Mules maul Philly to take Game 2

Allentown exploded for 13 runs and Miles Mikolas quieted the Philly bats as the Mules crushed the Green Rage, 13-0, in Game 2 of their 1st round Wild Card series. The Mules grabbed a 2-0 series lead with Game 3 set in Philly.

Mules come back for Game 1 win

Allentown twice came back from 2-run deficits before breaking a 4-4 tie in the 7th off Aroldis Chapman to grab a 7-4 win at home in Game 1 of their Wildcard matchup with Philadelphia.

Season Finale Playoff Scenarios

The final playoff spots will be determined one way or another today, the last day of the 2012 season.

If the playoffs were to start today, the seeds would look like this:
#1 Marietta, 107-54
#2 Vancouver, 92-70
#3 Hopatcong, 89-72
#4 Amityville, 88-73
#5 Newark, 87-74
#6 Rowdy, 86-75
#6 Hoboken, 86-75
 -----------------------------------
#8 Bridgewater, 85-76, 1 game back
#8 Hillsborough, 85-76, 1 game back

Marietta and Vancouver have locked up the top two seeds, meaning a first-round bye and hosting the second round of the playoffs. If the standings hold, there would be a one-game playoff between Hoboken and Rowdy for the 6th and final seed.

Other scenarios going into Saturday's season finale:
Hopatcong
The Floating Fish clinched their first-ever division title after Thursday's win over Newark and they control their own destiny when it comes to a 3rd seed.
* Win -- clinches #3 seed outright and would face the #6 seed in the first round.
* Lose -- clinches #3 seed if Amityville also loses; if Amityville wins, they go to tie-breakers to determine #3 seed.

Amityville
The Ant Slayers also clinched their first division title earlier this week so they can't do worse than a #4 seed, but they need Hopatcong to lose if they have any hopes to jump to #3.
* Win -- hope Hopatcong loses to Newark to finish in a tie at 89-73, forcing a tie-breaker for the third seed.
*  Lose -- even if Hopatcong loses, Amityville finishes a game behind at 88-74, in the #4th seed, which would face the #5 seed in round one.

Newark
* Win -- clinches #5 seed. The Sugar Bears could finish with a better record than Amityville if the Ant Slayers lose, but as a division winner, Amityville would be the #4 seed.
* Lose -- clinches #5 seed if Rowdy and Hoboken lose but if either wins, they finish in a tie with them, so there's the potential for a three-way tie at 87 wins.

Rowdy
* Win -- clinches a minimum of a one-game playoff depending on Hoboken's outcome and eliminates Bridgewater and Hillsborough. The Pipers would secure #6 seed outright if they beat St. Louis and Hoboken loses to Marietta, and they would tie Newark for #5 seed if Sugar Bears lose.
* Lose -- hope Hoboken loses also, to force a tie; if Hoboken wins, Rowdy is out. If Bridgewater and Hillsborough both win, they tie Rowdy in this scenario.

Hoboken
* Win -- clinches at least another game to play and knocks out Hillsborough and Bridgewater. If Rowdy also wins, it sets up a one-game playoff for the #6 seed. If Newark also loses, the three teams finish in a tie for the two wild card seeds. A tie-breaker is avoided if Rowdy loses and the Cutters do no worse than the #6 seed.
* Lose -- root for Rowdy to lose to St. Louis, to set up that one-game playoff.

Bridgewater and Hillsborough
* Win -- The gentle neighbors to the west are in the same boat; they need losses by Rowdy and Hoboken to finish in at least a tie for the #6 seed. There's the potential for a four-way tie at 86-76. The Mallers phace Philly while the Hit Men take on Amityville.
* Lose -- See you in 2013.

A Big Sunday For Halladay & Howard

Ryan Howard belted his 300th career home run on Sunday afternoon, becoming the 22nd player in league history to get to 300. He's the second player to reach 300 during this season, with a few more possibly still to come in 2012. Rowdy's Lance Berkman pelted No. 300 earlier this year and sitting on the cusp of 300, going into Wednesday's matchups, are Hoboken's David Ortiz at 298 and Bridgewater's Carlos Beltran at 297.

Howard has hit 14 home runs in 54 games (after Tuesday's win) since coming to Vancouver from Philly in exchange for a first-round pick. Used mainly as a DH, with some time at 1B, Howard has a line of .250/.311/.515 during his time in Vancouver after hitting just 12 home runs in 77 games with Philly, including .226/.315/.412.

In game one of Sunday's doubleheader, Howard launched a solo home run after teammate John Mayberry's solo home run, chasing Marietta starter David Price in the fourth inning for this 300th. The Fisters ultimately fell, 9-7, to the Mighty Men.

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout Sunday afternoon, breaking a tie with Kevin Brown for fourth place all-time in complete games. The righthander now has 71 complete games, trailing only future Hall of Famers Roger Clemens (84), Curt Schilling (87) and Greg Maddux (104). It also was his 22nd career shutout, putting him within two of Brown for second and within 10 of Maddux, the all-time leader with 32 shutouts.

Halladay went the distance in Hoboken's 11-0 thrashing of Sardine City on Sunday, limiting the Straphangers to four hits while striking out five and walking two. It was his first shutout and second complete as a Cutter, improving to 5-4 in 11 starts with a 4.62 ERA since being shipped from Philly, along with a 6th rounder, in exchange for Giancarlo Stanton. Combined, Halladay is now 14-8 with a 3.24 ERA, including seven complete games (second only to James Shields of Newark with nine) and three shutouts.

Betancourt makes 500th appearance in relief

Relief pitchers don't usually get much press -- especially those who aren't closers -- but only 11 relievers in DMBL history have done what Newark's Rafael Betancourt accomplished last week: the Venezuelan native made his 500th career appearance. And it was a memorable one, a 3-2 win over Blue Ridge at the Cereal Bowl on Saturday. He tossed two hitless innings in relief of Matt Harrison and picked up the win.

Francisco Rodriguez was the last reliever to reach 500 appearances, doing it as a member of Marietta, which acquired him last year from Newark (Rodriguez, by the way, was shipped off for the sixth time in his career this past weekend, going from Las Vegas to Bridgewater as part of the Tim Lincecum-Chris Sale trade).

Prior to F-Rod, it had been three years since a pitcher reached 500 appearances: longtime Hoboken Cutter Jason Isringhausen did it in 2008 before getting dealt to Philly. Next up figures to be Joe Nathan, who's appeared in 18 games this season for Las Vegas, leaving him just 12 games away from 500.

Betancourt appeared in 82 games for Marietta last season, matching the career high he set in his rookie year with Phoenix in 2004. The Sugar Bears plucked Betancourt with the first pick of the third round of this year's draft.

Over his first seven seasons (he took 2009 off), Betancourt averaged 67 appearances primarily as a set-up man. He may have a paltry 14 career saves but boasts a stellar record of 42-16 (.724) entering the 2012 campaign.

2k hits for Pujols, 200 SBs for Ichiro

Albert Pujols became the 14th player in DMBL history with 2,000 career hits. Philly's main man reached the milestone during the week leading up to the all-star break. While he homered off Roy Oswalt later in the game, it was a first-inning single that turned out to be 2k for Pujols. The Endzone Animals eventually topped Las Vegas for an 11-8 win, thanks to 10 runs in the last two frames, capped by a walk-off David Wright grand slam.

The first overall pick of the 2002 draft is on track to pass Mike Piazza (2,025) and Jeff Bagwell (2,047) and if he can pick up his current pace slightly (now 88 hits in 88 games), Pujols could surpass current free agent Bobby Abreu (2,089) for 11th all-time by season's end. Catching Ken Griffey, Jr. -- 10th with 2,176 hits -- would have to wait until the 2013 campaign. The Dominican native is still a few seasons away from challenging all-time hits leader Derek Jeter, who took that crown earlier this year.

(Trivia question: Who was selected second overall in the 2002 draft, after Pujols? Answer at the end of this post.)

Pujols had a career-low 161 hits in 2011, a year after his career-high 208 (when he won his second straight Mitchell Award), and has averaged 192 hits per season. He has been remarkably steady, logging at least 600 at-bats in each of his 10 seasons and playing an average of 160 games per year.

Two other players could reach the 2,000-hit mark this year: Vancouver's Todd Helton started the second half of the season needing just 13 more hits while Pujols' teammate, Ichiro Suzuki, was 29 hits away.

Ichiro reached his own career milestone this week. The Japanese import stole his 200th career base on Monday night, in the first game after the all-star break. The theft broke a tie with Chuck Knoblauch for 8th all-time. Ichiro started the year tied with Otis Nixon and Alex Rodriguez, each with 197 stolen bases.

(Trivia answer: The now-defunct Honolulu Sharks selected Oswalt -- way!)

K-Rod cracks top 10 in all-time appearances

Francisco Rodriguez passed Jason Isringhausen to move into 9th all-time in appearances, with 542. K-Rod tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's game one, a 7-6 home win over Amityville.

With 31 appearances this year, Rodriguez is on pace to move into the top 5 in 2012. He passed Rick Aguilera (513) earlier this season to break into the top 10 and also is second among active pitchers, trailing only Mariano Rivera (1,156). Isringhausen is active, with 541 appearances, but hasn't signed on with a franchise this season. A busy year and K-Rod could very well reach Billy Wagner, who's 4th all-time with an even 700 games; he's averaged 64 appearances over his first eight seasons.

Though he hasn't yet recorded a save, K-Rod is enjoying a fine season in his return to Las Vegas, who selected him at the end of the 6th round this year. He's 1-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, but even more impressively, only 4 of 24 inherited runners have scored (.167).

K-Rod also stands 8th all-time in saves with 128 but hasn't been a full-time closer since his days with Blue Ridge (2008-2010). He needs only two saves to match Roberto Hernandez for 7th all-time.

Now in his ninth season, Rodriguez broke in with Philly as a 2nd round pick (20th overall) in 2004. He notched a career-high 34 saves in back-to-back campaigns in 2006 and 2007 and then was shipped to Las Vegas with Erik Bedard in exchange for Mark Teixeira and a 3rd round pick. But it wasn't the last time he'd be traded; in fact, K-Rod has been shipped off to other teams five times in his career.

By July 2008, the Rat Pack exchanged him for Joe Nathan in a deal with then-D.C. (now Bridgewater) but he never threw a pitch for the Bushslappers. Mere weeks later, he was included in a seven-player deal to Blue Ridge. He spent a few good years with the Bombers, who then dealt him to Newark for an 11th-rounder before the start of last season. He didn't spend much with the Sugar Bears either, going to Marietta in a giant eight-player deal early in the 2011 campaign.

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.

Pujols the 10th player to reach 400 home runs

Philly's Albert Pujols became the 10th player in DMBL history with 400 home runs, the second to reach the milestone this season. Chipper Jones of Newark hit No. 400 earlier this season.

The historic dinger, a solo shot, came off Cliff Lee in the first inning of a 3-2 win at Arkansas last week.  Pujols is in line to pass Mike Piazza soon for 9th all-time in homers, with 406, and Jones, who starts the week in 8th place with 409. New Jersey's Vladimir Guerrero is in sight but likely a target for 2012, with 431 home runs in 7th place.

It was the 34th home run of the season for Pujols. He enters play this week with 35 home runs and 88 RBIs. While his 10th season line totals of .250/.317/.505 are virtually all career lows and way off his annual averages (.307/.366/.574), Pujols has been one of the most consistent and best hitters in the DMBL since being the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Pujols has averaged almost 41 home runs and 129 RBIs over his first nine seasons and has driven in at least 108 RBIs every year but his second (99). Last year he put up career highs in SLG (.677), OPS (1.046), HR (64), RBI (160), runs (128) and hits (208), in winning his second straight Kevin Mitchell Award. He's also been remarkably healthy, racking up no fewer than 600 at-bats while playing in an average of 159 games each season (a career low 147 in 2009).

Prince stops Halladay streaks

If not for Prince Fielder, Roy Halladay might still have his streaks intact.

After four innings of one-hit ball Saturday night, the Philadelphia ace yielded a double to Carolina's Hideki Matsui to lead off the 5th, before giving up a home run to Prince Fielder, snapping a scoreless stretch of 28 consecutive innings. Fielder later walked in the 7th inning, the first base on balls by Halladay in 27 1/3 innings.

Halladay gave up just one other hit after the Fielder bomb, cruising to his eight complete game of the season, the 60th of his career, a mark matched by only five other pitchers in league history. Phillly handled Carolina 6-2 as Halladay improved to 12-6.

Brother Against Brother

The Carolina Mudcats and Philadelphia Endzone Animals played an epic 16-inning game on Sunday that will go down as one of the most memorable contests in their long rivalry.

With young guns Travis Wood and Yovani Gallardo for Philly and Carolina, respectively, it looked like it would be a pitcher's battle. And for awhile, it certainly was. Wood retired the first six batters he faced -- four by strikeout. But the hometown Mudcats finally broke through in the bottom of the 3rd when Michael Young doubled home Alex Gonzalez for the first run of the game. Carolina's lead was short lived, however, as Nelson Cruz led off the top of the 4th with a home run to tie the score. In the bottom of the 5th, Philly reliever Kyle McClellan -- who entered the game the previous inning after Wood was injured -- gave up a solo shot to Troy Tulowitzki to put the Mudcats ahead again. But once more, the lead wouldn't last long as David Murphy knocked in Albert Pujols with a single in the top of the 6th.

The bullpens would trade zeroes for the next five innings, until the top of the 12th, when the newly acquired David Wright led off the inning with a home run to put the Endzone Animals on top. But Carolina answered in the bottom of the inning with a one-out home run from Young. After an uneventful 13th, the Endzone Animals looked to put it away in the top of the 14th when Ryan Raburn -- another new addition -- slammed a two-run home run off Evan Meek to make it 5-3. But the Mudcats once again refused to go gentle into that good night. With two outs in the bottom of the 14th, Tulowitzki crushed a Ramon Ramirez slider deep into the night, a two-run blast that again tied the score, now at 5 apiece. Carolina's Dan Wheeler then held the Animals scoreless for the next two innings.

In the bottom of the 16th, the Mudcats finally started a rally. Lance Berkman, who entered the game way back in the 12th as a pinch hitter, drew a five-pitch walk. Young then followed it up with a single -- his third hit of the game -- to put runners on first and second. Philly pitcher Sean Marshall -- the sixth reliever of the game (remember, Wood left in the 4th with an injury) and the last man in the Animals' bullpen -- was clearly gassed, but manager Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni had no one else to turn to. Marshall walked Tulowitzki on four pitches to load the bases.

Balboni told Jered Weaver -- the following day's scheduled starter -- to start warming up. But Marshall bore down and struck out Hideki Matsui and Chris B. Young. Now it all came down to Yorvit Torrealba. Marshall got ahead 1-2, and Torrealba appeared to swing and miss at strike three in the dirt -- but the home plate umpire ruled the pitch had been foul tipped. Marshall and the infielders were already walking off the field and were incredulous at the call. Animals catcher Ramon Hernandez had be restrained as he argued with the ump, to no avail. Replays were inconclusive. After a delay of several minutes -- which included the ejection of Balboni -- the game resumed. A visibly upset Marshall then threw the next three pitches well outside the strike zone, walking in the winning run.

Carolina's controversial win left the two teams tied in the standings at 10 games over .500 as they battle a wildcard spot.

Ohh, Ahh! A big July 4th trade!

While the rest of America was chilling and grilling this Independence Day weekend, the Arkansas Golden Falcons and Philadelphia Endzone Animals pulled off one of the biggest deals of the season. Let's break it down.

Philadelphia Endzone Animals -- Traded Mike Leake and Ryan Franklin, pitchers, Pablo Sandoval, third baseman, and their 1st and 2nd round picks in 2012, to the Arkansas Golden Falcons for David Wright, third baseman, Johan Santana and Joakim Soria, pitchers, Ryan Raburn, outfielder, and their 3rd round pick in 2012.

Mike Leake was drafted in the first round of the Supplemental Draft (#221 overall) by Vancouver, but released in Spring Training. Philly signed him as a free agent in April, released him two weeks later, and then signed him again two weeks after that. It's no surprise that the 23-year-old right-hander has had an up-and-down season in MLB, with a 6.94 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in May, but a 2.63 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in June. At the moment he looks like a keeper, with a 4.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. The Reds drafted Leake with the #8 overall pick in the 2009 draft and immediately promoted him to the majors, the first starting pitcher to make that jump since Jim Abbott in 1989, so he definitely has some potential. Leake is eligible for this season in DMBL, but has yet to make his debut.

Ryan Franklin was having a bad year for the Animals, posting a 4.68 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Acquired from the Amityville Ant Slayers during the off-season with Nelson Cruz and a 10th Round pick in 2011 for Andre Ethier, a 6th Round pick in 2011 and a 3rd Round pick in 2012, Franklin has had a long career as a journeyman reliever, starting in 2003 with Tijuana; he's also pitched for Las Vegas, Carolina, Hillsborough, Philadelphia,
Amityville, Philadelphia again, and now Arkansas. His best year was probably 2008, when he posted a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in middle relief with the Mudcats. At age 38 and having a brutal season in MLB (8.46 ERA, 1.84 WHIP), it appears Franklin has no keeper value. It's unclear why the rebuilding Golden Falcons would even want him on their roster; in his first appearance with his new team, he took the loss after giving up a walk and a home run.

Pablo Sandoval might be the heart of the deal for the Golden Falcons. "Kung Fu Panda" was drafted in the second round (#26 overall) as an ineligible prospect by the Blue Ridge Bombers in 2009. He made his debut the following year, hitting .272/.330/.445 with 42 2B, 17 HR and 73 RBI.
Blue Ridge traded him to Philadelphia in the first deal of the 2011 off-season, sending him to Philly along with a 6th Round pick for Victor Martinez. But Sandoval had a big-time sophomore slump this year, hitting just .256/.298/.383 in 277 AB, forcing Philly to look for an upgrade. But the Golden Falcons can afford to be patient with the 24-year-old switch-hitting third baseman, who is hitting .302/.343/.509 for next season.

So that's who the Endzone Animals gave up... who did the Golden Falcons send them in exchange?

Johan Santana was drafted with the #3 overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Endzone Animals, and would remain there for the next seven seasons. He had monster years in '05 (17-3, 3.02 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) and '07 (20-2, 3.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), and overall went 83-53 for Philly. During the 2009 off season, Santana was traded straight up to Arkansas for Alex Rodriguez. But Santana couldn't recapture his previously form and had two brutal years for the Golden Falcons, going 8-16 with a 5.70 ERA, 1.59 WHIP in '09, and 8-9 with a 5.82 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in '10. But this season, Santana was finally having another big season -- 12-5, 3.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and an All-Star selection -- and now he's back with the Animals. For next season, though, Santana is 32 years old and still isn't eligible for 2012 as he rehabs from a shoulder injury. If he comes back in mid-August as expected, he just might get the 10 starts he needs, but it will be close.

David Wright is the surprise player in the deal. The Golden Falcons made a huge deal to trade up to the #1 pick in order to land him in the 2005 draft, and he's spent his entire career with Arkansas. A career .289/.347/.496 hitter, Wright was regarded as the "face of the franchise" by many in the organization. But the emergence of minor league sensation Mike Moustakas apparently made Wright expendable. Wright was having a fine season for the Golden Falcons, hitting .276 with 24 HR and 69 RBI. However, just like Santana, Wright isn't eligible for the 2012 season at the moment, needing 78 more plate appearances. The 28-year-old third baseman is currently rehabbing a stress fracture in his lower back. If he can get back to the majors by early September, he'll likely qualify for 2012. A bigger question may be if he'll be usable -- when he got hurt, he was hitting just .226/.337/.404. But given his age and past performance, it seems likely that Wright will be on someone's protected list next season.

Another career Golden Falcon, Joakim Soria, also was taken in the first round (#7 overall in 2008) by Arkansas. He's had three outstanding seasons for Arkansas, going 10-8 with 41 saves with a 3.27 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 272.1 innings. This season represented his first bump in the road, posting a 4.17 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, with 14 saves but 8 blown saves -- just one less blown save than he'd had in his entire career! Soria's outlook for next season isn't rosey -- 4.37 ERA, 1.29 WHIP -- and the Golden Falcons already have their next closer lined up with youngster Drew Storen.

With three former first round picks heading to Philadelphia, the final player in the deal from Arkansas's side is easy to overlook: Ryan Raburn. Drafted in the 8th Round (#105 overall) in 2010,
Raburn hit .250/.297/.495 last year and just .220/.323/.358 this year. Unless he has a Hall of Fame second half, the 30-year-old corner outfielder is likely not a keeper in 2012 (.207/.242/.344). Like Franklin, the inclusion of Raburn in the deal left many scratching their heads. Any guesses? A source inside the Arkansas organization said that Raburn and Santana share a "special relationship" and left it at that.

Arkansas also received two draft picks in the deal, Philly's 1st Round pick in 2012 and 2nd Round pick in 2012. But Arkansas also sent back its 3rd Round pick in 2012. Considering their current placement in the standings, Philly's 2nd is likely to be at the end of the 2nd and Arkansas's 3rd is likely to be at the top, so it might be a jump of only five or six places.

So who won the trade? At the moment, this deal clearly favors the Endzone Animals, who are chasing the Vancouver Iron Fist for the Morris Division lead and the Hoboken Cutters for the top wildcard slot. They already had one of the best rotations in baseball with Adam Wainwright (10-8, 2.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), Travis Wood (5-1, 2.59, 1.22), Roy Halladay (11-6, 2.94, 1.17) and Jered Weaver (7-9, 3.37, 1.09); now they add Santana (12-5, 3.24, 1.26). They upgrade their offense and defense at the hot corner by turning Sandoval into Wright. And even in an off year, Soria is a huge improvement over Franklin. Even if all three turn out to be non-keepers -- a distinct possibility at this point -- they have dramatically improved their team for this season.

However, Arkansas clearly made this deal with an eye toward the future. They gave up four players who, at the moment, are either ineligible or not worth keeping in 2012 (although Wright will probably be protected no matter what). But even if those players had little or no value to a rebuilding Golden Falcons team, they did have value as trade bait. Did the Golden Falcons get enough for Santana, Wright, and Soria? (Let's ignore Raburn.) Sandoval is four years younger than Wright and so far is having a much better year. Leake is a young starting pitcher who has had a roller coaster season, but could be a good pitcher for years to come. The two picks (or one and a half, from the bottom of the 2nd to the top of the 3rd) are nice, but if Sandoval and Leake don't turn out to be long-term keepers, Arkansas fans may not remember this deal fondly in years to come.

Strasburg returns from DL to toss no-hitter

Carolina rookie Stephen Strasburg, in his first start since a 40-day stint on the disabled list, tossed the eighth no-hitter in DMBL history, beating the Philadelphia End Zone Animals, 5-0, Saturday night at home in Bullhead Memorial Park.

It was the fifth individual no-hitter in league history (three were combined, by more than one pitcher) and first in franchise history. The last DMBL no-hitter came in April 2008 when A.J. Burnett, then with Las Vegas, no-hit the powerful Newark Sugar Bears. The last rookie to toss a no-hitter was Phoenix's John Lackey in 2003, and Joel Pineiro combined on a no-hitter with Mike Mathews for Hoboken in his rookie season in 2002.

Strasburg walked three and struck out a season-high 11 but never struck out the side. His most frequent victims were David Murphy and Ryan Howard, who both struck out three times. He outdueled Roy Halladay, who went the distance for Philly.

Murphy, recently acquired from Amityville, walked to lead off the game and J.J. Hardy walked to start the sixth inning. Hardy would reach second base when Howie Kendrick grounded to second but Strasburg struck out Murphy and got Ramon Hernandez to ground out to third to end the inning. After getting the 26th out, Strasburg walked Hernandez before retiring Nelson Cruz to complete the no-no.

Vancouver completes sweep

Vancouver edged the Endzone Animals in game 3 yesterday to win their best-of-5 series. Once again Michael Cuddyer carried the offense, going 3-5 with 2 RBIs. Cuddyer ends the series hitting .769/.786/1.692 with a 2.478 OPS, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Both starting pitchers were solid in their efforts. Randy Wells, who earned the win for Vancouver, pitched 7.2 innings, holding the Animals to 3 runs on 10 hits, while Jered Weaver gave up 4 runs - 2 earned - in 6.2 innings, while striking out 7. Philly held the lead until the 7th when Cuddyer singled in Lyle Overbay from second. Then Vancouver took the lead after Jason Kubel doubled in Garrett Jones. Ronald Belisario closed out the game for his second save of the series.

Sardine City tries to avoid the same fate as Philadelphia today, but has to do it in the unfriendly confines of the Sugar Bowl. Sardine City will send lefty Cole Hamels to face another lefty, Ted Lilly. The Sardines were 3-0 against the Sugar Bears with Hamels on the mound during the regular season, while the Sugar Bears are 0-2 with Lilly taking the mound, including one matchup against Hamels.

Sugar Bears rain on Sardines' parade

The Sugar Bears scored quickly in yesterday's Game 2 and took an early 2-0 series lead heading back to Newark. The Sugar Bears tallied 4 runs in the first inning after Will Venable hit a 2-run homer and Manny Ramirez tripled in a run and later scored. Venable hit his second homer of the night in the 3rd to extend the lead to 5-0. Sardine City finally got on the board in the 4th on a Nyjer Morgan single. Manny Ramirez regained the run for the Sugar Bears with an RBI single in the 7th. The Sardine offense woke up in the bottom of the 7th when James Loney hit a 3-run double to bring the score to 6-4. Travis Hafner led off the 9th with a double, but was left stranded after the next three batters were retired on easy popups by Kiko Calero.

The Vancouver-Philadelphia series resumes today in Philadelphia where the Endzone Animals will try to get back into the series after falling down 2-0. Vancouver will send Randy Wells to the mound to face Jered Weaver. Philadelphia is 1-1 against Wells, while Vancouver is 1-2 against Weaver. Both starters faced each other way back in July with Weaver outpitching Wells in a 4-2 win.

Cuddyer continues power trip, Vancouver grabs 2-0 lead

Michael Cuddyer continued to shred Philadelphia pitching, going 4-5 with 5 RBIs in yesterday's 7-4 win over the Endzone Animals. Cuddyer hit a double and two homers in the game. In the two games, Cuddyer is now 7-8 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs. Neither starter did much for their teams yesterday as Vancouver got to Roy Halladay early and often. Jake Peavy was doing well until a 6th inning meltdown that saw him give up 3 runs. Luckily Ronald Belisario pitched 3.1 perfect innings - well except for an 8th inning Scott Rolen error. Philadelphia scored 4 runs in the game, but was held to only 4 hits - 3 of which were home runs.

Meanwhile, Newark spoiled the Straphangers' playoff debut with a 4-2 win. The Sardines held a tenuous 2-1 lead as late as the 6th inning, but the Sugar Bears scored two runs in the inning to take the lead. Aaron Hill hit a solo homer to give the Sugar Bears some breathing room and the Sugar Bear bullpen shut down the Straphangers the rest of the way. Brandon Lyon, who earned the win, pitched 3.1 relief innings, giving up only 1 hit and 1 walk. The two teams face off again today with Newark sending Brian Bannister up against John Lackey. Bannister hasn't faced the Sardines this season yet, but Newark is 1-1 against Lackey.

Cuddyer powers Vancouver to Game 1 victory

Vancouver took game one of their series with the Endzone Animals. Zack Greinke continued his excellent season with an 8-inning, 2-hit effort. Greinke struck out 9 and gave up two runs as the Iron Fist won 6-2. Michael Cuddyer was the star of the offense, going 3-3 with 3 RBIs. Vancouver piled on early. Despite giving up two early runs in the first inning, the Fist came right back with 4 runs. Cuddyer tacked on a solo homer in the 3rd and then hit an RBI double in the 5th to give Vancouver some breathing room. Jake Peavy will face Roy Halladay in today's matchup. Both teams are 1-0 against their respective opponents, though both pitchers were effective in their losses.

The Sardine City Straphangers officially begin their first ever playoff run, sending Josh Johnson to the mound against Newark's Javier Vazquez. Sardine City was 7-6 in the season series with Newark. The Sardines were 5-1 against Newark at the Cannery this year and 1-1 against Vazquez. Newark is 1-1 against Johnson as well.

Playoffs begin tonight!

The 2010 Playoff season begins tonight with Vancouver hosting Philadelphia. Vancouver will send ace and Ben McDonald favorite Zack Greinke to the mound to face lefty C.C. Sabathia. Philadelphia owns the season series against Vancouver 8-5 and 4-3 in Vancouver. Vancouver is 2-0 against Philly in games started by Greinke, while Sabathia has not started this season against Vancouver, but Vancouver is tied with the second best record in the league against lefty starters. Overall, Vancouver has the 3rd best home record in the league (48-33) while the Endzone Animals have the 2nd best road record (47-34).

Comeback kids

Vancouver blew an 8-0 lead against the Falcons yesterday and ended up losing in extra innings 9-8. The Fist jumped all over starter Johan Santana early, but he settled in nicely after the 2nd, pitching 6 scoreless innings before departing. The Falcons' 4-run 8th inning tied the game up, then in the 10th Chris Coghlan hit a walkoff double, winning the series for the Falcons. Skip Schumaker ended the game 5-6 with 3 doubles.

Hoboken also came back against the Rat Pack, though a 2-0 lead is much more forgiveable. The Rats held the lead until the 9th inning. Adam Kennedy started it off with a one-out single and an error by Gary Sheffield. The next batter struck out and it looked like the Rats would be able to shut the door on the Cutters, but Denard Span hit a triple to score Kennedy. Dallas Braden was called in to take over - the Rats bullpen was exhausted with Rich Harden leaving the game early due to injury. Braden walked his first batter, then gave up the game tying single to Miguel Cabrera. Finally, Mike Napoli hit a 3-run homer to win the game for Hoboken.

Sardine City's Ubaldo Jimenez continued his breakout season. Jimenez limited the Mighty Men to just 4 hits in a complete game victory. He struck out 5 and walked 3 while allowing only 1 earned run, improving his record to 8-4.

Amityville and Philadelphia made a curious trade yesterday, giving themselves back their own draft picks and exchanging two players. Amityville sent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to Philadelphia along with their 9th round pick back. Meanwhile Philly gave up young pitcher Clayton Richard and gave Amityville back their 2nd round pick. Philadelphia also took the opportunity to do a little housecleaning, getting rid of Tony Gwynn and Kris Medlen and taking on George Sherrill and Jhonny Peralta.

4-hitters all around

The Endzone Animals came back from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Falcons 7-6 yesterday. After only 2 innings, the Falcons had the aforementioned 6-1 lead, but the Animals clawed back, scoring 3 runs in the 6th to bring them to within one run. In the 8th Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer (his third of the day) to give the Animals the lead. Trevor Hoffman nailed down the 9th for his 10th save.

Randy Wells continued his fine season with a complete game, 7-1 victory over the Rat Pack yesterday, in which he held the Rats to only 4 hits. Wells improved to 7-2 on the season. Garrett Jones and Chase Utley each had 3 RBIs for Vancouver.

Not to be outdone, Marietta's Joel Pineiro pitched a 4-hitter as well in the Mighty Men's 12-1 pounding of Amityville. Marietta totaled 17 hits in the contest, including 4 from red hot Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro is 9-14 with 10 RBIs since returning to the lineup from injury. Marietta has scored 45 runs during their current 5-game winning streak.

And to top the previous 4-hitters, Newark's Javier Vazquez pitched a 4-hit shutout of Sardine City. Vazquez struck out 10 in his victory and seems to have gotten his season back on track after a series of rough outings.