Hoboken edges Sardine City in Game 1 behind error, Kershaw 1-hit shutout

The Hoboken Cutters left 11 men on base but managed to score one run on an error. That was enough for Clayton Kershaw, who limited Sardine City to one hit in their World Series debut, facing the minimum 27 batters in a 1-0 Game 1 victory that was almost the first perfect game in playoff history.

Cutters force Game 7 with Kingsnakes

Clayton Kershaw won his fourth start of the postseason and his second elimination game to will No. 3 Hoboken to a Game 7 against 2nd-seeded and defending champion Tucson with Friday night's 5-1 victory.

Hoboken evens series on 10 walks

In one of the most bizarre games in league history - playoff or otherwise - Tucson took a combined no-hitter into the 9th inning despite trailing 3-1 thanks to 10 walks by its starting pitcher.

Six Hits For Coghlan Without a Run, RBI To Show For It

Going 6-for-7 from the leadoff spot, you'd think Chris Coghlan would have played a big part in Hoboken's 7-5 win over Sardine City in 13 innings Saturday night. After all, the rest of the team only managed 7 hits combined.

Amazingly, despite tying the league record for hits in a game (now shared by a dozen players), the Cutters centerfielder managed to not collect a single RBI or a score one measly run.

Coghlan led off the game with a double before getting stranded at third. He grounded out to second for his only out, after J.J. Hardy led off the third inning with a home run. In the fourth, he singled after another Hardy homer, this time a three-run shot off starter Ubaldo Jimenez, only to have Ian Kinsler end the inning one at-bat later.

Coghlan greeted reliever Octavio Dotel with a single to lead off the seventh before Kinsler grounded to short, forcing Coghlan at second. Kinsler got as far as second before the Cutters ended the inning.

In the ninth, Coghlan singled off Daniel Bard with one out, and the Cutters, again, quietly went away, leaving him on first.

Coghlan found himself leading off an inning again, this time the 12th, and doubling again. Jose Bautista advanced him to third with a groundout to second, but after David Ortiz was intentionally walked, Miguel Cabrera struck out to end the inning.

In the 13th, Matt Joyce broke the tie with a two-run home run to give the Cutters the lead. Coghlan then came to bat with two outs, doubling deep to left center. Kinsler followed up with a groundout to second, ending the inning. Totaling up the night, Coghlan had six hits in all -- three doubles and three singles, for nine total bases. But zero RBIs and zero runs scored!

Coghlan was selected with the 14th pick in the 4th round (62nd overall) of this year's draft. He was Hoboken's opening day center-fielder before losing his job to free agent Nate McLouth and getting sent down for part of the season. He's seen some action in left and right field but has made 81 starts in center for the Cutters. After scuffling around .220 most of the season, he's now hitting .263 for the year.

Coghlan had what now looks like a career year during his rookie campaign with Arkansas in 2010, hitting .314 with 30 doubles in 151 games. He was selected 6th overall in that year's draft, sandwiched between two Hillsborough picks: after Carlos Gonzalez and before Gordon Beckham. He tied with Homer Bailey of Philly for 4th in the Pat Listach Rookie of the Year balloting with 3 points (one second-place vote and a third-place vote), ahead of Vancouver's Ron Belisario (1 point). Kendry Morales won the award that year.

The Curious Case of Matt Joyce

Just who is this Matt Joyce character that seems to be finding his way onto multiple DMBL rosters?

Joyce, a DMBL rookie, was drafted in the 8th round of the 2009 draft by New Jersey (109th overall). Joyce didn't even make it to opening day. The Buddahs cut Joyce on March 13th, just before the season officially started. A few weeks later, Philadelphia traded away star outfielder Magglio Ordonez, leaving a void in their outfield. The Endzone Animals took a chance on the young Joyce, hoping he might compete with newly-acquired Fred Lewis for the spot. Well, he lost. Joyce only got into 4 games, getting one hit in five at bats with two strikeouts. Not that Lewis was doing any better at that point. Lewis was only hitting a mere .140 at the time, but the club liked his potential better, so Joyce was cut a week after getting signed. The move panned out for Philly too - Lewis is batting .343/.409/.485 since being acquired from Carolina.

Two days later, Joyce was claimed by the powerhouse Sugar Bears. The Sugar Bears have a long legacy of turning no-names like Jack Cust, Mark DeRosa, and Frank Menechino into stars. Surely Matt Joyce would finally turn his season around. Well, no, it just wasn't happening in Newark. The club couldn't find a role for Joyce and he only saw one at bat in 6 games before being released less than a week later.

It took 9 days for Joyce to latch onto his 4th team of the season. The Hoboken Cutters were hit with a pair of injuries that took out a couple of their starting outfielders. First Marlon Byrd, then Ryan Church landed on the DL. Joyce was passed over for Josh Willingham, but the Cutters decided to give him a chance after the second injury. All this time, Joyce just wanted a real chance to show what he could do. Sure enough, the Cutters put Joyce into the starting lineup and he's gotten 21 at bats so far with Hoboken. Unfortunately for Joyce, he's hitting a paltry .143 with a .280 on base percentage and .190 slugging. Church and Byrd are due back in about a week. The good news is that Joyce, as bad as he's been, is barely outhitting Willingham, so he may buy himself an extra day or two. The bad news is that he'll probably be let loose as soon as both outfielders are healthy.

Will he latch onto a 5th team? Stay tuned...