CHATHAM, Mass. – His performance, much like his windup, stood out during the bout between the Anglers (22-19) and the Red Sox (21-20) Thursday night at Veterans Field. Starting his glove parallel to his left ear and his team in the thick of the East Division playoff hunt, Dan Castano (Baylor) wheeled and dealed his way to five scoreless innings at Chatham’s home park.  

Will Craig (Wake Forest) drove in a run against Y-D Thursday. 

“He’s sneaky-fast,” said Manager John Schiffner. “You can’t just sit there waiting for his breaking pitch; you have to be ready for his fastball. He threw a couple fastballs right by people tonight.”

Castano’s solid fastball complimented his off-speed pitches to generate three strikeouts and a number of weakly hit groundballs, but after the Chatham starter’s exit the Red Sox were able to squeak out just enough offense to win. The Y-D pitching did the rest to ice a 2-1 Red Sox victory.

“Give credit to their starter,” said Schiffner. “He threw great, and then their lefty came in and shut it down.”

Y-D's mild offensive surge resulting from a pass ball and a Gio Brussa sac fly came immediately following Chatham’s lone RBI from Will Craig (Wake Forest) in the bottom of the previous inning. Craig’s white rocket left a dent on the furthest reaches of the Veterans Field wall and brought a motoring Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) home all the way from first.

“Before the pitch you always have to know where the outfielders are playing,” said Hampson. “Off the crack of the bat I thought I would be able to score all the way, and when I saw the center fielder wasn’t going to catch it I knew I could get home.”

 The Chatham run combined with a series of three Chatham pitchers out of the pen—C.J. Burdick (San Deigo), Cameron Stone (Stony Brook), and Jeff Paschke (Southern California), to hold the Anglers close, but the final piece of offensive magic did not come to be for the Anglers.

“This is Cape League, playoff baseball now,” said Schiffner. “You have to grind, grind, grind. Y-D just grinded it out a little bit better than us tonight.”

The Anglers remain third in the East despite the loss, and they will next travel to Harwich to take on the Mariners (18-20-2). The Mariners will likely throw with Cameron Vieaux (Michigan State). A southpaw, Vieaux is 1-4 with a 3.17 ERA on the summer. The Anglers have yet to indicate their probable starter. A Chatham win will clinch a playoff birth for the Anglers.