Lynn wins 20th with 12K shutout

Sardine City's Lance Lynn became the season's first 20-game winner with a 12-strikeout gem at Tucson on Monday night. He's the DMBL's first 20-game winner since Hopatcong's Stephen Strasburg went 20-3 in 2018.

The 33-year-old held the King Snakes hitless through 6 2/3 innings, walking 3 and eventually yielding 4 hits in 6-0 shutout. Jose Altuve had the first hit for Tucson, with two out in the 7th.

It was the 2nd shutout -- matching 6 others for the league lead -- and 4th complete game (2nd) of the season for Lynn, who positioned himself as the front-runner for the Ben McDonald Award. He logged 132 pitches, 84 for strikes (.636),

Lynn improved to 20-5, a league-best .800 win percentage. He lowered his ERA to 3.44, good for 5th in the league. The 12 strikeouts pushed him to 4th in the DMBL with 235, right behind teammate Lucas Giolito, who've powered the Straphangers to an 86-50 record, a 3-game lead on Livingston for the division and the No. 1 seed.

Lynn has a commanding lead in victories, ahead of Allentown's duo of rookie Mike Soroka (15-6) and Mike Minor (15-9), the league's current leader in ERA (3.17), and Justin Verlander of Hillsborough and (15-7). The Allentown duo have no room for error if they're going to reach 20 wins, with only 5 scheduled starts remaining. Verlander appears out of luck barring any relief appearances; he has four starts remaining on the schedule, with his next turn in the rotation after that would come on the day after the regular season ended.

With five starts likely remaining on the schedule, Lynn could add to his 20-win total for a Sardine City squad on pace for 100-plus victories. He could match or surpass Johnny Cueto's 22-win campaign for Vancouver in 2017 or Sonny Gray's 23 wins during a rookie year with Durham in 2014.

A 2nd round pick of Empire City in 2018, Lynn was drafted again by the Trojans in the supplemental rounds of the 2019 draft before being let go at the start of the season. Sardine City inked him as a free agent in July 2019 and protected the 6-5, 250-pound Indianapolis native.