Daily Fog: Match Game

Chatham and Yarmouth-Dennis have a nice little race going in the East. They've got the most wins in the league, and it seems like they've been tied atop the division forever.

They kind of have been.

Since June 29, there have been eight days on which Chatham and Y-D each had a game. On every single one of those days, the teams ended up with the same result. Two wins or two losses, and no in between. It's perfectly even too, with four wins each and four losses each. The only difference was on July 2, when Y-D won on a day when Chatham didn't play. Since that point, the teams have been tied every day.

They ran the streak of consecutive days with the same results to six last night. And though I'm sure both of them would like to break away, they'll both be happy with their victories.

A day after losing to Brewster in a game where they had eight hits but just one run, the Red Sox broke through for nine runs on 15 hits in a 9-1 victory over Cotuit. Amazingly, there was only one extra-base hit among the 15 hits for Y-D, but the Red Sox still managed to get the runs home. Most of them came in the early innings, with Y-D getting five runs in the first inning and three in the third.

Josh Rutledge (Alabama) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Jake Schlander (Stanford) was 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead the way. Blake Kelso (Houston), Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) and Ben McMahan (Florida) also had two hits.

All the early support was more than enough for Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast). He was a hard-luck loser in a 1-0 game his last time out. This time, he went six shutout innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits. Sale is now tied for the league lead in wins and tops in strikeouts. He continues to cement himself as the top performing starter in the league.

As for Chatham, the Anglers came away with a 5-3 victory over Brewster. Logan Verrett (Baylor), who has been strong in two relief appearances, was just as strong in his first start. He allowed just one hit and an unearned run in five innings. He struck out eight. Verrett now hasn't allowed an earned run in 10.1 innings of work.

Flamethrower Jess Hahn (Virginia Tech), who touched 98, pitched two hitless innings. The Vanderbilt late-innings duo of Taylor Hill and Russell Brewer each allowed a run but minimized the damage in keeping Chatham in front. Brewer picked up his fourth save.

On the offensive side, Chatham got two hits each from Phillip Pohl (Clemson) and Brian Harris (Vanderbilt). For Brewster, Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia) hit his third home run in just 10 games.

Elsewhere

On the losing end in that Y-D game were the Cotuit Kettleers, who have dropped four in a row. The Kettleers have allowed 32 runs in that span, including 14 to Falmouth at the start of the skid. Their own offense has a little more depth now, with the addition of Texas' Kevin Keyes and Cameron Rupp. But Cotuit needs better performances from its starting pitchers, too. Chad Bell (Walters State) has turned in the only quality start in the last four games. Seth Blair (Arizona State) is scheduled to get the ball tonight. His complete-game win over Falmouth on the Fourth of July was Cotuit's last victory.

In the second annual Martha's Vineyard game yesterday afternoon, Falmouth stopped Wareham's three-game winning streak with a 6-2 victory. Brian Fletcher (Auburn), who has 10 hits in a six-game hitting streak, went 2-for-4 with two RBI to pace the Commodores. Ryan Jones (Wichita State) went 3-for-4 with an RBI, Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) had two hits and B.A. Vollmuth (Southern Mississippi) also delivered two. Hunter Morris (Auburn) hit his second home run. All the offense backed Taylor Wall (Rice) who allowed two hits and struck out six in six shutout innings. He lowered his ERA to 0.53, second in the league. For Wareham, Zach Wilson (Arizona State) saw his 10-game hitting streak come to an end.

Hyannis posted its second shutout in a row with a 5-0 victory over Harwich. Seth Rosin (Minnesota) allowed three hits and struck out six in five shutout innings. Kevin Moran (Boston College), Mark Gormley (Brown) and Thomas Girdwood (Elon) combined to preserve the shutout. Cody Hawn (Tennessee) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Ryan Cuneo (Delaware) knocked in two, upping his league-leading total to 15. For Harwich, Leon Landry (LSU) made his first appearance since arriving from the College World Series. He went 2-for-4 with a double.

What to Watch For Tonight

Bourne's Bryan Morgado (Tennessee) will make his third start of the season, and if any pitcher has earned must-see status, it's him. In 10 innings, he has 21 strikeouts and only three walks. He's scheduled to go at home tonight against Y-D and Michael Goodnight (Houston).