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Cape League Musings Hitters continue to struggle for the Harwich Mariners. In a five-game span beginning June 22, the team was shut out four times and lost four of five. The lone win was a 7-2 victory over Wareham. In the win, Dan Brauer (Northwestern) went seven strong innings to up his record to 2-0. He allowed only two hits and struck out seven. He lowered his already impressive ERA to 0.75 for the season. Craig Hansen (St. John’s) pitched the final 1.2 innings to earn his first save of the season. The 6-foot, 6-inch right-hander surrendered only one hit and fanned two. On the offense Ben Copeland (Pittsburgh) led the way with two RBIs. Mike Pankratz (Baylor) and Eric Eymann (Illinois) each added two hits. It has been a great week for Mariner alumni as several former Harwich standouts excelled in the pros this week. For Dewon Brazelton it has been his coming-out party this week as the former Mariner (1999) took a huge step toward becoming an everyday starter. On June 25 the 24-year-old right-hander spun a gem for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. On June 30, he followed up with a shutout performance against Toronto. Brazelton spent most of this season in the minor leagues but has now filled a key role for the surging Devil Rays. For Carlos Pena things may finally be going his way. The former Mariner (1996) and Northeastern University standout has found a home in Detroit. He sits comfortably at first base and plays alongside reigning World Series MVP Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. He had a career game this week as he had six RBIs and a walk-off grand slam to down the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-5 June 26. Pena is batting .233 with 10 homers and 43 RBIs on the season. After starting the year 1-4 the defending champions Orleans Cardinals have gone 5-3 and sit at 6-7. They had a good chance of going to 7-6 but ran into the hottest pitcher in the league in Brewster’s Matt Goyen. The lefthander from Georgia College notched his third win of the season baffling the Cardinals in an 18 strikeout two hit outing on Thursday. He is 3-0 and has yet to surrender a run and only given up five hits in 22 innings of work. He has struck out 35 and walked just two batters. The Cards touched him up for two singles in the first, but he was perfect the rest of the way. He and teammate Josh Cribb (Clemson) were co-pitchers of the week last week. Cribb is 2-0 also with an ERA of 0.00 through 15 innings of work. They will be formidable duo atop the Whitecaps rotation, along with Matt Avery (Virginia). Down on the farm, both Henri Stanley and Kelly Shoppach inch closer to making their major league debuts. Both are playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA) and Shoppach is considered one of the top prospects in the organization. He has 10 home runs for Pawtucket and has been the talk of several trades. Stanley has been starting in right field and is batting .230 for the PawSox.
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