2020 Ben McDonald Award winner: Lance Lynn

Before this past season, Lance Lynn had registered double-digit losses in five of his six DMBL seasons, including a brutal 15-43 record over three years. The four-time draftee broke out in 2020 after latching on with Sardine City, going 24-6 to help the Straphangers to a 104-win campaign and the commissioner's cup.

2020 McDonald Award candidates

The 2020 Ben McDonald Award could become more of a coronation than last year's close race after a season that saw the second-highest win total by a starting pitcher in DMBL history. 

Sardine City finishes off Hopatcong in 6

Top-seeded Sardine City will return to the DMBL Finals for the second time in franchise history after disposing of No. 4 Hopatcong in a 3-1 victory in Game 6 of their DMBL semifinal series.

Livingston shuts down Hopatcong in Game 1

Jacob deGrom and Ryan Pressly combined to limit Hopatcong to 4 hits, lifting No. 5 Livingston to a 5-1 win at No. 4 Hopatcong in Game 1 of their 1st round series.

Strasburg notches second no-hitter

Stephen Strasburg tossed his second career no-hitter -- the first pitcher in DMBL history to accomplish the feat -- as he faced just one batter above the minimum in a sterling effort on Sunday.

2018 Ben McDonald Award winner

Hopatcong's Stephen Strasburg, the league's only 20-game winner and the ERA champion in 2018, was a nearly unanimous selection as the Ben McDonald Award.

2018 Ben McDonald candidates

At first glance, it may seem like the 2018 Ben McDonald Award is a runaway. There was only one 20-game winner in the league last season and the same starter also led the league in ERA. But maybe not so fast.

Tucson 1-hits Hopatcong to clinch 2nd crown

Tucson limited the highest-scoring offense in the league to just a 1st-inning single and shut out Hopatcong, 7-0, in Game 5 on Thursday in Hopatcong to win their second DMBL championship in three seasons.

Strasburg, bullpen lead Hopatcong to Game 1 victory

Hopatcong followed its typical formula on Friday night. The Fish got 6 strong innings from Stephen Strasburg and three relievers combined to allow one hit over the final three innings., followed by scoreless three innings from its bullpen for a 6-3 win over Tucson in Game 1 of the best-of-seven DMBL Series.

Paxton, Martinez save Iron Fist to force Game 6

James Paxton struck out a postseason-high 13 and Vancouver made the most of their baserunners thanks to a J.D. Martinez grand slam for a 5-1 win at Hopatcong on Sunday night in Game 5.

Strasburg, bullpen lead Fish to Game 1 win

Stephen Strasburg and three Hopatcong relievers combined to retire 12 of the final 13 Vancouver batters to lead the No. 2 Floating Fish to a 5-3 win on Monday night.

2018 pitching leaders

For the second straight season, only one pitcher was able to win 20 games, which could make Stephen Strasburg the man to beat in the race for the Ben McDonald Award.

Strasburg denied record, still a shot at 20 wins

Stephen Strasburg lost his second straight start on Wednesday -- more than he'd lost all season -- and will fall short of Pedro Martinez's single-season win percentage record (21-2, .913).

Strasburg suffers just second loss

Stephen Strasburg found his name in the loss column on Saturday for the first time since April.

Strasburg approaches win percentage mark

At one point this season, Stephen Strasburg was 2-0 and fell to 2-1 after his fifth start, when he was ripped for 7 runs in 6+ innings by El Paso way back in April. He's now 18-1.

Players of the Month: May

OK, it's a little late to look at the league's stats in May, but hey, it's never really too late, is it? First, let's have a look at the standings, and then we'll delve into the individual league leaders.

Hoboken comes back to beat Hopatcong 5 in games

Can a 1st-round series be epic even if it's not a Best-of-7? Third-seeded Hoboken and No. 6 Hopatcong tried to find out in the opening round.

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.

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.

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.