Right Field Fog – A Cape Cod Baseball League Blog

Both Harwich and Y-D played 14 innings of baseball on Sunday in the first doubleheaders of the summer.

They almost did it again Monday night.

After Harwich split its twin bill with Bourne on Sunday and Y-D swept past Falmouth, the teams played the longest game of the season on Monday in Harwich. They went 13 innings, and no one scored for 12-and-a-half of them. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th, the Mariners pushed the game-winning run across on an RBI single by Phil Gosselin (Virginia). In addition to being the longest game, it was also, amazingly, the first 1-0 game of the season.

Getting that one proved to be extremely difficult. Seven pitchers took their turn on the mound, and none of them surrendered much. Even the only run was unearned. Y-D starter Greg Peavey (Oregon State) struck out six and allowed five hits in eight shutout innings, and his might not have even been the best performance. His Harwich counterpart, Mike Gipson (Florida Atlantic), allowed just two hits in seven scoreless frames.

When the game went to the bullpens, it was more of the same. Seth Simmons (East Carolina) and Kevin Rhoderick (Oregon State) each went two scoreless innings for Y-D, with Rhoderick striking out five. For Harwich, Geoff Parker (Florida State) and Matthew Price (Virginia Tech) went three innings each. Parker, making his first appearance, didn’t allow a hit and struck out five.

Harwich finally broke through in the 13th. Chris Wade (Kentucky) reached on an error to start the frame, and he went first to third on a single by Dan Grovatt (Virginia). That set things up for Gosselin, who knocked the walk-off single to right field. Gosselin and Grovatt, both late arrivals after Virginia’s run to Omaha, are already in the top five in hits on the team.

The win moved Harwich to 6-7, just 2.5 games back in the suddenly tight East standings. Y-D is sitting in second place at 8-7 with the second-best record in the league.

Elsewhere

What to Watch For Tonight

Another high draft pick, Cotuit’s Chris Dwyer (Clemson) will get the start against Y-D. Dwyer struck out nine in five shutout innings last time out. He’ll actually be going up against Mario Hollands, a former Kettleer. The lefty from UC Santa Barbara played for Cotuit last year and was a 24th-round pick earlier this month. This will be his first appearance of the summer.

With the rule changes implemented, I believe Sunday’s seven-inning doubleheader games were the first scheduled seven-inning games played in the Cape League in a long time. I’m guessing they might have had a few somewhere along the line, maybe before the modern era. But Cape League games have been nine-inning affairs for as long as I can remember.

Either way, the Y-D Red Sox didn’t mind.

Using just two pitchers — the fewest number of pitchers they’ve used in any two-game stretch this summer — the Red Sox swept past Falmouth 6-3 and 4-0 in a Sunday doubleheader. The victories gave Y-D a four-game winning streak and moved them to 8-6. They had previously lost five games in a row.

In the first game of the twin bill, Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast), the most effective starter in the league thus far, made his third appearance and delivered a strong performance again. Having not allowed a run prior to Sunday, Sale stretched his scoreless streak all the way to 20 innings when he got through six without allowing anything. Falmouth finally got to him in the seventh, touching him up for three runs. But with two men on and two out, Sale finished the game with a strikeout. He ended up striking out four and walking none in the complete-game effort. Sale leads the league in strikeouts.

Brian Hernandez (UC Irvine) led the way at the plate in game one, going 2-for-2 with three RBI. Austin Wates (Virginia Tech) and Mickey Wiswall (Boston College), two of the league’s top hitters, stayed hot with two hits apiece. Wates is second in the league with a .391 average. Wiswall is fourth at .360.

It was more of the same for the Red Sox in the second game of the doubleheader. John Leonard (Boston College) one-upped Sale by taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He lost it with one out in the sixth but still finished off six scoreless frames and struck out five. Kevin Rhoderick (Oregon State) came on in the seventh with a runner on first and struck out the side to preserve the victory.

Wiswall went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Jordan Casas (Long Beach State) and Blake Kelso (Houston) had two hits apiece.

With the victories and a Chatham loss, the Red Sox moved within three games of the Anglers for first place in the East.

Elsewhere

What to Watch For Tonight

Jake Buchanan (NC State) goes for Cotuit against Bourne and Bryan Morgado (Tennessee), the highest-drafted player on the Cape this year. Neither pitcher allowed an earned run in his first start.

Chatham may have the best record in the league, but the Anglers are 0-2 against Cotuit, the team with the next-best record. The Kettleers beat the Anglers 3-1 last night. That’s their second two-run victory over Chatham, which has dropped its last two after six straight wins. Amazingly, Chatham and Cotuit are the only two teams in the league with winning records.

Last night, Chatham out-hit Cotuit 10-8 but stranded 10 runners. A second-inning solo home run by Steven Brooks (Wake Forest) accounted for Chatham’s only run. Cotuit responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the second on a sac fly by Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) and an RBI single by Jeff Rowland (Georgia Tech). Cotuit added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI double by Cory Vaughn (San Diego State).

For the second straight night, strong pitching performances helped keep Chatham from putting together a comeback. Justin Grimm (Georgia) got the start for Cotuit and allowed just the one run in 4.1 innings. Seth Blair (Arizona State), a star on the Cape last year, made his first appearance this year since arriving from the College World series and worked four shutout innings to pick up the win. Daniel Tillman (Florida Southern) struck out two in the ninth to pick up his first save.

All in all, an impressive win for the Kettleers. Strangely enough, they didn’t necessarily play their game to do it. They didn’t have a stolen base, which I believe is the first time that’s happened all year. They also didn’t have a sacrifice bunt.

That’s the thing about this team, though. For all the speed and small-ball leanings, when you look at their lineup, you realize they have some hitters who can be very productive. The combination of the two gives Cotuit a real dangerous offense.

Of course, Chatham’s offense has been more dangerous. The Anglers still lead the league in runs scored, but last night, they didn’t have enough.

The Kettleers and Anglers won’t see each other again until July 12. It’ll be interesting to see what they do then, and where they stand.

Elsewhere

What to Watch For Right Today/Tonight

With doubleheaders at Y-D and Bourne, games are happening as I write this. In tonight’s action, Chatham will try to stop its two-game skid with a home game against Orleans. It’s the second match-up of the year between the East rivals. It appears that former Falmouth Commodore and CWS hero Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) will go for Orleans. He was not on anybody’s roster this year, but has just popped up for the Firebirds. He was a 17th-round pick this year.

The way things have been going, you got the feeling it would take something special to stop the Chatham Anglers.

Three Bourne pitchers delivered it.

Turner Phelps (James Madison), Justin Poovey (Florida) and Stephen Harrold (UNC Wilmington) combined on a four-hit shutout as the Braves toppled the Anglers by a 4-0 score, snapping Chatham’s six-game winning streak.

It was the third start of the season for Phelps, who turned it into his longest and best start so far. The sophomore righty allowed just two hits, struck out nine and walked only one in six shutout innings. Bourne gave Phelps the lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth, and the bullpen helped keep the lead, a crucial part of the equation against the comeback-minded Anglers. Poovey struck out two and allowed one hit in two innings. Harrold surrendered a leadoff single in the ninth but got three straight groundouts to end the game.

It’s the first time this season that Chatham has been shut out. The Anglers came into last night’s game leading the league in hitting, but they dropped behind Y-D after their four-hit performance.

Kaleb Fleck (Pitt-Johnstown) got the start for Chatham and pitched well, surrendering just a run on two hits in four innings. Cody Freeman (Mississippi State) hit a solo home run for the Braves. Raynor Campbell (Baylor) scored the second run on a wild pitch and a throwing error. A dropped fly ball allowed two runs to score in the ninth.

The Anglers still sit in first by eight points, and they’re the only team in the East with a winning record. Bourne improved to 4-4-2.

Elsewhere

What to Watch For Tonight
Two first-place teams will get together in Cotuit as the 9-2 Chatham Anglers take on the 5-4-1 Kettleers. Before last night, Cotuit had handed Chatham its only loss. Chad Bell (Walters State) will get the start for Cotuit against Chatham’s Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma State). Both have been impressive in the early going.

Notes written while wondering how on Earth it rained again today . . .

I wrote the other day about Chatham’s start and where it ranked in recent history. Right then, I didn’t have time to go back and really look, but I did I have time tonight.

Good thing I had a lot of time.

The Anglers’ 9-1 start is the best since 2002, when the Cotuit Kettleers started 13-0, breaking the all-time league record for most wins to start a season. Led by batting champ and league MVP Pete Stonard, that Cotuit team ended up tying two games before it lost its first game, which didn’t happen until July 1. Pretty remarkable.

Maybe more remarkable? The Kettleers won 10 games the rest of the regular season. They still won the division title, but lost in the Western Division playoffs.

So Chatham, your cushion is nice, but it’s not everything.

The league has announced some policy changes in response to all the postponements. Greg posted the full release on Codball . It looks like the big one is the allowance for seven-inning games in doubleheaders. Previously, league bylaws prevented that, but with a lot of doubleheaders on the horizon, this looks like the right move.

Some interesting names have popped up over the last few days, adding to the already large number of players drafted in 2009 who are on the Cape. Two were big names last summer on the Cape — Baylor’s Raynor Campbell and Mississippi State’s Connor Powers. Campbell was a 31st-round pick while Powers went in the 11th round. Also of note is Tennessee’s Bryan Morgado, who got the start for Bourne last night. Morgado was a third-round pick of the Dodgers. He missed his freshman year at Tennessee because of Tommy John surgery, but he’s got a power arm that can light up radar guns. I believe he’s the highest pick to play on the Cape in a few years. Last year, I think the highest pick was fifth-rounder Greg Miclat, who left pretty early in the summer.

Cotuit pitcher Drew Gagnier is the first Cape League player to come from the University of Oregon since the program was re-established. Oregon hadn’t played baseball since 1981, but the program was set on course in 2007 for a return and was officially brought back to life this spring. Gagnier, a redshirt sophomore who previously played at Fresno State, is a pretty good first representative. He had a 2.70 ERA out of the bullpen for the Ducks and was a 14th-round pick of the A’s earlier this month. In three appearances for Cotuit, he hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out six in four innings.

Some of the Virginia contingent has arrived from the College World Series, and they’re making sure everyone knows it. Dan Grovatt has gone 4-for-7 in his first two games for Harwich. John Barr went 3-for-4 last night in his first game with Brewster.

As LSU tries to defend its national championship next year, Brett Bruening may play a big role. A juco star who has committed to the Tigers, Bruening has a 0.75 ERA in two starts for Harwich. He has struck out 12 in 12 innings of work.

Speaking of LSU, it’ll be very interesting to see what Anthony Ranaudo does this summer. He’s on the Y-D roster, but as Dave touched on over at Codball, Ranaudo pitched a lot of innings this year — 124.1 after just 12 last year. I too wouldn’t be surprised if Ranaudo is either shut down for the summer or kept on a very tight leash. To some extent, he’s done everything he needed to do this year, helping lead LSU to a title and, in the process, establishing himself as perhaps the top college prospect for the 2010 draft. On the surface, Ranaudo’s situation is similar to Alex White’s last year. A top prospect who carried his team deep into the tourney, White was scheduled to pitch in Chatham but was shut down for the summer. We’ll find out soon enough what’s going to happen with Ranaudo.

Man. It’s 2:30 p.m. and I have no reasonable excuse for why this hasn’t been posted yet. I have a day off, with nothing going on. I tried starting it three separate times, but no matter how many box scores I stared at, I couldn’t come up with a theme.

This is rare. For all the times I’ve had writer’s block in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever had Cape League writer’s block. In two years of putting out these daily updates, I’m pretty sure this has never happened. But today, I feel out of the loop, out of rhythm. It’s like the rainy interruptions killed every ounce of momentum. Nothing connects to anything else. Wednesday’s games offered a brief moment of excitement: Hey, they’re playing again. Today, it’s more of a “What now?”

I can only imagine how the Hyannis Mets feel.

They were on a two-game winning streak before the monsoons rolled in. Then they did nothing for four days. On that fourth day, when everyone else was back in action, they were postponed again.

Somehow, they fought through it.

Facing the same Cotuit team they beat in their last game on June 20, the Mets put a ninth-inning rally together to edge the Kettleers 3-2 last night. The bullpen shined, with Dallas Gallant (Sam Houston) and Kevin Brandt (East Carolina) tossing four shutout innings and setting the stage for the rally. The Mets delivered in the top of the ninth as Dustin Harrington (East Carolina) worked a walk and Eddie Rohan (Winthrop) knocked him in with a base hit. Brandt struck out two in the bottom of the inning to seal the victory.

That’s three wins in a row for the Mets, who improved to 4-4. I can’t imagine it feels much like a streak, but they’ll take it.

I’ll take it too. Rhythm or not, it’s about time this season gets in gear.

Elsewhere

What to Watch For Tonight
Looks like a nice pitching match-up in Falmouth. Casey Schmidt (San Diego), a 15th-round pick this year, will go for Brewster against Jordan Cooper, who had an outstanding freshman year at Wichita State. Cooper allowed two runs in seven innings in his first start. Schimdt has made two starts and has a 2.70 ERA.

I always try to use this space to write about what seemed important from the night before. The most important thing last night?

They played baseball. On Cape Cod.

After two full days of rainouts and one day with four rainouts, the weather finally cooperated long enough last night to get most of the games in. Hyannis had to postpone its match-up with Wareham, but that was the only one. Everyone else played, and I, for one, am glad they’re back.

I’m guessing the Chatham Anglers are happy to be back, too.

I feel like I’ve partially lost it in all the unevenness of the early season, but it’s time to take notice: the Anglers are on fire. Last night, they won their fifth straight game as they topped Y-D 8-3. They’re now 8-1, a full seven points ahead of second-place Brewster in the East. They’re off to a faster start than even the 2007 juggernaut Y-D Red Sox, who were 7-2 through nine games.

Last night, they wasted no time jumping on top. They batted around in the first inning and chased Y-D starter Greg Holle (TCU) before he could record an out. Mike Murray (Wake Forest) had an RBI single, with three of the other runs coming home on bases-loaded walks or hit-batsmen.

Staked to a big lead, Chatham pitcher Pete Kennelly (Fordham) was just as dominant in his first start as he has been in relief. He went four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. Kennelly now hasn’t allowed a run in four appearances. Parker Bangs (South Carolina) picked up the win in relief.

Murray went 3-for-3 to lead the offense, while Tom Belza (Oklahoma State) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Elsewhere

What to Watch For Tonight
Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast), who has struck out 20 and hasn’t allowed a run in 14 innings, will make his third start of the year as Y-D hosts Orleans. The Firebirds will counter with Casey Gaynor (Rutgers), who allowed one run in six innings in his first start.

With its trials complete, USA baseball announced its final roster today. You can read the release here.

Here’s the breakdown, starting with the good news. Eight players on Cape League rosters were left off the final USA roster:

Micah Gibbs – C – Y-D
Thomas Girdwood – RHP – Hyannis
Jedd Gyorko – IF – Brewster
Anthony Ranaudo – RHP – Y-D
Logan Verrett – RHP – Chatham
Alex Wimmers – RHP – Bourne
Kyle Winkler – RHP – Falmouth
Ross Wilson – IF – Harwich

Though that’s not as high a number as last year, when 11 Cape Leaguers didn’t make the final roster, it’s still a good group. Ranaudo and Wimmers could be the two most highly-touted pitchers on the Cape if they do indeed make it. Same goes for Gibbs at the catcher spot, and Wilson and Gyorko on the infield.

The bad news is that 15 of the 22 who did make the final roster were slated for the Cape. That list includes Christian Colon, Bryce Brentz, Tyler Holt, Blake Forsythe, Gerrit Cole and Drew Pomeranz. It would have been cool to see all those guys in Cape League uniforms.

There are three names floating out there that I’m not sure about — Hunter Morris (Falmouth), Deck McGuire (Orleans) and Danny Hultzen (Hyannis). All three were/are on Cape League rosters and were on the initial USA invite list. But the most recent trials roster — even before the final roster came out — did not include them. I’m not sure what that means for their summer destinations, but I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. Morris and McGuire are still listed on the Falmouth and Orleans rosters, but Hultzen hasn’t been on the Hyannis roster since the Team USA invites went out.

Update (11:29): Just realized I missed Casey Harman, as well. He was not on the most recent trials list either and isn’t on the final roster. He’s slated for Hyannis.

And Another Update (11:53): The fact that their trial roster kept changing is killing me. There’s another name that falls into the unknown category, and it’s a big one — Fullerton pitcher Daniel Renken. He’s on the Harwich roster and was, at one point or another, a Team USA invite. I hope I’m not missing anybody else.

Why not another one? (11:55): I’m losing it over here. Jarrett Parker. Brewster. Also a one-time invite who disappeared from the trials roster. Though I’m quietly going crazy, this is actually looking better and better for the Cape League if all these guys make it.

The weekend got away from me and I had to work a super long day today, so I’ve missed a few things. But as lost weekends go, I guess this wasn’t a bad one to lose. I’m sure everyone has noticed: it’s raining a bit. In the last four days, only eight of the 20 scheduled games have been played. It’s kind of terrible.

With the entire slate getting washed out tonight, there will be nothing to recount tomorrow, but I’ll try to catch up on a few things that may have slipped through the cracks the last few days. For now, I leave you with some marginally coherent ramblings. Proceed.

Just a quick note. The Daily Fog will not be up tomorrow until late in the day. I’m not going to be around in the morning.