Fearsome bullpen leads Trojans to 1st DMBL title

In their playoff debut, the Empire City Trojans ran the gauntlet through a full complement of games in three rounds of playoff, culminating in a 3-1 comeback in the finals to secure their first-ever DMBL title.

It's the first 3-1 comeback in the DMBL final since Vancouver shocked Blue Ridge in the pandemic era 2021 title series. Hoboken was making its second straight appearance in the finals after losing the 2023 finals in 5 games to Livingston, who were the first repeat champs since the 2006-07 Newark Sugar Bears.

Josh Hader became the first relief pitcher to earn playoff MVP honors. Hader led all pitchers in the playoffs with 8 saves. In 10 appearances, the left-hander allowed just 5 hits (0.52 WHIP) and not a single run in 13.3 innings with 20 strikeouts. He was brilliant on his own but also emblematic of Empire City's fearsome bullpen triumvirate of Adbert Alzolay and lefty Sam Moll. Alzolay, a deadline acquisition from Merrill Creek for a 5th rounder, led the Trojan bullpen with 16.3 innings across 11 playoff appearances. Combined, the three did not allow a run versus Hoboken in the finals and gave up just 2 runs in 44.3 innings (0.41 ERA, 0.66 WHIP) throughout the playoffs.

The Comeback

Empire City staged a historic comeback, down 3 games to 1 against Hoboken. Trailing 3-1 in Game 5, utility man Ildemaro Vargas jerked a pinch-hit solo home run off Clayton Kershaw in the bottom of the 7th to pull the Trojans to within a run of the Cutters.

Lefty Gregory Soto started the bottom of the 8th for Hoboken, 6 outs away from a title. He yielded a single to Daulton Varsho before Ketel Marte clubbed a series-changing two-run home run to give Empire City a 4-3 advantage. Soto walked Geraldo Perdomo before getting the hook in favor of Kevin Kelly, who managed to get out of the inning without any more damage. Hader took the mound for a tidy 9th inning and his 7th save of the playoffs, keeping the Trojans alive for a Game 6.

Hoboken turned to rookie Emmet Sheehan who had been brilliant in several postseason starts but was wild in Game 6, walking 5 batters and lasting just 4 1/3 innings before fellow rookie Alex Faedo got the call in relief. He also couldn't tame the Trojans, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits over 2+ innings. Empire City got a strong outing from starter Nathan Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER) and a hitless 3-inning save from Alzolay to even the series and send it back to Empire City for a Game 7.

In the deciding Game 7, Empire City continued their magical run thanks to 7 shutout innings from ace Shane McClanahan, his best start of the postseason and 4-out save by Hader to finish off the Cutters, 4-0, in a three-hitter. The Trojans jumped out early with a 1st-inning 2-run blast from Perdomo, another run in the 2nd, and a solo shot in the 3rd by Christian Walker, who led the squad with 6 postseason jacks.

Playoff Leaders

McClanahan led all pitchers with 44 strikeouts in the playoffs, ahead of Sheehan (37) and Hoboken's Pablo Lopez (36), who lost Game 7.

2B Ketel Marte made a case for playoff MVP. He was the offense for the Trojans in the finals, clubbing that key homer in Game 5 and led the team in hits (10), home runs (4), runs (7), and RBI (9). 1B Christian Walker topped all players in the playoffs with 15 RBI, ahead of Hoboken's Isaac Paredes (14) and Wander Franco and Marte (13). Paredes led all players with 7 HR, 3 of which came in the 1st round versus Newark, and 11 extra base hits.

Marte led the playoffs in runs created (15.8), ahead of Franco (14.1), and total bases (41), edging Paredes (38) and Walker (37).

 

Historic Matchup

This year may have been the first finals matchup between the lowest-seeded teams: the No. 7 Trojans and the No. 8 Hoboken Cutters. Hoboken had won the season series (7-6) with Empire City in a division that saw three playoff teams and all five franchises finish above .500.

Empire City played the maximum 19 games in the playoffs. The Trojans knocked off No. 2 Sardine City in five games and edged No. 6 Arkansas in 7 games in the semifinals. Hoboken upset No. 1 Newark in 4 games in the first round before staging a 3-1 comeback of their own to dispatch No. 3 Poovey Farms in 7 games to reach the final. 

The crazy playoffs may have been the result of extreme parity this season. Thirteen teams finished above .500 but there was no 100-win squad. The eight playoff teams were separated by just 10 games: No. 1 Newark (98-64) and No. 4 Poovey Farms (87-75). Wild card teams won between 90 (Hoboken) and 95 games (Tucson).