and Miguel Cabrera belted two of Brooklyn's four homers and drove in five runs as the Moabs (64-61) stayed within a dozen games of the wild card spot.

WORCESTER 7, LEXINGTON 6

WP: Scott Downs (6-3, 2.78)
LP: Huston Street (4-3, 3.66)

Leading the visiting Eliminators 5-3, former Worcester starter Danny Haren allowed solo home runs to Hanley Ramirez and Jermaine Dye (his second of the contest) to tie the game at 5-5, setting up a ninth against Huston Street, who allowed a pinch-double by Joe Mauer which scored a pair of runs, sending the Rebels (71-59) to their third straight loss.

FROSTBITE FALLS 4, YUMA 3

WP: Tim Lincecum (8-8, 3.50)
LP: Edinson Volquez (4-8, 3.20)
SV: Nathan (26)

Rookie Tim Lincecum took a shutout and nine strikeouts into the seventh before needing some relief help, and just-activated C Victor Martinez contributed with a single and a sac fly as the visiting Squirrels improved to a BARB-leading 77-49, one game ahead of Darwin and just four games ahead of the hard-charging Elims in the ever-tightening Western Division.

DARWIN 4, BLACK MESA 2

WP: Gil Meche (11-11, 2.73)
LP: Todd Wellemeyer (7-12, 5.12)

Given a chance to make the ninth in his first start with the Finches, former Creepers ace Gil Meche showed his potential as an innings eater, going all the way to win his Darwin debut with help from new teammate Placido Polanco, who drove in two runs with three hits and turned a pair of inning-ending double plays on his own.

FINCHES DEAL, RECALL WAKEFIELD

The Darwin Finches have made a deal with the Pottsylvania Creepers to get RHP Gil Meche, widely-regarded as the best starter still available on the open market. Meche (10-11 with a 2.77 ERA in 25 starts with the Creepers) will no doubt step into the rotation. Pottsylvania also parted with LHP Hideki Okajima and a player to be named. To get the pair, Darwin sent the Central Division doormats OF Jeff Francouer, reliever Jonathan Broxton, starter Josh Johnson and a player to be named.

Creepers GM Jeff Moore had this to say, "We are a sad to see Gil and Hideki go, but they haven't got the run support they deserve here. The fact is our offense has been junk, even for the Central division. We needed to make a move for next year and sending Gil and Hideki, both having pitched well, to Darwin seemed like the right move. The next season is what we have to think about now and Broxton will go a long way toward shoring up our pen. Jeff will move into the outfield and provide some offense hopefully. Getting some youth and guys healthy is going to be key for next season, then we roll the bones and see what happens."

More details on Darwin's blog!

To set up their rotation, the Finches recalled 41-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (4-4, 4.44 ERA in 24 games) to make a spot start against the Lexington Rebels and indicated they may keep the veteran depending on how their middle relief shakes out. Wakefield certainly did his part, overcoming a two-run first by the host Rebels which was keyed by Curtis Granderson's leadoff triple. But the Finches hung around against Brandon Webb (13-8, 3.52) in the third, kicking across three runs after a bad throw by Granderson allowed Chipper Jones to score and the Finches went on to beat Lexington by a 4-2 score, with Okajima working a scoreless eighth to get the ball to J.J. Putz, who overcame a pair of singles to post his 13th save of the season.

With the win, Darwin pulled within one game of Eastern-leading Frostbite Falls (76-49) with 27 games left to play.

In other BARB action:

YUMA 4, BROOKLYN 3

WP: Rafael Perez (7-2, 1.41)
LP: Rafael Betancourt (7-4, 3.07)

Nick Markakis hit a two-run homer in the sixth, a game-tying double in the eighth, and was on deck when Francisco Rodriguez walked in the winning run with one down in the bottom of the ninth, as the Freebirds came all the way back from trailing 3-0 in the fifth to win at home in Yuma. With the win, their third straight, Yuma has pulled two games ahead of sibling rival Lexington with 23 games left to play in the Western Division.

WORCESTER 14, CASSELTON 9

WP: Heath Bell (7-7, 3.44)
LP: Clay Hensley (0-2, 9.75)

Kendy Morales hit two home runs to give the Horned Toads a 9-8 lead after seven innings, but the Casselton pen melted down in the eighth, allowing six runs as Jason Bay and Alex Rios each smacked run-scoring singles off Hensley and Mark Teixeira drilling a two-run double off Kevin Correia.

BLACK MESA 7, FROSTBITE FALLS 2

WP: Ted Lilly (8-13, 4.61)
LP: Cole Hamels (7-9, 3.60)
SV: Bailey (1)

Adam Dunn singled in the go-ahead run, and when Jeff Kent's throw to home plate bounced away from Mike Napoli, the Anomalies would go on to score four unearned runs and knock out Cole Hamels. Much-punished (9.45 ERA) rookie Homer Bailey, the bearer of so much unrealized expectations, finally had a positive moment in BARB by pitching three scoreless frames in relief to earn a save.

LAS VEGAS 6, OAKEYLAND 2

WP: Erwin Santana (7-12, 5.08)
LP: Bobby Howry (7-3, 3.86)

Erwin Santana outlasted Daisuke Matsuzaka, using just 117 pitches to go TEN innings, only the second-such outing this year by a BARB hurler (Tim Hudson, now on the DL, was the other). Once 'Dice-K' was out, the Luchadores went to work on their divisonal rival. Prince Fielder reached with one out on a throwing error by rookie 3B Andy LaRoche, and Joey Votto then drilled a two-run double for the go-ahead runs. Vegas would go on to score four times, and so Santana was allowed to work the bottom of the tenth....with the result being that Las Vegas (67-62) would win its ninth straight game. The Luchadores now lead the moribund Central by five games with 23 games to play.

VEGAS BACK ON TOP?

WORCESTER 8, YUMA 7 (10 innings)

WP: Pedro Feliciano (3-2, 2.60)
LP: Manny Corpas (7-7, 3.66)

Grady Sizemore’s two-out single in the bottom of the tenth lifted the Eliminators to their 70th win of the year, making them the fifth BARB club to reach this milestone this season, and keeping the Firebirds (70-56) in a dead heat with sibling rival Lexington for the lead in the West.

DARWIN 6, CASSELTON 5 (10 innings)

WP: Chad Billingsley (5-3, 3.70)
LP: Jason Frasor (2-2, 4.24)

Ryan Doumit lined a single past a diving James Loney, his third hit of the contest, and pinch-runner Carlos Guillen, bad wing and all, came around from second to score the winning run with two out in the bottom of the tenth, keeping the Finches in the lead for the wild card slot, and two games behind idle Frostbite Falls.

LAS VEGAS 10, S-MART 8

WP: Mariano Rivera (4-3, 2.50)
LP: Garret Olson (4-14, 6.69)

Matt Holliday capped a five-run third with his 27th homer of the year, a three-run shot, to help the suddenly-streaking Luchadores win their sixth straight contest, improve to 64-62, two games above their chief rivals in Oakeyland. What a weird few weeks it has been for Las Vegas…first, the Luchadores endured a twelve-game losing streak to allow the Ballers back in the race…now, they’ve rattled off wins in 16 of their last 20 contests: hard to figure!

SQUIRRELS LEAD BY THREE

FROSTBITE FALLS 11, LEXINGTON 1

WP: Cole Hamels (7-8, 3.49)
LP: Josh Beckett (7-7, 3.49)

The red-hot (winners of 15 of their last 20) Squirrels had seven straight batters reach in the second to knock out Josh Beckett, and former Rebels starter Cole Hamels scattered nine hits over eight innings to help his teammates take a three-game lead in the East, their largest lead of the season.

Albert Pujols hit his 22nd homer of the year for the Squirrels (74-46), and Corey Hart drove in four with a two-run double and his 12th circuit shot of the season.

CASSELTON 6, DARWIN 5

WP: Joaquin Benoit (2-2, 6.10)
LP: Chad Billingsley(4-3, 3.76)
SV: Frasor (2)

Freddie Sanchez tripled with one out in the eighth off Chad Billingsley (who was in long relief of Josh Johnson) and then came on to score the go-ahead run when Ryan Doumit couldn’t handle a pitch from Brandon Lyon, and the slumping Finches (71-49) dropped their third straight affair to the Horned Toads.

Darwin manager P.Z. Myers was tossed in the seventh for arguing balls-and-strikes, which seemed to trigger a four-run uprising that allowed the Finches to tie the game after Johnson’s ineffective (4 IP, 5 ER) outing. After the game, Myers admitted, “Whatever we’re doing right now, it’s not enough. If this is the way we go into the last week, we’re not going to make the playoffs. There are too many other teams playing well this time of the year.”

BROOKLYN 8, BLACK MESA 3

WP: Fausto Carmona (8-3, 3.03)
LP: Todd Wellemeyer (7-11, 5.22)

Fausto Carmona worked seven strong innings, and Moabs 2B Chase Utley pounded a pair of home runs (#20 and #21) , as the Moabs (62-58) swept their series with the Anomalies. Despite the win, however, owner Eric Caskey remained invisible in his luxury box, suggesting that Utley and his teammates were on the outs with ownership.

Brooklyn is twelve games out of first in the East and nine games out of the wild card, not what was expected when this club broke spring training. But an unexpected slew of injuries, especially to the club’s pitching, crippled the Moab’s ability to compete in the punishing East, and management made the unpopular decision to deal for next year weeks ago.

LAS VEGAS 3, S-MART 0

WP: Erwin Santana (6-12, 5.33)
LP: Javier Vazquez (10-6, 3.12)
SV: Rivera (21)

After a rough August (13-20), the gassed Luchadores have shown signs of life of late, sweeping the visiting Boom Sticks seemingly out of contention in the Central, and pulling back into a tie for first with the resurgent Oakeyland Ballers. This night, Santana combined with three relievers on a five-hitter, and Hunter Pence had three hits and a stolen base to help the club squeak out some runs against Vazquez, who went all the way in the loss.

FIREBIRDS TAKE TWO FROM DARWIN

YUMA 9, DARWIN 7 (1st game of doubleheader)

WP: Manny Corpas (7-6, 3.24)
LP: Scott Kazmir (12-5, 3.29)

YUMA 9, DARWIN 7 (2nd game of doubleheader)

WP: Rafael Perez (6-2, 1.33)
LP: Jonathan Broxton (5-4, 2.50)

In the second game of a double dip, Trevor Hoffman allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but with the go-ahead run at second got pinch-hitter Aaron Rowand to fly out to right as the visiting Firebirds won both halves of a doubleheader on the road in Darwin by pounding out nine runs in each contest. Starters Scott Kazmir and Zack Grienke were ineffective in their second go-rounds in Darwin’s rotation shuffle, raising concerns that the Finches (70-48, but still two games behind Frostbite Falls in the East) may not be able to hang with the other playoff clubs without getting more pitching.

The Firebirds, meanwhile, had to be thrilled at taking two on the road from the Finches and have moved back ahead in the West by a half-game over Lexington.

LEXINGTON 13, BROOKLYN 9

WP: Brandon Webb (13-7, 3.47)
LP: Roy Oswalt (6-8, 4.88)

The host Moabs scratched out six runs in the ninth to make things interesting, forcing the visiting Rebels to use Huston Street, but in the end Lexington simply had mounted too much of a lead for Brooklyn to overcome despite a pair of home runs from former Lexington backstop Jarrod Saltalamacchia. J.J. Hardy went deep for the winners, hitting his 12th circuit shot of the year, more than any other BARB shortstop this season not named Hanley Ramirez . . .

CASSELTON 7, FROSTBITE FALLS 6 (10 innings)

WP: Brad Hennessey (2-6, 4.34)
LP: Joakim Soria (3-5, 2.52)
SV: Correia (1)

Adrian Beltre drew a walk to open the top of the tenth, was sacrificed to second and came home on a single by journeyman Johnny Estrada, and erstwhile starter Kevin Correia made a rare appearance in relief to hold off the host Squirrels in the bottom of the frame, sending the Horned Toads to a rare road win against an Eastern Division club. Squirrels SS Edgar Renteria became the first BARB player to reach 100 runs scored on Michael Young’s first-inning single.

BLACK MESA 4, WORCESTER 1

WP: Jarrod Washburn (6-13, 5.79)
LP: Jeremy Guthrie (10-8, 3.21)

Jarrod Washburn, this year’s answer to ‘Jeckyl-and-Hyde’, flashed his good side again, taking a shutout into the eighth, and both Justin Morneau and Kevin Youkilis had three hits to lead the visiting Anomalies to a road win in Worcester. Washburn has reached the eighth inning in five of his last seven starts, and in those games he is 4-0 with a 1.73 ERA. In all other games, the veteran southpaw is 2-13 with a 7.75 ERA. Talk about schizophrenic!

LAS VEGAS 2, POTTSYLVANIA 1

WP: Chad Qualls (4-1, 2.37)
LP: Brad Thompson (2-5, 6.90)
SV: Rivera (19)

Neither A.J. Burnett nor Cliff Lee could stick around for a game twice interrupted by hour-long rain delays, but eventually Luchadores middleman Chad Qualls made an early Vegas lead stand up by retiring all eight hitters he faced, sending the Creepers to another hard-luck loss and (barring a miracle of sorts) guaranteeing them the first pick in next year’s draft. Pottsylvania now trails Casselton by four-and-a-half games in the wild card and are on the bubble. Any combination of Creepers losses or Vegas wins totaling twelve will eliminate Jeff Moore’s club from contention . . .