Daily Fog: Steady and Surging

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).