Bonds Division on the line on final day of 2020

After 161 games, including a 16-game losing streak, Hopatcong still sits at the top of the Bonds Division. Yet, it's still the lone undecided playoff seed because that lead is just 1/2 game with one game to play.

2019 pitching leaders

There was no lack of solid campaigns by pitchers in the DMBL in 2019 but nothing quite spectacular.
No 20-game winners. The ERA king approached 3.00. Even the saves leader finished with a ho-hum total.

Arkansas pulls out Game 3 in the 9th

Mike Fiers and Edison Volquez matched one another for 6-plus innings but Falcons pulled out another late victory with a run in the 9th for a 2-1 win in San Francisco. The Game 3 triumph puts the defending champion Arkansas in a commanding 3-0 lead in the Best-of-7 semifinal series.

Heaney shuts down San Francisco to keep Vancouver alive

A rookie left-hander kept Vancouver's season alive for at least one more game.

ASG ballot: Diamond starters

At one point after All-Star Game ballots were released, the Diamond Conference featured nine of the top 10 league leaders when it comes to ERA. With only five spots on the ballot, there could be the potential for a few snubs in the Diamond Conference's rotation.

San Francisco's Chris Sale was humming along, leading the league in ERA (1.33), K/9 (11.5), shutouts (4), and second in several other categories, until he left Sunday's outing after 7 innings with an injury. The lefty is expected to land on the DL for the second time this season, this time for almost three weeks. Voters may have to overlook his 11 starts, five fewer starts than most hurlers in contention.

Teammate Henderson Alvarez looked like he could challenge Sale for the starting nod after a torrid start to the season, jumping out to a 9-1 mark. But his ERA has ballooned to 3.16 after returning from the DL and getting bombed in Sunday's start. Yet another SF starter can make a case, as Anibal Sanchez was tied for the league lead in wins with a 10-2 record.

Meanwhile, Marietta's Phil Hughes was the first to 10 victories and followed that up with a 12-strikeout complete game on Sunday. He improved to 11-4, a league high in wins, extended his league lead in K/BB (9.6), and matched three others with a league-best 5 complete games (to go with a league-high 38 doubles allowed). Michael Pineda may not have the wins (6-5) that Hughes does for Marietta, but he's still spinning an all-star caliber first half, with a 2.42 ERA (5th in the league) and 0.91 WHIP (3rd in the league).

There are plenty of new faces to consider for the All-Star ballot too. Hillsborough's Garrett Richards, acquired from Hoboken at least year's deadline, consistently has been atop the league leaders in ERA (2.12), to go with a 7-2 record in 16 starts and a 1.13 WHIP. He pairs with Julio Teheran to form a solid duo for the Hit Men, with both logging a league-high 13 qualify starts. Teheran improved to 9-3, trails Richards in ERA (2.31) but also boasts 3 complete games and 2 shutouts along with a top 10 WHIP (1.03).

Several first-round picks have made an impact and could make the mid-season squad. After a slow start, Hopatcong's Mike Fiers has been on fire, including a near perfect game. He leads the league in WHIP (0.87),  is tied for the lead in complete games (5), and is first in batting average against, runners and hits per nine innings, to go with a top 10 ERA (2.68). El Paso first-rounder rookie Jacob deGrom is only 4-3 but has been consistent through the first half, sporting a top 10 ERA (2.85). A 2014 first-round pick as an ineligible prospect, Masahiro Tanaka of El Paso has paid dividends with an 8-3 record, to go with a 2.69 ERA and 12 quality starts.

Another candidate to earn the starting nod could be Tucson's Jake Arrieta, who has a league-leading 13 quality starts and is top five in strikeouts (124), WHIP (1.00) and ERA (2.35). He's 7-3 and now is joined in the rotation by another potential all-star. Tyson Ross spent most of the first half with Livingston, nearly throwing a no-hitter, before getting dealt. Combined, he's 8-4 with a 1.04 WHIP (5th in the league). The Scorpions can also boast one of the top lefties in Madison Bumgarner, who's quietly tossed 12 quality starts with a 3.16 ERA, although his 1.35 WHIP could be one reason why it's a quiet 9-1 record.

Ross left behind Felix Hernandez to anchor Livingston's rotation. He's trying, with 121 Ks (tied for 2nd in the league), and 2 complete games, but the 5-8 record belies his 3.80 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He and former teammate Andrew Cashner have both logged 10 quality starts. Cashner was leading Diamond starters -- before being dealt to the Micro Conference's Vancouver Iron First -- with 122.2 innings and 4 complete games heading into the break, despite a 4-9 mark. Chris Archer leads The Lords of Swing with a 9-3 record and a respectable 3.19 ERA but an iffy WHIP of 1.45.

April Players of the Month

The first month of the DMBL season has passed and there are a few surprises and some disappointments. At the top of the surprise chart has to be Poovey Farms, currently sporting the best record in the league at 18-8. The former Brick City Batmen are off to a blazing start, leading the Van Slyke Division by 5 1/2 games and currently riding a 6-game winning streak. Last year's champion San Francisco Experience sputtered a bit out of the gate, but have taken control of the Drabek Division. Meanwhile, in the Kruk Division, Tucson holds a 1-game edge over Marietta. It looks like this one will be a dogfight this season. Finally, Allentown holds a tenuous lead over Arkansas in the Fisk Division. The Golden Falcons led the division much of the month, but have now dropped five straight and have a mediocre 13-13 record.

Livingston leads the list of disappointing teams so far, sitting in last place in one of the tougher divisions. Livingston was among the league's elite last year, but it struggling this year. Last year's World Series runner up, Hoboken, is the other disappointer. Despite sitting in second place, the Cutters are one game under .500 and sit 5 1/2 games behind Poovey Farms. Vancouver seemed like they were going to be a contender this year, but have lost a string of heartbreakers that keeps them in 3rd place in the Fisk Division. The Iron Fist are 0-8 this year in 1-run games, so maybe their luck can still turn around.

April's JR Cigar Smokin' Batter of the Month is Delmon Young of El Paso. Drafted almost as an afterthought in the 10th round of the 2015 Draft, Young leads the league in batting average (.443), on base percentage (.450), hits (43), and runs created (28). Debuting in 2008 with Carolina, Young has only been a full time starter twice in his career, and one of those seasons he was traded midseason. Other notable batters this month: Allentown's Jose Abreu (.368/.395/.697, 6 HR, 21 RBI) and Mike Trout (.310/.395/.670, 9 HR, 20 RBI), Arkansas's Steven Pearce (.326/.387/.695, 9 HR, 20 RBI), Vancouver's Anthony Rendon (.347/.383/.622, 7 HR, 25 RBI), Poovey Farms' Yasel Puig (.333/.402/.635, 6 HR), and Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt (.333/.383/.562, 5 HR).

April's Omaha Steaks Pitcher of the Month is Mike Fiers of Hopatcong. You've probably read about his recent flirtation with the DMBL's first perfect game, but Fiers has been an ace all month for the Floating Fish. Despite a mediocre 3-3 record, Fiers has a 2.86 ERA and allowed 8.0 runners per 9 innings. He also has 2 shutouts this month. Fiers was the third overall pick in this year's draft. Other considerations: Fiers' teammate, Kyle Hendricks (4-1, 1.54, 8.6 R/9), San Francisco's Henderson Alvarez (6-0, 2.39), Tucson's Greg Holland (3-0, 8 saves, 0.00 ERA, 4.7 R/9), Hillsborough's Garret Richards (3-1, 2.00, 8.0), Livingston's Chris Archer (4-2, 2.63), Marietta's Michael Pineda (2.89, 8.0, 2 CGs), and Arkansas' Matt Shoemaker (3-1, 2.48, 8.9).

April Showers bring... injuries, it seems. The month brought long term injuries to several teams. San Francisco's Chris Sale was lost for a month when he decided to start watching the new Daredevil series on Netflix. Reportedly, he was so into it, that he tried to recreate the character's origin story and got hit by a truck carrying radioactive waste. It didn't turn out too well for him. Sale's teammate Hanley Ramirez was also a casualty of Sale's binge-watching. After leaving out too many crumbs from snacks and refusing to clean, a mouse infestation overcame the San Francisco locker room. Ramirez was singled out by the rodents and bitten repeatedly. He also did not gain any notable super powers. Other injuries of note: Tucson's Troy Tulowitzki (37 days), Arkansas' Justin Morneau (27) and Anthony Rizzo (21), Hillsborough's Zach Putnam (24) and Edwin Encarnacion (33), and Marietta's Justin Turner (30). Blue Ridge rookie hurler Yordano Ventura broke his funny bone, an injury that has baffled the team's doctors.

Fiers fires 8 1/3 perfect innings

Mike Fiers nearly fired the league's first-ever perfect game Sunday night, going 8 1/3 innings before surrendering a hit. He had to settle for his second consecutive shutout, carrying Hopatcong to a 3-0 win at Allentown.

It's the closest anyone has come to a perfect game since Homer Bailey went 8 2/3 last year. It also would have been the 15th no-hitter in league history and the 2nd for the Hopatcong franchise (the first was Josh Tomlin in 2012). Last year saw DMBL pitchers toss a record three no-hitters.

Fiers struck out Matt Kemp to lead off the 9th before Dioner Navarro broke up the perfect-o with a single to left field. The 29-year-old still managed to face the minimum 27 batters though as Erick Aybar next grounded in to a double play. Fiers finished with 5 strikeouts and dispatched an imposing Mules' lineup that includes Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton, Adrian Gonzalez and rookie Jose Abreu with just 90 pitches.

The third overall pick in this year's draft, Fiers improved to 3-2, lowering his ERA to 2.77 and his WHIP to a league-leading 0.77. He also leads the league in R/9 (6.9), on-base percentage (.205), and of course, shutouts (2).

In his previous start, Fiers gave up 4 hits to Marietta but struck out 10 and walked none on 123 pitches in a 2-0 shutout. In case you're wondering, he went 7 innings in his previous start, lifted after surrendering a lead-off home run in the 8th inning.

Fiers broke into the DMBL in 2013 as a 4th-round pick of Sardine City. He had a respectable showing for the Straphangers, going 13-11 in 32 starts, logging 196 innings and 194 strikeouts.

Fiers will look to extend his 18-inning scoreless streak Thursday against Poovey Farms.