Leiter Becomes Franchise's First 20-Game Winner

Needing a shutdown start from their ace to cut their magic number to 2, the Flash got just that from SP Donovan Leiter. Leiter took the mound knowing another win would make him a 20-game winner on the year, and that this start would be his only opportunity to reach that milestone. Additionally, after dropping the first 2 games of a set against the Buffalo Hot Wings, the Flash shifted gears back into "must-win" mode in order to seal up the division.

Leiter turned in one of his best starts, going 8.0 innings against the high-powered Hot Wings offense while allowing just 1 run. He struck out a career-high 13 batters and needed just 103 pitches to do it.

"It means a lot, definitely," said Leiter after the game. "It feels so much better to do it in a game that meant so much to our team's playoff seeding. And having the home crowd behind me was even sweeter."

Leiter, 25, will be eligible for arbitration for the first time next season and will likely command a pretty penny given his position as the ace of the staff despite being its youngest member. But the Flash know his importance to the team. General Manager Sour Surfer said, "We'd be nowhere without him. Any time we need a big win, he's right there delivering for us. Tonight was no different, and hopefully it gives him a nice confidence boost heading into the playoffs."

If the Flash can secure the NL East Championship over the next few days, it will be their 3rd consecutive division title. While an impressive feat in its own right, the Flash are hungry for their first ever postseason series victory. Two years ago they fell in 5 games to the Cincinnati Motorboaters in the NLDS, and it took just as many games for the Santa Fe Booze Hounds to dispose of them last year in the NL Play-In Series.

More Franchise Firsts?: The Flash are also hoping they can produce their first .300 hitter(s) this season. With 3 games to play, 1B Tony Moraga, CF Brady Pickett, CF Willie Campos, and 1B Richard McMasters all have averages above .300. Campos is the only every day player on the list, but not even a platoon player has accomplished the feat for Philly in the past, so it will be no less meaningful if Campos is not one of the .300+ hitters at year's end.