Fiers fires 8 1/3 perfect innings

Mike Fiers nearly fired the league's first-ever perfect game Sunday night, going 8 1/3 innings before surrendering a hit. He had to settle for his second consecutive shutout, carrying Hopatcong to a 3-0 win at Allentown.

It's the closest anyone has come to a perfect game since Homer Bailey went 8 2/3 last year. It also would have been the 15th no-hitter in league history and the 2nd for the Hopatcong franchise (the first was Josh Tomlin in 2012). Last year saw DMBL pitchers toss a record three no-hitters.

Fiers struck out Matt Kemp to lead off the 9th before Dioner Navarro broke up the perfect-o with a single to left field. The 29-year-old still managed to face the minimum 27 batters though as Erick Aybar next grounded in to a double play. Fiers finished with 5 strikeouts and dispatched an imposing Mules' lineup that includes Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton, Adrian Gonzalez and rookie Jose Abreu with just 90 pitches.

The third overall pick in this year's draft, Fiers improved to 3-2, lowering his ERA to 2.77 and his WHIP to a league-leading 0.77. He also leads the league in R/9 (6.9), on-base percentage (.205), and of course, shutouts (2).

In his previous start, Fiers gave up 4 hits to Marietta but struck out 10 and walked none on 123 pitches in a 2-0 shutout. In case you're wondering, he went 7 innings in his previous start, lifted after surrendering a lead-off home run in the 8th inning.

Fiers broke into the DMBL in 2013 as a 4th-round pick of Sardine City. He had a respectable showing for the Straphangers, going 13-11 in 32 starts, logging 196 innings and 194 strikeouts.

Fiers will look to extend his 18-inning scoreless streak Thursday against Poovey Farms.