daily fog:

On Monday, the last time I focused on the Hyannis Mets, Chris Dominguez was setting records, Russell Brewer was chasing a record and the Mets were sitting in first place with the best mark in the league.

What a difference a week makes.

Dominguez hasn't hit a home run since last Sunday, Brewer hasn't had a chance to get a save and the Mets have lost six straight games. Before that, they had won five straight.

That's quite the dramatic turnaround. I tend to pay more attention when a team heads in the other direction, like Orleans has done. But as the Mets have shown, things can slip away just like they come together. Hyannis has had some good showings and could legitimately be 3-3 or even 4-2 in this six-game stretch. Four of the six losses have been by two runs or less, so it's not like the Mets have fallen completely.

But things just haven't worked. When the Mets scored eight runs on Wednesday, Orleans scored nine. When they got a dominant pitching performance, they went up against a better one, losing 1-0 to Wareham on Friday. Their losing streak continued with the worst loss of the bunch last night, a 13-2 deafeat at the hands of Wareham.

And yet, for all the struggles, the Mets are still in a tie for first place in the Western Division race, which is right there for the taking. With ace Andrew Carraway going tonight against Bourne, the Mets will have their best chance to jump to the head of the pack.

Elsewhere

• Wareham's Matt Bashore (Indiana) had a strong outing in the 13-2 win over Hyannis, striking out 10 in six strong innings. Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge) went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI to lead the Gatemen. Connor Rowe (Texas) also had a home run. Shea Vucinich (Washington State) had three hits.
• Falmouth topped Bourne 8-4 for its third straight win. Chad Bettis (Texas Tech) pitched five shutout innings for the win, and A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) had two hits and three RBI. Ryan Jones (Wichita State) had three hits, raising his average to .228. He was below .200 not too long ago.
• Harwich blasted Y-D 17-4 behind four hits each from the D.J.'s, Belfonte and LeMehieu. All-Star Mark Fleury (North Carolina) had four hits and four RBI while Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt), back in the lineup after a lengthy injury absence, drove in two.
• Chatham beat Brewster for the second consecutive night, riding a strong outing from Kevin Couture (USC) and a big offensive burst to a 10-3 victory. Couture allowed three runs over seven innings in his second start of the year. Evan Ocheltree (Wake Forest) had three hits and three runs scored.
• A night after Matt Thomson dominated for Orleans, Kyle Smith (Kent State) did the same, tossing eight shutout innings to lead the Cardinals past Cotuit 6-0. Smith struck out four and allowed only three hits. At the plate, Rich Poythress (Georgia) had two RBI.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Chatham will host Orleans in the first of four meetings between the teams in the final 14 games. Matt Zoltak (Clemson) will start for Chatham against all-star Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount).