2016 McDonald Award candidates

There are any number of ways to go on your ballot for this year's Ben McDonald Pitching Excellence Award, recognizing the DMBL's finest pitcher and named for the first winner of the award, Larry Benard McDonald (a.k.a., The LBM).

Bailey twirls Bridgewater's first no-hitter

Another trophy for the mantle

Homer Bailey was one batter away from the first perfect game in DMBL history but had to settle for tossing the 12th no-hitter in league history and the first ever for the Bridgewater franchise. Bailey struck out 10 in blanking Sardine City 3-0 on Sunday at The Cannery.

It's the first no-hitter in the DMBL since August 2012 when Hopatcong's Josh Tomlin no-hit Hillsborough.

Bailey's only blemish was the sixth inning. The Mallers right-hander retired the first 17 batters before walking the No. 9 hitter, Marco Scutaro, and followed that up with a wild pitch before retiring Christian Yelich. Of Bailey's 120 pitches, 76 were strikes.

Bridgewater got their offense from a second-inning solo home run by catcher Brian McCann, an RBI single that Carlos Beltran tried to stretch into a double that ended the third, and a solo shot from Jose Reyes in the seventh. Dillon Gee went 7 innings, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs to take the loss for the Straphangers.

The almost-28-year-old (he turns 28 on May 3) has struggled in the first month of the season, twice going 4+ innings, leaving in the 3rd with an injury, and lasting just 1 inning in another start. Despite that, Bailey even his record to 1-1, lowering his ERA to 5.70, with a 1.18 WHIP. He's now fourth in the league with 11.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. The no-no is a bright spot in what's been a tough start for the Mallers, who suffered through a 10-game skid earlier and stand at 6-16 through Sunday's doubleheader.

At least the last three no-hitters in the league have been firsts for their franchises. Tomlin's was the first for Hopatcong and earlier that year, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Motte combined to toss Sardine City's first-ever no-no.

A Look Back At 2012 Pitching Leaders, Records

Two teams lost 100 games: Philly went 61-101 and Livingston was 47-115, which matched the fourth-worst record in league history (Norfolk Ewes, 1999). The Last Placers also had a league-worst run differential of -382. The previous record was -323 by the 2007 Las Vegas Rat Pack (although run differential stats aren't available before the 1997 season).

Livingston added to the inglorious record books with two individual league records: most losses in a season. Edinson Volquez and Carlos Zambrano trotted out just about every five days, making 32 and 33 starts, respectively, but each loss 22 games.

Volquez went 4-22 with an 8.11 ERA. He had 138 strikeouts in 144.7 IP but also was second in the league in walks, 98. Zambrano was 3-22 with a 7.47 ERA, tossing 168.7 IP, and was 6th in the league in walks, with 84, and only a few more strikeouts, 97. Volquez had the better run support, 3.8 runs per game, versus 3.2 for Zambrano.

Zambrano and Volquez can look to Newark's Kyle Lohse for inspiration. Lohse endured back-to-back 21 loss seasons for New Jersey (now Hopatcong) in 2009 and 2010, and followed it up with a stellar 1-17 mark for Newark in 2011 (that's 59 losses over three seasons...). Lohse finally rebounded this season for a career year in Newark: 14-8, 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP in 202 IP -- all career highs.

At least five other times in league history, pitchers have lost 21 games. Like this year 1993 saw two pitchers lose 21 games, Chris Bosio and Rick Sutcliffe, but they played for separate teams (Bosio for Charleston, Sutcliffe for Waikiki). Oliver Perez also lost 21 games for Las Vegas in 2007.

ERA: 2.85, Justin Verlander, Hillsborough
WHIP: 0.91, Verlander
Strikeouts: 242, Corey Luebke, Hopatcong
Walks: 118, Francisco Liriano, Philly
Wins: 19, Verlander and R.A. Dickey, Marietta
Win %: .792, Dickey
Avg Run Support: 6.4, Brandon Beachy, Bridgewater
R/9: 8.4, Verlander
K/9: 10.9, Luebke and Beachy
Shutouts: 4, Roy Halladay, Philly/Hoboken
IP: 243 2/3, James Shields, Newark
CG:  9, Shields
QS: 23, Josh Tomlin and Matt Cain, Hopatcong; Shields, Verlander
QS %: .719, Tomlin
Saves: 43, Mariano Rivera, Marietta
Save %: .947, Daniel Bard, Sardine City
Holds: 20, Vinnie Pestano, Bridgewater
Home Runs: 41, Tommy Hanson, Las Vegas
Games: 111, David Pauley, Livingston

Tomlin Tosses No-Hitter For Hopatcong

In a year of many firsts for the Hopatcong franchise, Josh Tomlin threw the first no-hitter in Floating Fish history Tuesday night, downing Livingston 5-0 in the midst of a heated pennant race. It was the second no-hitter in the league this season and the 11th in league history. Just last month, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Motte combined to fire Sardine City's first no-hitter.

The Floating Fish gave Tomlin some breathing room with single runs in each of the first three innings and Tomlin ended up facing the minimum 27 batters. He walked Jimmy Rollins leading off the fourth but B.J. Upton promptly grounded to second for a double play. Tomlin's only other blemish, another leadoff walk, this time to Danny Espinosa in the 6th, also was erased via the twin killing, when Justin Smoak grounded to second to end the inning, after Jonathan LuCroy reached on a fielder's choice. Smoak later flied out to left to end the game.

Adding to the excitement, Brett Gardner pulled off a rare steal of home in the 6th inning, with Chase Headley taking second base, and the Floating Fish faithful packing The Mud Hole were on their feet the rest of the way. While Hopatcong improved to a franchise-record 87-71, remaining a game ahead of Newark in the Kruk Division, the first-year Livingston Last Place dropped to 47-111, long ago clinching the most balls in the draft lottery.

Tomlin struck out 5 and walked 2, improving to 16-7 and lowered his ERA to an even 3.00, and WHIP to 1.04 (both categories are second in the league trailing only Justin Verlander). He's been among the Floating Fish's most consistent pitchers all season, leading the squad with 16 wins and 5 complete games, including 2 shutouts. Perhaps it was the all-star snub that fueled Tomlin's fire all season. Despite a 9-3 and a 2.80 ERA at the break, as well as being among the league leaders in QS%, R/9 and OPS, Tomlin wasn't selected though he did receive votes.

The 27-year-old righthander was taken by Hopatcong with the 3rd pick of the 5th rounder (67th overall) this year. Last season, he made 28 starts for Newark, after the Sugar Bears used a supplemental 7th round pick (77th overall) on him. He finished 2011 with a respectable 1.14 WHIP and 4.08 ERA but a not-so-respectable 6-15 record for a Newark team that lost a franchise-record 113 games.