Young Homer Puts Season On Arm Of A.J.

First cliche of the day - the Yankees have their backs to the wall. That's because Monday night, the Detroit Tigers' Delmon Young snapped a 4-4 tie in the 7th inning with an opposite field home run to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory. For the second straight night the Yankees rallied against Jose Valverde in the 9th inning, but came up short. So what do we know going into tonight's Game 4.

A. The game rests on the arm of A.J. Burnett. He can a hero or a zero. He came up with a huge game in the 2009 playoffs and he'll need to again tonight to send the series back to New York.

B. CC Sabathia was affected more from Friday's rain out than Justin Verlander. While Verlander wasn't sharp early, he dominated in the middle innings. Sabathia was off from the start. As good as he looked in the first two innings on Friday, that's how bad he was last night. Which plays in the next item...

C. Home plate umpire Jerry Davis was horrendous. His strike zone favored Verlander. Whether this was a case of seeing pitches from a lefty or righty differently or home field umpiring, Davis squeezed Sabathia and stretched the zone for Verlander. The proof is in the pudding via Brooks Baseball. Check out the pitch FX from the game.

D. Rafael Soriano was public enemy number one in New York at the start of the season. But after returning from the DL he pitched lights out baseball. That was until he surrendered Young's home run last night. Back to New York's Not Most Wanted list.

E. The Yankees big guns look more like water pistols. Mark Teixeira (1-11), Alex Rodriguez (0-10), Robinson Cano after Game 1 (1-8), Nick Swisher (2-12)

F. If indeed this is Jorge Posada's last hurrah, he's going out on top as an individual. The much maligned DH has been the most consistent Yankee through the first three games, going 4-8 with four walks (.667 OBP). Yes, he made a bad base running mistake in Game 1, what else is new, but he's shown that he should be moved up in the lineup for the remaining games.

G. Joe Girardi has done a horrible job of managing the series. He seems to be managing to not make a mistake, but he's made a bunch. Some examples - Bring in Luis Ayala in for the second straight day in Game 2. The Yankees were down 4-1 and could not afford to fall any further behind. But instead of bringing in one of his shut down relievers, he brought Ayala, who became less trustworthy as the season went on and had done a terrible job in Game 1. Sure enough the Tigers scored what proved to be a huge insurance run in the 5-3 win.

Girardi also left Sabathia in too long last night; clearly you don't want to go to the pen too early, but the left-hander's goose was cooked in the 5th inning. Yet Girardi sent Sabathia back out for the 6th and didn't pull him until he had given up another run.

Girardi made a smart move by flip flopping Cano and Teixeira in the lineup prior to the start of the series, but he's made no adjustments to the lineup to ride the hot hands.

H. Derek Jeter is overmatched against hard throwers. Though he has four hits in the series, Jeter has looked horrible against the power pitching of Max Scherzer, Jose Valverde, and at times, Verlander.

I. The Yankees are in big trouble.

AL Playoff Rotations Forming

The Yankees' Joe Girardi knows he has CC Sabathia to start Game 1 of the ALDS against either the Detroit Tigers or Texas Rangers (or by some miracle the Los Angeles Angels) and Ivan Nova to go in either Game 2 or 3. But the rest is up in the air.

Perhaps Freddy Garcia solidified a spot on Saturday afternoon with six shutout innings in a win against the struggling Boston Red Sox. So who starts Game 4? Bartolo Colon? A.J. Burnett? CC Sabathia on 3 days rest?

Colon has allowed five or more earned runs in four of his last seven starts. He's been particularly bad in his last two starts; he allowed six earned runs in four innings against Tampa Bay (after eight days off) and followed that up with a seven run (five earned) outburst in three innings against Toronto.

Burnett's been miserable the entire second half with a couple of sprinkles of decent thrown in. In a word: non-trustworthy.

So that means CC Sabathia on three days rest for Game 4; something the big guy hasn't had a problem with in the past. There's no question that Sabathia hasn't been as sharp in the second half as was in the first. Some blame coming back from not one, but two rain delays in the same game, while others point to the use of a six man rotation. Whatever the reason, the Yankees will need Sabathia to be on top of his game if they are to make any kind of a run this post-season. Which means he'll likely be the Game 4 starter with Nova, on regular rest, starting the "if necessary" Game 5.


Detroit's Jim Leyland has made it easy. He has steadfastly said that his ace and the sure winner of the AL Cy Young, Justin Verlander, will not be brought back on three days rest. That means Verlander in Games 1 and 5, Doug Fister in Game 2, Max Scherzer in Game 3, and Rick Porcello in Game 4.


The Texas Rangers will use C.J. Wilson to start things off, but then Ron Washington has some decisions to make. It's likely he'll call on left-handers in the first three games with Derek Holland and Matt Harrison pitching Games 2 and 3 (possibly in the reverse order). If Washington doesn't want to go with Wilson on three day's rest, he'll choose from right-handers Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando. Lewis is the likely choice with the way Ogando has struggled in the second half. Washington could also mix things up by starting Lewis in Game 2 since his numbers are much better on the road than at home. Ogando, meanwhile, will move to the pen where he was outstanding in 2010.


If Boston holds on to the wild card, they are two games ahead of Tampa Bay after Saturday's play, Josh Beckett goes in Games 1 and 5, followed by Jon Lester. John Lackey is likely to be the number three starter with Erik Bedard in Game 4. Tim Wakefield will step in if any of the starters have a physical issue.

Terry Francona has to be worried about the normally reliable Lester, who is 0-3 in his last three starts with 18 earned runs allowed in just 13.2 innings pitched. In years past Beckett would have gone on three days rest in Game 4, but with his back issues that is not a scenario Boston can/should use.

The Outsiders

If Tampa Bay does ease Boston out of the final spot, David Price, James Shields, and Jeremy Hellickson are likely to get the five starts. It all depends, of course, on if the final playoff spot comes down to the final day. If Tampa Bay needs a fourth starter, they'll go to Jeff Niemann. If Niemann's back isn't healthy, than Wade Davis will get the nod.

The easiest thing for any team do is just go out and win three straight and then we don't have to all worry about who is pitching when.

BD Hot Stove: A Penny Signed Is A Penny Earned | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: A Penny Signed Is A Penny Earned | Baseball Digest

The Detroit Tigers have spent the last couple of seasons trying to re-work their starting rotation. Outside of Justin Verlander, the Motown crew hasn’t had gotten much consistency from their starting staff.

Hopes are still high very high for Rick Porcello, who had an oustanding rookie campaign in 2009, but floundered in much of his sophomore season. Max Scherzer was brought in from Arizona prior to the 2010 season. He’s a hard thrower who strikes out nearly a batter per inning, but struggles with his command. Then there’s Armando Galaragga, who can look perfect one day and quite ordinary the next.

In attempt to steady the rotation and add some experience GM Dave Dombrowski has signed veteran right-hander Brad Penny to a one year, three-million dollar contract. It’s a good low risk gamble for Dombrowski and the Tigers. Penny made just nine appearances last April and May, as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, due to back trouble.

Penny struggled his only other time in the American League back in 2009 with Boston. Shoulder issues made him ineffective in 24 starts and the Red Sox released him in late August. Whether it was a switch to the National League or better health, Penny went 4-1, 2.59 in six starts after the San Francisco Giants picked him up four days later.

That’s the Penny the Tigers are hoping for; one that can shine in Detroit, and give the sagging rotation a boost. Over the span of 11 seasons, Penny has made 284 starts, won 108 games and posted a 4.11 ERA.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

The Yankees may be taking a low risk gamble as well. Several sources have them in serious discussions with free agent right-hander Justin Duchscherer. The 33-yr old missed 2009 after undering going elbow surgery and was also treated for clinical depression. Last year he underwent hip surgery and made just five major league appearances. When not injured, Duchscherer is extremely effective. In 2008, he went 10-8, 2.54 in his first season as a full-time starter. His strikeouts per nine innings (6.0) were lower than in his time as a reliever, but he posted a WHIP under 1.0. He made his second All-Star appearance as well. With just five appearances in the last two seasons, the Yankees could likely sign him to a deal worth less guaranteed money than Penny.

Across town the Mets are reportedly taking a look at free agent right-hander David Bush (per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick).

The Reds officially signed off on their deal with Edgar Renteria and also added outfielder Fred Lewis.

The Angels and infielder Alberto Callaspo avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing on a one year contract.

The Rockies signed veteran right-hander Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal.

Another veteran righty, Kris Benson, has decided to call it quits.

Left-handers are in the news too. KC GM Bob Dutton told MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel that the team is considering re-signing Bruce Chen. And the White Sox signed lefty reliever Will Ohman to a two year, $4M deal.

The Mariners signed veteran infielder Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal that will included an invitation to spring training.

Javy Shines But Yankees Lose 3rd Straight

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Javier Vazquez made his first trip to the mound in 11 days and threw his best outing of the season. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees couldn't solve Tigers starter Rick Porcello or the Detroit bullpen, falling 2-0. It was the Yankees third straight loss and assured them of no better than a four game split with the Tigers.

Vazquez was good from the get-go, retiring the first seven men he faced and allowed just a single hit through five innings. He escaped a two out, two walk jam in the 5th, striking out Adam Everett to keep the game scoreless.

Vazquez gave up consecutive singles to Austin Jackson and Johnny Damon to start the 6thand Magglio Ordonez followed with a run producing ground out. Two more singles by Miguel Cabrera and rookie Brennan Boesch put Detroit on top 2-0 before Vazquez got Brandon Inge to bounce into an inning ending double play.

The Yankees managed just four hits and hit (or is it no-hit) into bad luck all day. That was most evident in the 7th inning when Nick Swisher lined a sure single up the middle only to see it bounce off Porcello to an awaiting Everett at shortstop for a ground out.

Porcello got himself out of a base loaded, two out jam in the 2nd, by inducing a pop up from Ramiro Pena. He then struck out the Yankees young third baseman (Alex Rodriguez got the call at DH) with two aboard in the 4th to escape another Yankees threat.

Notes

Jonathan Albaladejo was holed up in a Detroit hotel in case the Yankees needed to activate him. With Vazquez going seven innings in the opener of the day-night doubleheader, it is unlikely he'll be needed.

Greg Golson was recalled from Scranton before the game with Al Aceves going on the DL.

Twins it is

71% of you who took our poll wanted the Twins to be the Yankees opponent. For better or worse, you got your wish. It took 12 innings of exciting baseball yesterday before Minnesota finally beat the Detroit Tigers 6-5 in their one game playoff.

Alexi Casilla singled home Carlos Gomez with the winning run off closer Fernando Rodney, who was working his 4th inning. Rodney had already blown a one run lead in the 10th, but manger Jim Leyland decided he was the only guy to go to.

The Division Series starts this evening at 6 p.m. EDT with CC Sabathia facing rookie Brian Duensing. Stay tuned for a more in-depth ALDS preview later today.

Porcello, Youkilis Suspensions Uneven

I was a little surprised, well not too surprised, that Kevin Youkilis only got 5 games for his part in yesterday's Boston-Detroit brawl. But I was more surprised Rick Porcello got the same amount. Granted a pitcher's 5 game suspension is NOT the same as an every day player. But as far as I know Porcello did not admit any intent and he certainly didn't act as if it were intentional once the ball hit Youkilis. Yes, he fought, but he has to protect himself.

And what fantasy is the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy thinking of:

The kid righty was backpedaling when a sprinting Youk flung his helmet at him, then wrapped him up and wrestled him to the ground like a baby calf.

That was Porcello making a nice move and taking Youkilis down. Shaughnessy also goes on to say the brawl kick started the Red Sox. Perhaps that's because Porcello was no longer on the mound.

And just for the record, this,

is much worse and much more unsportsmanlike than this,


Suck it Boston!

Hissy Fit in Fenway

"I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out" - Rodney Dangerfield

Theatrics broke out in Fenway Park last night as the teams went at in a bench clearing brawl. A little background first though. Monday night Red Sox pitcher Brad Penny nailed the Tigers' best hitter, 1st baseman Miguel Cabrera on his left, thankfully, padded elbow. Later in the game, Edwin Jackson hit the Red Sox best hitter, Kevin Youkilis in apparent retaliation. Youkilis wasn't pleased, but went to 1st base.

Last night, Red Sox starter Junichi Tazawa hit Cabrera again, this time on the hand. It was clearly unintentional as the pitch was nearly over the plate and Cabrera's hands tend to be in the strike zone. But after Cabrera had to leave the game during his next at-bat, Tigers starter Rick Porcello nailed Youkilis in the back. There would be no direct path to 1st base this time. Youkilis charged at the perplexed Porcello, who seemed to be putting on a good act of playing innocent.

Porcello at first retreated, but Youkilis flipped his helmet at the pitcher and then tried to tackle him. But Porcello side stepped the charging bull and threw him to the ground like a rag doll (or Don Zimmer).

Both players were obviously ejected and will faces fines and suspensions, especially Youkilis, not only for charging the mound, but for using his helmet as a weapon (thank God he didn't use sex as a weapon).

Joba and Yankees Survive Tigers

Here's my recap of last night's win for Baseball Digest

Yankees Laugh Early, Breathe Hard Late

April 30th, 2009

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Curtis Granderson • hideki matsui • joba chamberlain • Jonathan Albaladejo • mariano rivera • melky cabrera • miguel cabrera • nick swisher • Rick Porcello • Yankees recap 4/29 • Yankees vs. Tigers

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	7	1	0	0	0	0		8	9	0
Detroit	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5		6	7	0

WP - Chamberlain (1-0) LP - Porcella (1-3)

It should have been a laugher. On the heels of Tuesday night’s 11-0 win, this should have been an even easier game to win. But the Yankees had to hold on tight Wednesday night in Detroit to beat the Tigers 8-6. The victory gave the Yankees a series win as they took two of three.

The Yankees built an 8-1 lead behind timely hitting and stellar pitching from starter Joba Chamberlain. But Jonathan Albaladejo and Mariano Rivera made things exciting in the ninth as the Tigers scored five times before Rivera retired Placido Polanco for the game’s final out in a non-save situation.

Just like his “brother in arms” Phil Hughes had done on Tuesday night, Chamberlain gave the Yankees a much needed boost with his performance. He threw just 88 pitches as he limited the Tigers to three hits over seven innings. The only trouble he got into was when the Tigers scored their lone run in the third.

Brandon Inge led off the inning with a walk and Josh Anderson followed with a single to center field. After a Ramon Santiago sacrifice bunt, Chamberlain issued his second walk of the inning to Curtis Granderson to load the bases. Polanco’s sacrifice fly brought in the game’s first run and Chamberlain got himself into more trouble when he walked Magglio Ordonez to reload the bases. That set up a matchup with Detroit’s best hitter, Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers’ first baseman entered the game with the best average in baseball (.444), with the bases loaded. He worked the count to 3-2 and looked for a fastball, but Chamberlain snapped off a nasty curve ball to strike out Cabrera swinging to end the threat.

Buoyed by Chamberlain’s effort, the Yankees exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth inning. Hideki Matsui drew a lead off walk from New Jersey native Rick Porcello and advanced to third on a one-out hit and run single by Jorge Posada. The Yankees’ slow footed catcher has been running even slower due to a bad hamstring, but took advantage of not being held on first base and stole second base uncontested. Hitting from the left side of the plate, Nick Swisher crushed a Porcello fastball over the fence in left field for a 3-run home run to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Singles by Melky Cabrera and Ramiro Pena set the table once again. Derek Jeter bounced into a force play, but Johnny Damon delivered an RBI double that ended Porcello’s night. Left-hander Clay Rapada intentionally walked switch-hitter Mark Teixeira, but the move blew up in manager Jim Leyland’s face when the hot-hitting Hideki Matsui doubled over Anderson’s head in left to clear the bases for a 7-1 Yankees lead. One inning later, Swisher hit his second home run of the game, this time from the right side, and the Yankees seemed to be all set with an 8-1 advantage.

Chamberlain retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings, and escaped a two on, no out jam in the seventh before he turned things over to the bullpen. Phil Coke tossed a scoreless eighth inning, but Albaladejo gave some hope to those Tigers fans who remained in their seats. He committed a cardinal sin right off the bat by walking Cabrera on four pitches to start the inning. A double by Carlos Guillen, a sac fly by Gerald Laird, and an RBI double by Brandon Inge suddenly cut the Yankees’ lead to 8-3. Albaladejo struck out Anderson, but when he allowed a single to Santiago, Joe Girardi quickly went to Mariano Rivera. Maybe too quickly- as it appeared that the Yankees’ closer hadn’t had sufficient time to warm up.

That theory gained more credence when Curtis Granderson turned on a Rivera pitch and belted a 3-run home run to right field, to slice the Yankees lead to 8-6. The Yankees held their collective breath until Robinson Cano put away Polanco’s pop up for the game’s final out.

Game Notes

It was the eighth time in Nick Swisher’s career that he had homered from both sides of the plate. Among active MLB players, only Tony Clark (10) and Jorge Posada (8) have done it at least that many times.

Melky Cabrera appears to have taken over the center field job for now… although Joe Girardi will not commit to either Brett Gardner or Cabrera full time. But Melky is 10-31 (.323) in his last 10 games, with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Meanwhile, Gardner is in a 4-25 (.160) slide.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees have now scored at least seven runs in an inning in back to back road games for the first time in 80 years.

2009 AL Central Preview

We're not going to go in-depth with our predictions for the remainder of baseball's divisions, but here we go.

AL CENTRAL

White Sox
Twins
Indians
Tigers
Royals

The defending division champs White Sox should take this division again in a close race with the Twins. The White Sox combination of rotation and bullpen will be the difference in the AL Central. Mark Buehrle, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd are solid at the front end, while recent injury prone starters, Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon take up the back end. Colon, in particular, has looked good this spring and might be close to his old form. Bobby Jenks is a dynamite closer and the White Sox have solid arms throughout the pen. The offense has plenty of power, though that could also be looked at as being one dimensional.

A lot of talking heads expect the Indians to be back were they were in 2007, when they came within one win of going to the World Series, but we don't see it. Travis Hafner is still not swinging the bat with authority, closer Kerry Wood is always a sneeze away from an arm injury, and the rotation, outside of Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona, does nothing for us.

We really like the young arms in the Twins rotation - Scott Baker (DL), Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, and Glen Perkins are all quality arms. Joe Nathan is as reliable a closer as there is in baseball, but the rest of the Twins pen isn't scintillating. More importantly, the Twins don't have a lot of pop in their lineup, especially if Joe Mauer is hurting. The Twins really need Delmon Young to have a break out season.

Some people think the Tigers underachieved last season. We think they were just overrated and not that good. There's not much to make us feel different about the team this year. Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon are the the team's closers. Joel Zumaya is hurt again. Jeremy Bonderman is still hurt. Carlos Guillen is playing another position. Dontrelle Willis is battling an anxiety disorder. On the up side, Miguel Cabrera will mash and local boy Rick Porcello should be fun to watch.

The only thing keeping the Tigers from the basement is the Royals. Yes, they have some quality young players- Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Joakim Soria; but pitching wins and with Kyle Davies, Sidney Ponson, and Horacio Ramirez in the rotation, KC is NOT going to win.

AL '09 Rookie Preview - AL Central

We continue our preview of the AL's top rookies with a look at the AL Central's up and comers.

White Sox

Chicago surprised just about everyone, but themselves, with their first place finish in the AL Central last season. The core of the team is in tact, but there is a hole at third base after the departure of Joe Crede. It's an opening that could be filled by a soon-to-be 20-yr old.

Dayan Viciedo defected from Cuba last May and was signed by the White Sox in December. He proved to be one of the shining stars in the Cuban baseball leagues after hitting .337 as a 16-yr old. Just 6'1", Viciedo had ballooned to 262 pounds last fall after his defection, but shed 15 pounds over the summer. The White Sox would like him to lose another 15 pounds prior to the start of the season.

Viciedo is a strong hitter, who showed in winter ball that he can handle breaking pitches. Defense is a question mark though and could lead to Viciedo eventually supplanting Paul Konerko at first base. For now, Viciedo will have competition at the hot corner with Josh Fields.

The back end of the rotation is up for grabs with prospects Lance Broadway, Clayton Richard, (former Yankee farm hand) Jeffrey Marquez, and Aaron Poreda in the mix.

Indians

Catcher Carlos Santana and outfielder Matt LaPorta should see plenty of playing time in 2010, but aren't expected to have much of an impact in the coming season. That leaves the bullpen as the only spot where a rookie will get a shot. One time top starting prospect Adam Miller could be that guy.

Tigers

Detroit is heavily laden with veterans, with no rookies on the immediate horizon. 2007 first round pick Rick Porcello should be in the 2010 rotation if all goes as planned. It's doubtful the Tigers would rush him to the majors this season, but you never know.

Twins

The Twins have young players sprinkled throughout their lineup and starting rotation. The organization's top ranked prospect, Aaron Hicks, is just 18 years old, so he won't have an impact any time soon. If Joe Crede's back acts up, Danny Valencia could see some time at third base, but he's likely to spend the year at Triple-A.

Royals

No team uses more young players than KC (the 'C' may very well stand for cheap). Stud prospects Alex Gordon and Billy Butler currently man the corners. Mike Moustakas could join them at shortstop next season or this year if Mike Aviles doesn't pan out (or plays well and KC trades him before he can earn money).






Ranking the AL Central ROY Prospects

1. Dayan Viciedo
2. Matt LaPorta
3. Mike Moustakas
4. Rick Porcello

Minor League Recap - 6/20

What happens when a switch-pitcher faces a switch-hitter. It occurred last night when the Staten Island Yankees faced the Brooklyn Cyclones. Recent Yankees draftee Pat Venditte was on the hill for Staten Island. Ralph Henriquez stepped in for Brooklyn and here's what ensued.

As for the game itself, the Baby Bombers won it 7-2 behind 2 RBI each from Mike Lyon, Taylor Grote, and Addison Maruszak.

	June 19, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Staten Island 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 1 0 7 11 1 Brooklyn 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 5 1 Recap | Box W: J. Selenes (1-0, 0.00); L: M. Olivares (0-1, 1.80) HR: None.

The Scranton Yankees dropped the first game of their 4-game series with the Toledo Mudhens, 4-3, despite home runs by Shelley Duncan and Nick Green. Alan Horne had a decent outing (6 IP 4 H 4 ER 3 R 3BB 4 K), throwing 96 pitches. Dave Robertson had another good appearance in relief with 2 scorless inning. It lowered his season ERA to 1.91.

June 19, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Toledo 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 5 0 Scranton/WB 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 8 2 Recap | Box | W: V. Vasquez (5-6, 5.10); L: A. Horne (2-1, 3.70); SV: B. Neal (21) HR: SWB: S. Duncan (7), N. Green (6).

The Trenton Thunder lost the decisive game of their 3-game series with the Harrisburg Senators, 7-3. Phil Coke gave up 5 runs in 6 innings and the Senators reached Mark Melancon for 2 more. P.J. Pillitere had 3 hits, an RBI, and a run scored.

	June 19, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Trenton 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 5 0 Harrisburg 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 0 X 7 8 1 Recap | Box | W: J. Zimmermann (2-1, 3.24); L: P. Coke (4-3, 3.39) HR: HAR: M. Daniel (8), G. Guzman 2 (5).

The Tampa Yankees lost the opener of their series with the Lakeland Flying Tigers 6-3. NJ product Rick Porcello didn't figure in the decision for the Tigers, but he gave up 2 runs over 5.2 innings. Grant Duff took the loss after Lakeland scored 3 runs in the 7th.

	June 19, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 9 0 Lakeland 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 X 6 10 1 Recap | Box W: N. Martin (2-1, 4.28); L: G. Duff (1-4, 3.12); SV: J. Sborz (3) HR: None.

Charleston returned from the all-star break on the wrong end of a 5-3 score with the Columbus Catfish. Wil Heredia was tagged for 5 runs in 5 innings. David Williams hit his 3rd home run of the year for the RiverDogs.

	June 19, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Charleston 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 9 0 Columbus 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 9 1 Recap | Box | | Game Story: COL W: J. Hall (1-1, 4.19); L: J. Heredia (2-1, 2.98) HR: CHA: D. Williams (3). COL: R. Fronk (7).