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.

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).

Litsch trying to forget about dreadful start

Arkansas continued their mastery over division rival Hillsborough, sweeping the Hitmen after a 3-2 final. The Falcons got on the board early in the first inning on a sac fly by Rick Ankiel, but the Hitmen tied it up in the 6th on a Billy Butler single. Carlos Lee gave them the lead the next inning with a solo home run, but the Falcons tied it up in the bottom half on a sac fly. In the 8th inning, David Wright hit a double that scored Jody Gerut, giving the Falcons the 3-2 lead. Joakim Soria pitched the 9th for his 15th save. The win was Arkansas' 6th straight and the Falcons now stand only one game below the .500 mark and 6 games behind idle Vancouver for the 6th playoff spot.

Ben McDonald favorite Tim Lincecum pitched a complete game victory over the Sardine City Straphangers to improve to 14-1 on the season. Lincecum held the Sardines to 2 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks. Carlos Quentin drove in both runs for the Straphangers and had 2 of the 3 hits.

Lincecum is now tied with Newark's Chien-Ming Wang for the league lead in victories after Wang picked up his 14th in a 10-4 drubbing of D.C. Wang's outing (6 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 5 K) was far less impressive however. Newark spread out the offense as all 9 starters got at least one hit in the game.

New Jersey's Jesse Litsch picked up his 5th victory, improving to 5-10 after an 8-3 win over the Ant Slayers. Listch, as you may recall, got off to a disastrous start. After a 7-4 loss to Newark back in May, Listch's stat line read 1 win, 10 losses, 8.11 ERA. With a schedule looming ahead that included games against Vancouver, Las Vegas and Hillsborough, things didn't look like they'd change any time soon. But Team Buddah stood by him faithfully and are now being rewarded. After two solid starts against Vancouver (and 1 win to show for it), Litsch's confidence appeared to be returning. He got roughed up against the Rat Pack, but bounced back with another W against Hillsborough. Since that forgetable day in Newark, Litsch has gone 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 8 starts. He's averaged more than 7 innings per start, giving the bullpen a much-needed break.

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.

Anybody else want these? Or should I just give him the keys to the store...

You know we really wanted to give this to someone else. We tried, but you guys have to step it up! Ok, sure the high averages (Dioner Navarro - .464 and Placido Polanco - .462) are nice, but we're going to need a little more. Lance Berkman, nice try with the 12 RBIs and 3 homers, but no cigar. Jack Cust and Casey Blake's 4 home run each are pretty nice, but not exactly eye-popping. Really, guys, he hasn't even finished the last box of cigars we gave him, but we really have no choice but to award this week's JR Cigar's Smokin' Batter of the Week to Aubrey Huff. Yeah, here you go, you greedy bastard, enjoy your Tabantillas. Here's why we couldn't help but to give Mr. Huff the prize: .591 average, .667 OBP, 1.136 slugging, 3 homers, 15 RBIs, 6 runs...and it goes on and on.

Other batters of note: Arkansas' Skip Schumaker (.438/.471/.563, 10 R), Hoboken's Joe Crede (.370/.433/.741, 3 HR), Marietta's Kevin Youkilis (.409/.444/.636) and Sardine City's Miguel Montero (.455/.478/.955).

It was really a two-horse race for the pitcher's prize this week, and yes, both would be repeat winners. Hey, we try to spread the love here at DMBL News as much as anybody, but well, take a look at the stats... Our first contender is Sardine City's rookie extraordinaire, Joba Chamberlain, who was 1-0 on the week with a miniscule 0.67 ERA and 0.75 WHIP, while striking out 18 in 13.1 innings. Contestant #2 is Las Vegas' phenom Tim Lincecum, who also was 1-0, with a tiny 0.64 ERA and 0.93 WHIP, striking out 22 in 14 innings. How the heck do you decide between those two? Well there are no rules against splitting the prize right? And since our sponsor is all about family and togetherness, aw hell, let's give them both the Awkward Family Photos Pitcher(s) of the Week Award! Now if we can just get a nice photo of the two of you hoisting the trophy...

Other notable pitchers: Carolina's Roy Halladay (1-0, 1.08, 0.96 WHIP), D.C.'s Braden Looper (2-0, 2.63, 0.80), Hillsborough's Dan Haren (1-0, 2.57, 1.00), Amityville's Chris Volstad (2-0, 1.42, 0.95), and Philly's Scott Kazmir (2-0, 2.20, 0.86).