LK Armadillos (13-6-4) vs. CP Legion (12-7-4)

The week’s biggest battle paired two teams fighting to stay alive and capture the title. The league’s most bitter rivalry played out with everything on the line. The Legion took advantage of a huge week from Aaron Judge. He had five home runs and nine RBIs. Francisco Lindor contributed three more homers, and Chris was second in the league in the category. The team also tied for the league lead in steals. With this much power, it seems like the Legion should have possessed the advantage. However, the Armadillos countered with a great week from Giancarlo Stanton. He hit five home runs and had 13 RBI, along with a 0.484 OBP. The Armadillos enjoyed success up and down the lineup and led the league in RBI and were second in SLG. This gave Larry a 3-2 advantage before pitching.
The Legion have the best ERA in the league on the season. Unfortunately, Chris’s arms let the team down at the worst possible time. Dylan Bundy, Robbie Ray, and Kenta Maeda imploded, and the Legion struggled to a 5.55 ERA. The team managed a few saves and wins, but the short outings cost Chris the chance to take strikeouts. WHIP was also out of reach. The Armadillos had the second best ERA in the league thanks to quality innings from Drew Pomeranz, J.A. Happ, and others. The week’s final totals were close, but the general feeling was that the Armadillos were always in control.
The win creates upheaval in the standings. The Armadillos are now in first place after the PhoeGnomes upset the Lannisters. If the Armadillos win their final match, they will claim the league title. The bitter loss means Chris is out of contention for the title. However, his ability to compete in what seemed to be a transition year should be applauded. This loss will also add a new chapter to the Armadillos/Legion rivalry for next year.

JK Lannisters (15-7-1) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (10-12-1)

After a difficult week against the Possums, the Lannisters needed a win against the PhoeGnomes to stay in control of their own fate. The Lannisters’ pitching stepped up and posted solid numbers. The team led the league in strikeouts and saves by a wide margin. They were second in WHIP and third in wins. Unfortunately for Jeff, Heather’s team had the best ERA, WHIP, and wins totals. Heather earned three categories behind strong starts from Charlie Morton, Chris Sale, and Lucas Giolito.
Heather’s offense also picked up the slack. She led the league in home runs thanks to an explosion of power from many role players. Eleven different PhoeGnomes had at least one home run. Justin Bour was the best of the week with three homers and eight RBIs. The Lannisters had a nice week from Justin Upton, but injuries to almost half of the team’s starting lineup took its toll. Heather won four categories and captured the week. The Lannisters are now a half game behind the Armadillos for the lead.

KG Capital City Goofballs (13-8-2) vs. SM Lasershow (2-18-3)

The Goofballs managed to stay alive despite some miscues and scares. The Lannisters’ loss gave Kevin hope of capturing a share of the title. A.J. Pollock led the way with three home runs. Rhys Hoskins had seven RBI but with a low SLG. This was a trend for the Goofballs, who had a solid home run total but weak SLG figure. The Lasershow took advantage and won RBI and SLG. Rafael Devers had two home runs and an 0.800 SLG. Tommy Pham had two steals. This led to a 2-2-1 category split.
The Goofballs’ season rested on their pitching. Fortunately for Kevin, the team answered the call. No Goofballs starter lasted more than six innings, but none allowed more than three earned runs in a start. This was good for a solid ERA and win total. The Lasershow couldn’t take advantage. Despite a slight roster miscue, the Goofballs were able to hold out and stay alive. The implications for the standings will be discussed below.

KK Thunderwolves (4-16-3) vs. RK Possums (11-6-6)

The week’s final match saw Possums with a chance to stay alive. However, the Thunderwolves stepped up and ended Rick’s season by battling to a tie. The Possums had a good home run total but the team’s SLG and OBP were relatively low. The Thunderwolves took those categories and tied for the league lead in steals. Ryan Braun was the best player for the Thunderwolves, but Ian Kinsler slugged four home runs for the Possums. This prevented Kyle for earning a five category sweep.
On pitching, both teams did well. The Possums earned better counting stats thanks to two wins from Max Scherzer. Kyle had two good starts from Chase Anderson. Despite a good WHIP, the Possums lost the ERA battle thanks to horrible weeks from Masahiro Tanaka and Jeff Samardzjia. Kluber and Scherzer weren’t enough to pull out the win. The tie drops the Possums from title contention, and the team will finish somewhere between third and fifth. Despite losing out, the Possums have had a great season. Rick made several good moves during the season and the team is tied with the Armadillos for the fewest losses on the year. If Rick can convert some of his ties into wins, he will be back near the top again next year.

Next Week

The season ends with two matches that will decide everything. The Armadillos and Goofballs meet in the most important match of the season. If the Armadillos win, they win the championship. If the Goofballs win, they will move into a tie with the Armadillos. Then, attention shifts to the Lannisters, who close against the Lasershow. If the Goofballs win or tie, the Lannisters will claim the title with a victory outright or via tiebreaker over the Armadillos. If the Goofballs win and the Lannisters lose, the Armadillos and Goofballs will share the title since their tiebreaker would be even at 2-2.
If the Goofballs win and the Lannisters tie, then there is a three-way tie for first. The Lannisters hold a tiebreaker over the Armadillos, but not the Goofballs (the teams are 2-2). This means that Jeff would finish ahead of Larry in theory. However, since the Goofballs are tied with the Armadillos, it’s impossible to place Larry below Kevin, and thus the three way tie is unresolvable since Kevin is even with Jeff. If one team held a tiebreaker over both other teams it would be possible.
If the Armadillos and Lannsiters both win, the Lannisters will actually finish the season with more wins. This would be the first time in the history of the league that the team with the most wins did not win the championship. Everything will depend on the Armadillos/Goofballs matchup. Kevin has incentive, since he can possibly share the title. The Lannisters are in the unfamiliar position of needing help. The Armadillos can control their own fate, but with strange player usage in the last week, anything can happen. This is the closest finish in the history of the league, and everything is on the line!