Stanton crushes HR No. 400

Giancarlo Stanton's first home run of the season - and his first as member of the Merrill Creek Mudskippers - was the 400th of his DMBL career.

2016 Mitchell Award winner: Giancarlo Stanton

Home run champion Giancarlo Stanton was the runaway winner for the 2016 Kevin Mitchell Most Valuable Player Award. It's his first Mitchell Award and also the first for the Allentown franchise.

2016 Mitchell Award candidates

The Kevin Mitchell Most Valuable Player Award, named for the great Maine and Waikiki outfielder, recognizes the DMBL's top hitter.

Cespedes, Stanton race for the Mitchell

Allentown slugger Giancarlo Stanton and Hopatcong's Yoenis Cespedes have done their best the past week to make the Kevin Mitchell Award a two-man race in the home stretch of the season.

Round 1 Recap

Sardine City owned Vancouver in the regular season, winning 9 of their 12 meetings throughout the season. Things looked to continue the same way after game one. Sardine City pounded Vancouver 9-4 behind Daric Barton's 4-5, 3-RBI night. Iron Fist starter Roy Oswalt was shelled for 6 runs in 5.2 innings. But Vancouver came right back in the next game, 6-4, salvaging a 1-1 split in the series. Vancouver scored 5 runs in the first inning and the Straphangers never recovered. Zack Greinke held them to just 4 hits in 7.2 innings. The series shifted to Sardine City, but Mat Latos quieted the Straphanger crowd with a dominant effort (8 IP, 6 H, ER, 5K) to win the game 6-1. With the series on the line, the Straphangers were determined not to go down quietly. The Sardines jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, but Vancouver tied it up in the 5th. Josh Willingham hit a solo homer in the 9th to give the Fist the 5-4 lead and Joaquin Benoit retired the side in the bottom of the 9th to win the series for Vancouver.

Hoboken came up just shy of winning the Hanover Division title, so they were expected to breeze through round one. The franchise has only won one playoff game in their previous two appearances, so the Cutters were hoping to improve on their previous record against Carolina. Game one was a battle as the two teams traded leads and eventually ended up in extra innings. Rookie Mike Stanton proved to be the hero with a walk-off solo homer in the 10th inning to give the Cutters a 1-0 series lead. Winning game one appeared to give Hoboken some confidence as they easily dispatched the Mudcats in game two 8-3. Stanton had a huge game (4-5, home run, 3 RBIs) and Jhoulys Chacin gave a solid effort (7.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 K). The Mudcats were on the brink when they returned to Carolina for game three, but they pulled off a 7-5 win anyway. The Cats actually held a 7-2 lead, but Hoboken had a brief comeback attempt in the 9th. Rookie Stephen Strasburg turned in an impressive performance, holding the Cutters to one run on three hits in seven innings, while striking out seven. Game four was another battle, this time between starters Clay Buchholz and C.J. Wilson. Both starters gave up only one run and struck out 7 each, but neither was awarded a decision. It was fitting that the series both began and ended in extra innings. This time it was Ian Kinsler who drove in the winning run in the 10th with a double that scored Hanley Ramirez. The Cutters had won their first post-season series in franchise history.

Vancouver advances to face the number one seed, Philadelphia, starting tomorrow. Vancouver won 7 of their 13 regular-season games. Hoboken, meanwhile, faces Las Vegas, whom they have also beaten 7 out of 13 games.