daily fog: twin billing

Chatham has a chance yesterday to really help itself, or at least to play spoiler.

Instead, Chatham's opponents helped themselves.

Harwich beat the A's 4-1 in the afternoon and Cotuit beat the A's 4-2 later that night to complete the split doubleheader sweep. The losses mean the A's, with four games left, likely need to win all four and get some help just to be in the playoff race.

Meanwhile, the victories were big ones for Harwich and Cotuit.

The Mariners, who were tied with idle Brewster for second place, now find themselves in sole possession of second with three games to play. They can thank Brandon Belt for being in that spot. The two-way player from Texas made just his second appearance of the summer and his first start, but he was right at home. Belt faced the minimum in his five innings of work and helped himself by going 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI.

As for Cotuit, a late rally pushed them into the lead against the A's and into the top spot in the Western Division. The Kettleers, who have won two in a row, moved into a tie with Hyannis for first place. Evan Crawford (Indiana) helped lead the way for Cotuit with a 3-for-3 night. Matt Zoltak (Clemson) pitched well for the A's, but the Kettleers got to the bullpen in the eighth. Crawford walked with two outs, stole second and came home on a base hit by Dallas Poulk (NC State). Poulk later scored on a wild pitch.

Elsewhere

• Orleans snapped a five-game losing streak and finally clinched the Eastern Division title with a 5-0 win over Falmouth. All-Star starter Matt Thomson (San Diego) turned in the kind of start you look for from an ace, going eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts. The Cardinals made a winner out of him when they broke open a scoreless game with a run in the seventh and four in the eighth. Matt Bowman (Nevada) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) blasted his seventh home run of the year.
  

• The loss dropped Falmouth all the way into third place. The Commodores have lost two straight and sit one point out of first, and two points ahead of fourth-place Bourne.

• Bourne is that close because of a 3-2 victory over Hyannis last night. Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) struck out nine and allowed one run on four hits in seven innings.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• From here on out, every game is going to be a crucial one in the West.

• Bourne sends Matt Petiton (Tulane) to the mound against Brewster. It's his second start.
  

• Hyannis goes with Matt Ridings (Western Kentucky) against Chatham. He has a 4.43 ERA, with most of his appearances coming out of the bullpen.
  

• Falmouth will look to Chris Gloor (Quinnipiac) against Orleans. Gloor has a 2.78 ERA and has been solid since moving to the rotation.

• Cotuit will take on Wareham, with a yet-to-be-announced starter on the mound.