CP Legion (9-6-4) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (11-6-2)

The week’s premier battle featured the Goofballs and Legion.  Both teams were near the top of the standings and each needed a victory to keep pace with the Lannisters.  The Goofballs entered with four straight victories, but the Legion hoped to defeat the expansion team and continue to push for the title.  The week started well for the Legion, with a huge four home run week from Francisco Lindor.  Christian Yelich and Paul Goldschmidt added two each, and the Legion totaled five steals.  This was good enough to win the OBP and SLG categories, but the Goofballs had substantially more RBI.  The culprit was Rhys Hoskins, who had an incredible six home runs and 15 RBI for the Goofballs.  His totals gave the team the lead in home runs and RBI, and Brian Dozier’s three steals secured a third category and a 3-2 advantage.

Chris Archer led the way for Kevin.  He had two starts over 13.0 innings pitched with 18 strikeouts and just two earned runs.  Chris had decent weeks from Jimmy Nelson, Carlos Martinez, and Luis Severino.  However Jimmy Nelson struggled, and the Legion fell behind in ERA and WHIP.  Corey Knebel and three saves for the Goofballs, and the team was more efficient in striking out batters.  Both teams had about the same number of innings pitched, but Kevin had the edge in strikeouts.  This left Chris without a path to victory despite a good overall performance.  The Goofballs took four categories and won the week.  Kevin remained 1.5 games behind the victorious Lannisters.  The Legion are still mathematically alive, but will need tremendous help after falling to 3.5 back with four to play.

HP PhoeGnomes (10-9) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-6-3)

The week’s second most competitive match saw the Armadillos eliminate the PhoeGnomes.  After a crushing loss to the Lannisters, both teams needed a win to stay in contention.  The Armadillos offense remained red-hot.  The led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  Yet again, Giancarlo Stanton led the way with five home runs and 11 RBI.  Gary Sanchez was almost as good – he had four home runs and 10 RI.  Edwin Encarnacion and Anthony Rizzo added two each.  Heather was competitive in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  Four players had two home runs, and five others had one.  However, the team as a whole fell just short in three categories.  The Armadillos earned the five category sweep.

Neither team had outstanding pitching, but Heather was in too deep a whole to climb out despite having the edge in several categories.  Taijuan Walker was good in two starts but didn’t strike out a lot of batters.  Chris Sale struggled in his lone start but Hyun-Jin Ryu was good, as was Madison Bumgarner.  The Armadillos struggled with Chad Betts and J.A. Happ .  John Lackey was cut after a terrible outing.  However, the team got strikeouts and saves.  This was enough to win two categories and take the week, despite a close call on a few offensive categories.  The Armadillos are just two games behind the Lannisters.  The PhoeGnomes were eliminated from contention after falling 4.5 games back.

SM Lasershow (2-14-3) vs.  RK Possums (8-6-5)

Besides the Goofballs, Armadillos, and Legion, the Possums are the only other team left with a chance to catch the Lannisters.  Rick has quietly built a powerful offensive core, and he put together a complete week to stay in the hunt.  Rick had the second best pitching stats behind the Goofballs.  Patrick Corbin was great in two starts over 15.0 innings.  He struck out 14, allowed one earned run, and picked up two wins.  The bullpen was strong and was tied for second in saves.  Masahiro Tanaka and Justin Verlander had 18 strikeouts in just 14.0 innings pitched.  The Lasershow had little to counter the Possums’ pitching.  Jim Johnson imploded and Coe Hamels struggled to a 6.35 ERA over two starts.  Eduardo Rodriguez wasn’t much better.  Only Sonny Gray had a good start for the week.  Rick took every category except WHIP and had a commanding lead before offense was factored in.

The Lasershow were far strong on offense than pitching.  Yasiel Puig and Jonathan Schoop had two home runs.  Five other Lasershow players had a home run as well.  This was enough to win SLG and OBP.  The team also took steals thanks to two from Andrelton Simmons.  Rick had a strange offensive week.  He was second in home runs for the league and won RBI.  However, these results did not translate to OBP or SLG.  Josh Donaldson and Khris Davis had three home runs each but both had OBPs below 0.300.  This strange pattern made the week closer than it likely should have been.  However, Rick did enough to pull out the 6-4 win and remain alive.  Like Chris, he will need help but at this point week-to-week survival is the only concern.

KK Thunderwolves (3-14-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (13-5-1)

The week’s final match saw the Thunderwolves take a shot at the Lannisters in their final match of the year.  Despite having a staff full of injured starters, the Lannisters found a way to win with pitching for the week.  Rich Hill’s near-no-hitter led the way, and his 0.11 WHIP contributed to the Lannisters’ strong total.  The bullpen came through as well, with both stars and part timers contributing saves.  Fernando Rodney, Brad Hand, and Sam Dyson had four saves total.  Kenley Jansen added two more.  Kyle struggled for the week with disastrous starts from Michael Wacha, Aaron Nola, and Marcus Stroman.  The Lannisters took four of five categories.

On offense, neither team delivered stellar stats, but the Lannisters did enough to take three more categories and win the week.  Marcell Ozuna had four home runs, and three other players had two each.  The Lannisters’ offensive depth paid dividends yet again.  Robinson Cano and Paul DeJong had strong SLG numbers in limited use.  Kyle had a great week from Adrian Beltre, but little else to offer.  The Thunderwolves fell, but tried their best to remain competitive despite early pitching disasters.  The win keeps the Lannisters I first place, 1.5 games ahead of the nearest competitor.

Next Week

There are two huge matches next week.  First, the Legion will fight for their lives against the Lannisters.  Next, the Possums face the Goofballs.  The Possums must win this game to remain in contention.  Both of these teams are hoping for a Legion victory.  The Lannisters will cheer for the Possums to keep the Goofballs at bay, and more teams at medium distance.  The Armadillos face the Lasershow.  The Armadillos are another team who would benefit from a Legion victory.  The only meaningless match of the week pairs the Thunderwolves and PhoeGnomes.  Both teams are playing for pride and will want to stay sharp for their final matches of the year against the league leaders.