RIGHT FIELD FOG

As the ninth-inning fog thickened, Addison Johnson looked at right-fielder Whit Merrifield and threw up his hands, in a what-can-we-do kind of gesture.

I don’t know what he was worried about.

My dad and I got to Chatham late last night after I made the trip over from Rhode Island, so we missed Johnson’s spectacular catch. If he had needed to make another one, even in the thick fog, he probably would have been able to.

It was that kind of night for the Anglers, and they needed it.

The Anglers beat Brewster 10-1 to snap a seven-game losing streak. As crucial as it was to stop the skid, it was just as big to beat the Whitecaps, who came into the game tied with Chatham for third in the East — and for the final playoff spot, as it’s shaking out now.

Chatham’s defense shined all night, even in the few innings I saw, and the offense did the rest. Joey Terdoslavich (Long Beach State) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Matt Duffy (Vermont) drove in two. They backed Shawn Tolleson (Baylor), who allowed one run on four hits in six strong innings.

Elsewhere

• Another streak came to an end last night as Harwich beat Y-D 8-4, snapping the Red Sox’ nine-game winning streak. Justin Wright (Virginia Tech), who has been mostly a reliever this summer, got the start for Harwich and allowed two runs in five innings. Harwich scored three earned runs but four unearned against Y-D starter John Leonard (Boston College). Trent Mummey (Auburn) and Connor Powers (Mississippi State) hit home runs for the Mariners. Leon Landry (LSU) had three hits and three RBI.

• Bourne and Wareham both posted blowout victories to keep the top of the West standings looking the same, with Bourne ahead by a point. The Braves beat Cotuit 13-1 thanks to an 11-hit attack, powered in large part by Raynor Campbell (Baylor). Campbell, who had five RBI this summer coming into last night, drove in six runs in last night’s game alone. He also went 4-for-5 with a home run. Bourne starter Alex Wimmers (Ohio State) was dominant in five innings of work, striking out 10 and allowing a run on four hits.

• Wareham kept pace with a 10-3 victory over Hyannis. George Springer (Connecticut) broke the game open with a two-run homer in the fifth, and he finished with two hits and three RBI. Alex Dickerson (Indiana) had three hits for the Gatemen, with Shea Vucinich (Washington State) and Jordan Swagerty (Arizona State) getting two each. Blake Monar (Indiana) allowed two earned runs in seven innings to pick up the win.

• Orleans beat Falmouth 6-5 in 12 innings. The winning run scored on a controversial play when Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) grounded into a fielder’s choice, before an errant throw to get him at first base allowed the game-winning run to score. Danny Muno (Fresno State) had four hits for the Firebirds and Devin Lohman (Long Beach State) had two RBI.

• A special note on Falmouth’s Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State). With a 3-for-5 night against Orleans, Cunningham raised his league-leading average to .405. Cunningham is seven for his last 14. With eight games left, he’s got a shot to hit .400. No one with enough at-bats to qualify has hit .400 this decade, which is as about as far back as you can look on the league’s web site. The highest league-leading average this decade was J.C. Holt’s .388 in 2003. Jimmy Cesario hit .387 last year, but that happened without him playing after the all-star game.

A little short on time this morning . . .

Y-D continues to stay hotter than any team’s been this summer. The Red Sox beat Wareham 8-3 last night for their ninth consecutive win. They’ve now opened up a 10-point lead in the East. Ace Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) got the start and struck out six in five innings. He gave way to Drew Hayes (Vanderbilt), who picked up the win with three strong innings. The game was tied before Wareham scored five runs over the last two innings. Austin Wates (Virginia Tech) went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs.

Bourne split a doubleheader with Harwich, but the one win was enough to vault into first place, by a point over Wareham. In the first game, Harwich’s Mike Gipson (Florida Atlantic) struck out six in six innings, and the offense delivered a balanced effort, with four players driving in runs as Harwich won 5-1. Bourne won the second game 7-2 behind a solid start from Robert Morey (Virginia), who allowed two runs in five innings. Zack MacPhee (Arizona State) drove in two for the Braves. Kyle Roller (East Carolina) finished the twin bill 3-for-5 with a home run, his league-best seventh of the year. He’s now hitting .331.

Cotuit got three strong pitching performances and a big game from Zack Cox (Arkansas) to beat Chatham 2-1. It’s the second-straight win for the Kettleers, who are tied with Wareham for second place. Chatham has lost seven in a row. Craig Fritsch (Baylor) got the start for Cotuit and allowed a run in 3.2 innings. Navery Moore (Vanderbilt) and Ben Rowen (Virginia Tech) combined for 5.1 scoreless innings of relief. Cox went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Brewster scored early then held off Orleans for a 4-2 victory. Combined with the Chatham loss, the win propels Brewster into a tie with Chatham for third place in the East. Steven Maxwell (TCU) picked up the win for the Whitecaps with five strong innings, striking out five and allowing one run. Tyler Thornburg (Charleston Southern) got the save. Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia) snapped out of a cold streak with a 3-for-4 day. Harold Martinez (Miami) hit a home run and drove in two. Jarrett Parker (Virginia) also drove in two.

Hyannis was two outs away from making its game with Falmouth official, but fog persisted and forced the game to be called with the Mets leading. Since the game wasn’t official, it’ll be started from scratch at a later date.

What to Watch For Tonight

Can Y-D make it 10 in a row? The Red Sox will host Harwich tonight at 5 p.m., with John Leonard (Boston College) scheduled to get the start. Justin Wright (Virginia Tech) is Harwich’s probable starter.

You can’t see it right now since the standings haven’t been updated, but last night’s games created a quirky little situation in the West. Bourne has 18 wins, Wareham has 17, Cotuit 16, Falmouth 15 and Hyannis 14. I don’t really know what to call that. Symmetry?

Whatever it is, it amounts to the parity everyone wants to see.

Because of ties, the points race isn’t so symmetrical, and Falmouth and Hyannis are a more distant fourth and fifth than their win totals would indicate. But with the playoffs the way they are, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that one of those teams could make a run to the last playoff spot.

They helped their cause last night.

Falmouth continued its occasional blowout trend with an 11-2 victory over Harwich. Brian Fletcher (Auburn) went 5-for-5, B.A. Vollmuth (Southern Miss) hit his fifth home run and Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) raised his league-leading average to .397. All in all, the Commodores pounded 18 hits in giving a big cushion to Kyle Winkler (TCU), who went five strong innings.

Over in Bourne, Hyannis staked Tyler Wilson (Virginia) to an early lead and he did the rest. Wilson, who has a scoreless streak of 21 innings and an ERA of 0.86, went seven shutout innings in this game to stop Bourne’s four-game winning streak. Ryan Cuneo (Delaware), Ryan Graepel (North Carolina) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (South Carolina) each had two hits to back Wilson.

Elsewhere

In the only other game of the night, Cotuit topped Brewster 5-3. Zach Maggard (Florida Southern) and Zach Cone (Georgia) each hit home runs to pace the Kettleer offense. Jake Buchanan (NC State) won his third game of the summer and kept his ERA under one at 0.84. Daniel Tillman (Florida Southern), who still hasn’t allowed a run this year , worked two scoreless frames to pick up his fourth save.

What to Watch For Tonight

Y-D will visit Wareham in a battle of two top teams and, potentially, two top pitchers. Jack Armstrong (Vanderbilt) is scheduled to go for Wareham against either Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) or John Leonard (Boston College).

Here’s one way to get a leg-up on your division rival: Beat them. Every chance you get.

That’s exactly what the Bourne Braves have done, and it’s a huge reason why they’re where they are in the West standings. Bourne has beaten Wareham five times, out-scoring the Gatemen 34-7 in those games. The five wins account for more than a quarter of all of Bourne’s wins, and more than a third of Wareham’s losses. To some extent, Bourne and Wareham have defined each other’s seasons. Even if just two of the games had a different result, the Gatemen would be in first place by seven points. If three games were different, the Gatemen would officially be running away with the division.

As it is, Wareham has a slim one-point lead over Bourne for first, and the Braves actually have one more win.

They’ve also got another dominant performance in the books.

Last time the teams met, Bourne’s Alex Wimmers (Ohio State) took a no-hitter into the fifth and the bullpen held the lead as Bourne won 4-0. Last night, Seth Maness (East Carolina) was even better. He carried a perfect game into the eighth before a single broke it up. Maness allowed nothing else the rest of the way in finishing off a complete-game one-hit shutout. Bourne won the game 8-0.

Maness has been good this summer, but not dominant. Last night, he was as dominant as anybody has been all summer, short of Chad Bell in his no-hitter. If you take away the fact that Bell finished that no-hitter off and Maness didn’t, Maness was probably more dominant. He struck out 11, didn’t walk anybody and faced just one batter over the minimum. In the process, he lowered his ERA to 2.30, and he’s now got 31 strikeouts against just four walks in 27.1 innings.

He also had plenty of support. The Bourne defense didn’t make an error and the offense delivered eight runs for the second straight night. Rob Segedin (Tulane) continued to sizzle with a 3-for-3 performance. Adam Rice (Coastal Carolina) and Kyle Roller (East Carolina) hit home runs and Pierre LePage (Connecticut) drove in two runs.

The Braves were in a rough patch not too long ago, but they’ve now won four in a row. They’ve got ten games left in the regular season, including the season finale against Wareham.

The Gatemen better hope they’ve got a cushion by then.

Elsewhere

Y-D topped Chatham 6-4 for its eighth consecutive win. It’s also Chatham’s sixth straight loss. Austin Wates (Virginia Tech) drove in two runs to lead the Red Sox, whose six runs were all unearned. Mario Hollands (UC Santa Barbara) got the win with five solid innings, while Chase Dempsay (Houston) and Kevin Rhoderick (Oregon State) combined for three scoreless innings of relief. Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) allowed his first earned run of the summer in the ninth but held on for his 11th save.

Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) went 2-for-5 and delivered a walk-off single in the ninth to give Falmouth a 4-3 victory over Cotuit. Cunningham is now hitting .393 and he drove in Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt) with the winning run. Chad Bell (Walters State) started for Cotuit and struck out 10 in 6.2 innings. Nick Tepesch (Missouri) pitched well for Falmouth, striking out eight and allowing one earned run in six innings.

Orleans topped Harwich 3-1 for its second win in a row. Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) was lights-out, allowing just one hit and an unearned run in eight innings. He struck out nine and walked just one. Alex Hassan (Duke) relieved Reyes in the ninth and picked up the save. Kevin Muno (San Diego) had three hits and Riccio Torrez (Arizona State) had two to lead the Firebirds.

Hyannis and Brewster split a nip-and-tuck doubleheader, with Brewster winning game one 4-3 and Hyannis taking game two 3-2. Brewster won game one on the strength of a four-run sixth inning. Tant Shepherd (Texas) accounted for two of the runs with a two-run homer. Ryan Cuneo (Delaware) had a home run for Hyannis. In game two, the teams played nine innings before Hyannis’ Dustin Harrington (East Carolina) broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the ninth.

What to Watch For Tonight

Just three games on the schedule. League ERA leader Jake Buchanan (NC State) is scheduled to go for Cotuit at Brewster.

They had more players on the field at Fenway on Thursday than any other team, but real proof of what the Y-D Red Sox have accomplished comes in what they’re doing on the Cape.

And they’re still doing it.

After what was for them a two-day all-star break, the Red Sox beat division rival Chatham 6-3 last night for their sixth consecutive victory. Orleans also lost last night, putting the Red Sox in first place by eight points in the East.

Y-D now has the best team average and best team ERA in the league and both those dimensions were on display last night. Jordan Casas (Long Beach State), one player who wasn’t an all-star, went 3-for-4 while Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) hit a home run and knocked in two, raising his league-leading RBI total to 21. The game was tied 3-3 until the seventh, when Ben McMahan (Florida) doubled and eventually came around on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Hanover (LSU).

The Red Sox added two insurance runs in the eighth and Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) continued his dominance with a scoreless ninth inning, giving him a league-best 10 saves. Burgoon helped make a winner out of Greg Peavey (Oregon State), who pitched three innings of relief after starter Michael Goodnight (Houston) lasted just four innings.

The loss was the fourth in a row for Chatham, and Orleans is on the same streak. Combined with Y-D’s surge, things have really opened up in the East.

Elsewhere

Bourne was supposed to play a doubleheader with Brewster but had it postponed. With a Cotuit loss mixed in, Wareham took the opportunity to jump into sole possession of first place in the West with a dramatic 2-1 win over Orleans. The Gatemen trailed 1-0 from the third inning on, but Jordan Swagerty (Arizona State) jump-started a rally with a leadoff single in the top of the ninth. He eventually scored the tying run on a base hit by Chris Hannick (Cal State Northridge). Later in the inning, Shea Vucinich (Washington State) drove home Connor Rowe (Texas) with the go-ahead run. Josh Slaats (Hawaii) picked up the win for Wareham with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. Bruce Kern (St. John’s) helped get it to that point with four scoreless innings.

Falmouth swept a twin bill the day before the all-star game and kept the good times rolling last night with a 3-2 victory over Hyannis. Like Wareham, the Commodores trailed all game before a two-run rally in the ninth. Theirs came in the bottom half and was a bit more dramatic, as B.A. Vollmuth (Southern Miss) hit a walkoff two-run homer to turn a 2-1 deficit into the 3-2 win. It was the fourth home run of the year for Vollmuth, who is emerging as one of the top freshmen in the league. The Commodores are still five games under .500, but only seven points out of a playoff spot.

Seven different players had hits and the bullpen shined as Harwich held off Cotuit 3-2. The Mariners broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh on an RBI single by Phil Gosselin (Virginia). Justin Wright (Virginia Tech) pitched 3.1 innings of relief to pick up the win, with Brian Dupra (Notre Dame) getting the save. Those two combined to limit Cotuit to three hits over the final 4.1 innings.

What to Watch For Tonight

Chad Bell (Walters State) will try to continue his recent dominance as Cotuit visits Wareham. He pitched a no-hitter two weeks ago and in his most recent start, allowed one run and struck out seven in seven innings. Wareham will counter with Josh Mueller (Eastern Illinois). The Gatemen are just two points ahead of Cotuit.

6:45 – So I fully planned on being at Fenway Park this evening, but I am at home instead. If I had just left in the morning, without glancing at any radar, I probably would have been fine. But idle hands and attractive meteorologists are a bad recipe for me. I kept going back to them until their fear-mongering convinced me that Hurricane Barry was on the way. So with the possibility of a drive from Little Rhody going for naught in a Boston deluge, I made the prudent but potentially regrettable decision to stay home and watch on NESN. Of course, it appears now that they’ll play through this eminently light rain, and I am of course wishing I was there. However, I will soldier on. I feel I’ve taken one for the team here. I’m pretty well-acquaintaned with Murphy and his law, so I’m pretty sure this is all me. If I was at Fenway, I really would have brought a hurricane. So you’re welcome. Anyway, the point is, I’ll be watching and doing a little live blog here for anyone else who is not at Fenway. Stay tuned.

6:50 – They’re starting early to get ahead of the rain. Workman on the mound for the home West squad, ready to go.

6:53 – Top four in East lineup looks real strong. Gary Brown leading off.

6:55 – Workman strikes out Brown with a 94 mph high fastball.

6:56 – Wates goes down swinging on a curveball. Workman hasn’t been here long, but there’s no doubting the stuff.

6:58 – Miscommunication in the outfield almost costs the West, but Todd Cunningham makes the diving catch in center. That’s a 1-2-3 inning for Workman. In all-star appearances the last two years, he now hasn’t allowed a base-runner and he has struck out four.

6:59 – It took until the third inning for a run to score last year. Todd Cunningham leading off for the West against Rob Rasmussen.

7:01 – Cunningham reaches on a hard shot to third that got past Jedd Gyorko. They’ll call it an error.

7:02 – That didn’t take long. After the error, Zack Cox crushed the first pitch he saw to deep center for a triple. Cunningham scores to give the West a 1-0 lead.

7:03 – Kyle Roller goes down on strikes. Blame it on the Cotuit helmet he was wearing. Actually, Ryan Cuneo is wearing a Cotuit helmet too. Apparently, Cotuit brought the helmets.

7:06 – Cuneo works the walk, and it’s first and third for the West. There weren’t two runners on base in last year’s game until the fifth inning. Almost a twin killing for the East, but Cody Stanley legs out the throw, and Cox scores. It’s 2-0.

7:08 – Stanley caught stealing by Chatham’s Mike Murray to end the inning.

7:10 – Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt is at the game and blogging. He says 13,000 in attendance. That’s a great crowd, even on a clear night.

7:12 – Another Gatemen gets the call for the West. Jack Armstrong in and throwing 96.

7:15 – Armstrong leaving everything up. He walks Mike Murray with one out.

7:16 – My first look at the new Harwich home unis. I’m a fan.

7:19 – A couple of ground balls get Armstrong out of the inning with no damage done.

7:20 – NESN has Oriole Brian Roberts in the booth. He played for Chatham in 1998. Reminiscing about facing Ben Sheets and Barry Zito.

7:25 – Kyle Blair on for the East. He gets two quick outs before a soft line drive from B.A. Vollmuth gets over shortstop.

7:26 – With Blair on now, that means two of the first four pitchers in the game were top-five round picks in the 2007 draft. Blair went in the fifth, Workman in the third.

7:27 – A walk puts two on, and the East West is threatening. Cunningham up.

7:30 – Cunningham hit by a 3-2 pitch. Bases loaded for Zack Cox.

7:31 – Zack Cox for MVP. Opposite field line drive plates Vollmuth for a 3-0 West lead. Bases still loaded for Roller.

7:32 – Blair gets out of the jam with a grounder to first.

7:34 – Make it three Gatemen in a row. Eric Pfisterer on the mound for the West.

7:37 – After a fielder’s choice, a pickoff throw that glances off the glove of Roller allows Colin Walsh to take second.

7:41 – Pfisterer strikes out Brown and Wates to end the inning. Neither of those two have struck out much this year (Brown 9 in 85 AB, Wates 18 in 96). Impressive stuff from Pfisterer.

7:45 – Red Sox assistant GM Ben Cherington: “You could certainly make the argument that if you’re going to see one amateur game in a year, this is it.”

7:46 – Chris Sale doesn’t give Cherington much time in the booth. Groundout, strikeout, groundout, and we’re on to the fourth.

7:48 – Dallas Gallant on for the West. He’s the first non-starting pitcher to make an appearance.

7:53 – Mike Murray just misses a home run. A deep drive to right drifts foul.

7:54 – Gallant strikes out Murray. The East squad still has just one hit, and it was an infield single.

7:59 – BA’s Aaron Fitt in the booth, summing up the league’s makeup this year: “I think it’s a very solid year. There aren’t the consensus top guys . . . this summer will go a long way to establishing who goes in the first round.”

8:02 – Good play from Wiswall on a low throw gets the East out of a jam. End four, still 3-0.

8:03 – Some speculation from the Cape Cod Times: “The West subbed all its reserves in, too, indicating that this game might not go on much longer.”

8:10 – Stephen Harrold in for the West. He has issued a pair of walks. Two on, one out for the East.

8:11 – Nice double play turned by Nick Crawford and Derek Dietrich, ending the inning.

8:14 – The tarp is on the field. Rain delay.

8:18 – NESN still calling it a rain delay. Cape Cod Times seems to think it’s over. The game is official at this point.

8:20 – Well that’s that. NESN confirms the game has been called after four-and-a-half. Zack Cox wins the MVP award. He goes 2-for-2 with a triple and a single and two RBI.

8:21 – Great interview with Cox. Paraphrasing: “Everyone wants to make it to the Major Leagues, but this right here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

8:22 – As the Cape Cod Times noted earlier, the teams made sure to get all their positional subs into the game early. That left nine pitchers who didn’t unfortunately didn’t get to take the mound: Casey Gaynor, Aaron Meade, John Leonard, Tyler Burgoon and Russell Brewer for the East; Kevin Munson, Daniel Tillman, Patrick Cooper and Taylor Wall for the West.

8:24 – It’s too bad that they had to call this one, but kudos to the Red Sox for allowing the league to play long enough to make it official. If this thing hadn’t happened at all, it would have been a much bigger shame than an early ending.

It’s sadly fitting that in this wet, strange summer, the Cape League’s biggest event could be heavily influenced by doppler radar.

The all-star game heads to Boston’s Fenway Park tonight, and the forecast doesn’t look great. Whatever happens, there will be an all-star game somewhere, some time. If rain forces a postponement of a suspension tonight, the game will be played in Hyannis on Saturday.

Here’s hoping they play tonight, even if it’s a little wet.

That, too, would be fitting in its own way.

If the 2009 class of Cape Leaguers have shown anything, it’s that they can deliver good baseball, whenever they play.

I’ve found it tough to get a good feel for the 2009 season. That might just be me. It might be the rain. But the picture has come into focus lately, and it’s becoming clear that there’s a deep pool of talent on the Cape this year. There may not be a consensus top prospect or a shoo-in MVP, but there are a lot of players on the same plane. And I get the feeling that it’s at a fairly high level.

Tonight, a lot of those players will take the field at Fenway Park. For this group, that will make taking the field in the Cape League all-star game a little more, even a lot more special.

They’ve earned a special opportunity. Let’s hope they put on a good show.

Ten to Watch
A rundown of my picks for the top players at Fenway.

1. Todd Cunningham, Falmouth
He has hit from day one, and he’s just not going to cool down. In a doubleheader yesterday, he went 3-for-5, raising his average to .394.

2. Jedd Gyorko, Brewster
He’s 0-for-his-last-11 so his average has dipped to .308, but he might be the best all-around hitter in the league.

3. Chris Sale, Y-D
A tall lefty who has starred since the first day of the season, Sale is a good bet to be a first-rounder next year.

4. Gary Brown, Orleans
He was a late arrival, but he has done nothing but hit. And steal bases. And drive in runs.

5. Kyle Blair, Brewster
A high pick out of high school, Blair’s performance has matched the hype this season. He’s second in K’s.

6. Zack Cox, Cotuit
Five tools, and plenty of production from perhaps the top frosh in the league: .364, 6 XBH

7. Kyle Roller, Bourne
Late-round pick this year is making his case for a big contract or a better result next June. Triple Crown candidate.

8. Mickey Wiswall, Y-D
BC star is league’s leading run producer and is hitting .319.

9. Austin Wates, Y-D
Outfielder with some speed has been near the top in average all summer.

10. Tyler Burgoon, Y-D
League-leader in saves still hasn’t allowed an earned run.

And Five More . . .
Because it was hard to narrow it down.

Brandon Workman
Derek Dietrich
Jack Armstrong
Kevin Munson
Dallas Gallant

What a Relief
Last year, the West squad had probably the six best starters in the league for the all-star game. This year, with Chad Bell and Jake Buchanan not chosen (big snubs, by the way), the West squad is much heavier on relievers. Brandon Workman, Eric Pfisterer, Jack Armstrong and Taylor Wall are the only starters. The rest of the innings will be left to bullpen guys, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Combined the five relievers — Dallas Gallant, Stephen Harrold, Kevin Munson, Daniel Tillman and Patrick Cooper — have struck out 111 in 79.1 innings, while allowing only 13 earned runs. So can we say just get the game to the fourth?

A Cardinal Firebird starter
Orleans’ Rob Rasmussen is the second straight Orleans pitcher to start the all-star game. Last year, it was San Diego’s Matt Thomson, who delivered one dominant inning. Rasmussen’s 32 strikeouts are the most for an East all-star starter since 2005, when Chatham’s Jared Hughes came in with 42.

Veterans
The East roster features just one freshman, Y-D’s Tyler Hanover. The West has seven, including three starters.

Small Sample
Seven of the 24 position players in the game have played in fewer than 20 games.

Derby Bets
I predict we won’t see a ton of home runs, based on Fenway’s dimensions. I’d put my money on Hunter Morris sneaking a few around Pesky’s Pole.

That’s about all I’ve got for now. I will be heading out soon, taking a train in. For everyone who’s going, have fun.

I’ve got to get an all-star post up, so here’s an abbreviated recap of last night’s games.

Falmouth has had a pretty tough season, but the Commodores hit the all-star break on a roll thanks to a doubleheader sweep of Chatham. The Commodores took game one 7-6 on the strength of an 11-hit attack. Conner Mach (Missouri) hit a three-run homer that broke a 4-4 tie. Falmouth then held off a Chatham rally for the win. In game two, Falmouth won 5-2. Kyle Winkler (TCU) allowed two runs in six strong innings. Ryan Jones (Wichita State) went 2-for-2 and B.A. Vollmuth hit a home run. Jones went 5-for-5 in the two games, raising his average from .183 to .237. Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) went 3-for-5 in the two games and head into the all-star game with a league-best .394 average.

Brewster’s Matt Lujan (San Francisco) went six shutout innings and Hyannis’ Tyler Wilson (Virginia) was almost as good through seven, but the one unearned run Wilson allowed was the difference in a 1-0 Whitecaps victory. A Harold Martinez (Miami) fifth-inning single brought home the game’s lone run, after Tant Shepherd (Texas) reached on an error. Kendal Volz (Baylor) made his first appearance for Brewster, tossing a scoreless inning in relief.

Alex Wimmers (Ohio State) struck out 10 in six shutout innings as Bourne topped Wareham 4-0 in a crucial game in the West. Pierre LePage (Connecticut) and Zack MacPhee (Arizona State) backed Wimmers with two hits apiece. After Wimmers’ night was done, Logan Billbrough (William & Mary) struck out five in two hitless innings and Stephen Harrold (UNC Wilmington) struck out two in the ninth. The win moved Bourne into a tie with Wareham for first place in the West.

It’s one thing to get back into the mix with a winning streak. That’s what a lot of teams have done this year, turning around some struggles and winning four or five in a row to get into the thick of things again.

To be near the top already and to pull away — that means a little more.

And that’s exactly what the Y-D Red Sox have done. Early in the season, they lost five straight games before responding with four straight wins. Since then, they’ve been probably the steadiest team in the league. In that span, they haven’t lost more than two games in a row.

They’ve won a few, too.

The Red Sox beat Orleans, the team that’s chasing them, by a 4-1 score last night. It’s their fifth consecutive win. In the last nine games, they’ve lost just once, with one tie also mixed in.

Suddenly, the Red Sox have 20 wins, three more than anyone else in the league. With 41 points, they’re in first place by six points, which has to be the largest margin in the East this season.

It helps that the Red Sox keep playing — and beating — Orleans. On Sunday, they swept a doubleheader with the Firebirds. The schedule is kind of quirky now because of the rainouts, so the teams got together again last night, which wasn’t a good thing for Orleans. Y-D ace Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) struck out five and scattered seven hits in seven innings. He allowed one run, and picked up his fourth win of the summer. Drew Hayes (Vanderbilt) pitched two scoreless innings for the save.

As usual, the offense took care of the rest. The Red Sox, who lead the league in hitting, haven’t blown people out in their winning streak, but they’ve always done enough. Last night, they touched up all-star Casey Gaynor (Rutgers) for three runs on six hits in five innings. The most impressive part of that was the balance. The Red Sox got RBI from leadoff man Jordan Casas (Long Beach State), No. 3 hitter Tyler Hanover (LSU), No. 7 batter Josh Rutledge (Alabama) and ninth batter Jonathan Jones (Long Beach State). League RBI leader Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) didn’t drive in a run, but he didn’t have to.

I guess that’s what happens when you get a winning streak going.

Even if you really didn’t need one

Elsewhere

Jake Buchanan (NC State) posted an ERA over six this spring so you might think that he would eventually drop down from the top spot on the ERA leaderboard. Or he could pull away with one of the most dominant performances of the summer. Buchanan picked the second option. He tossed a complete-game shutout last night to lead Cotuit past Hyannis 3-0. Buchanan struck out 11, walked one and allowed just three hits. He lowered his league-best ERA to 0.50, and he continues to make me wonder how he was left off the all-star team.

By the way, that was Cotuit’s third straight win. The Kettleers remain tied with Wareham atop the West.

Speaking of Wareham, the Gatemen had one of those “staff days,” where they pitch a bunch of guys, probably in preparation for the all-star game. It didn’t cost them anything, as five pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout and a 3-0 win over Brewster. All-stars Jack Armstrong (Vanderbilt) and Brandon Workman (Texas) were the bookends, and neither allowed a hit while combining for five shutout innings. Scott Rembisz (Florida International) picked up the win. George Springer (Connecticut) led the Wareham offense with two hits and a home run.

Mike Gipson (Florida Atlantic) delivered his best start of the summer, striking out 10 and allowing just three hits in seven shutout innings as Harwich topped Chatham 7-2. Gipson, who has great strikeout numbers (38 in 30 innings), lowered his ERA to 3.00. Dan Grovatt (Virginia) went 3-for-4, while Leon Landry (LSU) homered and drove in two. Trent Mummey (Auburn) also had two hits and two RBI.

Bourne scored two in the bottom of the ninth and walked off with a 4-3 victory over Falmouth. Scott Woodward (Coastal Carolina) hit the walk-off single, knocking in Ben Klafczynski (Kent State) with the winning run.

What to Watch For Tonight

Bourne, which sits a game behind Wareham, will send Alex Wimmers (Ohio State) to the mound against the Gatemen. This will be the second start of the summer for Wimmers. He’s scheduled to go against Blake Monar (Indiana).

My parents are vacationing on the Cape so I went over this weekend to visit them, which didn’t leave me any time to write yesterday. We did, however, have time to go to the Chatham game last night.

Not that we needed much time.

Wareham’s Cole Green (Texas) and Chatham’s Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma State) staged perhaps the best pitchers’ duel of the summer, and it didn’t take them long to do it. In a game that lasted just an hour and 54 minutes, Lyons and the Anglers came away with a 1-0 victory. Dean Green (Oklahoma State) hit a bases-loaded line drive that clipped the glove of a diving Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge) and brought home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

Though the one run ended up defining the game’s result, the pitching was the real story.

Both Green and Lyons ended up with 11 strikeouts. If I had been keeping a scorebook, I could tell you how many were strikeouts looking. I wasn’t but I can still tell you: it was a lot. Green and Lyons were constantly ahead and freezing hitters time and again. Lyons, in particular, had a knee-bukcling curveball that he kept dropping right into the zone with two strikes.

It was as impressive a pitchers’ duel as I’ve seen in a long time. Both allowed just two hits. Lyons didn’t walk anybody. After a while, it didn’t seem possible that either team could break through. The teams had one hit apiece through the first six innings, and both of the players who reached were thrown out trying to steal second. When Brett Eibner (Arkansas) hit a two-out double in the eighth, it was the first time a player for either team had been to second base. Zach Wilson (Arizona State) hit a sinking line drive to center that looked like it might bring Eibner home, but Addison Johnson (Clemson) made a charging catch to keep things scoreless.

Chatham finally put something together in the ninth. Green started missing some spots, and I actually thought he got squeezed on a couple of pitches as he issued a pair of one-out walks. After a mound conference, he got real wild and walked Mike Murray (Wake Forest) on four pitchers, prompting a change. Jordan Swagerty (Arizona State) came in and faced Green, who crushed the line drive to second. Had Pineda somehow caught it, he would have doubled the runner off first. Instead, the ball rolled into right field and the game was over.

As we packed up to leave, I felt a pang of regret that I hadn’t gotten to see Chatham flamethrower Jesse Hahn (Virginia Tech), who had been warming up in the late innings. If it had gone to extras, he probably would have been on the mound.

But then I realized: I saw all the pitching I needed to see.

Elsewhere

With Wareham’s loss and their own 5-3 comeback victory over Bourne, Cotuit moved into a first-place tie in the West. The Kettleers trailed 3-2 going into the eighth but put up three runs to take a lead. An RBI single by Jeff Rowland (Georgia Tech) brought home the go-ahead run and Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) drove in two more with a double. Daniel Tillman (Florida Southern) then worked a scoreless ninth to secure the victory. Rowland and Plagman both finished with two hits for the Kettleers, as did Cody Stanley (UNC Wilmington) and Chris Bisson (Kentucky). Rob Segedin (Tulane) went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Bourne.

Y-D swept a huge doubleheader with Orleans for its league-best 18th and 19th wins. The Red Sox are now in first place by four points over the Firebirds, who had been hot until last night. Y-D got strong pitching in both games, with Mario Hollands (UC Santa Barbara) going five shutout innings in game one and Austin Ross (LSU) tossing six shutout frames in game two.

Brewster an Falmouth split their doubleheader, with the Whitecaps taking game one 2-1 and the Commodores winning game two 3-0. In the opener, Brewster got two RBI from Daniel Butler (Arizona) and didn’t need much more. Kyle Blair (San Diego) allowed a run on three hits in six innings and struck out 11. Jordan Cooper (Wichita State) pitched well for Falmouth, but the bullpen allowed an unearned run in the sixth. In game two, Mark Pope (Georgia Tech) surrendered just two hits in five shutout innings for Falmouth. B.A. Vollmuth (Southern Miss) hit his second home run to spark the offense.

Harwich got a big performance from Anthony Sosnoskie (Virginia Tech) and a strong start from John Gast (Florida State) then held on for a 4-2 victory over Hyannis. Gast allowed four hits in 6.1 scoreless innings. Hyannis rallied for two in the ninth, but Glen Troyanowski (Florida Atlantic) got a strikeout to strand two runners and end the game. Sosnoskie went 3-for-4 with two home runs — his first two of the year — and three RBI for the Mariners.

What to Watch For Tonight

Orleans and Y-D will get together again for their third game in two days. Not sure about the pitching match-ups, though Chris Sale (Flodia Gulf Coast) is listed in the probables. Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) is listed for Orleans, but he pitched the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader.