Possums, Lannisters Dominate; Goofballs and PhoeGnomes Manage Upsets

CP Legion (11-5-3) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (9-10)

With the chase for the title heating up, the Goofballs played spoiler versus the Legion.  Chris sat just a game behind the Lannisters entering the week, but the Goofballs were determined to frustrate their plans.  Kevin was able to build a formidable lead in pitching thanks to monster weeks from David Price, Chris Archer, and Jon Gray.  The trio combined for 41 strikeouts over five starts.  Outside of a poor start from John Musgrove, Kevin also posted a solid ERA and WHIP.  The Legion had one more win than the Goofballs, and the two teams tied in saves.  However, Chris was undone after a shocking meltdown from Homer Bailey.  The Reds’ starter threw just 3.1 innings and allowed nine earned runs.  Danny Salazar, Dylan Bundy, and Blake Snell each allowed at least six earned runs.  Chris was never competitive in the rate stats, and Kevin had a strong 3-1-1 lead before accounting for hitting
.

Neither team produced stellar offensive stats.  Chris led the league in steals thanks to Trea Turner and Jonathan Villar.  He also topped Kevin in RBI.  However, Kevin was able to produce slightly better rate stats and more power.  Chris had worst SLG and second worst OBP in the league, and had the fewest home runs of any team.  Both teams had fewer RBI than any other team.  Big weeks from Freddie Freeman and Brian Dozier were enough for Kevin to earn the categories he needed for a victory.

The win brings the Goofballs to 0.500 on the season.  The loss was huge for the Legion, who fell to two games behind the Lannisters.  However, Jeff’s team meets Chris this week and faces Kevin next week.  There will be a chance for both teams to move up in the standings.

KK Thunderwolves (5-11-3) vs.  JK Lannisters (13-5-1)

The Lannisters were able to take care of business after a dominant performance against the Thunderwolves.  The week started shaky for the Lannisters, who initially struggled on pitching.  However, the staff rebounded and posted the second best ERA in the league.  They also totaled good wins, saves, and strikeout numbers.  John Lester was superb.  He allowed just one run over two starts, and struck out 14 over 14 innings.  Jose Quintana and long reliever Juan Nicasio were also outstanding for the week.  Kyle had a good effort from Yordano Ventura but Zach Greinke’s struggles and a lack of saves from anyone besides Tony Watson ultimately gave Jeff a five-category sweep.

On offense, the Lannisters continued to roll.  They had the best OBP in the league by a wide margin.  They were also tied for first in home runs and had the second best RBI and SLG to the Possums.  Eleven Lannisters’ players hit home runs, including three from Manny Machado and four from Kris Bryant.  Mookie Betts stayed hot, with a home run and two steals.  Russell Martin contributed eight RBI in limited duty.  Overall, the offensive attack was just too much for the Thunderwolves.  Kyle had eight players with homers, including another great week for Addison Russell.  However, outside of his home run power, the team struggled to get on base and had a relatively low SLG since they didn’t hit many doubles or singles.

The win was critical for the Lannisters, who have a narrow lead in the title chase.  Jeff is now a full two games ahead of the Legion.  Chris cannot win the tie-breaker, so he will need to gain 2.5 games in the standings to win outright and two to tie.  With a victory over the Legion next week, the Lannisters could almost clinch at least a share of the title.  A loss will mean there is more work to do before anyone pops champagne.

HP PhoeGnomes (10-9) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-7-2)

Heather was able to move back above 0.500 with a victory against the slumping Armadillos.  Heather’s winning effort was led by her pitching staff.  Jake Arrieta and Noah Syndergaard were stellar, and allowed just one run over 15 innings.  However, Madison Bumgarner and Julio Teheran were terrible over three starts, and Heather’s numbers were down from where they could have been.  This gave the Armadillos a chance to rally.  Unfortunately for Larry, these ambitions were thwarted by Jameson Taillon, Jason Hammel, and Reynaldo Lopez.  Heather took all five categories, including a narrow win in saves.

The Armadillos were much better on offense.  Gary Sanchez had five home runs and nine RBI.  Daniel Murphy and Mark Trumbo added two each.  This gave the Armadillos a definitive lead in SLG and OBP.  It also secured RBI and home runs.  However, the Armadillos had just two steals.  This gave Heather the tie she needed to secure the narrow 5-4-1 victory.  Despite losing the other offensive stats, Heather had good offensive numbers too.  Nolan Arenado had three homers and Yasmany Tomas had seven RBIs.

Heather earned a close win for the week.  The loss for the Armadillos drops them out of contention.  Incredibly, Larry’s team has not won a game since the 4^th of July.  The devastating losing streak has seen the team fall from first place to fifth.  They are just a game ahead of the Goofballs.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-16-1) vs.  RK Possums (10-7-2)

The week’s most dominant victory saw the Possums destroy the Happy Hollidays.  Rick led the league in RBI and SLG.  He was tied for first in home runs.  Josh Donaldson added five for the week and had ten RBI.  Eight other Possums’ players had homers, including two from Evan Gattis in just 10 at-bats.  The hot play carried over to the pitching side as well.  Rick had the best ERA and WHIP in the league.  He was second in wins to the Legion.  Justin Verlander continued his resurgence, and Masahiro Tanaka delivered a great game as well.

The Possums are still lurking in contention at 2.5 game back from the Lannisters.  If they can win this week, and the Lannisters lose, they will be just 1.5 game back and hold the season tie-breaker.  The Legion are likely happy that Rick’s offensive explosion came a week too late.  However, Rick is still a contender and needs to keep working one week at a time.

Next Week

Next week features a seismic battle between the Legion and Lannisters.  A loss for the Legion will all but secure the title for the defending champions.  However, a victory still raises the possibility of a split title or a possible outright win with help.  The Possums are in a must-win against the Goofballs.  Rick needs Chris to win, and a victory himself to stay in the hunt.  The Armadillos catch a break and play the fading Hollidays.  Finally, the PhoeGnomes will look to move further above 0.500 against the Thunderwolves.