Iglesias edges Robles for batting title

A see-saw race in the final weeks of the season for the batting title had to go to another decimal point in what's likely the closest batting race in DMBL history.

A look at the playoff race down the stretch

Entering Sunday's doubleheader, there were three different ties involving eight teams across the standings with about a dozen games remaining for most teams.

Hillsborough wins 2025 draft lottery

Hillsborough continued its recent luck in draft lottery, jumping up to secure the No. 1 overall pick for the third time in the past five years.

Philly wins 2024 draft lottery

The last time Philadelphia selected No. 1 overall -- in the pre-draft lottery days of 2002 -- they struck gold with a generational talent in Albert Pujols.

Hillsborough wins 2023 draft lottery

Hillsborough had historic luck in the 2023 draft lottery, winning the No. 1 overall pick from the No. 6 position.

Cruz clubs HR No. 400

Nelson Cruz clubbed his 400th career home run, becoming just the 13th player in DMBL history to reach that mark.

Bauer tosses Blue Ridge's 2nd no-hitter

Trevor Bauer walked 6 but struck out 12, gave up 1 run but not hits as Blue Ridge defeated Hopatcong, 5-1 at home on Thursday night for the second no-hitter in DMBL this season, only weeks after the first.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Sardine City notches first playoff series win

Sardine City secured the franchise's first playoff series win in its fourth postseason appearance, beating Blue Ridge in four games.

In memoriam: Yordano Ventura, Andy Marte

The baseball world, and by extension the DMBL world, lost two players last month to tragic car accidents in the Dominican Republic: Yordano Ventura, who was just 25, and 33-year-old Andy Marte, who was drafted as a budding prospect in the mid-2000s but never made the DMBL.

End Of The Line: A.J. Burnett

End Of The Line is an occasional offseason series that will take a closer look at the career of DMBL players leaving the league after the 2016 season. Today, we look at Allan James "A..J." Burnett, who leaves his mark on the league in a number of ways.

Big series sweeps impact playoff races

A series of key matchups last week ended up in one-sided affairs that swung the balance of power in key division races.

Alvarez misses on 20th win in season finale

Henderson Alvarez missed out on being a 20-game winner as San Francisco succumbed to Blue Ridge, 9-2, in the 2015 regular season finale. He was roughed up for 7 hits and 7 runs in 6 2/3 innings and paid the price for 5 walks.

Despite a 3.52 ERA (4th best on the team), Alvarez still led the league with 19 wins -- thanks to league-high run support of 5.8 runs/game -- one better than Vancouver's Johnny Cueto (18-9). He would have been the DMBL's first 20-game winner since Hoboken's Clayton Kershaw last season.

The Experience is the third team for Alvarez in barely a year. He was acquired in the offseason from Sardine City, along with a 2015 5th rounder, in exchange for a 1st round pick in 2016. He spent a brief time as a Straphanger, coming over from Hoboken in a 2014 deadline deal for relievers Luke Hochevar, Caleb Thielbar and a 2015 13th rounder.

The 25-year-old Venezuelan entered the season with a 22-22 record in two DMBL seasons, mainly the result of an impressive rookie year in 2012 with Vancouver. He went 15-14 in a career-high 225 innings, with a 4.24 ERA and a career-best 1.12 WHIP.

Who will get the nod to start for Micro?

A number of the Micro Conference's No. 1 starting pitchers will have a chance to make their case for the 2014 All-Star Game in Durham, with some final jockeying to possibly determine who will be named the starter (which is based on the number of votes cast).

Brick City's Jose Fernandez has been living up to the billing so far in the first half of 2014. Heading into his final start on Saturday before the All-Star break with an 8-3 mark, this year's first overall pick leads the DMBL in ERA (1.79), WHIP (0.94), batting average (.194), hits/9 (5.9), and R/9 (8.6), to go with 4 complete games, which ranks third in the conference. He trails a number of other starters in wins (8) but will his peripherals be enough to convince voters to make him the starer for the Micro Conference?

Hoboken ace Clayton Kershaw leads the Micro's in wins (10-3) and is likely to add to his leading 130.7 innings in his final start before the break on Saturday. He's also the conference co-leader with 5 complete games, ranks fourth in the league with 117 Ks, trails only Fernandez in ERA (2.76), and sports a sterling 1.05 WHIP.

With Kershaw, fellow left-hander Cliff Lee (8-6) leads the league with five complete games but is alone in quality starts (14) and within the Diamond Conference is tops WHIP (0.97). He's currently tied with teammate Hisashi Iwakuma for second in the conference with 120 innings and should add to the total as he's scheduled to start Saturday in the final game before the All-Star break. Lee is second only to Fernandez in R/9 (8.7) and has registered 108 Ks.

"I've got your All-Star vote? Exxxcellent..."

Yu Darvish's 146 strikeouts easily leads the entire league, far head of the 122 of Hillsborough's Max Scherzer, and 11.8 K/9. The Brick City hurler can be wild (evidenced by a 9K, 8 BB performance this year) but warrants consideration for the final five (7-4, 3.31 ERA, 1.14 WHIP), especially for votes who favor strikeouts.

Matt Harvey (8-3, 2.82) is putting together a fine sophomore season for Arkansas. He's second in the conference in quality starts (13), innings (124.7) and strikeouts (119).

'Hey Stump -- catch this!"

There are others who might garner attention for the five starting spots on the Micro Conference, if you're looking for under-the-rader candidates to fill out your ballot. Not to be overlooked is Allentown's Iwakuma (6-6, 3.45). The .500 record could be a turn-off (as well as the league-high 26 home runs), but in addition to logging 120 innings he sports a 1.07 WHIP, third-best in the Diamond and is tied for 4th overall in the league in R/9 (9.8), with Kershaw and Scherzer.

If you're only looking at wins, there's Hoboken teammates Mike Leake (9-6) and Hiroki Kuroda (9-5) but you'd have to overlook some things, like Leake's 5.01 ERA/1.39 WHIP and Kuroda's only slightly better (4.80/1.40) but does have three complete games. Left-hander Madison Bumgarner has a losing record (4-7) but has been solid for Blue Ridge (3.71 ERA, 1.33 WHIP), striking out 102 in 104.3 innings. Others who might go unnoticed judging only their records are Sardine City's Nathan Eovaldi. Just 6-5, Eovaldi has a 3.50 ERA in 110.7 innings but also a 1.33 WHIP. Hey, at least they're not Zach Greinke, who's suffered through a 1-12 first half with Saskatoon.

A look at the Micro all-star ballot

Yesterday we looked at bats who could make the Diamond Conference all-star team, so today we take a gander at the positions players who might warrant your ballot for the Micro Conference.

'The beard? Is fake'

C: Saskatoon's Yadier Molina has been a stalwart behind the plate for years and is enjoying a solid year, leading conference catchers with 91 hits and 26 doubles while hitting 4 HRs and 34 RBI; he's also gunned down 11 would-be base stealers and is tops with 23 assists. Brick City's Wilson Ramos leads the conference's catchers with 17 HRs but if you're looking for defense, you won't find it there: he's yielded a league-high 32 stolen bases. If it's defense you're looking for, Buster Posey of Arkansas leads the Diamonds with 13 caught stealing but there is a drop-off in his offense so far this year with his .230 BA and .624 OPS.

1B: If you're looking for the traditional power first baseman, your man in the Micro Conference might be Adrian Gonzalez of Allentown (.285/.349/.470). He leads the bunch with 13 HR, to go with 54 RBI. Sardine City's Eric Hosmer (.313/.350/.421) leads in hits (99) and matches Gonzo's 54 RBI. Hoboken's Ryan Howard (.297/.351/.459) -- who once blasted 65 HRs in a season -- has hit 24 doubles but just 4 HR and 28 RBI. Michael Cuddyer of Vancouver (.296/.351/.463) also has eligibility in OF and was putting together a fine season before hitting the DL last week with 13 HR, 51 RBI.

2B: An all-star last year, Hoboken's Jed Lowrie (.292/.355/.407) leads Micro keystoners with 98 hits and 48 runs. The man he replaced, Ian Kinsler (.270/.321/.390) who's now in Allentown, has the longest hitting streak in the league this season (22 games), helping to collect 86 hits and 42 runs. If you're looking for some speed, you might consider Saskatoon's Jose Altuve (.303/.318/.352), who has 10 stolen bases and is right behind Lowrie with 94 hits, though not much pop.

'I eat peetchers like you for brea'fast'

SS: Not a banner year at SS for the Micro's. Stephen Drew of Hoboken (.255/.364/.455) has only 65 hits but 5 have been triples and 9 HR, leading the conference shortstops with 53 runs. His competition might come from Jhonny Peralta of Arkansas (.283/.329/.388), who is tops with 91 hits, to go with 19 doubles.

3B: Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (.312/.390/.663) plans to move to 1B next year but this season he's still at 3B and putting together a mammoth year with a league-high 29 home runs and second only to Hanley Ramirez with 77 RBI. Sardine City's Evan Longoria (.291/.379/.555) is no slouch either with 16 HRs, 43 RBI and a conference-leading 29 doubles. There's also Josh Donaldson of Brick City (.271/.363/.440) who has 47 RBI.

And how many have won the Mitch?

OF: The reigning Mitchell Award winner is now in Allentown and Mike Trout (.305/.396/.595) has a solid sophomore season so far, with 57 runs scored, 19 doubles, 5 triples, 17 home runs and 39 RBI. Sardine City 1st rounder Christian Yelich (.337/.413/466) seems to be batting in the neighborhood of .333 virtually all year and heads into the break as a serious batting title contender. He does lack some pop with 4 HRs. Wil Venable might be considered a journeyman but he's leading the Arkansas offense with 12 HR and 54 RBI, and also has a conference-leading 13 SBs.

In Vancouver, they may lack some in the power department but Michael Brantley (.332) and Carl Crawford (.328) have been chasing a batting title with Yelich. Saskatoon's Allen Craig has reached 100 hits already and bopped 21 doubles, though only 28 RBI. If it's free-swinging power you want, you might want to look again in Allentown where veteran Marlon Byrd is slugging .541, with 13 homers and 21 doubles, or in Hoboken where 18 of of Justin Maxwell's 59 hits have been home runs for a .561 slugging percentage. Teammate Ryan Raburn also has 20 homers, but also has already surpassed 100 strikeouts. Blue Ridge's Nelson Cruz (.258/.300/.484) has driven in 51 runs on 19 home runs.

DH: The primary word in DH is hitter and a few batters in the Micro have raked in the first half. Hoboken's David Ortiz (.315/.385/.653) is nearly matching his teammate, Miguel Cabrera, trailing him for the conference lead in RBI (74) and home runs (27). He leads the conference in runs scored (65) and tied with Craig for the high in hits (100). Edwin Encarnacion (.273/.349/.549) powers the Blue Ridge Bombers offense behind his 21 HRs, 63 RBI and 22 doubles. He also has a keen eye with 35 BBs to just 37 Ks. If you're looking for Yan Gomes (.337/.393/.558) on your ballot he's been the primary DH for Saskatoon but has spelled Molina behind the plate in 14 games so far this year. The rookie leads the conference in batting average, along with 90 hits 11 homers and 4 triples.

Tomorrow: A look at the Diamond Conference's best bets for for all-star starting pitchers.

Lester tosses 2014's record 3rd no-no

Jon Lester spun the third no-hitter of the season Monday night, shutting down the Livingston Lords of Swing, 4-0, at home in Rooster Coliseum. It's the first no-hitter in franchise history for the Blue Ridge Bombers.

Lester walked one and hit a batter while the Bombers committed one error. He was supported by two-run home runs in the third, by Ben Zobrist, and in the eighth, by Nelson Cruz.

The 30-year-old left-hander breezed through 3 1/3 innings before Prince Fielder's error allowed Carlos Gomez to reach base (he was promptly caught stealing second). Lester's only walk came in the 5th against Jedd Gyorko and he also plunked pinch hitter Alex Avila in the 6th before setting down the final 11 batters, all but three on ground balls. Lester threw 105 pitches, 69 of which went for strikes. He improved to 4-9 on the season and lowered his ERA to 5.19.

Shelby Miller went the distance for Livingston, scattering nine hits and four runs while striking out five against three walks.

It's the first time three no-hitters have occurred in one season (two no-hitters were thrown in 2002, 2011 and 2012). Earlier this season, Homer Bailey threw Bridgewater's first-ever no-hitter, beating Sardine City, and the following Sunday, Brick City's Scott Feldman no-hit Allentown. Bailey has since been traded to Vancouver for an 8th round pick next year.

The no-no came one night after Allentown's Cliff Lee twirled a one-hit, 98-pitch masterpiece against Marietta. The lone hit was a 3rd inning double by Ichiro Suzuki. Lee walked one and struck out 9 in dominating, 8-0.

Colon notches 100th career win

Bartolo Colon became the 26th pitcher to earn 100 career wins after earning a victory Friday night against Hoboken. Colon went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 5 to beat the Cutters, 6-2.

Now in his 12th season, Colon ranks 25th all-time in wins, tied with Barry Zito and one win away from matching Brad Radke at 101.

Colon is enjoying a resurgent season this year, standing at 5-1 with 3.48 ERA in eight starts for Livingston. Earlier this year, he passed David Wells for 15th all-time in career starts, with 320, and is just two behind Roy Oswalt for No. 14 (322). He's also 26 innings away from reaching 2,000 career innings, a mark only 15 other pitchers have eclipsed.

Colon enjoyed eight straight seasons of at least 31 starts for the Hillsborough/Vatican City/Wanaque franchise  but surprisingly only one winning season, 13-7 in 2006. His best season might be considered 2003 when he went 16-16, 3.61 ERA, with 12 complete games and 4 shutouts. He experienced double-digit losses in seven straight years, including another 16 games in 2005 and a career-high 19 in 2004. He entered the 2014 campaign 7th all-time in losses, with 130.

After 2006, Colon took some time off from the DMBL to get his head right and eat some Krispy Kreme, returning in 2012 as a supplemental pick by Blue Ridge.