CP Legion (9-5-2) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-4-2)

The Legion and Armadillos met in yet another close battle for first place.  The Armadillos took the first match but the Legion struck back and won the second.  The third encounter was even closer, with each team leading at multiple points throughout the week.  However, the final result was an even 5-5 tie.  Both teams posted prolific offensive numbers.  Paul Goldschmidt had three home runs and 11 RBI.  Chris Taylor added three homers and a 0.800 SLG for the week.  Even Justin Smoak was hot, with two home runs and six RBI.  The Armadillos countered with three home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and nine RBI from Eduardo Nunez.  Ten Armadillos’ players had at least one home run, compared to seven for the Legion.  Larry led the league in home runs and SLG.  He tied for the lead in steals and RBI. However, his OBP was only fourth overall.  This gave Chris a critical category win.

Both teams had strong pitching for the week.  Chris easily led the league in strikeouts with 83.  The Lannisters were second with 64.  Larry had a similar lead in saves – his total of nine was well above the Possums’ second-best six.  This left ERA, WHIP, and wins as the only categories in play.  Going into the last day, the Armadillos had a small edge, but Chris had better pitchers ready.  Chris got what he needed from Luis Severino and Jimmy Nelson.  However, Roberto Osuna almost caused disaster for the Legion.  He allowed four runs in 0.2 IP and brought the ERA gap to just 0.122.  This was as close as the Armadillos could, though, and Chris secured four pitching categories.  This left the teams with a 5-5 tie for the week and an overall tie for the season.  The teams will meet one more time in Week 24.

HP PhoeGnomes (9-7) vs.  JK Lannisters (10-5-1)

The Legion and Armadillos’ result opened a window of opportunity for the Lannisters and PhoeGnomes.  Both teams are in the mix for the title and, like the Legion and Armadillos, had two close battles earlier in the season.  The Lannisters won the first match but Heather took a close victory in the second.  After a few weeks of improved pithing, the Lannisters were forced to rely on their offense again.  Justin Upton and Mike Trout provided most of the power, with three home runs each.  Heather had a monster week from Wilson Contreras.  He had five home runs and 13 RBI for a 1.182 SLG.  However, it wasn’t enough to combat the depth of the Lannister lineup.  Heather took steals, but Jeff won the other four categories after some Sunday heroics from Marcell Ozuna and Trout.

On pitching, Heather fared better.  She had the second best ERA and WHIP in the league.  Chris Sale struggled but Danny Duffy excelled in two starts.  The Lannisters had little to counter Heather’s rate stats.  However, they made several good Sunday pickups and were able to take strikeouts.  Heather had a chance to win the category and secure the victory for the week, but Hyun-Jim Ryu was removed from his start after seven innings despite allowing a single hit and no walks.  Heather’s pickup looked brilliant, but he came up just short.  Kenley Jansen removed any doubt when he struck out the side in a meaningless appearance.  The result propelled the Lannisters back into first place.  Heather probably deserved a better result for the week and can take comfort in losing only a half game on the other leaders.

RK Possums (6-6-4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (2-12-2)

The Possums looked to keep pace with the leaders against the Thunderwolves.  Rick’s offense and pitching answered the call and delivered a resounding 9-1 win over Kyle’s squad.  Cody Bellinger had four home runs and Joey Gallo continued to pay dividends in both OBP and power.  Kyle didn’t have a lot of power to offer, but Adrian Beltre did have six RBI.  However, four Possums had at least two home runs compared to just two such players on the Thunderwolves.

Kyle was more competitive on pitching.  He got a great start from Yu Darvish (who was traded to the Dodgers).  He also got a nice week from Aaron Nola.  However, their good was undone by a bad Zack Greinke outing, and a terrible effort from Bud Norris.  Rick got serviceable performance from Jeff Samardzija and a nice Justin Verlander start.  The Possums’ bullpen was also strong, recording the second more saves in the league.  Overall, Rick cruised to a dominant win and remains just 2.5 games out of first place.

SM Lasershow (2-11-3) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (8-6-2)

After surprising the Legion, Sean tried to bring down the Goofballs.  However, Kevin unleashed a rare strong pitching performance.  They led the league in ERA by a wide margin.  Though they made only five starts, the staff performed well and allowed just a 1.73 ERA.  The bullpen avoided any serious meltdowns.  Jacob Faria was particularly strong, striking out nine in just six innings pitched.  The Lasershow threw almost twice as many innings as the Goofballs.  The easily won strikeouts and wins, but the Goofball’s bullpen took saves and secured WHIP.

On offense, the Lasershow used 20 different batters.  The Goofballs responded with 21.  Both teams made the most of their lineups and the Goofballs were near the top of each offensive category.  Brian Dozier was strong, with three home runs in just 11 at-bats.   The Lasershow had multi-home run weeks from Yasiel Puig, Jay Bruce, and Justin Turner.  However, other players struggled and the team was left with the worst SLG in the league.  Kevin won with relative comfort and is just a game and a half behind the Lannisters.

Next Week

Things don’t get easier for the Lasershow.  Their next match is against the Lannisters.  The Legion also get a breather against the Thunderwolves.  The two matches to watch feature the Armadillos versus the Goofballs and the Possums against the PhoeGnomes.  All four teams will need wins with the other two leaders facing weaker competition.