Chris Dominguez may have gone 0-for-4 the day after he hit three home runs in one game, but he has caught fire again.
So have the Mets.
With Dominguez hitting a home run for the second consecutive day — his fifth in the last five days — Hyannis powered past Cotuit 6-1 last night. It was the Mets’ fifth consecutive win and at 16-9, they now have the best record in the league. They lead the Western Division by four points over second-place Bourne.
It’s no surprise that the Mets’ surge has coincided with Dominguez’s surge. He has six hits in the winning streak, so you can do the math — all but one of his hits was a home run. That kind of production is rare on the Cape, and it can certainly carry a team.
But the Mets’ streak hasn’t been all Dominguez. At the plate, leadoff man Trent Ashcraft (East Carolina) had nine hits during the streak, while Ben Paulsen (Clemson) and Marcus Jones (NC State) combined for eight RBI. On the mound, Andrew Carraway (Virginia), Graham Stoneburner (Clemson), Colin Bates (North Carolina) and Austin Hudson (Central Florida) all turned in quality starts, while the bullpen also shined.
That was enough for the Mets to get in gear. The key now will be to keep it going. So far, a lot of teams have gone on winning streaks but not one of them has sustained anything. As a result, the standings have stayed close.
The way things are going for the Mets, they’ve got a golden opportunity to pull away.
Elsewhere
- Orleans picked up its eighth win in 10 games with a 3-2 victory over Bourne. Nate Freiman (Duke) hit a home run to power the offense, and four relievers held off a late rally by the Braves to seal the win.
- Chris Manno (Duke) tossed six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and Dustin Ackley (North Carolina) hit a three-run home run to lead Harwich past Brewster 5-0. Ackley now has two home runs and he’s hitting .415.
- Chatham got three hits from Grant Green (USC) and Kyle Seager (North Carolina) to beat Falmouth 7-2. The A’s now have 12 wins, which matches Harwich and Brewster. Brewster still sits in second place thanks to three ties.
- Y-D snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory over Wareham. Nick Liles (Western Carolina) went 4-for-5 to put his batting average back at .400. Jeff Inman (Stanford) gave Y-D a quality start, allowing one earned run in six innings.
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