Hot.

It's the way the Auburn Doubledays infamously tear through the month of August, but this season - it's also how they finished July.

The Doubledays seemed to have jumped the hurdle of early-season home woes, pitching mishaps and lackluster offensive performances.

As a mostly new team, the bumps in the road were to be expected, even if Auburn has a six-year history of winning under manager Dennis Holmberg.

With the assistance of pitching coach Antonio Caceres and hitting coach Charles Poe, Holmberg seems to have righted a ship that was headed for choppy waters just a month ago.

On the mound, Matt Wright, Marcus Walden and Castillo Perez are starters that have weathered some tough times early this year, but have consistently improved.

In the bullpen, Caceres has helped mold one of the best groups in the Pinckney Division, led by standout closer Bobby Bell.

That doesn't mean there isn't still work to do - early season impressive pitchers Josh Wells and Matt Daly are among those dipping into a small slump as of late and the Doubledays will undoubtedly need them at their best if they are able to make their postseason push.

With nine consecutive tense division games behind them, Auburn takes on Jamestown at home today in what could be a season-defining two-game series.

Atop the Pinckney Division for now, Jamestown lost a three-game set to Auburn just last week.

The Doubledays, who have distanced themselves from Williamsport but still need to shake off Batavia in the tight division standings, are riding close on the Jammers' tail. While their bats can explode on just about any night, the Doubledays will need more clutch hitting in this crucial month. They've sent in 198 runs heading into Saturday's game with Williamsport, which is near the top of the New-York Penn League, but 12 of their 18 losses have come by three runs or less.

Luckily, when Blue Jays' first-rounder David Cooper was called up to Lansing in early July, the offensive talent didn't leave with him.

From the No.1 spot down to the basement of the lineup during any given ball game, Auburn has a player capable of doing something great at the plate. Designated hitter Adam Amar might have the biggest bat, but the home runs seem to be flying out from everywhere as of late. Third baseman Mark Sobolewski's bat has been scorching, and others such as Brian Van Kirk, Mike McDade, Chris Demons, Bartolo Nicolas and Jon Del Campo have taken turns making huge contributions on the scoreboard. That will not only need to continue, but step up a notch in the final six weeks of the season.

As Holmberg will tell you, winning begins with pitching and defense. But as far as errors go, the Doubledays have proved to overcome them. In 24 wins, Auburn has made 28 mistakes and in 18 losses, there have been 22 errors committed - both outcomes see the Doubledays average a little over one miscue per game. In nine wins, the Doubledays have made two errors or more, compared to four times with two or more errors in the loss column. Cutting down on errors would obviously be the best avenue to take, however, as they seem to catch up to every ballclub eventually.

Winning six of the first seven games of the summer was certainly a sizzling way to begin, but there was little chance that any team could keep that pace for nearly 80 games.

Last season, the Doubledays had a tight grip on the division since early July, but didn't clinch until September over the Jammers at home. Holmberg's crew will be taking the scenic - and possibly dramatic - route if they are going to earn title No. 7. This team's potential proves its more than capable of getting to that destination.

While minor league baseball in Auburn has always been about learning, improving and moving on up, Doubledays fans have been spoiled with winning and division dominance.

There's no reason why that cluster can't mesh together. August is the time to turn it on, especially if another goal is to dive into mid-September.