RK Possums (9-3-3) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (5-9-1)

The Possums remained in a tie for first place thanks to a dominant showing against the Thunderwolves.  Rick had the second best overall showing for the week.  He had good numbers on both offense and pitching.  The Possums were near the top of the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  Khris Davis feasted on bad Ranger pitching with five home runs and 13 RBI.  He led the team with a 0.774 SLG.  Eugenio Suarez was close behind with another five home runs and nine RBI.  The team didn’t record a stolen base, and Kyle captured this category with a league-leading eight steals, five of which came from Whit Merrifield.  Rhys Hoskins had a great week, too.  He hit five home runs and had nine RBI.  This secured the category for the Thunderwolves.  Kyle was close in OBP, but Rick held him off and took a 3-2 lead.

On pitching, the Possums continued their solid overall production.  They led the league in wins and WHIP thanks to gems from Matt Scherzer and Trevor Bauer.  The pair struck out 21 in 15.0 innings pitched.  Neither allowed a run and they totaled for just eight baserunners.  This gave the Possums the foundation they needed.  Marco Gonzales and Justin Verlander added serviceable starts and the team nailed down all of the categories they needed for a victory.  Kyle never had a chance after implosions from Nick Kingham and Felix Hernandez.  Rick earned a safe 8-2 win and continued his quest to wrestle the title away from the Lannisters.

LK Armadillos (10-4-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (3-8-4)

The Armadillos also got the job done with relative ease against the Goofballs, but the result was closer than that of the Possums/Thunderwolves match.  The Armadillos took four of five offensive categories, and none of them were in doubt.  J.D. Martinez had three home runs (and one other that was removed after a postponement).  Alex Bregman and Matt Chapman added two more each.  Stephen Piscotty was strong in part-time duty with a 0.600 SLG.  By contrast, the Goofballs struggled to get anything going on offense.  Brian Dozier had a couple of steals and Kevin won the category, but he found himself in a 4-1 hole before accounting for pitching.

Neither team had good pitching stats.  Injuries have certainly played a part in both teams’ problems, and the ugly results were on display here.  The Armadillos bullpen was able to come through with five saves, but with terrible peripherals.  Craig Kimbrel had an 8.10 ERA along with two saves.  Kevin managed more wins, but they were the only three starts that were any good from his starters.  Several others bombed, and the bullpen also blew up.  The Armadillos were more efficient and had more strikeouts, but neither team had a good ERA.  WHIP also went to the Armadillos.  Kevin had a chance on pitching, but couldn’t get the one or two starts he needed to make the overall match competitive.  The Armadillos are still in a tie for first place, and the Goofballs’ nightmare 2018 continues as they sit a half game behind the Thunderwolves in sole possession of last place.

JK Lannisters (8-2-5) vs.  SM Lasershow (4-8-3)

The Lasershow enjoyed their best stats of 2018 but only managed a tie against the resourceful Lannisters.  Sean had some of the best pitching numbers in the league.  He led the league in ERA and was second in wins.  Trevor Williams and Kyle Freeland were excellent, and did not allow a run in either of their starts.  However, the Lasershow made a strategic decision to start only five pitchers.  This basically forfeited strikeouts to the Lannisters.  Jeff enjoyed clutch Sunday performances from stopgaps Nate Eovaldi and Carlos Rodon.  The pair were sharp and decreased the Lannisters’ WHIP dramatically.  Despite leading for most of the week, Sean lost the category and the Lannsiters narrowly took three pitching categories.  This was critical given the Lasershow’s offensive explosion.

Sean got a monster four home run, eight RBI week from Salvador Perez.  He also got three home runs and 10 RBI from Christian Yelich.  David Peralta was the only Lasershow batter with more than eight at-bats who had a SLG under 0.450.  Sean led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  The Lannisters tried their best to keep up, and led the league in ERA while finishing second in SLG.  They were also tied for second in steals.  Mike Trout was on fire with three home runs, four steals, and seven RBI.  Jose Abreu emerged from a slump with three home runs.  On most weeks, this would have been enough for a win.  The Lasershow were able to win SLG by a small margin after a strong Sunday from Scooter Gennett.

The tie is a good result for the Lasershow against the Lannisters, but Sean has to be somewhat disappointed in the swing in WHIP that cost him the outright win.  The Lannisters once again withstood a monstrous effort and avoided the loss.  With head-to-head battles against both the Possums and Armadillos looming, the tie is almost as good as a win for standings purposes.  The three teams are still almost deadlocked with multiple meetings that will decide the title.

HP PhoeGnomes (5-8-2) vs.  CP Legion (4-6-5)

The week’s final match saw the Legion win an ugly battle against the PhoeGnomes.  Heather’s offense was ice cold with low RBI and steal totals.  The Legion posted solid numbers across the board.  Yasmani Grandal provided great value with four home runs.  Michael Conforto and Paul Goldschmidt each had two home runs of their own.  Adalberto Mondesi had three steals, as did Jose Ramirez.  Chris cleared and easy five category sweep.

Neither team had good pitching stats and both team’s rate numbers were at the bottom of the league.  The list of struggles is a long one for each team.  Shane Bieber, Ross Stripling, and Junior Guerra imploded for the PhoeGnomes.  They undid the good work for Chris Sale, Madison Bumgarner, and Jhoulys Chacin.  These three pitchers allowed just three total runs in their three starts.  The fact that the PhoeGnomes’ team ERA was well over 5.00 shows how bad the others were.  Robbie Ray and Sean Newcomb also allowed only three runs in three starts for the Legion.  Their work was wasted by traumatic outings from Luis Severino, Nick Pivetta, and others.  Heather did manage to win saves, but Chris’s offensives sweep gave him enough cushion to win the battle despite poor pitching.

Next Week

The Lasershow hope to continue their hot streak against the Armadillos.  The week’s most interesting battle pits the Possums against the Legion.  Chris has the type of team that can give Rick trouble.  The Lannisters meet the slumping PhoeGnomes.  Finally, the Goofballs have a chance to climb out of the league’s dungeon against the Thunderwolves.  Kyle’s team has shown improvement this year, and neither team wants to suffer the pain of last place.