daily fog: big guns, big win

On a night when three contending teams had to start shuffling their lineups in the absence of All-Stars, the Hyannis Mets kept their All-Stars in the fold.

And they delivered.

As mentioned below, Bourne played without Dusty Coleman, Falmouth played without Jimmy Cesario and Orleans without Rich Poythress. Meanwhile, Hyannis got a two-home run game from Chris Dominguez (Louisville) and a dominant pitching performance from Andrew Carraway (Virginia) to beat Wareham 6-1. The victory moved the Mets to 19-16, one point back of Falmouth for first place in the West.

The fact that Hyannis got those big performances isn’t necessarily a sign of things to come. After all, Falmouth, without Cesario, still posted a victory last night. But in a tight race like the one in the West, having a few more big guns in the lineup and having them produce could be the difference.

Dominguez’ performance is the big one. Hyannis’ hot streaks this year have coincided with his hot streaks. When he had a stretch of five home runs in five days, the Mets were in the midst of a five-game winning streak.

Last night’s game marked the second time this season that Dominguez has had a multi-home run game (the first time came when he tied a Cape League record with three in one game). Dominguez now has 10 home runs, which leads the league.

Carraway’s performance was equally impressive. The righthander from Virginia struck out eight and didn’t walk anybody in eight dominant innings. He allowed one run on five hits. Carraway now leads the league in ERA, and he’s second in strikeouts.

Elsewhere

• Falmouth got its 6-2 victory over Y-D thanks to a grand slam by Ryan Jones (Wichita State) in the eighth inning. It was the seventh home run of the year for Jones on only 28 hits. The victory kept Falmouth in first place by a point.

• Orleans got three hits from Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) and a strong performance by the bullpen to hold off Brewster 6-5. After starter Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) allowed four runs in five innings, Justin Earls (Georgia) and Adam Wilk (Long Beach State) combined for three shutout innings. Alex Hassan (Duke) allowed a run in the ninth but held on to pick up his fifth save,

• Kyle Bellows (San Jose State) went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBI and Evan Ocheltree (Wake Forest) hit a two-run home run to lead Chatham past Bourne 9-4 in 13 innings. Chatham scored four runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings. After the teams traded three scoreless frames, Chatham scratched an unearned across in the 13th before Bellows broke things open with the grand slam.

• Harwich lost is fourth straight, a 6-1 decision at the hands of Cotuit. The Kettleers got four in the fourth and two in the seventh, which was more than enough for Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) who allowed one run in 6.1 innings. Daniel Wolford (Cal) allowed one hit in 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Four All-Star pitchers are scheduled to take the hill. Brandon Workman (Texas) goes for Wareham at Y-D. Bryce Stowell (UC-Irvine) gets the ball for Bourne at Cotuit. Buddy Baumann (Missouri State) takes the mound for Brewster at Harwich. Matt Thomson (San Diego) goes for Orleans at Chatham, though that could change. The Cape Cod Times reported last night that Thomson got hit in the arm by a line drive into the dugout during last night’s game.

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