- Stags SP Rich Smith throws 3-hit shutout against Platte, striking out 11 and walking zero batters. The Stags’ 9-0 romp solidifies their claim to the top spot in East. Stags win Platte series 2 games to 1, becoming 2nd team to reach 30 wins.
- More bad injury news for ailing Taawa: Chargers 2B John White comes out of Wednesday’s game with a torn ligament in his thumb. He is expected to miss 6 weeks. Chargers’ newly acquired RP Lorenzo Safwani will miss the remainder of the year with a torn rotator cuff.
- Brothers ride 8-game win streak into All Star Break, have won 14 of last 15, hold 12-game lead in West division. CF Andy Thompson is enjoying a 14-game hit streak.
- Salvation CL Fernando Varkas will miss 8 weeks with a forearm strain. The Brothers may miss his 14 saves and 1.16 ERA.
- Rivals CF Pat Pinson hits 3 HR against Deerborn, including walk-off HR in 11th inning.
All Star Weekend, Tiny Sea City:
HR Challenge:
Miners RF Juan Kiteoko defeated Bears 3B Juan Tokorres in the HR Challenge finals on Friday. Many have been critical of the HR Challenge head-to-head tournament format, which was compounded as Stars RF Antonio Teakowa had the best single round performance of the evening with 9 HR in the first round before losing to Tokorres in the 2nd round.
All Star Game:
Play was briefly interrupted in the 2nd inning of Saturday’s All Star Game in Tiny Sea City by a political protest. Security restored order within minutes and the game went on without incident.
The West Division All Stars outlasted the East Division All Stars 2-0 thanks to some hometown heroes. Salvation Brothers CF Andy Thompson broke the tie in the 3rd inning with a solo HR off of White Sox starter Ayoub Colin. Ed Austin of the Brothers was the winning pitcher as several Brothers relievers helped carry the West to the win. The West pitchers delivered a combined no hitter against the best hitters in the East Division and only walked 2 batters. Brothers RP Len Odden closed out the last 3 innings of the game with efficiency, allowing no hits, no walks, and striking out 5. He silenced the East lineup, throwing only 25 pitches over his 3 innings of work. For his efforts, Odden was named All Star Game MVP.
Current Standings:
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