End Of The Line: Mark Buehrle

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 Mark Buehrle, who burst on the scene in 2002.

Papelbon becomes 14th to notch 100th saves

The 100-save club is no longer a baker's dozen. In the final game before the all-star break, Jonathan Papelbon earned his 18th save of the season, which was the 100th of his career. Only 13 other pitchers in league history have reached 100 saves.

Papelbon's century save came in the final game before the all-star break, preserving a 3-1 win for Hopatcong over Hillsborough at The Mud Hole. He has since compiled his 20th save and 102nd overall, passing inaugural Hall of Famer John Wettleland and Brian Fuentes, who are tied for 13th place with 101 saves.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2006 draft as an ineligible prospect by D.C. (between Rickie Weeks and David Bell - and two spots after Justin Verlander), Papelbon has averaged 16 saves per year, notching career highs of 31 in 2008 and 24 in 2009 for the then-Bushslappers (who have since moved to Bridgewater).

Papelbon passed seven retired closers this year in career saves, including Keith Foulke, John Smoltz, Jose Mesa, Rod Beck, Armando Benitez, Rick Aguilera and Rob Nen. He could crack the top 10 before the season's out, trailing Joe Nathan with 107 saves and No. 10 Bob Wickman at 109. Jeff Shaw holds down ninth place with 123 saves.

Halladay -- it would be so fine!

Roy Halladay, the DMBL's active leader in most every pitching category, entered rare territory after a masterful 2-0 shutout of Arkansas on Thursday night. He limited the Golden Falcons to three hits while striking out five and walking just one.

The game featured a number of career milestones for the Philly ace. It was his 19th career shutout, breaking a tie with Curt Schilling for 4th all-time, and moving into a tie with Pedro Martinez for 3rd place. The only pitchers with more DMBL shutouts are Kevin Brown (24) and Greg Maddux (32). It also was the 65th complete game of his career, breaking a tie with Randy Johnson and moving into 5th place all-time.

Halladay passed Andy Pettitte into 9th place all-time in innings pitched, and is just a trio of outs from John Smoltz for 8th place. He now stands within 1,000 innings of Maddux, the all-time leader, with 3,415 1/3 innings pitched.

Halladay set career highs last season in wins (21), innings (250 1/3), complete games (12) and shutouts (4). He originally was selected by Philly in the 9th round of the 1999 draft, pitching for the Endzone Animals in 2000. He was the 11th overall pick of the 2002 draft by Carolina, where he spent the next eight seasons, before being shipped to Philly in a blockbuster trade in January 2010. Incredibly, Halladay has made no fewer than 30 starts in any of his 11 seasons, including 10 straight, every year since 2002.

Hitmen streak iced

The Hired Hitmen's streak of 7 wins was snapped yesterday in a 6-3 loss to Blue Ridge. Michael Young and Rickie Weeks each had 2 hits and Gavin Floyd pitched 8 strong innings to lead the Bombers to victory. Hillsborough remains 5 1/2 games up on Carolina for the Morris Division lead.

Amityville continues to baffle Marietta. Yesterday Dallas Braden tossed a 3-hit shutout against the Mighty Men in a 2-0 victory. Braden struck out 5 and walked one in his 2nd win of the year. Meanwhile John Danks was the hard luck loser in the game, spinning 7 innings of 2-run ball and falling to 14-6 on the season. The Ant Slayers scored both runs in the 5th inning that was marred by a wild pitch and a hit batsman. Alex Rodriguez hit a sac fly after Danks' wild pitch allowed the runner to move to third and Jason Kubel singled in the second run.

Vancouver edged Las Vegas in a 2-1 pitchers duel. Ben Sheets and A.J. Burnett both pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball, but neither factored into the decision. It was in the 8th inning when a Joe Nathan pitched got by catcher John Baker, allowing David Ortiz to score from third. The play was ruled a passed ball. Dennys Reyes struck out 2 and retired the side in order in the 9th to pick up his 1st save of the season.

Newark waved a tearful good-bye to longtime Sugar Bear John Smoltz, released after many difficulties pitching in AAA. "We would love Smoltzie to come back and pitch for us" said pitching coach Mike Grace, "but we needed to make a decision that would help us win this year." Smoltz had been with the team since the summer of 2000 since Newark acquired the righthander from Carolina in exchange for outfielder Jim Edmonds. Smoltz had been stellar in both starting and relief roles for the Sugar Bears, including a 22-5 campaign in 2005 and a 45-save effort in 2003.