Week 09 produced more interesting results and saw the standings tighten even further.  However, after weeks of close match-ups, every contest was won by a decisive margin.

HP PhoeGnomes (4-4) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5-2-1)

The week’s top performance came from the PhoeGnomes.  After weeks (if not seasons) of underperformance, Heather’s team amassed an offensive performance to rival the Lannisters’ outing a few weeks ago.  Heather easily led the league with 20 home run, an 0.3977 OBP, and a 0.6332 SLG.  Eleven players had home runs, but the standout was a surprise.  Zack Cozart had four home runs and eight RBI in a career week.  Nolan Arenado, Aaron Judge, Max Kepler, Justin Bour, and Logan Morrison added at least two home runs each.  Jose Bautista was the only player with more than 10 at-bats with a SLG below 0.500.  The Goofballs had a good week, including a rare three home run effort from Kevin Kiermaier.  It wasn’t enough, and Heather took an easy 4-0-1 lead.

Heather’s pitching was not as good as her hitting, but she did enough to secure a comfortable win.  Dylan Bundy and Wade Miley were good enough to offset a bad start for Jake Odorizzi.  The Goofballs threw more innings and took strikeouts by a wide margin.  He also won saves.  However, the puzzling decline of Kyle Hendricks continued and Jose Berrios regressed.  The Goofballs were overwhelmed and the PhoeGnomes earned a key victory.  The win means that six teams are within three games of first place!

KK Thunderwolves (1-6-1) vs.  LK Armadillos (6-2)

The Armadillos continued to win, albeit with ugly pitching numbers.  Larry had the most strikeouts in the league and tied with three other teams for the most saves.  However, the starters’ numbers were lackluster.  German Marquez struggled, as did Sonny Grey.  However, Clayton Kershaw rebounded from a bad start to record 14 strikeouts over just 7.0 innings pitched.  Goof performances offset the bad, and the Armadillos managed mediocre rate stats.  Normally, this would play to the Thunderwolves’ strengths.  However, Kyle failed to capitalize.  The main culprits were Yu Darvish and Julio Teheran.  Darvish struggled against the Astros.  Teheran allowed 17 hits and 10 earned runs over just 11.1 IP.  This put Kyle in a deep hole.  He managed to take wins, but the Armadillos held a solid 3-1-1 lead.

On offense, neither team posted monster numbers but the Armadillos did enough to win for the week.  Giancarlo Stanton and Alex Bregman had two home runs each.  Seven other Armadillos’ players had home runs.  Kyle lacked power outside of Adam Jones.  He also had the lowest OBP in the league.  Kyle’s offense lacks the kind of impact bats that can rise to the occasion when the pitching staff falters.  The Thunderwolves need a plan to either bring in impact players or get younger.  Meanwhile, the Armadillos remain in first place after winning a match without their best numbers.

RK Possums (3-3-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-3)

The Possums made it back above 0.500 with a strong win against the injury-plagued Lannisters.  They did it thanks to good hitting and the best pitching in the league.  Rick had the best ERA and WHIP in the league by a huge margin.  The Possums tied for the lead in saves and wins.  They were second in strikeouts.  There Possums starters had at least ten strikeouts in single starts.  Jason Vargas and Max Scherzer threw excellent complete games and allowed just 12 hits in 18 IP.  Even with a bad week from Mike Leake, the Possums had an easy 4-0-1 week.  The Lannisters’ pitching woes continued.  The struggles are somewhat surprising, since the team holds three of the nine most-owned starting pitchers across all fantasy leagues.

The Possums had a good offensive week and the Lannisters struggled to make progress in any category.  The returning Josh Donaldson had three home runs for the Possums, and Josh Donaldson and Cody Bellinger added two each.  The Lannisters had another good week from Marcell Ozuna, but it wasn’t enough to stay close.  The Possums have quietly climbed back into contention after a miserable start.  The Lannisters have lost three in a row and face several injuries to key players.

CP Legion (4-3-2) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-5-1)

Like the Possums, the Legion also moved back above 0.500 after a decisive win over the Hollidays.  Chris P. posted offensive numbers that would normally lead the league.  He had the second best SLG, OBP, and home runs.  He led the league in RBI.  Carlos Correa went off on the hapless Rangers’ pitching staff and had four home runs and 12 RBI.  Ryan Zimmerman and Miguel Sano added three each and posted 15 total RBI.  Only one Legion regular had a SLG below 0.450.  The team didn’t record any steals, and Chris M. easily led the league with seven.  However, the Legion secured a great 4-1 lead.

Neither team posted spectacular pitching numbers.  The Hollidays had the better ERA and were competitive in the rate stats.  Carlos Martinez had a solid start, but his work was undone by a bad week for Ervin Santana.  The Legion threw 14 more innings and took strikeouts.  Luis Severino had a good week and Robbie Ray had a masterful 10-strikeout complete game.  The Legion didn’t repeat their effort from last week, but it was enough to easily win the week.

Next Week

The league’s best rivalry is renewed again as the Armadillos will try to push the Legion back down the standings.  The Goofballs will try to make up for last week’s loss against the Happy Hollidays.  The Possums are hoping to continue to move up against the Thunderwolves.  Finally, the Lannisters will try to return to form against the PhoeGnomes.