daily fog: hot and cold

If you had given me Chatham and Cotuit as options, and asked me to pick which one would be in first place and which one would be in last place a week into the season, I would have taken Chatham as the first-place sqaud and Cotuit as the last-place team.

And I would have been dead wrong. Cotuit pounded Chatham 13-2 last night to improve to 4-1, the best record in the league. Chatham fell to 1-5, the worst record in the league.

That’s the way these things go sometimes in the Cape League. So much is different than what was on paper. You just never know what’s going to happen.

Chatham’s pitching, for instance, hasn’t been anything close to what the A’s hoped it would be. And Friday night, that was a bad recipe because Cotuit’s offense has been everything and more.

The 13 runs were a league-high so far this summer, and it’s no surprise that the Kettleers were the ones doing it. Mike Bianucci (Auburn) went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, three runs scored and four RBI. Jeff Kobernus (Cal) had four hits. In all, only one player in the Cotuit lineup didn’t have a hit. For the season, four Cotuit starters are hitting .400 or above, led by Kevin Patterson (Aubrun), whose .467 mark is best in the league.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t see this coming. Cotuit’s offense looked good but it looked good in the way that every Cape League offense looks good. I guess the difference is that everybody is off to a hot start.

Elsewhere

• Clearly, Cotuit’s offense doesn’t need much help, but it just got some. Arizona State’s Jason Kipnis, a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, was in the lineup last night for the first time. Kipnis hit .367 with 13 home runs this spring.
• I don’t want to forget about Cotuit’s pitching, either. Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) had his second straight strong start. He allowed one run in six innings.
• Three Falmouth pitchers combined for a shutout to lead the Commodores past Harwich 1-0. Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) turned in a solid start with five shutout innings, and Shaeffer Hall (Kansas) teamed up with Jonathan Kountis (Ohio Dominican) to keep the shutout intact. Matt Zielinski (Richmond) was solid for Harwich, allowing just an unearned run.
• It looked a lot like last year in Hyannis last night, as Austin Hudson (Central Florida) and Jason Franzblau (Arizona State) teamed up to allow one run in Hyannis’ 8-1 victory over Orleans. Both those players were on the team last year. The Mets’ offense got going thanks to a 3-for-4 day by leafoff man Ryan Eden (New Orleans).
• Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas) tossed six shutout innings for Wareham, but the bullpen couldn’t hold a lead as Y-D battled back for a 10-3 victory. Josh Rutledge (Alabama) led the offensive charge for the Red Sox with three hits, while Nick Liles (Western Carolina) added two hits and three RBI.

What to Watch For Tonight

• A familiar face will take the hill for Y-D as Georgia Tech’s Eddie Burns is scheduled to start. Burns went 5-1 last summer on the Cape. Burns just finished his redshirt junior year, but he was a 39th-round pick in the draft this year.

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