With clutch hits, Ozuna earns playoff MVP

Marcell Ozuna blasted a grand slam in Game 163 to help Tucson clinch the Clemente Division over Arkansas and get into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. Technically, that was the still the regular season but it was just the start of a hot postseason for the Kingsnakes left-fielder.

Tucson 1-hits Hopatcong to clinch 2nd crown

Tucson limited the highest-scoring offense in the league to just a 1st-inning single and shut out Hopatcong, 7-0, in Game 5 on Thursday in Hopatcong to win their second DMBL championship in three seasons.

DeJong blasts 3 HRs, Tucson wins Game 4 in 9th

Paul DeJong clubbed three home runs and drove in 6 but Tucson still needed a walk-off single by Avisail Garcia to pull off an 8-7 win in a back-and-forth Game 4 Tuesday night that puts them one win away from their second title in three years.

Late Ozuna HR stands up for Game 3 win

Marcell Ozuna hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the bottom of the 7th inning and the Tucson bullpen made it hold up to grab a 5-4 home win over Hopatcong in Game 3 of the DMBL Series.

Tucson blitzes Hopatcong 10-2

Brett Gardner led off Game 2 with a home run and that's the kind of night it was going to be for Tucson.

Strasburg, bullpen lead Hopatcong to Game 1 victory

Hopatcong followed its typical formula on Friday night. The Fish got 6 strong innings from Stephen Strasburg and three relievers combined to allow one hit over the final three innings., followed by scoreless three innings from its bullpen for a 6-3 win over Tucson in Game 1 of the best-of-seven DMBL Series.

DMBL Series preview: Hopatcong-Tucson

The 2018 DMBL Series will pit a first-time finals participant and a franchise that hasn't missed the playoffs in five seasons, including bringing home a title two years ago.

Bullpen sputters but Hopatcong clinches first finals appearance

It took another 13 innings to settle the other Game 6 semi-final. The Vancouver bullpen put up a valiant effort and was rewarded with a 9th-inning rally to force extras but Hopatcong finally closed it out in the 13th for a 6-5 win.

After 14 innings, Tucson wins Game 6, takes series

Marcell Ozuna came up with another big postseason hit for Tucson, driving in Brett Gardner in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the King Snakes a 2-1 walk-off victory in Game 6 and clinching the series against Sardine City, 4-2.

Paxton, Martinez save Iron Fist to force Game 6

James Paxton struck out a postseason-high 13 and Vancouver made the most of their baserunners thanks to a J.D. Martinez grand slam for a 5-1 win at Hopatcong on Sunday night in Game 5.

Tucson wins third straight for 3-2 series lead

Tucson got another big out from their starting pitcher as Robbie Ray held Sardine City to one run over 7 innings, helping the King Snakes to their third straight win in the series, 4-2 in Game 5 at Sardine City on Saturday night.

Hopatcong clobbers Nola for 3-1 series lead

Aaron Nola was lights out in Vancouver's 1st round series against Hillsborough but Hopatcong obliterated one of this postseason's best pitchers from the start on Friday night, coasting to a 13-5 triumph in Game 4.

Roark, Zunino help Tucson tie series at 2-2

Tanner Roark scattered 4 hits and 1 run over 8 innings and the Tucson offense took care of the rest, cruising to an 8-1 win over Sardine City in Game 4 on Thursday night.

This time, it's Hopatcong that holds on, taking Game 3

Second-seeded Hopatcong aimed for the same formula as their Game 1 win: 6 innings out of their starter and let the bullpen do the rest.

Tucson breaks through behind Scherzer

Max Scherzer helped Tucson to its first win of the semifinal series versus Sardine City, striking out 11 in 6 innings as the bullpen held on for a 5-4 win in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

Martinez mashes 3 HRs, Vancouver holds on

Vancouver blasted five solo home runs -- including three by Jose Martinez -- and weathered a 9th-inning rally by Hopatcong to secure a 5-4 triumph on Tuesday night, tying up their best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Piscotty's arm, bat big in Sardine City win

Stephen Piscotty made a big play in the field and then at the plate during a critical 6th inning, to help Sardine City gain a 7-3 victory in Game 2 of their semifinal series against Tucson on Monday night.

Strasburg, bullpen lead Fish to Game 1 win

Stephen Strasburg and three Hopatcong relievers combined to retire 12 of the final 13 Vancouver batters to lead the No. 2 Floating Fish to a 5-3 win on Monday night.

Sardine City holds on to take Game 1

Corey Kluber struck out 11 and limited Tucson to just 1 run after a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the 8th as top-seeded Sardine City opened the Best-of-Seven semifinal series with a 5-3 victory in Game 1 on Sunday night.

Camargo walks off Game 5 for Iron Fist

A four-run 7th inning gave Hillsborough its first lead of Game 5 on Friday night but Vancouver tied it in the 8th on a Josh Reddick homer and then walked off on a series-ending single from unlikely hero Johan Camargo to win the Game 5 slugfest, 9-8.

Scherzer silences Marietta to take Game 5

Max Scherzer struck out 11 over 7 innings and Marcell Ozuna slammed a first-inning homer and drove in three runs to lift Tucson past Marietta 5-3 at home in Game 5 on Thursday night, taking the 1st round series, 3-2.

Hillsborough walks off to force Game 5

A two-run homer by Austin Barnes with one out in the 9th tied Game 4 for Hillsborough before Eddie Rosario's 3rd home run in 4 postseason  gave the Hit Men a walk-off victory over No. 3 Vancouver in a must-win Game 4.

Vancouver hangs on for Game 3 triumph

A 6th inning homer by Carlos Santana turned out to be the difference on Tuesday as Vancouver held on for a 4-3 win at Hillsborough in Game 3 of their first round Best-of-Five series.

Turner powers up yet again to force Game 5

Justin Turner continued his power surge, going yard for the fourth consecutive game, and Luis Severino pitched into the 7th on short rest for Marietta, lifting the Mighty Men to a 5-0 win on Tuesday, to force a decisive Game 5 back in Tucson on Thursday.

Bumgarner quiets Mighty Men for Game 3 win

Justin Turner hit another leadoff homer run - his 3rd straight game with a long ball - but Madison Bumgarner settled in after that to tame Marietta's offense as Tucson beat the Mighty Men 8-3 in Game 3 on Monday.

Rosario homers again to lead Hit Men

Eddie Rosario homered for the second consecutive game and Matt Davidson drove in 4 runs as 6th-seeded Hillsborough struck back with an 8-3 triumph in Vancouver on Sunday night to even their Best-of-Five series at 1-1.

Marietta powers to Game 2 win

Justin Turner and Giancarlo Stanton homered for the second straight game and Mike Clevinger overcame 5 walks to earn the victory in Marietta's 8-4 triumph at Tucson on Saturday night.

Nola Ks 11, Iron Fist pound Verlander

Aaron Nola struck out 11 in his first postseason start while Vancouver pummeled Justin Verlander in 2+ innings to take Game 1 of their first round series, 8-3, at the IronDome.

Tucson overcomes Marietta power display to take Game 1

Justin Turner opened the 2018 postseason with a home run, one of four by fifth-seeded Marietta to build a Game 1 lead in Tucson.

2018 pitching leaders

For the second straight season, only one pitcher was able to win 20 games, which could make Stephen Strasburg the man to beat in the race for the Ben McDonald Award.

2018 batting leaders

Marietta thrashed Vancouver 14-1 in the regular season finale in a game that didn't matter all of that much because the Mighty Men had already locked up the No. 5 seed and the Iron Fist had all but sewn up the No. 3 seed.

Tucson puts down Arkansas to clinch

In a rematch of the 2015 DMBL Series, the result went another way for lower stakes as Tucson obliterated Arkansas, 10-0, in a play-in game on Tuesday night to clinch the Clemente Division and the No. 4 seed in the postseason after both teams finished the regular season tied (89-74).

One game to decide No. 4 seed

Faced with win-and-they're-in scenarios, few teams were able to secure their own destiny without help from other squads on the final day of the season.

Down to the final game

Only a handful of games will matter tonight on the season's final day, but boy howdy, will three teams be scoreboard-watching just to be sure they've made the playoffs.

Strasburg denied record, still a shot at 20 wins

Stephen Strasburg lost his second straight start on Wednesday -- more than he'd lost all season -- and will fall short of Pedro Martinez's single-season win percentage record (21-2, .913).

Sale breaks K record with one start to go

San Francisco's Chris Sale shattered the league record for most strikeouts in a season, and still has one more start to extend his new mark.

Green sets sights on 200 Ks

Chad Green came back from an 8-day injury layoff to obliterate the record for most strikeouts in a season by a relief pitcher.

Strasburg suffers just second loss

Stephen Strasburg found his name in the loss column on Saturday for the first time since April.

Sardine City works overtime as playoff race tightens

Sardine City has been working overtime to try to hang on to their division lead, twice having wice played games lasting nearly 20 innings within a week.

Ramirez sets new doubles record

Jose Ramirez set a new record for doubles in a season, cracking his 73rd two-bagger last night in a 6-5 win over Blue Ridge.

Sale Ks 18, on pace to set new mark

Mired in a losing season, Chris Sale (9-16) pulled out a masterful performance Thursday night, with a league-high 18 strikeouts in a 3-hit, 4-0 shutout at Tucson.

Strasburg approaches win percentage mark

At one point this season, Stephen Strasburg was 2-0 and fell to 2-1 after his fifth start, when he was ripped for 7 runs in 6+ innings by El Paso way back in April. He's now 18-1.

Arkansas, Poovey last 21 innings

Arkansas and Poovey Farms went 21 innings last Tuesday night in the longest game of the season, just one inning short of the longest game in DMBL history.

Ramirez ties record with 4 HRs

Jose Ramirez became the sixth player to club four home runs and Philly blasted 10 homers in all, tying a league record, in a 17-2 thrashing at Livingston Stadium (Citi Field 2016) on Thursday night.

Players of the Month: May

OK, it's a little late to look at the league's stats in May, but hey, it's never really too late, is it? First, let's have a look at the standings, and then we'll delve into the individual league leaders.

Gardner spoils SF's bid for third no-hitter

On a night when three games ended in 1-0 shutouts and another looked like a high-scoring football game, San Francisco came within two outs of becoming the first franchise to throw three no-hitters in its history.

Nola no-hits El Paso for 2018's 3rd no-no

The no-hitters just keep on coming. Vancouver's Aaron Nola outdueled El Paso's Jonathan Gray, tossing the DMBL's third no-hitter of the 2018 season.

Lester comes within four outs of his second no-hitter

Jon Lester came within four outs of throwing the league's third no-hitter in as many weeks as Blue Ridge blanked Allentown, 4-0, on Wednesday night.

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.

Despite 10 walks, Davies and Neris combine on no-hitter of Blue Ridge

Zach Davies probably was one of the most unlikely candidates to throw a no-hitter.

Players of the Month: April

The first month of the 2018 season is in the books, with most teams having played anywhere from 26 to as many as 30 games (equivalent to spring training, more or less). Let's have a look at who's off to hot starts:

Stars of spring training

On the eve of the 2018 regular season, let's take a look at what transpired over the 29 games of spring training this year and whether it gives us any inkling into what to expect in the coming months.

Archer, Reed combine on spring training no-hitter

It may not count but it still doesn't happen very often: A spring training no-hitter!

Draft history was made last week

It was bound to happen sooner or later. For the first time in DMBL history, an ineligible player was selected No. 1 overall in the annual draft.

End of the line: David Ortiz

On the eve of the start of a new season, some players won't be back for 2018, hanging up their DMBL cleats for good.

How did last year's 1st rounders fare?

The buzz of draft day has barely worn off yet, with the excitement and budding hope keeping owners up through the night mixing and matching their potential new lineups and rotations.

2017 Mitchell Award winner: Miguel Cabrera

In one of the closest votes in recent memory, Miguel Cabrera picked up the first Kevin Mitchell Award of his 14-year career, edging Gary Sanchez, playing in his first DMBL season, by just three points.

2017 McDonald Award winner: Johnny Cueto

Vancouver's Johnny Cueto easily held off three left-handers and was a near-unanimous selection for the 2017 Ben McDonald Award after a league-leading 22-5 mark.

2017 Listach Award winner: Gary Sanchez

Hopatcong's Gary Sanchez blasted a league-high in home runs, a consistent power display that has earned him the Pat Listach Award as the DMBL's top rookie in 2017, outdistancing four other first-year players in official balloting.

2017 Eckersley Rolaids Relief Man of the Year

Seung Hwan Oh was a model of efficiency as Tucson's closer, saving 32 of 33 opportunities for the Kingsnakes last season, on his way to the 2017 Eckersley Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award.

2017 Listach Award candidates

There were some historically good rookie seasons on display in 2017 amid others that were remarkable yet pedestrian by comparison, that in any other season could warrant hardware like the Pat Listach Award.

2017 McDonald Award candidates

There was only one 20-game winner in the DMBL this season but wins aren't a measure of a pitcher like they once were, as SABRmetrics and other numbers have taken a more prominent place in evaluating a pitcher's season.

2017 Mitchell Award candidates

Here are 12 candidates, and then some, who could be worthy of your support on the ballot for the annual Kevin Mitchell Award honoring the league's most valuable batter.

RIP Roy Halladay

Catching up on some offseason news, DMBL great Roy Halladay died in November in a plane crash.