LK Armadillos (8-3-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (7-5)

The week’s most important match of the week featured the Armadillos and PhoeGnomes.  Heather had a chance to pull within a half game out of the league leaders.  A PhoeGnomes victory would also help the Possums and Lannisters against heavy underdogs, and keep the loser of the Legion/Goofballs match close.  Heather delivered with the best overall performance of the week.  The PhoeGnomes had the best steals, OBP, and SLG totals in the league.  Only four PhoeGnomes players had home runs, but Jose Ramirez and Wilson Contreras had three each and 13 total RBI.  Trea Turner had an incredible seven steals, more than any of the team.  However, he was lost for the year with a serious injury.  The Armadillos were not competitive on offense.  Keon Broxton was among the worst players in the league and had a SLG of 0.071.  The Armadillos had the lowest RBI, OBP, and SLG numbers in the league.  Heather earned an easy sweep.

Heather posted good pitching numbers to complement her offense, she had the better ERA, WHIP, and strikeout numbers.  The Armadillos had more wins and saves, but it was far from enough…  Clayton Kershaw’s strong outing was washed out by a Carlos Carrasco disaster.  Heather relied on four good starts from Gio Gonzalez and Chris Sale.  They pitched 26.1 innings, struck out 37, and allowed just three runs.  This was more than enough for Heather to earn the victory for the week.  Heather moved closer to the top of the league with the win.  However, the loss of Turner will test her depth.  The Armadillos will look for answers, especially on offense.

KG Capital City Goofballs (6-4-2) vs.  CP Legion (7-4-1)

With the PhoeGnomes win, Chris had a chance to move into a tie for first place with a victory over the Goofballs.  Kevin needed a win to gain ground, and further legitimize his place at the top of the league.  Chris posted a strong combined attack, much like the PhoeGnomes.  Kevin suffered a power outage and found no help on pitching.  Chris’s best player was Carlos Correa, who had three home runs and 10 RBI.  Aaron Judge was strong as well, with 11 walks and a 0.552 OBP.  Kevin tried to counter, but outside of a four home run week for Elvis Andrus, no other player produced much power.  Only three Goofballs’ regular players had SLG over 0.300.  Chris swept four of five categories and was well on his way to a win.

On pitching, Chris posted good numbers while Kevin struggled.  The Legion’s Jimmy Nelson had a great 11 strikeout start.  Robbie Ray and Luis Severino had bad weeks, but these results were offset by a nice Brad Peacock start and good bullpen work.  The Goofballs got two bad starts from Jose Berrios, one dud from German Marquez, and middling results for Johnny Cueto.  The bullpen was good and led the league in saves.  However, it was far from enough and Chris cruised to a win.  He is now tied with the Armadillos for first place.

JK Lannisters (6-5-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-9-2)

After a few weeks of better pitching, the Lannisters hoped to gain ground on the leaders against the Thunderwolves.  Kyle has the worst record in the league, but put up excellent numbers in what proved to be a losing effort.  The Thunderwolves had the best pitching stats in the league but a wide margin.  The led the league in ERA and WHIP and were second in wins.  Zack Greinke and James Paxton were dominant.  They pitched 25.1 innings and struck out 25.  Alex Wood and Jordan Montgomery had good single starts.  The Lannisters countered with better strikeout efficiency.  Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg struck out 12 and 13 respectively in 7 innings each.  Rich Hill had two outstanding starts and struck out 18.  Gerrit Cole had another meltdown to spoil the rate stats.  Overall, Kyle held a 3-1-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the underdogs, the Lannisters retaliated with a good offensive showing.  After lacking power last week, Jeff led the league in RBI and was near the top in SLG and OBP.  Mookie Betts broke out of a long slump with three home runs and three steals along with 11 RBI.  Robinson Cano continued to provide steady production at an advanced age.  He had four home runs and nine RBI.  Kyle had good weeks from Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor, but it wasn’t enough.  The Lannisters even left four home runs on the bench Sunday after the results of the week were already finalized.  Kyle put up a good fight, though, and this was the only match of the week that wasn’t decided well ahead of the weekend.

RK Possums (5-4-3) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-8-2)

The final match of the week saw the Possums meet the Happy Hollidays.  Rick’s team is another that could benefit from the Armadillos’ loss.  Rick responded with the second best offensive week in the league.  He tied for the lead in home runs and was second in OBP and SLG.  Khris Davis had four home runs and Joey Votto added three.  Other starts like Xander Bogaerts and Cody Bellinger struggled, but role player like Jedd Gyorko and Evan Gattis had home runs and good RBI totals.  Chris M.  didn’t have an answer, and posted just three home runs for the week.

The Possums offered enough good pitching to win four categories with ease.  Corey Kluber dominated with 12 strikeouts over 8.0 innings pitched.  Max Scherzer was also superb, winning two games and striking out 18 over 13.0 innings with one earned run allowed.  The Hollidays didn’t have an answer.  Carlos Martinez struggled in two starts, and Ervin Santana collapsed.  Chris’s team had the worst strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP numbers in the league.  Rick earned an easy win, and never hard to worry entering the weekend.

At the half-way point in the season, the standings are as tight as they’ve ever been.  Six teams are within 1.5 games of first place.  Every team owns at least one tiebreaker against a team near them.

Next Week

The long All-Star weekend features two critical battles.  The Legion and Lannisters meet after a draw in their first match.  Both teams need a win and expect a competitive week.  The Possums and Goofballs also collide.  Kevin needs to rebound whereas Rick wants to keep winning.  The Armadillos get a respite and face the Hollidays.  Finally, Heather will try to hold down the Thunderwolves.