RK Possums (10-3-5) vs.  CP Legion (5-6-5)

The Possums remained in first place with the best all-around performance in the league for Week 17.  Rick led the league in strikeouts, WHIP, and ERA.  He tied for first in wins and saves.  The strong pitching effort was led by Corey Kluber, Justin Verlander, and Miles Mikolas.  The trio was dominant, while Trevor Bauer and Max Scherzer contributed good starts.  The Legion were not competitive in pitching after a down week from Robbie Ray and the continued struggles of Luis Severino.  Carlos Martinez landed on the DL, as did Lance McCullers Jr..  Hector Rondon picked up two saves and Julio Teheran got a win, but that was all of the Legion could offer.  Rick claimed a 5-0 sweep.

The Possums also put up solid offensive numbers.  Joey Gallo and Khris Davis each had three home runs.  Evan Gattis led the team with a 0.733 SLG.  Charlie Blackmon was ineffective, but Didi Gregorious made up for it with a nice two home run week.  The Legion tried to stay close, and led the league in steals.  Jose Ramirez captured three and Cody Bellinger added two more.  The team totaled and incredible nine.  They also posted the better OBP thanks to Ramirez and a good week from Paul Goldschmidt and several role players.  Unfortunately for Chris, the Possums had too much of a lead from pitching and the week’s result was never in doubt.  The Possums cruised to an 8-2 win and remain tied for first place.

HP PhoeGnomes (5-9-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (8-2-6)

After a series of close contests, the Lannisters finally caught a break against the PhoeGnomes.  Jeff’s squad led the league in home runs, OBP, and SLG while finishing second in RBI.  The strong offensive base came from a red-hot Nelson Cruz and Jose Abreu.  The pair combined for seven home runs and 14 RBI.  Asdrubal Cabrera had a good week with two home runs and four RBI.  The multi-position player had a 0.680 SLG for the week.  Abreu led the team with a 1.000 SLG and Bryce Harper came in at 0.857.  Heather had a good week from Joc Pederson, who had three home runs.  She also took steals thanks to four from Trea Tuner.  However, this was the only category in which the PhoeGnomes were competitive and the Lannisters took at 4-1 lead into the pitching categories.

Heather’s pitching was never a factor thanks to a nightmare outing from Steven Matz.  He was injured after just 0.2 innings pitched.  He allowed seven earned runs, had a 94.50 ERA and 13.50 WHIP.  Jhoulys Chacin wasn’t a lot better – he allowed eight earned runs in just 4.1 innings pitched.  His 16.62 ERA, when paired with Matz’s debacle, took heather out of contention for the rate stats.  The Lannisters didn’t have the best pitching, and the bullpen didn’t contribute.  However, Heather’s ERA hole was far too deep, and the Lannsiters held on for a 6-3-1 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.  Jeff’s team remains firmly in the hunt for the title despite massive injury woes.

SM Lasershow (4-8-4) vs.  LK Armadillos (11-4-1)

The Armadillos barely held on to beat the Lasershow and remain tied for first place.  Neither team had strong offensive numbers.  Both sides struggled to get their SLG over 0.400.  The Lasershow had more home runs thanks to two each from Travis Shaw and Christian Yelich.  Yelich had 12 total hits and a 0.723 SLG.  The Armadillos countered with a big week from Trevor Story, who had three home runs and 10 RBI.  Five different Armadillos had a steal.  This led to a relative split – Sean took three categories to the Armadillos’ two.

The Lasershow had decent pitching and easily beat the Armadillos in ERA.  However, Larry’s team threw more innings and had better strikeouts and saves totals.  Derek Rodriguez was the only player on the Armadillos to throw more than six innings in his start.  Jack Flaherty and Luke Weather were atrocious in two starts, but their low innings totals helped the Armadillos fight back in WHIP.  Sean’s fewer innings pitched meant that his relievers had more influence on WHIP, and a handful of bad outings (including one on Sunday) flipped the critical category.  The Armadillos escaped with a narrow win and maintain their dreams of another title.

KG Capital City Goofballs (3-9-4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (5-10-1)

The week’s final match was for pride, as the two teams were both at the bottom of the standings.  The Thunderwolves rose to the occasion and dominated the Goofballs to stay out of last place.  In fact, the Thunderwolves posted the second-best week behind the Possums thanks to their strong pitching.  Aaron Nola and James Paxton were great in four total starts.  They threw 28.0 innings pitched, struck out 23, and had a combined 1.93 ERA.  Vince Velasquez had a nice start as well.  The Goofballs weren’t competitive after a Tyler Skaggs implosion.  However, Kevin’s team was more efficient and racked up strikeouts despite giving up more runs.  They also earned more wins, though two of them came from bullpen arms.  This caused a 2-2-1 tie before counting batting.

Kyle put up the best offensive numbers besides the Lannsiters.  He led the league in RBI, was second in SLG, and near the top in home runs and OBP.  The key was Rougned Odor, who had four home runs and 10 RBI.  He had a 0.520 OBP and 1.053 SLG for the week.  Rhys Hoskins had a strong week, and Shin-Soo Choo added two home runs.  Kevin got a big week from Javier Baez, but it wasn’t enough.  Kyle dominated up and down the lineup and took all five categories.  The win keeps Kyle out of last place, and continues the Goofballs’ 2018 misery.  The win shifts Kyle all the way into fifth place, just a game behind the Legion for fourth.  Kevin is now a full game behind both the PhoeGnomes and Lasershow in the quest to stay out of the league’s basement.

Next Week

Week 18 had one monster contest – the Lannisters and Armadillos meet in what is almost a must-win for the Lannisters.  The Possums take on the PhoeGnomes, who struggled mightily last week and have something to prove.  The Legion hope to stay in the first division and battle the fading Goofballs.  Finally, the Thunderwolves hope they can stay hot against the Lasershow.  Both teams have shown improved play lately, and this could be an interesting match.