JK Lannisters (4-1-2) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (1-3-3)

The second cycle of the season began with an interesting match between the Goofballs and Lannisters.  Kevin’s team has struggled all year despite having good season totals in a number of categories.  On offense, the Goofballs are third in home runs and second in RBI, steals, OBP and SLG for the season.  This success hasn’t translated into many wins because the pitching staff has been near the bottom of the league in ERA, WHIP, and other metrics.  The pattern continued against the Lannisters.

The Goofballs enjoyed good offensive numbers.  The team deployed an astonishing 23 players in an effort to gain matchup advantages.  This generated a league-leading OBP total.  However, the team’s power wasn’t able to match the Lannisters.  The Goofballs had seven players with a home run, but the Lannisters had nine.  Mike Trout and Bryce Harper had three each, and Mookie Betts added two steals and two home runs.  The Lannisters led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  This put Kevin at a 4-1 disadvantage.

On pitching, Kevin started the week with good numbers but faded just enough down the stretch to allow the Lannisters to pull away.  The Goofballs must be devastated to see such a good performance not equal a win.  Kevin’s stars were Jose Berrios and Dylan Bundy.  The pair had 24.1 innings pitched and struck out 31.  This gave Kevin a win in strikeouts (and the best total in the league).  Unfortunately the pair allowed 7 earned runs.  This was a good total, but not quite elite.  A Sean Manaea disaster further hurt the team’s ERA and WHIP when the pitcher allowed six earned runs in 3.2 innings.  This gave the Lannisters just enough room to sneak into the lead.  The leader was Walker Buehler.  The rookie threw 14.0 innings pitched and struck out 14.  He had a 1.29 ERA and 0.43 WHIP.  The bullpen didn’t allow an earned run and tallied 6 saves.  Kevin managed to take the saves category, but the volume of Lannisters’ work was enough to keep ERA and WHIP under control.  The Lannisters led the league in both ERA and WHIP.  They were second in wins.  This added up to a 7-3 win.  The Lannisters moved back into first place with the victory, and the Goofballs are left to ponder what they have to do to get a victory.  Kevin would have easily beaten every other team in the league.

LK Armadillos (5-1-1) vs.  RK Possums (4-2-1)

The most important match relative to the standings paired the Armadillos and Possums.  Rick’s victory in week one was the only loss the Armadillos suffered so far before this match.  The Possums continued their ability to frustrate top teams with a second win in Week 08.  However, the underlying numbers in the match give both teams reason to be concerned going forward.

On offense, neither team offered much of note.  They tied for last in home runs, were the bottom two in RBI and SLG, and only the Thunderwolves had a worse OBP.  Rick was able to make the most of the bad situation, though.  He had the better RBI, OBP, and SLG numbers.  Eugenio Suarez was a hero with two home runs and seven RBI to lead the team.  Nomar Mazara had a bizarre 0.400 OBP and 0.182 SLG line.  Cesar Hernandez dragged the Possums down with just four hits in 24 at-bats.  The Armadillos countered with a good week from Austin Meadows, who had two home runs and two steals.  His work was undone by a nightmare week from Trevor Story.  He went three for 23 with a SLG of 0.130.  Only three Armadillos’ regulars had a SLG above 0.280.  However, the team won steals, so Rick only held a 3-1-1 lead before pitching.

Both teams were substantially better on the mound.  The Lannisters had the best pitching stats for the week, but the Possums and Armadillos were right behind them.  Larry had an incredible nine saves for the week.  Mike Foltynewicz was great in two starts, striking out 12 with a 1.38 ERA.  Carlos Carrasco and Jake Odorizzi struggled somewhat, but the team had great numbers across the board.  Rick’s pitchers started the week great, but then faded on Sunday.  Miles Mikolas and Trevor Bauer allowed eight earned runs.  This gave the ERA edge to the Armadillos.  However, Bauer’s Sunday outing featured 13 strikeouts in just 7.1 innings pitched.  This was enough to flip the category despite Foltynewicz’s good game.  Larry kept the ERA category but Rick held on to WHIP.  This gave him three categories and a narrow win for the week.  The closeness of the WHIP and strikeout categories means this week could have gone in either direction.  However, the Possums’ staff was just a little bit more efficient in strikeouts and WHIP.  The loss drops the Armadillos out of first place.  The Possums, Lannisters, and Armadillos are now essentially equal.  The second victory also means the Possums cannot lose a late season tie-breaker with the Armadillos.  However, both teams will need to address their offensive performance to keep pace going forward.

HP PhoeGnomes (1-5-1) vs.  SM Lasershow (2-4-1)

The PhoeGnomes and Lasershow had an interesting match that featured a great offensive showing from Sean’s team.  However, their pitching was as bad as the hitting was good, and the final result was a needed win for Heather’s beleaguered squad.  The Lasershow were red-hot offensively.  They put up numbers on par with the Goofballs and Lannisters.  Travis Shaw had three home runs and 10 RBI.  Salvador Perez was right behind him with three homers and eight RBI.  Mitch Moreland had a pair of home runs.  The Moreland story continues to evolve for the Lasershow – no one in the league would have expected him to be a viable fantasy option before the season.  Heather had a nice week from Jose Altuve, who had three steals and a home run.   However, her general power numbers were low and she only managed to win one category.  Normally this would be a problem, but the pitching side of the match would tell a different story.

Heather’s team posted a solid five saves and had a nice start from Ross Stripling.  However, Chris Sale had a rare down week in two starts.  He had a 5.25 ERA.  Jhoulys Chacin also failed to deliver much value in his one start.  In total, the PhoeGnomes didn’t post abhorrent numbers but they would struggle to compete against most teams on most weeks.  Fortunately for Heather, the Lasershow suffered a complete collapse.  Sean’s team failed to record either a win or a save.  Andrew Miller went on the DL after posting a 40.50 ERA.  Zack Godley and Drew Pomeranz were shelled for 11 earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched.  Jameson Taillon struck out 14 over 12.1 innings pitched but also gave up nine runs.  This end result was a historically bad team ERA and WHIP.  The short starts also resulted in few strikeouts.  Heather earned a clean sweep and scored a much-needed win.  The Lasershow can take comfort in knowing that their offense was good enough to compete with any team in the league.  The starts who imploded weren’t bad pitchers, so there is definitely hope for better results in the future.

CP Legion (1-2-4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (3-3-1)

The week’s final match paired the Thunderwolves and the Legion.  Chris continued his streak of close calls, but ultimately earned a 5-4-1 win.  All five of Chris’s category wins came on offense.  Jose Ramirez stayed red-hot with two home runs.  Aaron Judge added three more, and a total of nine Legion batters had at least one.  The only Legion player who struggled to contribute was Jorge Soler, who managed a dismal 0-13 line.  Judge had a rare steal, which turned out to be crucial.  The Thunderwolves only had one steal, so this gave Chris the category win rather than a tie.  Had Judge not gotten his steal, Kyle would have tied the category and the week.  The Thunderwolves offense regressed, and was uncompetitive in the four other categories.

On pitching the battle was more even.  Kyle had a great bullpen week with seven saves from four relievers.  His other pitchers were more mediocre.  They all seemed to hover around the 4.50-6.80 ERA level except for Aaron Nola and James Paxton, who had nice starts.  Chris had the same problem and was sown in ERA and WHIP after another Land McCullers Jr. disaster start.  Nick Pivetta was good during two starts, and earned a win.  Kyle had a chance to tie for the week but Chase Anderson couldn’t get a Sunday win despite and good start.  This left Chris with a narrow victory.

Next Week

Cycle two continues with a series of interesting matches.  The Armadillos will try to get back on track against the Goofballs.  Kevin needs win, and win now, to stay competitive.  The Lannisters face the Lasershow in what has traditionally been a one-sided affair.  Sean will need his offense to come through, and the Lannisters have almost ten players injured, so anything can happen.  The Possums will take the fight to the Thunderwolves, and the Legion meet the PhoeGnomes.