Braun stands alone

The last man standing to get a hit in every single game this season is Sardine City's Ryan Braun. Braun, now with a hitting streak of 9 games, has the longest streak of the season, with several active streaks of 8 behind him. Braun is off to a redhot start, batting .438 with a .428 OBP and 1.027 SLG (1.455 OPS), 6 HR and a whopping 17 RBIs. Braun amassed 5 of those RBIs in yesterday's 9-8 loss to Carolina.

Las Vegas continued their dominance against the Sugar Bears, taking their 3rd game in 4 tries. Vegas rookie David Price struck out 6 in 6 innings, while giving up only 2 earned runs on 6 hits. Cody Ross hit a 3-run double to give the Rats the lead in the 5th.

Vancouver came back from a 5-3 deficit to take a 6-5 victory over Blue Ridge, when the Bombers fell apart at the seams in the 8th. It all started off with a leadoff error by Felipe Lopez, then Chase Utley was hit by a pitch. The next batter was retired, but Garrett Jones hit a liner to right that scored Adam Jones. Then Michael Cuddyer hit a triple that scored two more runs, giving Vancouver the lead. Aaron Harang retired the side to earn a rare save in the bottom of the 9th.

Bombers get off to hot start

Out of nowhere, the Blue Ridge Bombers have become a team to be reckoned with. The Bombers started the season taking 2 of 3 against Arkansas, then split a 6-game series with Vancouver. Now after yesterday's 5-3 win over the Falcons, the Bombers are sitting 1/2 game out of first in the Morris Division. Sitting atop the team batting leaderboard, the Bombers lead the league in team batting average (.314) and are second in team OPS (.842) and tied for second in runs scored (55). But what about their pitching? The Bombers are third in the league in ERA (3.30) and WHIP (1.19), second in OPS allowed (.661) and third in total runs allowed (35).

The key offensive cogs in their lineup are first round pick Kendry Morales (.429/.432/667) and Hunter Pence (.389/.450/.694). "Kendry hasn't even started hitting for power yet" said Bombers manager Michael Lewis. "Once those doubles start going over the fence, watch out!" The Bombers' 5 team homers is last in the league, but they are tied for the league lead in doubles (28) and alone atop the league in triples (5).

Meanwhile, the young pitchers have started to establish themselves. Adam Wainwright is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 0.73 WHIP and 17 strikeouts, and Edwin Jackson is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA. The only starter that is struggling is their other first round draft pick J.A. Happ, who is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA, though he pitched well in his second start against Vancouver.

Blue Ridge had 3 picks in the first round (Aaron Hill was the third), so no doubt the influx of that talent has helped this team. Can they sustain their success though? That's the big question

Braun, Danks take first week honors

It's our first Weekly Awards post of the 2010 season!

The first JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week goes to Sardine City's Ryan Braun. Braun was first in the league in slugging (.969) and tied for first in RBI(12) and homers (5), 3rd in OBP (.472) and 4th in batting average (.406). The Sardines got off to a slow start this year - in fact they were the last team to win their first game. But after that 0-4 start, the Straphangers won their next four and now sit even at 4-4.

Other notable batters: Arkansas' Chris Coghlan (.467/.543/.500), Blue Ridge's Hunter Pence (.438/.500/.781, 12 RBIs), Marietta's Kevin Youkilis (.344/.405/.906, 5 HR, 10 RBIs), and Philly's Albert Pujols (.432/.463/.676).

Our Sporcle.com Pitcher of the Week is Marietta's John Danks, who went 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA. Danks struck out 16 in 15 innings and sported a nifty 0.87 WHIP. Marietta has picked up right where they left off, sitting atop the Hanover Division with a 6-2 record.

Other notable pitchers: Vancouver's Zack Greinke (2-0, 1.62, 14 K), Newark's Ted Lilly (1-1, 1.42, 0.95 WHIP), Bridgewater's Alfredo Aceves (1.64 ERA, 0.64 WHIP in 4 games), Hillsborough's Dan Haren (1-0, 1.69, 0.88), Blue Ridge's Adam Wainwright (1-1, 1.80, 0.73, 17 K), and Las Vegas' Brett Anderson (1-1, 2.57, 13 K).

Hillsborough-Marietta battle it out

Hillsborough and Marietta battled in a wild one yesterday. After just three innings, the score was already 9-8 in favor of Marietta and the amazing thing is neither team scored anything again until the 8th when Hillsborough tied it up on a sac fly. It took until the 11th to get a decision. A possibly fatigued George Sherrill, working his 3rd inning got into trouble quickly, walking the leadoff hitter, then giving up a single. Finally Josh Hamilton ended it all with a base hit into the right field corner that scored Adrian Gonzalez. Hamilton finished the game 3-6 with 3 RBIs and Mark DeRosa also drove in 4, while Ben Zobrist was 2-6 with 5 RBIs for the Hitmen.

Newark's Marc Rzepczynski tossed 7.1 shutout innings, allowing only 4 hits and striking out 8 en route to a 5-0 victory over the Cutters. Both pitchers were blanking the opposition until the 5th when Newark scored 3 runs. Jorge Posada piled on an additional 2 runs in the 7th to clinch it for the Sugar Bears.

Sardine City fans can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Straphangers finally won their first game of the year, although it did take them extra innings to do it. Evan Longoria tied the game up at 2-2 in the 9th inning with a solo home run. The Straphangers were all set to have a big inning, but James Loney hit into a double play to end the rally. The big inning would have to wait...just a bit. In the 10th, the Straphangers exploded for 5 runs capped by a Ryan Braun grand slam. Loney was hoping for a chance at redemption as he came up to bat with 2 outs in the inning and Longoria on the bases. But Loney didn't get his chance as Longoria took off for 3rd and tripped over his shoelaces and was thrown out by Miguel Olivo.

Spring Training phenom Ryan Rowland-Smith got a taste of reality yesterday when he was tagged for 5 runs in 6.2 innings against the Falcons, but escaped unscathed anyway as the Mallers won the game 6-5. Falcons starter Ricky Nolasco didn't make it out of the 2nd inning. Apparently Nolasco looked over at the time on the scoreboard and noticed he was running late for his fantasy league draft. "Last year I missed it and the stupid software auto-drafted Sidney Ponson with my first pick" said Nolasco.

Carolina's Barry Zito made a triumphant return to his old team, pitching 6 innings and allowing only 3 hits and one unearned run to earn the win against the Endzone Animals. Zito, who had a rough season in 2009 (7-16, 5.95), was left unprotected by the Mudcats. Philadelphia then swooped in and drafted him in the 10th round, but he was released a week ago. "It felt good to kind of shove it in their faces" said Zito "but Carolina has always been my DMBL home."

Carolina falls, but Sardines still rule the cellar

Carolina finally fell, 6-4 to the Endzone Animals. The Mudcats could only muster 4 hits total, though one of them was a 3-run homer by Aramis Ramirez. Other than the one gopher ball, Philly starter Jered Weaver pitched brilliantly, lasting 8 innings and walking only 2.

While the Mudcats ended their streak, the Straphangers had no such luck, descending to 0-4 on the season after a 3-0 loss to Team Buddah. Andy Pettitte pitched 6 innings of 5-hit ball to earn the win. The Buddahs only managed 5 hits as well, though 3 of them were doubles. Cole Hamels took the loss despite allowing only 2 hits in 5 innings (the 6 walks probably didn't help though).

Hoboken shut down the once-mighty Sugar Bears 3-1. Starter Mark Buehrle tossed 8 innings, allowing only one run on 8 hits. Denard Span was 3-4, leading the Hoboken offense. "It's almost as if our team thinks they're still on vacation" said Sugar Bear manager Don Mattingly.

All eyes were on 2010 first round pick Brett Anderson, but it was Randy Wolf who won the duel. Anderson was tagged for 4 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings - not a horrible debut - but Wolf allowed only 2 runs and 4 hits in 6 innings and earned the win in the 4-3 contest. Alex Rodriguez was 2-4 in the contest and drove in all the runs on two home runs.

Vancouver and Blue Ridge battled it out in a tight one yesterday. With the score tied at 5 in the 8th, Blue Ridge took a tenuous 6-5 lead. Closer Francisco Rodriguez was unable to hold it though, despite getting the first two outs in the inning. Rodriguez walked Michael Cuddyer and then promptly served up a 2-run dinger to Garrett Jones. Joe Thatcher retired the final three batters in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

Carolina stands alone on top

Amazingly almost every team has lost and won at least one game by now...well, except Carolina (now 3-0) and Sardine City (falling to 0-3). The Mudcats edged the Straphangers 4-3 to complete the sweep. Prince Fielder's 2-run homer in the 7th locked in the lead for Carolina and Mike Pelfrey started the season at 1-0 after pitching 6.2 solid innings.

Rookie Nelson Cruz went 2-3 with a homer and 4 RBIs in his first DMBL start for the Ant Slayers, leading the team to a 6-3 win over Hoboken. Hiroki Kuroda struck out 9 in 6 innings to earn the win while Hanley Ramirez went 4-5 for the losing team. Also in the game, catcher Jeff Mathis committed 3 errors. The first occurred in the 2nd inning when Mathis attempted to throw out Cruz as he was stealing second, but instead got the ball caught in his catcher's mask and ended up throwing it behind him. The in the same inning, Brandon Phillips also attempted to steal second base, but Mathis was distracted by an Amityville fan in the stands who lifted her shirt and threw the ball into the ground. Finally in the 5th inning, Adam LaRoche hit a ball just in front of the plate and Mathis, who had been eating Cheetos between innings and had orange dust all over his hands, lost control of the ball and missed pitcher Matt Garza's head by inches. "These sorts of things happen all the time" said Mathis after the game. "I just have to shake them off." Mathis then got up to leave the podium, but tripped over the chair and knocked over the microphones. No serious injuries occurred.

Newark evened their series against Vegas with a 1-0 blanking of the Rat Pack. Koji Uehara in his first ever DMBL start, went the distance, holding the Rats to 6 hits and striking out 8. Rich Harden was doing his best to keep up, holding the Sugar Bears to only 1 hit in 4.1 innings, but his 5 walks raised his pitch count too high and pitching coach Sam Malone recommended the brittle starter to be pulled. The Sugar Bears finally scored in the 8th on a Nick Swisher double, but only managed 6 hits over the course of the game.

Skip Schumaker was 5-6 as the Falcons outlasted the Bombers 9-7 and winning their first game of the season. The Falcons tallied 18 hits in the contest but Johan Santana's struggles from Spring Training continued. Santana pitched 6.2 innings, but allowed 6 runs on 11 hits and 3 walks.

Franklin Gutierrez and Seth Smith each hit a pair of homers as the Buddahs doubled up the Mighty Men 8-4. Kevin Slowey picked up the win, pitching 7 innings and giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, while striking out 5.

Opening Day is twice as nice!

The 2010 season kicked off yesterday with a doubleheader for most teams. Let's take a look at some of the highlights...

Carolina and Sardine City faced off in an odd home and home series, with the Cats crushing the Straphangers in both locales. Troy Tulowitzki started the season off perfectly with a 3-3 line in the first game, leading the Mudcats to an 11-3 shellacking of Josh Johnson and the Sardines. Then Tulo hit his first homer - a 3 run shot - in the second game and Prince Fielder also hit a homer and drove in 4 runs to lead the team to 10-3 victory in game 2 in mysterious Sardine City. "We lost one run in the second game" said Cats skipper Mark Carreon. "That king of dropoff is unacceptable."

Hillsborough and Philadelphia battled it out in both games, taking it to overtime in both matches. Game one started out as a pitchers duel between Felix Hernandez and Roy Halladay. The Hitmen took a 3-1 lead after 6, but the Endzone Animals racked up 5 runs in the 7th and 8th to take the lead 6-3. The Hitmen rallied to tie the game up in the 9th, tying it up on a Tony Gwynn double. The Hitmen continued their offensive surge into the 10th, scoring another 2 runs to take the lead. George Sherrill finished the bottom half of the inning to earn a save. The Hitmen were still reeling off runs when Game 2 began, scoring 3 runs right off the bat in the first inning. But in the 6th, the Animals tied up the game on a Mark Teixeira home run. It took until the 10th inning for the Hitmen to answer, but Shin-Soo Choo smacked a solo homer to reclaim the lead and Sherrill sent down the side in order again in the bottom of the 10th.

It looked pretty unusual to see Newark with a losing record, but thanks to Tim Lincecum and the Rat Pack, the Sugar Bears start the season at 0-1. Lincecum struck out 9 in 6.1 innings of work, holding the Sugar Bears to 2 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks and earning the W.

The defending champion Mighty Men are also off to a good start, defeating the Buddahs by 9-1 and 7-1 margins. Joel Pineiro pitched a complete game in the first game, holding New Jersey to 4 hits and Derek Jeter was 4-4 with 3 RBIs in Game 2, as John Danks struck out 9 in 7 innings of work.

What a game between Bridgewater and Vancouver in their game 2... After taking care of the Mallers 4-2 in game 1, the Fist were anxious to keep the momentum rolling. Both offenses showed up for the contest, however, as the lead changed several times before Vancouver unleashed a 5-run eruption in the bottom of the fifth to take an 11-6 lead. But the Mallers kept coming back and tied the game up in the 7th on a Ryan Zimmerman double. Both bullpens blanked their oppositions for the next 5 innings until the 13th when Bobby Abreu broke the tie with a single to right field. The Mallers tacked on another run to make it 13-11. Huston Street was perfect in the bottom frame, preserving the victory - their first in Bridgewater.

Rivera wades into uncharted territory

Mariano Rivera has locked up his spot in the DMBL Hall of Fame if he hung up the spikes today. But that would leave him short of several significant milestones that are within reach during the 2010 season.

First and foremost, the stalwart of the Marietta bullpen for more than a decade begins 2010 just 21 appearances from becoming the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 games. Only eight pitchers have ever reached even 500 games. "Mariano The Magnificent" has been the all-time leader in appearances for several years, finishing 2009 with 979 games. He's also tops in saves with 355; the next closest is Billy Wagner with 290.

Rivera also is just five strikeouts away from 1,000. Though that mark has been reached before by a reliever (Trevor Hoffman, 1,052), only 31 pitchers in DMBL history have done it.

Century mark within reach for seven hurlers

A handful of pitchers are within striking distance of reaching 100 career wins during the 2010 season. Only 15 players in DMBL history have eclipsed the century mark.

Vancouver's Roy Oswalt, acquired in the offseason from Amityville for Adam LaRoche, starts the season closest to 100 with 97 (tied with Al Leiter for 16th all-time). A good first half of 2010 could mean 100 career wins by the All-Star break for A.J. Burnett of Las Vegas (93) and Johan Santana of Arkansas (90).

It's going to take a strong season for Hoboken's Mark Buehrle (86), Philly lefthanders Barry Zito (85) and C.C. Sabathia (84), and Kevin Millwood of Marietta (84) to reach 100 wins. Even a decent year -- heck, a lousy year might do it -- from any of the four will put them past David Wells (89) and into the top 20 all-time in wins.

Big Unit waits for a call

Former Sugar Bear and future DMBL Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is still looking for a team to latch on to during spring training. The 46-year-old went 13-5 last season with a 3.99 ERA and 199 strikeouts in 27 starts for Newark but was not protected in the offseason and has yet to get a sniff from other teams.

The "Big Unit" in 2009 continued to add to his career strikeout mark, finishing with 3,409, but fell tantalizingly short of other records. Johnson remains two wins behind all-time leader Greg Maddux (232) but is the winningest lefty in league history (230), significantly ahead of Tom Glavine (170).

Johnson is one of only four pitchers to start 450 games but could pass Glavine (455) and Roger Clemens (452) should he can join a team in 2010. Maddux, however, is out of reach at 497 starts.