Possums, Legion Stay Alive; Goofballs Continue to Surge; Thunderwolves Dominate

LK Armadillos (11-8-2) vs.  RK Possums (11-8-2)

With the season winding down, several teams remain in contention for the league title.  The Lannisters entered the week with a three game lead and three weeks left to play.  Chris was 3.0 games back, and Rick was 3.5 behind.  Though unlikely, there is still a chance for both teams to win the title.  However, both needed to win this week against their opponents.  Each responded with close wins in clutch situations.

The Possums relied on their pitchers to carry the week.  Rick led the league in strikeouts, wins, ERA, and WHIP.  He was second in saves.  Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Masahiro Tanaka, and Justin Verlander were stellar across eight starts.  These four had more strikeouts than every other team except the Legion and Thunderwolves.  They easily overcame the solid (but unspectacular) week from the Armadillos.

Rick was less successful on offense, but he was able to take steals and thus secure the week.  Once again the Armadillos had a good home run total but lagged in RBI, OBP, and SLG relative to the rest of the league.  The lack of steals cost the Armadillos the tie.  Rick keeps his hopes alive at 2.5 game back with two to play.  He has a final match against the Lannsiters and then will need help.

CP Legion (11-7-3) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (12-9)

The Legion and PhoeGnomes had the closest match of the week.  Each team had standout categories, but the Legion managed to pick up the win and stay alive.  Chris relied on big saves and strikeout totals on the pitching side.  Cody Allen and Ken Giles were solid, and Jerad Eickhoff displayed dominant stuff over two starts.  Heather had a good counter in Zach Davies, who threw 14.0 innings and gave up just three earned runs.  Chris Sale was excellent as well, but didn’t get a win over two starts.  Chris took strikeouts and saves while heather took the rate stats.  The lack of a Sale victory cost Heather the tie for the week.

Both teams were evenly matched of offense.  Chris had more steals thanks to Trea Turner and Jonathan Villar.  The pair also had three home runs each.  Miguel Cabrera had two home runs, but it was Tuner and Villar that were the keys to the Legion attack.  They secured home runs, steals, and SLG.  Heather had a slightly higher OBP and better RBI count thanks to a three-home week from Chris Davis and an improved Kyle Seager.  However, Chris did enough to score the narrow win.  He is now two behind the Lannisters and need help to win the title.  The Legion and Possums remain the last two teams standing between the Lannisters and an impressive repeat.

KG Capital City Goofballs (11-10) vs.  JK Lannisters (15-5-1)

The Lannisters hoped to move closer to the title against the Goofballs, who refuse to roll-over late in the season.  With the win here, Kevin has defeated every team in the league and has shown why his squad is the most improved on the year.  Yoenis Cespedes and Brian Dozier led the Goofballs with seven home runs and sixteen RBIs.  They were joined by a monster week for Joc Pederson.  The Lannisters enjoyed goo production from Eric  Hosmer and Brian McCann, but it wasn’t enough.  They took OBP but Kevin won home runs and RBI with ease.  Slugging was closer, but Kevin pulled away here on Sunday as well thanks to Welington Castillo’s home run.

On pitching, the Lannisters’ injuries finally caught up with them.  Several starters were scratched and shuffled, leading to matchup problems and missed deadlines.  Kevin took advantage and piled up saves from Edwin Diaz and Dellin Betances.  The Lannisters had few answers and only took wins after Felix  Hernandez experienced a fluke win in a miserable outing against the Rangers.  Bizarrely, both teams tied in ERA for the week despite throwing 45.1 innings each.  The odd results added up to a Goofball victory.  Kevin is now in fifth place and two games over 0.500.  The Lannisters still need a win and a tie to clinch the title, but have three weeks left to play.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-18-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (5-13-3)

The week’s best offensive showing belonging to the Thunderwolves.  Kyle led the league in RBI, OBP, and SLG.  Adrian Beltre and Hanley Ramirez had three home runs each.  Five Thunderwolves’ players had at  least five RBIs.  Chris offered little competition, and Kyle took all offensive stats but steals.  Neither team had good pitching, but Kyle was able to get more out of his staff.  Kenta Maeda had a nice week, as did Chase Anderson and Jose Fernandez.  Kyle threw 26 more innings than Chris (who had another bad Cole Hamels start) and Kyle swept the pitching side.  The win didn’t affect the standings, but it was a nice showing for Kyle.

Next Week

With just three game left for each team, only the Possums and Legion can challenge the Lannisters.  Rick plays Jeff and must win to stay alive.  A Possums’ win will also help the Legion.  If Jeff wins, Chris must win.  If Jeff loses, Chris could possibly tie and still come out on top.  He faces the slumping Hollidays.  The Thunderwolves meet the Armadillos, and the PhoeGnomes battle the Goofballs.  Kevin is playing to win, while the Armadillos want to remain in the first division.