daily fog: looking for a gem

I live in Rhode Island and, this year in particular, I haven't been able to get over to the Cape very much. But my parents are on vacation in Chatham this week, so I headed over last night. On the way, I figured I'd stop in at Bourne and catch a few innings.

Two of the top pitchers in the league -- Wareham's Brandon Workman and Bourne's Nick McCully -- were on the hill. I watched for an inning and came away impressed, but I guess the game eventually turned into a late-inning slugfest with Bourne winning 5-4.

So I didn't see the start of anything special, just a good inning from two good pitchers.

If I had really wanted to see the start of something special, I should have stopped in Harwich.

That's where Cotuit's Seth Blair turned in one of the best pitching performances of the summer. The freshman right-hander from Arizona State tossed a complete-game, one hitter as Cotuit blanked Harwich 4-0. Blair struck out 10, didn't walk anybody and allowed only two baserunners, with the second coming on a hit-by-pitch.

Blair's performance rivals that of Workman, and actually beats it in terms of hits allowed. Workman's seemed a little more special because he took a no-hitter into the ninth, before surrendering two hits. Blair allowed his one hit in the second.

Either way, those are the top two pitching performances of the summer, and the interesting thing is that both came from freshmen. Blair didn't come out high school with quite the hype of Workman -- he was a 47th round pick, while Workman was tabbed in the third round -- but he still saw a lot of action for the highly-ranked Sun Devils. He made 19 appearances, with 10 starts. Much like Workman, though, he had his struggles, finishing with a 6.96 ERA.

But since arriving on the Cape, Blair has been solid in each of his four starts. In his first two, he went seven innings, allowing three runs the first time and one the second. He went 4.2 innings in his third start, allowing four runs, but last night's performance was a quick and impressive way to bounce back.

Blair now has a 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA. He has struck out 18 and walked five. He has also only allowed 17 hits in 27.2 innings, which, combined with the low walks total, gives him a WHIP of .81.

Elsewhere

• A match-up of first-place teams in Hyannis last night went like that kind of match-up should go, with Orleans beating the Mets 9-8 in 12 innings. Hampton Tignor (Florida), who has struggled with the bat all summer, delivered the heroics with an RBI single in the top of the 12th to score Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount). Alex Hassan (Duke) picked up his third save to seal the victory, the fourth straight for the Cardinals. Thanks to their win and losses by Harwich, Brewster, and Chatham, they now sit in first place by nine points. For Hyannis, Ben Paulsen (Clemson) had a tremendous game, going 4-for-6 with a double, a home run and five RBI. He's now second in the league with 24 RBI.
• Just when it looked like Y-D was out of the equation in the East, the Red Sox found their rhythm. They picked up their third win in a row last night, topping Chatham 6-4. Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberts) turned in a quality start, allowing three runs in 6.2 innings and the offense put up two in the eighth to break a 4-4 tie. A two-run single by Tyler Marmion (Cypress) was the difference.
• Jimmy Cesario (Houston) continued his hot streak and Falmouth edged Brewster 7-6. Cesario, the Cape League's Player of the Week last week, went 3-for-3, raising his average to .370. He also drove in three runs. Jonathan Kountis (Ohio Dominican) pitched two scoreless innings of relief and picked up the win.
• As I mentioned above, the Bourne-Wareham game turned into a bit of a slugfest, with the teams combining for eight runs in the last four innings. Marc Krauss (Ohio), who has quietly become one of the league's best hitters, hit a walkoff single to give Bourne the 5-4 win. In the pitching department, Workman didn't allow a hit until the sixth, before allowing four hits and three runs in 6.2 innings. He struck out nine. McCully allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out eight.
• For the first time this season, the batting average leaderboard is without a .400 hitter. The top hitter is Grant Green, who's at .396.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Bourne's Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) will try to continue his remarkable start as he takes the hill at home against Hyannis. Stowell has a .36 ERA and has allowed only 10 hits in 25.1 innings. For Hyannis, Colin Bates (North Carolina) is scheduled to start. Bates has a 3.18 ERA in three starts.