GCL Dodgers beat the GCL Red Sox 2-0 in game 1 of the best-of-three championship. Preston Mattingly drove in the first run with a double, and scored the second on a wild pitch.

Game 2 will be played at noon at Dodgertown.

-- MWE

Pennant race updates:

Toledo beat Indianapolis 7-3, while Louisville dropped a 5-4 decision to Columbus. The Mud Hens chopped the Indians' lead to one game with the win, while the Bats remain three back.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre extended its lead over Rochester to two games with a 3-2 win at Buffalo, while the Red Wings were losing 5-4 at red-hot Ottawa. Rochester saw its wild-card lead cut to three games over Toledo.

Round Rock cut its magic number to two with an 8-3 decision at Albuquerque, while both Oklahoma (3-1 at home to Omaha) and New Orleans (12-8 at Iowa) were losing. The ICubs needed the win to keep pace with Nashville, which knocked off Memphis 5-0 behind Dana Eveland and Chris Demaria (combined 5-hitter). Tacoma and Tucson were rained out; they'll play two both today and tomorrow. Sacramento picked up half a game on the Sidewinders with an 8-3 win at Fresno, while Salt Lake's lead over the Rainiers was cut to 4 1/2 games as the Bees fell 10-4 at home to Colorado Springs.

Akron won 6-2 at Harrisburg, extending its lead to 7 1/2 games over Altoona, which lost 6-1 at home to Bowie's Garrett Olson. Reading pulled within five games of the Curve for the division's second postseason slot with a 7-4 win at New Hampshire. Erie beat Trenton 5-1 while Portland's Tommy Hottovy was picking up his first AA win in a 6-0 blanking of Binghamton, cutting the Thunder's lead over the Sea Dogs to 4 1/2 games and knocking the BMets 3 games behind Portland for the second spot.

Huntsville hung onto its half-game lead over Tennessee as Tim Dillard and two relievers shut out West Tenn 4-0. The Smokies' Ross Ohlendorf held Carolina to one hit over seven innings, and Tennessee posted six runs off three Mudcat pitchers in the eighth and withstood a three-run shot by Carolina's Jonathan Aceves to hang on for a 6-4 win. First-half champ Chattanooga remained in the hunt for a second-half crown as Homer Bailey won his sixth AA decision without a loss in a 10-0 thrashing of Birmingham to keep the Lookouts just 2 1/2 back. Montgomery won its fifth in a row, and fourth straight over second-place (and first-half champ) Jacksonville, getting a two-run blast from Jeremy Owens in the 10th for a 5-3 win after the Suns had tied it in the bottom of the ninth. The Biscuits opened up a two-game lead over the Suns with the victory.

First-half champ Tulsa picked up a full game on second-half leader Wichita. The Drillers won 5-4 at home over Springfield, while the Wranglers took a 7-5 home defeat at the hands of Arkansas. Meanwhile, last-place San Antonio knocked off first-place Midland 4-3 at home, while Corpus Christi thrashed visiting Frisco for a 9-3 win that left the Hooks and RoughRiders tied for second, just a half-game behind the RockHounds, with the Missions lurking just 3 1/2 out.

-- MWE

Cal League update:

The Cal League qualifies six teams for the postseason. The first-half champions (San Jose and Inland Empire) get byes; the second-half champs play the team with the next best overall record in a best-of 3, with the winner meeting the first-half champ.

In the North, San Jose and Visalia are tied for the top spot, four games ahead of Stockton, with 11 games remaining. Stockton and Visalia are tied for the wild-card spot. It seems likely that those two teams will meet in the first round with the winner to face off against the Giants. San Jose will have a lot to say about that race, since they play the Oaks the next three at Visalia and play three at Stockton before a final home game with the Ports to close the schedule. Visalia plays its next seven games at home against the Giants and Ports, then hits the road for three at Modesto with a Labor Day home special against Bakersfield closing the schedule. Stockton's next three are against Modesto at home before they travel to play the Oaks.

In the South, the postseason picture is really unclear, although it should get a little more clear after this weekend. Lancaster leads Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore by a game and a half and High Desert by 2. The JetHawks and Mavericks both have 10 games left, the 66ers and Storm both have 11. High Desert has a 2 1/2 game lead over Lake Elsinore in the wild card race; Lancaster is five back. The JetHawks have an advantage, playing seven of their last 10 against Rancho Cucamonga and the other three against Bakersfield, the two last-place teams. Lake Elsinore plays three at High Desert and four at Inland Empire, sandwiching a home set of four against Rancho Cucamonga. The Mavs play four with the 66ers after the Storm leaves town (three at home, one at IE), then close with three at Bakersfield. IE has three at home with Bakersfield before its finishing stretch with the Mavericks and Storm.

-- MWE

Carolina League update:

Four-team postseason. First-half champs (Wilmington and Kinston) meet the second-half champs in each division in a best-of-3 with the winners meeting in a best-of-5 for the title. If the same team wins both halves, they play the team with the next best overall record, getting all three games at home.

There's no race going on in either division. Frederick (magic number 6) leads the North by six games over Wilmington with 11 to play, and Salem (magic number 5) leads Kinston and Myrtle Beach by 7 in the South. Potomac could still sneak in as a wild card if the Keys collapse and Wilmington wins out; the PNats trail Frederick by just a game and a half overall. Myrtle Beach trails Salem by four overall in the South.

-- MWE

Florida State League update:

Same playoff structure as the Carolina League. St. Lucie and Dunedin were the first-half champs.

It's a three-team race in the North. St. Lucie (12 games left) holds a 1/2 game lead over Daytona (11 games) and a 1 1/2 game lead over Palm Beach (12 games left; the Cardinals have a rainout with Lakeland that won't be made up). The Mets and Cardinals both have eight games in the next six days thanks to lousy weather. St. Lucie plays three in two days with Daytona, while Palm beach plays three in two days with Brevard County. Then, following a day off, the Mets and Cardinals tangle in a five-game, three-day series at St. Lucie, while Daytona plays three at Vero Beach. St. Lucie finishes with four against Vero Beach, Daytona with five against Brevard County, and Palm Beach with four against Jupiter. Palm Beach is three games ahead of Daytona for the second-best overall record.

In the south, Dunedin has gone from the first-half penthouse to the second-half outhouse (last in the division, 10 games out), so there will definitely be a different second-half champ. Ft. Myers leads Tampa by a game. The Miracle has 11 games left (nine on the road at Lakeland, Clearwater, and Sarasota, two with the Reds at home), the Yankees just nine (two at Dunedin, three at home with Sarasota, and then four with Lakeland, two at home and two away).

-- MWE