The Chatham Anglers (18-17-2) look to salvage a three-game home stand today with a win over the Harwich Mariners (16-19-2).

Chatham has lost its first two games of the home stand in ugly fashion. First, against the Cotuit Kettleers on Monday, the Anglers jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning before it all came crashing down. Cotuit scored five in the second to tie the game, then three in the fourth to take the lead and seven in the fifth to turn the game into a blowout.

Tuesday at Veterans Field, the Brewster Whitecaps had two big innings of their own to run away from the home team. Four runs in the third inning and five runs in the fifth put the Whitecaps up 9-1, ultimately final score of the game.

Both games were called early due to fog. Neither game’s umpire crew used the CCBL’s rule of a 30-minute delay. Monday’s crew immediately called the game with no delay while Tuesday’s crew called for a 15-minute delay.

The A’s have had Harwich’s number this summer  and have won all four matchups between the two teams, with none of the games being particularly close at the end.

The most recent Anglers win over the Mariners was an 8-3 victory on July 14. Alek Manoah (West Virginia) started the game and went six strong innings while notching 11 strikeouts. On the offensive side, Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State) had three hits, including a triple, and scored three runs while Blake Sabol (Southern California) hit a home run. Jorge Arenas (Stetson), Greg Jones (UNC Wilmington) and Drew Mendoza (Florida State) each tallied multi-hit games.

The closest Harwich has come to defeating Chatham was on July 7 in a 9-6 Anglers victory. Harwich held a one-run lead after three innings, but a five-run fourth pushed the A’s ahead by three. The Mariners cut the deficit to one in the fifth, but three more Anglers runs in the seventh put the game out of reach.

Harwich returned from the All-Star break Tuesday with a matchup against the Orleans Firebirds at Whitehouse Field. Despite Harwich’s top three hitters — 2018 CCBL All-Stars Andre Lipcius (Tennessee), Tanner Morris (Virginia) and Aaron Schunk (Georgia) — combining to go 7-for-12 with three walks, the Mariners lost to the Firebirds, 8-5. Harwich had a 5-4 lead after six innings, but a three-run seventh inning for Orleans was the difference.

Chatham is still entrenched in second place in the East Division, two games ahead of the third-place Mariners. A win for the A’s on Wednesday could push that lead to three games while also clinching a playoff spot.