By By SCOTT COOPER – Sports Writer
After a week in which several scheduled games fell victim to rainouts, the Astros continue to lead the pack in the Brewton Babe Ruth League race for top honors.
The Astros have either held or been tied for the league's top spot since the beginning of the season and currently spearhead the six-team league with a 6-1 record. Following closely behind are the Pirates (6-2) and the Blue Jays (5-3). The Brewers own the fourth position with a 3-4 mark while the Angels (2-5) and Devil Rays (0-7) hold down the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
Blue Jays 9, Angels 3
While Blue Jay batters were pounding out 11 base hits, starting pitcher Becker Denton was tossing a one-hitter in a May 19 9-3 Blue Jays' win over the Angels.
After the Angels took advantage of Blue Jay errors to grab a 1-0 first-inning lead, the Blue Jays got untracked with two runs in the second and two more in the third. Leading 4-2 at that point, the Blue Jays outscored their opponent 5-1 the rest of the way to exit with a comfortable victory.
In addition to his one-hit performance from the mound over seven innings, Denton recorded 10 strikeouts.
Offensive leaders for the Blue Jays were Chris Griffin, 2-for-3; Aaron Lambert, 2-for-4 with one RBI; Derek Busby, 1-for-2 with one RBI; Justin Smith, 2-for-4; Mackie Jackson, 2-for-4; Bracken Davis, 1-for-2 and Becker Denton, 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Brenden Klenk went 1-for-3 to lead the Angels' offensive efforts.
Blue Jays 8, Pirates 6
In a rain-shortened game played May 20, the Blue Jays jumped on the Pirates' pitching staff early and held on for an 8-6 win.
The Blue Jays got RBI base hits from Becker Denton, Jake Smith and Aaron Lambert in a four-run first inning, and then added three more scores in the second to build a 7-3 lead. From there, Blue Jay starting pitcher Derek Busby kept the Pirate bats effectively under control before the game was officially ended at the completion of five innings due to rain.
Busby went the distance in earning the win, giving-up five hits and only two walks while striking-out seven.
Leading the Blue Jay offense were Aaron Lambert, 1-for-1 with one RBI; Becker Denton, 2-for-4 with one RBI; Mackie Jackson, 1-for-2 with one RBI; Bracken Davis, 1-for-2; Derek Busby, 1-for-2; Jake Smith, 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Justin Smith, two RBIs.
Leaders at the plate for the Pirates were Baxley Raines, 2-for-3 with three RBIs; Allen Williams, 2-for-3 with one RBI and Nykeem Barton, 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Brewers 12, Devils Rays 2
Jared Cooper tossed a three-hitter and helped his cause with a two-RBI performance at the plate in leading the Brewers to a 12-2 win over the Devil Rays on May 22.
Cooper gave-up two hits and two runs in the first inning, but then surrendered only a single base hit the remainder of the contest. Meanwhile, the Brewers enjoyed a 6-2 advantage before exploding for five fourth-inning runs that stretched their lead to 11-2. After adding one more to their total in the fifth, the Brewers were awarded the victory due to the 10-run rule.
Cooper went the distance while notching the win and struck-out eight to compliment his three-hitter.
In addition, Cooper led the Brewers' offense by going 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Other Brewer leaders at the plate were Bobby Freeman, 2-for-2 with one RBI; Justin Marshal, 2-for-3 with one RBI; Brandon Johnson, 1-for-2; Kyle Baggett, 1-for-3 with one RBI and Travis Holland, two RBIs.
Batting leaders for the Devil Rays were Matt Madden, 1-for-1; Patrick Reeves, 1-for-2 with one RBI and Brice Martin, 1-for-3.
Astros 6, Blue Jays 3
After falling behind 2-0 in their May 22 game against the Blue Jays, the Astros showed their league-leading mental toughness by rebounding for a 6-3 win.
The Astros rallied to tie the game, 3-3, in the third inning. Then, Michael Hunt's two-RBI double in the sixth led the way to a three-run inning that proved to be the difference in the Astros' victory.
Jordan Cauley tossed a six-hitter and struck-out 15 in a complete-game winning performance.
Offensive leaders for the Astros were Brad Smith, 1-for-2; Michael Hunt, 1-for-3 with two RBIs; Mikel Riggs, 1-for-3 and Jordan Cauley, 1-for-3.
Blue Jay offensive leaders were Jake Smith, 3-for-3; Bracken Davis, 1-for-3; Aaron Lambert, 1-for-3 and Justin Smith, 1-for-3.
Pirates 11, Angels 1
Pirate pitchers Baxley Raines and Antonio Gomez combined for a one-hitter while leading the Pirates to a May 22 win over the Angels.
Each team scored a run in the first inning, but then Pirate starter Raines completely shut down the Angels' offensive efforts over the next four innings. Gomez then took his place on the mound in the sixth inning and proceeded to pick up where Raines left off, allowing no hits over the final two innings.
After building a 3-1 lead at the completion of four innings, the Pirates scored two in the fifth to pad the cushion to 5-1. While moving five more runners home in the sixth and another in the seventh, the Pirates closed out a decisive 11-1 win.
Raines notched the win in a starting role, allowing one hit and striking out five.
Pacing the Pirates' offense were Nykeem Barton, 2-for-2; Willie Southwell, 1-for-1; Justin Gomez, 2-for-3 with one RBI; Hayes Peace, 2-for-3; Brandon Odom, 2-for-4 with one RBI and Baxley Raines, 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Spencer Williamson went 1-for-3 to lead the Angel batters.