Stanton eclipses career strikeout record, breaks into top 10 career HRs

Giancarlo Stanton supplanted Alex Rodriguez in the record books, setting a new DMBL mark for career strikeouts.

Verlander finally notches 200th win

It took the first half of the DMBL season but Justin Verlander finally gained entry into the vaunted 200-win club.

Kershaw moves into No. 2 all-time in strikeouts

Hoboken's Clayton Kershaw moved past Pedro Martinez for No. 2 all time in strikeouts on Monday night, trailing only fellow left-hander Randy Johnson.

Verlander now 3rd all-time in strikeouts

Heading into his next start in Sunday's doubleheader action, Justin Verlander now stands 3rd all time in strikeouts and has moved into the top 10 this season in most every major pitching category.

RIP Roy Halladay

Catching up on some offseason news, DMBL great Roy Halladay died in November in a plane crash.

Cueto notches 20th win

Vancouver's Johnny Cueto became the DMBL's first 20-game winner this season, solidifying his candidacy for the Ben McDonald Award. Coincidentally, the win also was the 100th of his career.

End Of The Line: Mark Buehrle

End Of The Line is an occasional offseason series that will take a closer look at the career of DMBL players leaving the league after the 2016 season. Today, we look at Mark Buehrle, who burst on the scene in 2002.

End Of The Line: Tim Hudson

End Of The Line is an occasional offseason series that will take a closer look at the career of DMBL players leaving the league after the 2016 season. Today, we look back at longtime Carolina Mudcat, Tim Hudson.

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

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.

Buehrle wins his 100th game

It took 14 starts but Mark Buehrle has his first win of the season -- and the 100th of his career. The left-hander scattered four hits and a run over seven innings while striking out four in a 4-1 home triumph against Philly last night.

The 100 wins puts him squarely in 20th place in all-time victories, breaking a tie with Jake Peavy, who's spent most of this season working on his mechanics in the Hopatcong minor league system.

The third overall pick of the 2002 draft, Buehrle went on to win the McDonald Award that year for the Columbia Crusaders, going 18-9 with a 2.32 ERA and wicked awesome 0.98 WHIP-- yet somehow losing out on the Listach Award for Rookie of the Year to Joel Pineiro (who did win 21 games). He's been among the steadiest starting pitchers in the DMBL over past decade despite being with his seventh franchise in the St. Louis Farrakhans. Through his first five seasons, Buehrle pitched no fewer than 220 innings in all but one of them, and routinely recorded two dozen or more decisions a year.

Buehrle also is closing in on the top 20 in innings pitched, trailing Barry Zito and Bartolo Colon. He's third among active pitchers in complete games with 31 (behind Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt), which ties him for 15th all-time with Mike Morgan. He's also within the top 30 in career starts, with 259.

Buehrle is just 1-5 this season with a team-high 6.37 ERA. The losses have added up, putting him just two away from 100 for his career (which puts him 18th in league history).

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.

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.

The doctor is in

The next time Roy "Doc" Halladay takes the mound, he'll do so as one of the top 10 pitchers in DMBL history -- not that there was all that much of a debate. A brilliant five-hit shutout in his last outing vaulted Halladay into the top 10 of the league's all-time pitching categories.

Halladay's last start, his 22nd of the season, was No. 341 for his career, breaking a tie with John Smoltz for 10th in league history. He's chasing Andy Pettitte for 10th in innings pitched (though with his next inning pitched, Pettitte will pass Kevin Brown into 9th place), as well as 10th in wins, with 143, two behind the New Jersey lefty. Halladay's newest teammate, Johan Santana, is the active leader in strikeouts (1,700, good for 9th all-time), but Halladay trails the lefthander by some 35 Ks.

Last week's shutout was the seventh complete game this year for Halladay, again breaking a tie with Smoltz, for 6th in league history, with his 59th career complete game. The shutout was his second on the year, moving into a tie for 7th all-time with 16 (and breaking a tie with Randy Johnson and Smoltz).

Halladay also has a 24-inning scoreless streak going, along with 21 consecutive innings without walking a batter.

Opening week in review

Not only was veteran Johan Santana of Arkansas the only starter to win both his starts in the opening week, his first win of the season, a 7-1 victory over Carolina, was the 100th of his career, becoming the 18th pitcher in league history to reach the milestone (and beating Mark Buehrle, who sites at 99 wins, and Roy Oswalt, who picked up No. 99 Monday night). He now sits in a tie for 16th all-time in wins, with Brad Radke and Javier Vazuez. And so, Santana, who won the Ben McDonald Award pitching for Philly in 2005 and 2007, is the first Mentos, The Freshmaker Pitcher of the Week for the 2011 season.

The only other two-win pitchers during the opening week were relievers: Hoboken's Tim Stauffer (2-0) and Daniel Bard of Sardine City (2-1). Philadelphia's Matt Thornton led the league in saves with three and Marietta's Francisco Liriano was tops in strikeouts with 18. Other notable pitchers were Philly's Roy Halladay, who tossed a complete game win, helping him match Carolina's Tim Hudson for the lead in innings pitched with 16 1/3. Amityville's David Aardsma tossed 7 1/3 hitless innings in four relief appearances and Carolina phenom Stephen Strasburg fanned 10 while earning the win in his first start.

We were inclined to give the Rebecca Black/Know Your Meme Batter of the Week to a veteran like Hideki Matsui, who's raking for Philly this year. The long-time Sugar Bear started the season with a 5-for-5, two home-run opening day performance and followed it up two days later with two more homers and five more RBIs. He led the league in RBIs (10), tied for the lead in runs (7) with four other players, and matched New Jersey's Joey Votto for the league lead in homers (4).

Still, Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey of Arkansas put up arguably a better week, considering it was his first one in DMBL. The rookie backstop, who was drafted as an ineligible prospect in the 12th round of the 2010 draft, led the league in multiple categories, including batting average (.571), slugging (1.034), hits (15), extra base hits (9), runs created (16.0), RC/27 (27.0) and total bases (30). He was second to fellow rookie Jason Heyward of Las Vegas in on-base percentage, and tied with Votto for second in RBIs.

In addition to Posey, teammate Justin Morneau and Carolina's Michael Young hit safety in all seven games they played last week. Other players with multiple-homer games last week included Marietta's Ichiro Suzuki and Justin Morneau of Arkansas, who like Matsui did it on Opening Day. Other notables during opening week were Vancouver rookie Austin Jackson, who along with Alexis Rios of Blue Ridge and Marietta's Brett Gardner led the league in steals (3). In addition to Young, Amityville's Delmon Young also racked up a dozen hits last week.

Despite picking up both player awards this week, it wasn't enough for Arkansas to reach the .500 in the opening week, finishing at 3-4. Arkansas wasn't alone though. While Las Vegas and Philly both raced out to 6-0 starts, only Carolina, Blue Ridge and Hoboken bettered the .500 mark. After one week, Bridgewater and New Jersey were bringing up the rear, at 1-5.

Vancouver clinches, Carolina one step away

Vancouver made it official with a 13-8 victory over Sardine City, becoming the final team to clinch a playoff spot. David Ortiz was 3-4 with 5 RBIs and Chase Utley was 2-3 with 4 runs in the contest. Vancouver jumped out early against starter Ubaldo Jimenez, chasing the righthander out of the game with one out in the 2nd after giving up 8 runs. The defending champions will take on Marietta in the first round no matter how everything else shakes out.

Meanwhile, Carolina clinched at least a tie for the division lead with a 9-7 victory over Newark. Dustin Pedroia was 3-4 with 4 RBIs and Xavier Nady was also 3-4 as the Mudcats dealt a big blow to Chien-Ming Wang's Ben McDonald Award hopes. Wang had pitched himself into the driver's seat before this game. Nevertheless, Wang still leads the league in wins (21) and is 3rd in ERA (3.32), so he still has a good shot at the prize. With another Carolina win or a Hillsborough loss, the Mudcats will clinch their first ever Morris Division title.

It'll be tough for the Hitmen to win both of their remaining games, considering they'll be taking on Las Vegas. If the Hitmen don't miraculously win the division, they'll be playing Vegas in the first round. Yesterday, the Hitmen lost 5-1 to Tim Lincecum and the Rats to put them 2 games out of first place. Lincecum, Wang's toughest competition for the McDonald, improved to 19-3 with 6.2 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball. Lincecum struck out 9, giving him a total of 246, top in the league. Lincecum is also second in ERA with 3.15, behind only Carolina's Roy Halladay (2.72).

Vegas unloads on Animals

Vancouver scored 6 runs in the first two innings to knock off Amityville 6-3. Amityville had held their opponents to a combined 10 hits and 1 run in the past three games, but John Lester was not able to keep the streak alive. Clint Barmes started the scoring with an RBI triple, then scored on a single after that, then Chase Utley added to the carnage in the next inning with a 3-run home run. Chad Billingsley, who had not won in 3 weeks, picked up his 10th victory of the season.

Two days ago it was the Mudcats who scored in the 20s, and now it's the Rat Pack, unloading on the hapless Endzone Animals in a 21-1 final. To make matters worse, the Animals were held to only one hit in the game - a first inning double that gave Philly a brief 1-0 lead. John Baker and Dan Uggla each had a home run and 4 RBIs and Matt Holliday was 3-4 with 5 RBIs. Rich Harden was the beneficiary of the run support, pitching 6 innings and striking out 7.

Newark edged Hillsborough 2-1 to even the series between the two division leaders. The Hitmen got off to an early 1-0 lead when Carlos Lee hit an RBI-single in the 4th, but Bobby Abreu tied it up in the 6th with a solo home run. In the 7th, Jason Giambi hit a sac fly to give the Sugar Bears the lead. Joey Devine pitched a perfect 9th for his league-leading 31st save.

Carlos Delgado's 2 home runs and Roy Halladay's 11-strikeout effort led the Mudcats to a 4-2 win over New Jersey. After being embarrassed yesterday, the Buddahs didn't have much left in the tank. Jamie Moyer pitched a decent game (8 IP, 4 ER, 6 K) but got the loss anyway. Halladay now leads the league with a 2.69 ERA and is tied for second in wins with 15.

Lee, Halladay take honors

One of the hottest teams in the league right now is the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen. Their pitching has been solid of late, but their offense is really their bread and butter. How many times we've already awarded Mitchell frontrunner Aubrey Huff, but this week it goes to his teammate Carlos Lee, our JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week. Lee smoked the ball this week, hitting .583 (14-24) with 2 homers, 4 doubles, 8 runs, and 7 RBIs. He got on base to a .615 clip and had an OPS of 1.615 (you can figure out his slugging, go ahead). Another of his teammates was also in the running - Nick Markakis (.417/.517/.667, 8 R).

Close on Lee's heels this week was Las Vegas' Carlos Pena who hit .435/480/1.217 with 4 homers and 10 RBIs. Other notables: Arkansas' Lance Berkman (.462/.548/.654, 7 R), Newark's Manny Ramirez (.450/.478/.950, 3 HR, 10 RBI) and Ramon Vazquez (.471/.526/1.059, 7 RBI), Philly's Mark Teixeira (.400/.464/.840), New Jersey's Ian Stewart (.409/.458/.818), and Vancouver's Chase Utley (.462/.516/.731, 8 RBI).

Roy Halladay takes this week's ChannelATE Pitcher of the Week Award. In his two starts, Halladay only won one game, but he gave up only one run in 17 innings for an 0.53 ERA and 0.65 WHIP with 15 strikeouts. And once again, the award winner has a teammate that gave him a run for his money. In this case, Carolina's Carlos Zambrano was 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, but his higher 1.06 WHIP did him in.

Other contenders: Hillsborough's Justin Verlander (2-0, 1.17, 0.91 WHIP) and Marietta's Ervin Santana (1-0, 1.32, 0.73 WHIP).

Halladay passes Appier, Colon

Roy Halladay went 7 innings in nabbing the win in Carolina's 3-2 victory over New Jersey on Saturday. The Mudcats' ace passed Kevin Appier to move into 12th all-time in innings pitched with 1,848 2/3.

It was also Halladay's 274th career start, passing Bartolo Colon and moving into a tie with Andy Benes for 15th all-time in games started.

First half, pitching review

Though he didn’t start the all-star game, it’s tough not to call Tim Lincecum of Las Vegas the first half’s Ben McDonald Award winner, especially after closing out the first half with a near-perfect game. Lincecum is the league’s leader in ERA (2.96), wins (11), winning percentage (.917), quality starts (13) and strikeouts (136). In fact, Rat Pack pitchers ranked 1-2-3 in strikeouts at the break: Lincecum, Haren (125) and Burnett (118). But teammate Josh Beckett had a worthy first-half as well, earning the starting nod in the all-star game. Just 6-4 at the break, Beckett was right behind Lincecum in most every pitching category. Even if Lincecum slows down in the second half, it could be a Rat Packer going home with the McDonald this year.

But if this year’s winner doesn’t come from Las Vegas, a safe bet could be placed on the Carolina Mudcats, whose rotation boasts three pitchers in the top 10 in the league in ERA: Roy Halladay (3.31), Daisuke Matsuzaka (3.31) and Carlos Zambrano (3.50). Halladay ended the first half as the league’s leader in complete games (7) and innings pitched (127 2/3) while Matsuzaka had the lowest batting average against (.170). It’s no surprise that Carolina (3.66) and Las Vegas (3.87) finished the first half ranked 1-2 in team ERA.

Newark’s Chien Ming-Wang could make a case for the trophy, matching Lincecum for the league lead in wins (11-2), and right behind Halladay in innings pitched (125). Hoboken’s Jeremy Guthrie finished second to Dustin Pedroia in Pat Listach Award voting last year and also has followed it up with a solid sophomore, ranking 3^rd in ERA (3.28). His 7-6 record could look better if not for a shaky Cutters bullpen.

It’s unclear whether the Mighty Men get their name from their fearsome batting lineup or their impressive starters, three of whom have nine wins at the break: Mike Mussina (9-4), John Danks (9-2) and Ervin Santana (9-6). Or perhaps it’s the bullpen that makes Marietta so mighty, led by future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera’s league-leading 18 saves and rookie Brad Ziegler’s league-high 11 holds at the break.

Cliff Lee of Arkanas hit the all-star break on the DL, but a strong second half might put the lefty hurler into the mix for the McDonald. Only 7-6 at the break, Lee still had an ERA of 3.70 with 101 strikeouts.

Youngster John Lester has been a workhorse, logging 118 innings in the first half with a 3.51 ERA but just a 6-5 record to make a forimidable lefty-right, 1-2 punch in Amityville. Teammate Roy Oswalt finished the first half strong after a slow start, going 9-4 with two shutouts.

Greg Maddux has experienced a resurgence in Vancouver, coming off the bench for the Iron First and starting 10 games in the first half, including three complete games. The all-time league leader in starts, wins, and innings pitched, Maddux may only be 3-3 at the break but he sports a 3.36 ERA with eight quality starts. It must be rubbing off, as Zach Greinke is 8-5 with four complete games and a 4.09 ERA.