Santana throws 20th no-hitter in league history

Ervin Santana was one walk away from the first perfect game in DMBL history but settled for the second no-hitter in a week and the 20th in league history.

Santana walked Robinson Cano to start the second inning and that was it as Livingston blanked Hopatcong, 4-0. He struck out just three batters but breezed through 9 innings in just 96 pitches -- 65 went for strikes (.677). The Dominican right-hander got 14 outs via the infield and 10 by fly ball.

It's the first no-hitter in franchise history for Livingston, holding down a Hopatcong lineup featuring Cano, Bryce Harper, Joey Votto, and Gary Sanchez, that averages 4.8 runs per game.

Ryan Zimmerman homered in the second at-bat of the game for all the offense the Lords of Swing needed. Dexter Fowler launched another solo homer in the 4th, followed by a single from Willson Contreras and another long ball from rookie Matt Chapman for all the scoring. Livingston finished with 4 runs on 7 hits.

Santana improved to 3-7, his first shutout on the year and second complete game. He lowered his ERA to 5.75 and his WHIP to 1.27 in just his third quality start in 11 starts.

Felix Hernandez (0-2) took the loss for Hopatcong, giving up all 7 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings. The Floating Fish bullpen blanked Livingston over the last 3 innings.