NEWS

Warhawks (2-9-1) vs Bats (6-5) at Rochdale 10 am (DH)

So far it has been a rough start for managers Joel and Tino as they try to regroup there troops back into a playoff push. Last week, the Warhawks battled in game 2 vs the 1st place Riders. The Warhawks were up 6-5 until starter Efren Rodriguez ran out of gas and gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. There is no easy task this weekend as the Warhawks will face 4th place team Gotham City Bats. For the past few weeks, the Warhawks have added some free agents that will bolster their ball club.The Warhawks will need to rely on the big 2 of Steven Fadul and Miguel Reyes who are combined 54 k's to go up against a decent hitting Bats team.

The Bats are coming off a tough loss against the Marlins 2 weeks ago as they blew a 6-1 lead. Brett Lisle did not pitch well as he gave up 8 runs with 6 innings of play. Lisle's control issues showed against a patient Marlins hitting lineup who allowed him to walk 6 batters. Nonetheless, the Bats were very shorthanded that weekend by missing their other top slugger Michael German. This upcoming weekend the Bats should be able to field a full squad against the last place Warhawks. The Bats will need to rely on Lisle to rejuvenate his tough pitching start, and Tyler Durr to continue to have an MVP season. 

This weekend my pick will be the Bats sweeping the Warhawks 

Riders (10-2) vs Los Bravos (5-8-1)- Van Courtlandt Park 8:30 am (DH)

The Riders are coming of 2 sweeps against the last place Warhawks. As previously mentioned, it wasn't an easy game 2 as the Riders came back from a 6-5 deficit thanks to Michael Marmolejos lead off homerun that tied the game at 6. The Riders are coming to get revenge against Los Bravos who gave them their only second loss of the season. With that, the Riders have a good record playing at their home turf Van Courtlandt Park. The Riders will more than likely go with cy young candidate Wil Rios and number 2 hard thrower Steven Moran, In order for the Riders to win both games, they will need to rely on their number 1 ranked pitching and offense.

Los Bravos are coming off 3 tough losses against the Diamondbacks. They will have a challenging match up against a heavy hitting Riders squad. On their last meeting, both games were low scoring affairs with excellent pitching duels. Los Bravos shutout the Riders in game 2 by defeating them 3-0 with Bryant Fuentes getting the win. It should be interesting what Manager Bravo does this time around since the Riders have already seen Bryant pitch. In fact, Los Bravos are ranked 2nd in pitching which this 2nd time around it will be another low scoring affairs.

Riders sweep Los Bravos

Giants (4-8) vs Diamondbacks (7-7) - Baisley 10 am (DH)

The NY Giants are coming off two losses vs the 2nd place Beers. Their low ranked offense and pitching has given this ball club a tough time in winning games. The Giants were shutout first game 10-0 without Ryan Smith pitching a full game in both contests. However, last week the Giants made a move by picking up former Patriot Ray Ruiz. This week will not be an easy task as the Giants will face the Diamondbacks who were defeated last season with a final score of 7-1. The Giants will need to pick up the offense to keep up with a solid Diamondbacks lineup core. 

The Diamondbacks have won 3 straight games and are looking to continue their winning ways against a weak Giants pitching. Rodney Newell came out explosive in those 3 games vs Los Bravos by driving in 5 runs and hitting .600. This week the Diamondbacks will face a Giants Club who hasn't found themselves offensively. The probable starters for the Diamondbacks will be Cheyenne Berges and Ruddy Estrella. The Diamondbacks have added free agent (former Patriot) Chris Cancel. He will provide some spark in what's already a solid lineup. The Diamondbacks will be looking to steal a lot as they are ranked 2nd in that department. 

Diamondbacks sweep Giants  

Game of the Week- NY Marlins (6-5) vs NY Beers (7-3-2)- Old Boys 1:30 (DH)

The NY Marlins are coming off an impressive comeback win against a tough Bats ball Club, This is the first Marlins come back win as a whole in a long time. The Marlins are looking to climb up 2nd place as they will face an improved Beers team. In their first contest, it was a pitchers duel between Miguel Sierra and Ryan Smith until the 6th inning. The second game was in the hands of the fish in a final score of 8-4. The fish have not matched well against Smith as they are 0-2. The second time around, the fish hit Smith slightly well but not close enough to beating him. It will be interesting to see how the 3rd time around goes against Smith as the fish will possibly go with a 9 man lineup. A pitcher's duel will more than likely happen if the Fish go with Alex Gounaris in gm 1 if Smith pitches. Jason Lopez, Csaba Rojas and George Scott were the only ones who hit Smith hard, but if the other likes of Chris Varona and Derek Ali step it up offensively this will be a steal for the Fish. 

The Beers are coming two solid performances against the NY Giants. Eric Weber threw a gem by throwing a complete game shutout. With Ethan Garry coming off the injured List, the Beers will now have a bench to play with. The Beers big test will be against the fish this weekend. In the previous contest, the beers shutout the Marlins in the final score of 7-0. Manager Darling will more than likely go with ace Ryan Smith who is 2-0 lifetime against the fish. After Smith, we are not sure who manager Darling will go with but keep in mind Weber and Reagan have both pitched well this season. The beers offense have done well against any type of pitching this season and will be looking to extend the winning streak at 3 and 4 to remain 2nd in the standings. 

To conclude both games will go down to the wire and these contests will result in a split.