HP PhoeGnomes (0-2-1) vs.  RK Possums (2-1)

Entering Week 04, only the PhoeGnomes and Goofballs stood winless.  Despite a solid challenge from the Possums, Heather earned her first win of the season with  the strongest all-around performance in the league.  The PhoeGnomes led the league in ERA, saves, WHIP, and SLG.  This balanced performance was too much for the Possums to overcome.

Heather’s lesser known starters set the tone.  Junior Geurra, Joey Lucchesi, and Hyun-Jin Ryu were all strong.  Bigger name like Gio Gonzalez and Chris Sale were effective but unspectacular.  The bullpen collected six saves (three each from Aroldis Chapman and Brandon Morrow).  They did not allow a run in 9.1 innings pitched.  This effort stabilized WHIP and ERA, as well.  Rick had a good week from Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander but Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello were not at their best.  Rick led the league in strikeouts by a wide margin, but he was not competitive in the rate categories.  This gave Heather a 3-1-1 advantage.

On offense, both teams showed good home run power.  Twelve players had home runs between the two teams, including a monster week from Didi Gregorious and Joey Votto.  The two Possums’ stars had four homers each and totaled 18 RBI.  Heather was more balanced, and Mitch Haniger led the team with three home runs.  The teams tied in total home runs at 11-11.  Rick carried an edge in RBI thanks to Votto and Gregorious, but Heather got three steals from Trea Turner and took the category.  The PhoeGnomes also took SLG and OBP thanks to their more balanced approach.  The win puts the PhoeGnomes on the board for the first time this season.  After a series of listless weeks, Heather’s team finally put together a complete attack.  The Possums fall to 0.500 after a tough loss.  Rick’s numbers would have beaten several other teams, so there is likely no cause for concern.

JK Lannisters (3-0) vs.  LK Armadillos (2-1-1)

The contentious Armadillos and Lannisters rivalry began for 2018, but the matchup was decided early in the week.  The Armadillos enjoyed a power surge while the Lannisters’ pitchers struggled and the offense couldn’t keep up.  Eleven different Armaidllos players had home runs including four from Gary Sanchez.  Ozzie Albies added three, and even part-timers like Edwin Encarnacion and Christain Villanueva had home runs.  The Lannisters had a nice week from Mookie Betts and Jose Abreu, but their efforts couldn’t keep pace with the Armadillos.  Larry had nine home runs after just three days, and the offensive battle was over at mid-week.  The team easily led the league in home runs and RBI.  The Lannisters took steals and OBP, but it wasn’t enough to be competitive.

Neither team had outstanding pitching, but the Lannisters’ meltdown handed the Armadillos all five categories in a rout.  Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton came back to earth after hot starts.  Stephen Strasburg struggled, and Fernando Rodney had an infinite ERA.  The Armadillos weren’t great either, but had good bullpen activity.  Craig Kimbrel was the only reliever to allow a run.  Noah Syndergaard had a solid start and it was more than enough to secure all five categories.  A strong win for the Armadillos was overdue, and the Lannisters’ pitching remains a concern.  After having the best performance in the league last week, Jeff needs to find consistency.   The Armadillos are always a troublesome matchup for the defending champs, though, and this week was no different.  Every team now has at least one loss, and even teams at the bottom of the standings are just two games back.

KK Thunderwolves (1-1-1) vs.  SM Lasershow (1-2)

The Thunderwolves continued to surprise the league with a solid win versus the Lasershow.  Kyle is now above 0.500 for the first time since his Week 01 win in 2017.  The Thunderwolves relied on good pitching and just enough offense to secure the victory.  Ivan Lova was dominant in his one start, and James Paxton accumulated 10 strikeouts in just six innings pitched.  Cody Allen recorded two saves and Kyle took four of five pitching categories.  The Lasershow endured a nightmare outing from Jameson Taillon, and other starters like Zack Godley fared little better.  Tyler Chatwood was a bright spot – he allowed just one earned run in 13.0 innings pitched.  However, his good work was undone by Steven Matz and other starters.

On offense, neither team performed well.  The Thunderwolves were at the bottom of the league in home runs and RBI.  The Lasershow lagged in OBP and SLG.  Kyle was surprisingly dominant in steals – he led the league with eight.  Whit Merrifield had three and then five other Thunderwolves had one steal each.  The team’s speed isn’t a fluke – they are second in steals for the season overall.

The Thunderwolves’ offensive struggles are becoming a problem, but the team has endured several injuries.  Eight players are either on the DL or day-to-day on offense alone.  Two pitchers are day-to-day.  Kyle’s main sources of power are on the disabled list, so the lack of home runs makes some sense.  The team will have to rely on good pitching and speed to win going forward.  The Lasershow have faded after their Week 01 win, and need to look for answers on both sides of the ball.

CP Legion (1-1-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1-2)

The week’s final match was a bizarre encounter between the Goofballs and Legion.  Neither team has found a rhythm this season, and Week 04 was no different.  The Goofballs posted good power numbers and won three categories with ease – home runs, RBI, and SLG.  Kyle Schwarber had three home runs and three other Goofballs had two each.  Freddie Freeman was the star for the week with a 0.412 OBP and 0.710 SLG.  However, the team struggled to get on base.  Brian Dozier lead the team in plate appearances but had a miserable 0.242 OBP.  The Legion lacked power outside of Yoan Moncada, but did post a slightly better OBP for the week.  Ender Inciarte had four steals to salvage a tie in the category.  This gave Kevin a 3-1-1 edge before pitching.

The Goofballs have the worst ERA in the league for the season by almost three-quarters of a run.  (4.51 vs 3.81 for the Lasershow).  This week was emblematic of the team’s struggles.  Jose Berrios, Dylan Bundy, and David Price all had ERAs over 7.50.  Somehow Chris Archer and Zack Wheeler managed wins, though, and this secured a tie in the category for Kevin.  Chris had much better rate stats and strikeouts.  However, the week could have gone much differently if Robbie Ray had not gone down with an injury on Sunday.  Ray left the game after just 1.1 innings pitched.  This left Chris with no chance to break the tie in wins.   The week ended in an ugly 4-4-2 tie.  Neither team can be happy with their performance.  Each missed opportunities – Chris Taylor had a home run and steal on the bench for the Legion on Saturday.  Ian Desmond ha d a Saturday steal for the Goofballs.

The plus side for Kevin is that his team is tied for second in home runs and is in second for RBI and SLG for the league.  The base is there, but he needs to get his pitching under control. The Legion are second in OBP and near the top in most pitching categories.  They need better power and more consistency.

Next Week

The key match for next week pairs the Possums with the Goofballs.  Kevin is desperate for a win, but Rick has been off to a good start.  The PhoeGnomes hope to keep their momentum against the equally hot Armadillos.  The Lannisters face the Thunderwolves after a tough loss.  Kyle will have his work cut out for him to stay above 0.500.  Finally, the Legion meet the Lasershow.

RK Possums (2-0) vs.  CP Legion (0-1-1)

The week’s most interesting match-up paired the unbeaten Possums with the Legion.  Rick started the season hot and Chris was searching for answers after two disappointing showings.  Both teams posted solid numbers, but the Legion left with the needed victory.

The Legion generated solid offensive numbers.  They led the league in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  Jose Ramirez led the way with four home runs and a 0.955 SLG.  Carlos Correa had a nice week as well with two home runs, a steal, and a 0.833 SLG.  Aaron Judge added three home runs and a 0.444 OBP.  In all, nine Legion players had homers.  The Possums were able to stay close, though, with a good week from a surprising source – Didi Gregorius.  The shortstop had three home runs and seven RBI.  The Possums weren’t close in home runs or OBP, but they had a good OBP and were second in the league in RBI.  They also tied the Legion in steals.  This gave Chris a narrow 3-1-1 advantage.

The Legion gained separation through excellent pitching.  Chris’s team led the league in ERA and were third in WHIP.  Blake Snell was strong in two starts, and Mike Clevinger through a shutout.  No Legion pitcher had an ERA above 3.90.  Lance McCullers had the highest WHIP of any of the Legion’s starters at just 1.50.  The team had fewer strikeouts than expected (Clevinger struck out just three in his shutout) but the rate stats were far too dominant for the Possums.  The Possums had okay rate numbers and managed to win strikeouts and wins.  Corey Kluber was solid with two wins.  However, Masahiro Tanaka’s poor start eliminated the Possums from ERA and WHIP.  A tie in the saves category meant that the Legion earned a hard-fought win.  The Legion were desperate for good shows on both the hitting and pitching side.  They finally got both in the same week.  Rick is likely disappointed in the week’s outcome but fought hard for a third week and could have won against other teams.  Both teams have momentum going into the fourth week.

HP PhoeGnomes (0-1-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (2-0)

Like the Legion, the PhoeGnomes needed a victory to get their 2018 campaign moving.  They faced a tough Lannisters team.  The PhoeGnomes had an excellent week from Mitch Haniger who hit three home runs and had seven RBI.  George Springer added another homer and eight RBIs.  Rafael Devers had a pair of home runs and seven RBIs in part-time duty.  Heather had excellent power and RBI production – she led the league in RBI and was near the top in SLG.  Her OBP was second in the league and she easily won steals.  However, the Lannisters responded with strong power numbers.  They finished second in home runs and SLG.  Manny Machado led the way with five home runs.  Mike Trout added three and Nelson Cruz contributed a pair.  The Lannisters didn’t get the RBI production they would have liked, but their home run power carried them to a win in SLG.  This gave Heather a 3-2 lead before pitching.

Normally, the Lannisters struggle when they win fewer than three offensive categories.  However, the team’s revamped pitching staff came together in Week 03 and turned in a dominant performance.  The Lannisters led the league in strikeouts and saves.  They were second in WHIP and wins, and third in ERA.  Jacob deGrom had two starts and 22 strikeouts.  Garret Richards added another 11 in just 6.0 innings pitched.  Gerrit Cole remained red-hot.  Luis Castillo was dominant until the late innings of his start.  Overall, the effort was the best the Lannisters have seen in weeks from their embattled staff.  The PhoeGnomes tried to counter with strong pitching, and finished with decent numbers.  However, Heather did not have any of her better pitchers (like Chris Sale) on a two-start week.  This forced her to deploy lesser names like Hyun-Jin Ryu and Junior Guerra.  Both responded with great starts, but others like Joey Lucchesi struggled.  The Lannisters swept pitching for the first time in forever and earned a third consecutive win.  The PhoeGnomes made progress, but the Lannisters are a terrible matchup for Heather’s team when Jeff’s pitching does well.  The PhoeGnomes will have to wait at least one more week for their first win.  Meanwhile, the Lannisters hope their new pitching staff can continue to offer this kind of production.

SM Lasershow (1-1) vs.  LK Armadillos (0-1-1)

The Armadillos were able to pick up a much-needed win against the Lasershow.  Larry relied on solid pitching while Sean’s team struggled to find a rhythm.  Patrick Corbin was almost unhittable for the Armadillos.  He made two starts, struck out 19, and allowed just five baserunners in 15.0 innings pitched.  Carlos Carrasco was equally strong in his single start.  Despite subpar outings from Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard, the Armadillos had the second best ERA and lowest WHIP in the league.  They also finished second in strikeouts and wins.  It’s rare for such solid rate stats to accompany high strikeout totals, but the Armadillos, Legion, and Lannisters al pulled it off this week.  Sean was unable to challenge in any of the pithing categories.  The team had the worst rate stats in the league and failed to capitalize on a lack of Armadillos’ saves.  This put Sean in the tough position of being down 0-5 before accounting for hitting.

Both teams struggled on offense.  The teams were last and next to last in home runs and RBI.  Only the Thunderwolves had a worse OBP and SLG than either of the teams.  The Armadillos had seven home runs from seven different players, and no player with more than six RBIs.  Nick Castellanos was the best of the group, and Starling Marte had three steals.  Josh Reddick and Travis Shaw had good weeks for the Lasershow.  The pair combined for five home runs, 11 RBIs, and 14 walks.  However, the Lasershow didn’t have good production from their part time players.  Larry was able to take three categories and cruise to a comfortable win.  After a great start in Week 01, the Lasershow have now lost one and tied one game.  They need to re-evaluate, after a week of struggles on both sides of the ball.  The Armadillos pitching was excellent, but the offense needs to improve against the league’s top teams.

KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-1)

The week’s final match featured a bizarre tie from the Goofballs and Thunderwolves.  The match saw each team deploy dozens of players, but somehow leave a no-hitter on the bench.  The Goofball’s strength was their offense.  Javier Baez stayed red-hot with three home runs, nine RBIs, a 0.480 OBP and a 1.040 SLG.  Kyle Schwarber added seven RBI and a home run while AJ Pollock and Mike Moustakas had two each.  This yielded a good RBI, SLG, and OBP total for Kevin.  However, Kyle enjoyed some good power numbers and managed a tie in steals.  Whit Merrifield had three home runs while several other Thunderwolves contributed.  Their stats weren’t enough for Kyle to win any categories, but they secured a tie in home runs and steals.  Sunday was a bitter day for the Goofballs – Anthony Rendon didn’t play but was stuck in the lineup while Mike Moustakas hit a home run… on the bench.  This home run would have secured a win for the week by breaking the category tie.

On pitching, things were even stranger.  The Thunderwolves had middling stats, but they were good enough to earn plenty of category wins.  For example, Kyle’s team ERA was 4^th in the league, his WHIP was 5^th, and his strikeouts were 6^th.  He was able to win all three categories!  Aaron Nola was good for Kyle, but Yu Darvish had a disastrous game and Shohei Ohtani dealt with an injury.  The Goofballs were in a similar situation.  Jose Berrios and Julio Teheran were great and didn’t allow a run.  But Keone Kela struggled and Andrew Triggs was a 1.2 IP disaster.

Most painful for Kevin was Sean Manaea’s performance.  He threw a not hitter and struck out 10, but was on the bench.  Manaea was facing the Red Sox and Chris Sale, so the decisions makes sense.  However, his stats would have turned the tide in WHIP.  It’s tough to blame Kevin for sitting him, but the Goofballs will be haunted by the decisions as they look for their first win.  For his part, Kyle had a pretty good week and is in the middle of the standings with a 1-1-1 record.

Next Week

In Week 04, the Armadillos will try to figure things out against the Lannisters.  Larry is one of the few managers to have success against the Lannisters over the past few years, but he will need better offensive production.  The PhoeGnomes will try to get their first win against the Possums.  The Lasershow and Thunderwolves meet in a battle to stay close early.  Finally, the Goofballs face the Legion in an intriguing match-up.  Kevin can’t afford to fall three or four games behind so early in the season.  The Legion will to continue to improve and secure a winning record.

Elo Note

There is a problem with the program I wrote to create the Elo ratings.  I’m going to try to fix it this week or weekend.  Thank you for your patience.

A series of weather events spoiled many games in Week 01.  The trend continued for Week 02.  Off days and cancellations created lineup chaos and left managers searching for options.  The net result was two ties and two narrow victories.

KK Thunderwolves (1-0) vs.  RK Possums (1-0)

The week’s most interesting match featured the Thunderwolves and Possums.  Both teams won in Week 01.  Rick was able to remain undefeated with a narrow 5-4-1 win.  The Possums’ best stats came from Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.  The pair made four starts, threw 31 innings pitched, struck out 41, and allowed just three runs.  Verlander had a 0.47 WHIP, but Scherzer was even better at 0.25.  Corey Kluber and Tanner Roark was almost as good in their two starts.  The team’s 0.57 WHIP over 58.1 IP was easily the best in the league and likely a record.

Kyle wasn’t able to compete in ERA or WHIP, but he made up some ground in counting stats.  The Thunderwolves had four wins from starters and a fluke victory from Jeurys Familia.  Poor starts from Alex Wood and Yu Darvish inflated Kyle’s rate stats, and Rick took strikeouts with a league leading total.  Kyle won saves, but Rick carried a 3-0-1 advantage into the hitting categories.

Both teams had good offensive weeks.  The Possums led the league in RBI and Kyle was tied for second in home runs.  Rick had a small lead in SLG while Kyle won steals and OBP by equally thin margins.  The Thunderwolves best player was DJ LeMahieu.  He had three home runs and a 0.800 SLG.  Rick answered with a monster four home run week from Khris Davis (who slugged 0.957).  Charlie Blackmon remained hot amid the rainouts and added two more home runs and a 1.000 SLG.  The Possums did just enough – they won two categories to Kyle’s three.  This was enough for Rick to record a win.

The Thunderwolves’ positive start is welcome, but injuries could be building.  Six of Kyle’s position players used in Week 02 are either on the DL or day-to-day.

JK Lannisters (1-0) vs.  SM Lasershow (1-0)

The other team to record a victory in Week 02 was the Lannisters.  The Lasershow put up a good fight early in the week.  However, the Lannisters’ depth carried the team late in the week.  Neither team had great pitching stats.  The Lannisters had the second-worst ERA in the league and the Lasershow weren’t far behind.  Sean had the fewest strikeouts and Jeff had the lowest win total.  The Lannisters were led by the Astros’ Charlie Morton.  He struck out 12 in just six innings pitched.  His good work was undone by a terrible Jose Quintana effort (2.1 IP / 7 earned runs).  Jameson Taillon had a good start for the Lasershow but Michael Fulmer was dreadful.  The Lannisters took a 3-2 lead thanks to an edge in saves.

The Lannisters were better on offense.  Mike Trout added three home runs while Bryce Harper stayed hot.  Matt Chapman was good in limited duty, as was Corey Seager.  The Lasershow got another good week from Yadier Molina.  Francisco Lindor showed signs of heating up with a 0.636 SLG.  Tommy Pham stole three bases.  Pham was open during the off season about wanting to run more, and he appears to be making good on his promise with five steals already.  By the end of the week Sean won steals with ease but the Lannisters were too much in the other categories.  The Lasershow held a lead early in the week but wasn’t able to close out.  The Lannisters earned an ugly win.  Neither team will be thrilled with their performances, but both have some momentum to carry into Week 03.

LK Armadillos (0-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1)

The first of two ties this week belongs to the Goofballs and Armadillos.  After rainouts played havoc with both teams’ pitching matchups, the score was left at 5-5.  The two teams used a combined 44 players (22 each) on offense and 22 total pitchers.  This means that the two teams deployed 66 of their 80 total players.  I do not keep records on how many players enter games but this total has to be near the top.  It also demonstrates why the week was so challenging.  Players like Kole Calhoun, Jason Kipnis, Jesse Winker and Max Kepler saw action (though some were simply in games that were eventually rained out and thus contributed no stats.

Kevin had great power for the week.  Ten players hit home runs including two each from Scott Kingery, Javier Baez, and A.J. Pollock.  The Goofballs led the league in homers and SLG.  The Armadillos had good power too, including eight players with home runs.  They also totaled 12 steals thanks to four from Dee Gordon and three from Billy Hamilton.  This number easily led the league.  The Armadillos’ steal total was greater than every other team’s home run total for the week.  The Armadillos also edged a win in RBI despite a strong push by Kevin on Sunday.  Kevin took three categories but it would prove to be insufficient after counting pitching.

Larry went into Sunday losing several categories.  However, he started by Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard.  The pair scored 23 strikeouts in just 12.1 innings pitched.  At one point, the Mets game was in doubt and Bartolo Colon was the only available starter who could be used late in the day.  The Armadillos picked up Colon, who went into the eighth inning with a perfect game!  He wasn’t needed, though, since the Mets game was not postponed.  Kevin had worse luck with The Cubs/Braves and Twins/White Sox games were postponed.  However, the Armadillos were not able to take strikeouts despite leading the league in ERA and saves.  Four Armadillos’ relievers had at least two saves and Patrick Corbin allowed the most runs for the week at three.  The teams settled for a draw.  Though both would have liked to win, they are probably happy with just avoiding a loss after the chaos during the week.

HP PhoeGnomes (0-1) vs.  CP Legion (0-1)

The week’s final match saw the Legion and PhoeGnomes battle to a strange 4-4-2 tie.  The Legion were strong on offense and were at the top of the league in home runs, SLG, and OBP.  They easily bested Heather’s totals with room to spare in every category but steals.  Paul Goldschmidt led the way with four home runs, eight RBIs, and a 1.042 SLG.  Chris Taylor had a great week in limited time.  He contributed two home runs in just a few games played.  Heather struggled to find any offensive rhythm and ended up at the bottom of the league in all five offensive categories.  She managed to have more RBI than the Lasershow, but was last or tied for last in all four other categories.

Heather fared better on pitching.  She had a great week from Chris Sale who struck out 16 in just 11 IP.  Joey Lucchesi had a nice start as well.  Chris threw fewer innings and had a brilliant week from Carlos Martinez.  He struck out 15 min 13 IP and allowed just one earned run.  All of his good work was undone by a Lance McCullers implosion and general ineffectiveness from the rest of the rotation.  Heather won four categories with ease.  Both teams also recorded just one save.  This was a prime category for one team to gain the advantage but the bad weather again cost both teams.  Like the Armadillos and Goofballs, the Legion and PhoeGnomes are probably happy with a tie.  Both had opportunities and will try to get on track in the coming weeks.

Next Week

The Legion are off to a slow start and have to get things rolling against the Possums.  Rick is one of two undefeated managers and he will try his best to remain at the top of the league.  Heather and the PhoeGnomes take on the Lannisters, who have pitching and injury issues to deal with.  The Lasershow will have to take on the Armadillos, who have put up good numbers despite being winless.  Finally, the Goofballs meet the Thunderwolves.  Both teams need a win to build momentum.

The season opened with several impressive upsets.  The Thunderwolves, Lasershow, and Possums all took advantage of a long week to capture victories.  The Lannisters were to only favorite to win, but they had to fight off a determined Goofballs effort.  The long week gave teams the chance to start their best pitchers as many as three times.  A series of rainouts and odd scheduling decisions caused chaos as managers would find players inexplicably locked out of their lineups from postponements.  When put together, these factors created a volatile environment that produced unusual results.

HP PhoeGnomes vs.  SM Lasershow

The most surprising result of the week saw the Lasershow upset the PhoeGnomes.  Sean improved his team through trades and the draft this offseason.  However, he was still at a disadvantage to Heather’s star power.  He made up the difference with a strong pitching week.  The Lasershow had the best ERA in the league.  This is even more impressive considering the worst ERA was just 3.59.  Jameson Taillon was the star of the week with 14.1 innings pitched, five hits, and 16 strikeouts.  Archie Bradley and Michael Fulmer contributed great stats as well.

It seems like Heather should have been more competitive in ERA.  Luke Weaver, Gio Gonzalez, and Chris Sale combined for six starts, 33.2 IP, 38 strikeouts, and just five earned runs.  Their solid work was undone by a bad week from Blake Parker, a reliever.  He gave up four earned runs in just 4.2 IP.  Aaron Sanchez was worse for the Lasershow (7 earned runs in 11.2 IP) but Sean’s bullpen was more efficient.  The team also recorded seven more strikeouts over eight more innings pitched than the PhoeGnomes.  This gave Sean a 2-2-1 tie heading into the hitting categories.

Both teams struggled offensively, but Sean edged a win with good home run and RBI totals.  Justin Smoak had two homers and 10 RBI.  Yadier Molina was solid in part time duty with two home runs.  Other players like David Peralta had good OBPs (0.478) and SLGs (0.529).  This was enough to yield category victories in home runs, RBIs, SLG, and OBP.  Heather led the league in steals thanks to Trea Tuner, but the rest of the team struggled.  Paul DeJong managed a SLG of 0.067 in 15 at bats.  No PhoeGnome with more than 10 at bats had a SLG over 0.500.  The end result was an upset for Sean and a series of lingering questions for Heather.  Sean has also won the most opening day match-ups (three) over the past four seasons.  He hopes to continue the trend and move into the upper tier of the league.

RK Possums vs.  LK Armadillos

The Possums and Armadillos are known for having tough, intense battles.  This week was no exception.  Both teams had strong power numbers, but oddly low rate stats.  Each team had 14 home runs and combined for 80 RBIs.  However, neither team was able to get over 0.400 SLG and only the Possums were able to get their OBP over 0.300.

Charlie Blackmon had four home runs and Joey Gallo added three for the Possums.  Five other Possums players had homers as well.  Didi Gregorious added two steals and a solid OBP and SLG in limited work.  Other Possums stars were less efficient at getting on base.  Gallo and Khris Davis were well below 0.300.  Joey Votto managed just a 0.226 SLG.  These results caused an odd mix of high home run and RBI totals but low rate stats.

The Armadillos had ten different players with home runs, including three from Giancarlo Stanton.  Starling Marte added two steals.  Nick Castellanos had 11 hits to lead the team.  However, only three Armadillos’ players had an OBP over 0.350.  Gary Sanchez had a particularly bad week.  He had just two hits in 31 at bats.  Dee Gordon’s three steals gave Larry the category, and the Armadillos took OBP.  The Possums grabbed both rate stats, and the teams tied in home runs.  This meant pitching would decide the match-up.

Rick relied on two starts each from three of his best pitchers – Scherzer, Kluber, and Tanaka.  The three answered the challenge with 38.1 innings pitched, eight earned runs, and 46 strikeouts.  This set a strong foundation that was supplemented by good bullpen work.  The Armadillos countered with Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard.  The duo started five games, but were more hittable than Rick’s best pitchers.  More importantly, they only earned one win between them (despite a really good week from Kershaw).  The teams threw about the same number of innings but Rick recorded ten more strikeouts.  Larry dominated saves, but the team couldn’t compete in ERA or WHIP.

The pitching stalemate gave Rick a close 5-3-2 victory.  The Armadillos had a good chance to earn a tie at the end, but fell just one home run and win short.  Both teams have concerns on the offensive side, but the pitching performances were both encouraging.  The Armadillos will need to regroup while the Possums can carry some confidence into their next matchup.

KK Thunderwolves vs. CP Legion

The week’s third upset featured the Thunderwolves overtaking the Legion.  Kyle relied on a surprising offensive output and an incredible bullpen to gain the victory.  Kyle’s stars included Ryan Braun and Gregory Polanco.  The two each and two home runs and combined for 13 RBI.  Rhys Hoskins added a home run and two steals.  Dansby Swanson showed improvement with a home run, a steal, and OBP and SLG near the top of the team.  Swanson was a bust last season, and Kyle needs him to make significant progress to compete.  He showed positive signs in Week 01.

Chris suffered the same fate as Rick and Larry – his team hit a lot of home runs but struggled to get men on base or develop a high SLG number.  Miguel Sano had the best week with three home runs and a 0.727 SLG.  Paul Goldschmidt had 10 walks and Aaron Judge provided some power.  Carlos Correa started strong with two home runs and nine RBI, but there was little other power to be found.  Kyle had a strong lead in steals and took three other categories to Chris’s one (home runs).

The Legion fared better in pitching.  They led the league in strikeouts and wins by a wide margin.  They were near the top in ERA and WHIP and tied for the lead in saves.  Luis Severino and Carlos Martinez combined for four starts, 29 strikeouts, three wins, and just six earned runs.  Robbie Ray struggled in two starts, but did manage 17 strikeouts over 11 innings pitched.  Roberta Osuna was a star out of the bullpen with four saves.  Kyle answered with a huge week from Jeurys Familia who had four saves of his own.  The teams tied for the league lead with eight saves.  Chris had a clear edge in strikeouts, wins, and ERA.  However, Kyle had a superior WHIP.  Carlos Martinez and Robbie Ray each allowed eight walks.  By comparison, Aaron Nola gave up the most for Kyle and had only 5 in 10.1 innings.  Kyle’s pitchers were less wild and his edge in the category gave him a narrow 5-4-1 win.

After a challenging season, Kyle is likely thrilled to open the year win a win.  The Legion are stunned but will try to rebound when the schedule evens out.

JK Lannisters vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs

The week’s final match didn’t feature an upset but it was still competitive until the end.  The Goofballs started strong with a good offensive push.  Brian Dozier had four home runs and a steal.  Freddie Freeman had a monster week with two home runs, 11 RBI, and 13 walks.  Elvis Andrus started strong with a home run and an OBP over 0.400.  In total, ten different Goofballs had home runs.

The Lannisters started the week cold but answered late in the week with an explosion of power.  The Lannisters led the league in home runs, RBI, OBP, and SLG.  They even finished second in steals.  Mike Trout started strong with three home runs and two steals.  Bryce Harper was unstoppable with six home runs, 12 RBI, 13 walks, and a steal.  The Lannisters depth showed its strength, too.  Justin Upton and Marcell Ozuna each had a home run and combined to slug well over 0.600 in part-time duty.  The offensive sweep put the Lannisters into a good position.

On pitching, neither team was as effective as some others in the league.  Gerrit Cole was a star for the defending champs – he threw 14 innings and struck out 22.  Much of his good work was undone by a terrible outing from Jon Lester.  Wade Davis led the way from the bullpen with four saves.  Kevin had a good week from David Price, but the team’s other starters were up and down.  Jose Berrios had one good start and one weak one.  The Goofballs had about eight more innings pitched than the Lannisters, but they lost the strikeouts category.  The Lannisters managed a few more saves and wins, and took the week with relative comfort by the weekend.

The Goofballs can take some comfort in their collective performance.  They would have been competitive against all of the other teams in the league.  The Lannisters put the league on notice that their offense is still a force and the pitching staff is showing signs of improvement.

Next Week

Now that the first long week is over, teams can prepare for more regular schedules and off-days in Week 02.  The Lasershow will try to continue their strong performances against the tough Lannister squad.  The Goofballs and Armadillos will try to pick up their first wins, as will the PhoeGnomes and Legion.  Finally, the Possums and Thunderwolves meet in an earlier battle to stay undefeated.