Underdogs Rise; Legion’s Historic Pitching

Week 08 was unusual for a number of reasons.  Three underdog teams won, including the desperate Hollidays.  A week after showing signs of life, Heather lost 10-0.  Both of the league leaders lost.  The end result has seven teams within 3.5 games of the lead, and five within two games.

CM Happy Hollidays (1-5-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-5-1)

One of the week’s most surprising results saw the Hollidays defeat the Thunderwolves.  Chris M. relied on strong pitching to lead the way to his second victory for the year.  Ervin Santana was outstanding, allowing just two hits and walks in a complete game shutout.  Lance Lynn offered steady production for two starts.  These performances gave Chris the second lowest ERA in the league and the best WHIP.  Kyle had more strikeouts and saves, and the two teams tied for wins.  This left both teams even before accounting for hitting.

Unfortunately for Kyle, his offense went ice cold.  The Thunderwolves had the lowest SLG and OBP in the league by a wide margin.  Neither team had many RBI, and Kyle took steals.  However, Chris had excellent weeks from Jonathan Schoop and Francisco Lindor.  They combined for four home runs and seven RBI.  This was enough to give Chris the edge in home runs.  Chris took the week by a 5-3-2 margin.  The win moved the Hollidays out of last place.  While Chris has reason to celebrate, the rest of the league has to wonder if the Thunderwolves have hit rock bottom.

CP Legion (3-3-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (3-4)

The Legion dominated the PhoeGnomes for a 10-0 win.  However, the most remarkable part of Chris’s week wasn’t the end result, but rather how he achieved it.  The Legion posted what has to be the best ERA in a full week in league history.  The Legion threw 47.2 innings and allowed just two runs.  This translated to a 0.38 ERA.  The list of contributors is a long one.  Luis Severino, Eduardo Rodriguez, Alex Wood, Robbie Ray, and Raisel Iglesias all pitched almost perfectly.  The Legion piled up eight saves.  Heather didn’t have a chance in any pitching category.  Incredibly, the Legion didn’t have the best WHIP in the league, despite the minuscule ERA.  The Hollidays had a slightly better number, and both staffs had excellent weeks.

Chris made sure there would be no tie with a good offensive showing.  Jake Lamb had a strong week with three home runs and seven RBI.   Jake Bour and Jose Bautista did well for the PhoeGnomes, but it wasn’t enough.  Chris cruised to a comfortable sweep.  The Legion are part of the five-team scrum at the top of the standings, and just 1.5 games behind the Armadillos.

RK Possums (2-3-2) vs.  LK Armadillos (6-1)

After surprising the league last year, Rick needed a win to stay near the top this year.  He put together a strong offensive and pitching week to bring his record back to 0.500.  Charlie Blackmon had a monster week with three home runs, 12 RBI, and a steal.  Khris Davis stayed hot with two home runs.  Joey Gallo added two more, and role players like Chris Owings (0.643 SLG) contributed as well.  The Armadillos won steals, but were not competitive in any other offensive category.  Rick led the league in RBI and SLG, and was second in home runs and OBP.

The Armadillos tried to counter on pitching, but too many starters had mediocre weeks.  Dallas Keuchel and Tyler Anderson were strong, but Clayton Kershaw had a rough Sunday start.  German Marquez was the best of the crew, but his strong two starts were offset by a Jose Quintana disaster.  The Possums had rough outings from Dan Straily and Justin Verlander, but the rest of his starters were strong.  The Possums had the better ERA and WHIP, and this was more than enough to secure the win for the week.  The Armadillos lost for just the second time this year.

KG Capital City Goofballs (4-2-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-2)

The week’s final match saw the Goofballs defeat the Lannisters.  Kevin relied on a strong offensive attack.  Anthony Rendon had four home runs, and a total of nine Goofballs had homers.  Carlos Santana had seven RBI.  The Lannisters countered with a good week from Jose Abreu, who had two homers and 14 hits.  The Lannisters also led the league in steals and OBP.  However, the strong power week was enough for the Goofballs to have a 3-2 lead.

On pitching, the Lannisters had phenomenal starts from Stephen Strasburg and Jacob deGrom.  The pair threw 15.1 innings and struck out 25 while allowing just one earned run.  However, these heroic efforts were undone by terrible weeks from Gerrit Cole and Jon Lester.  The Goofballs posted solid but unspectacular numbers across the board.  A strong Sunday start from Johnny Cueto sealed the week when Jon Lester faltered.  Kevin earned a five category sweep and moved into second place.

Next Week

Week 09 may be calmer than Week 08.  The Legion will be heavy favorites against the Hollidays.  The Armadillos will try to rebound against the Thunderwolves.  The Goofballs will have a more difficult match with the streaky PhoeGnomes.  Finally, the Lannisters and Possums meet in an important battle to stay near the top of the standings.