The standing continue to stay relatively close, with no more than 8 games separating the leader from the cellar in either division. Albuquerque has clawed into a tie for first in the Colt .45s division, while Nacogdoches continues to hold a comfortable, but not insurmountable, lead in the Astros division.
Let's look at the goings on of note for the last two weeks:
6/9 - Sean Berry had his 3rd (!) five hit game of the season as Greenville beat Katy 10-2. He had 4 singles and a double, along with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.
6/15 - Jon Singleton is expected to miss at least one game as he takes a leave of absence to be with his ailing mother. Philadelphia manager The Constable said "I told him to take all the time he needs. I know what he's been going through, and the most important thing is that he's there for both her and the family." Singleton is hitting just .168 on the season.
6/15 - Ken Forsch of the Going Going Thon pitched a 4 hit shutout against Katy, walking 2 and striking out 2. Katy manager Masked Marvel said, "He had the changeup working. You knew it was coming and you still grounded out...and then he threw it even slower."
6/16 - Albuquerque's Dave Giusti threw a 4 hit shutout to beat Greenville 2-0. Giusti struck out 6 and walked 2.
6/17 - Greenville reliever Aurelio "Señor Smoke" Lopez announced he will retire at the end of the season. This season he's appeared in 10 games with an 8.62 ERA.
6/18 - Roy Oswalt of Little Rock shut out the Andujar Jar Binks on 4 hits, striking out 11 while walking 2. "I can't take all the credit for this one," Oswalt said. "I had some great defense behind me."
6/18 - Greenville's Nolan Ryan took his turn shutting out Katy, giving up 6 hits and 6 walks while striking out 9 in the Master Bateman's 3-0 victory. Ryan said "It just happened to be one of those games where even when I made mistakes they either fouled them off or someone would make a fine defensive play. It was just one of those games that things went my way."
As I mentioned, the All-Star game was recently held; here are our squads:
Astros Division
Roger Clemens
Larry Dierker
Scott Elarton
Mike Hampton
Roy Oswalt
Andy Pettitte
J.R. Richard
Octavio Dotel
Jim Umbricht
Billy Wagner
Jose Valverde
Dan Wheeler
Mark Bailey
Mitch Melusky
Jeff Bagwell
Glenn Davis
Jose Altuve
Craig Biggio
Art Howe
Bob Aspromonte
Vinny Castilla
Miguel Tejeda
Moises Alou
Jose Cruz
Carlos Beltran
Kevin Bass
Terry Puhl
Colt .45s Division
Mike Cuellar
Turk Farrell
Darryl Kile
Bob Knepper
Shane Reynolds
Mike Scott
Frank DiPino
Doug Jones
Mike Magnante
Joe Sambito
Dave Smith
Jason Castro
Cliff Johnson
Ray Knight
Bill Doran
Jeff Kent
Sean Berry
Ken Caminiti
Morgan Ensberg
Denis Menke
Billy Hatcher
Carlos Lee
Bob Watson
Lance Berkman
Jim Wynn
Hunter Pence
Rusty Staub
The Astros Division broke the game open early and never looked back. Colt .45s starter Mike Scott allowed 8 hits and 6 runs in 1.2 innings and the Astros never looked back, ultimately winning 14-1. J.R. Richard was the All-Star Game MVP after pitching 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts to go along with a bases loaded triple in the 2nd inning.
