KK Thunderwolves (3 – 2 – 1) vs.  CP Legion (5 – 1)

The week’s closest match paired the Legion and Thunderwolves.  Both teams are experiencing unexpected success early in the season.  Kyle won this meeting behind strong power and pitching.  The two teams easily led the league in home runs with 15.  Kyle posted the best SLG in the league and had the most RBI.  Josh Bell and Vladimir Guerrero Jr each had four home runs for the Thunderwolves.  Eduardo Escobar and Gleyber Torres each had three.  Nick Senzel won the steals category on his own with four for the week.  Chis had a three home run week from Kris Bryant and Cody Bellinger.  Ten total Legion players hit home runs.  Despite this heroic effort, Chris was unable to win any offensive categories.  The Thunderwolves had a slight edge across the board.

In a week where several teams had good pitching numbers, Kyle and Chris both had their strong points.  Mike Soroka had a good start for the Legion, but the rest of Chris’s pitchers failed to work deep into games.  Chris had good ERA and WHIP numbers, but Kyle was able to get more quality starts.  The teams were even in strikeouts and Kyle earned one more save.  The teams split pitching 2-2-1, which cemented Kyle’s victory.  The loss is a frustrating one for the Legion.  The win moves Kyle into second place at the end of the first cycle.  After years of offensive struggles, it’s possible that Kyle has found some answers.  The Thunderwolves are third in the league in home runs and second in SLG just behind the Legion.

RK Possums (3 – 3) vs.  LK Armadillos (2 – 2 – 2)

The defending champion Armadillos continued to struggle and the Possums took some small revenge to close the first cycle of play. Rick enjoyed power up and down his lineup.  Nine players had at least one home run.  Ronald Acuna had six RBI and two steals.  Joey Gallo stayed hot with a 0.481 OBP.  The Armadillos struggled to find power, though three players hit two home runs.  Alex Gordon made his presence known with two steals, but this was all the team could produce.  Both teams struggled with RBI and tied the category.  However, Rick swept the other four.  The Armadillos are still struggling to get on base and hit for consistent power.

The battle for pitching was close.  The Armadillos put up an excellent week and led the league in ERA, WHIP, and quality starts.  Patrick Corbin was especially good in his start – he struck out 11 over eight innings.  The team as a whole recorded an impressive seven quality starts out of a possible eight.  The Possums were almost as good – their ERA and WHIP were the second best in the league!  The team had six quality starts and managed to record more strikeouts than the Armadillos.  Besides Trevor Bauer, no player allowed more than three earned runs for the week.  Rick won just enough categories to pick up a 6-3-1 victory.  The loss pushes the Possums to back above 0.500 and the champs are now near the bottom of the pack.  This win won’t ease the pain of last season, but Rick has to be happy with an early victory.

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

The Goofballs and Lannisters tend to have exciting matches and this was no exception.  Kevin earned a victory behind a dominant offensive showing.  Two former Lannisters were the main culprits.  Freddie Freeman had four home runs and Byron Buxton added three more along with 10 RBI.  The Goofballs had the third most home runs in the league, were second in RBI and SLG, and had the best OBP.  The Lannisters suffered a down week and had the second fewest home runs and were near the bottom in each of the other statistical categories.  Bryce Harper led the team with just two home runs, and no other player had more than one.

The Lannisters were more competitive on pitching, but still failed to pick up many categories.  Only three pitchers had a quality start compared to just two for Kevin.  Jacob deGrom was inconsistent and Jon Lester imploded.  The Goofballs had fewer strikeouts and quality starts, but managed a solid ERA with relatively few innings pitched.  Outside of a disastrous Jose Berrios effort, no Goofball pitcher allowed more than three earned runs for the week.  The combined offensive and pitching numbers gave the Goofballs a relatively easy win.  This pushes the Goofballs higher in the standings.  Meanwhile, the Lannisters are left to wonder where the team’s power has gone.  Before the start of games today, the Lannisters were tied with the PhoeGnomes for the second fewest home runs in the league.

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

Speaking of the PhoeGnomes – Heather’s squad won again, despite some peculiar numbers against the Lasershow.  The PhoeGnomes had 11 home runs but somehow managed to have the second lowest SLG in the league.  Mitch Haniger had three home runs to pace the team.  Six other players had at least one, but for whatever reason the team didn’t have strong power elsewhere.  Christian Yelich tried to carry the Lasershow with an impressive three home run week.  His two steals, along with another pair from Francisco Lindor, helped him win the category.  The rest of the team struggled, though, and Heather built an early lead.

Heather sealed the win with a good pitching showing.  They led the league in strikeouts thanks to an absurd total of 27 from Chris Sale in just 12.1 IP.  Sale’s total equaled the Lasershow’s team total!  Several members of the Lasershow struggled.  Zack Wheeler and Marco Gonzales each had 9.00 ERAs.  This made it almost impossible to win any rate stats, and Heather was able to cruise to a smooth victory.  The loss drops the Lasershow into last place.  The PhoeGnomes are now beginning to move up the standings after a few solid weeks in a row.

Next Week

The first cycle is over so now teams are going back to their Week 01 matches.  The Possums and Lannisters meet again and Rick hopes to avenge his early loss.  The most interesting match features the Goofballs and Thunderwolves.  Kyle is tied for the fewest losses in the league and needs to keep winning.  Kevin is looking to get back over 0.500.  The Legion face the Lasershow – Sean is desperate for a win, and the Legion want to stay in first.  Finally, the PhoeGnomes meet the slumping Armadillos.  Heather will want to keep up her hot streak while the Armadillos are desperate to not fall too far behind early in the season.

HP PhoeGnomes (1 – 4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (3 – 1 – 1)

Before Week 06, the PhoeGnomes and Thunderwolves were trending in different directions.  Heather’s team struggled mightily while the Thunderwolves started strong.  Everything changed this week.  The Thunderwolves posted good numbers but the PhoeGnomes had the best pitching in the league.  Leading the way were Zach Eflin and Blake Snell.  The pair combined to allow just two earned runs over 20.2 innings pitched.   Snell threw 11.2 of those innings and struck out an astounding 21 batters.  Chris Sale was also strong – he struck out 14 in just 8.0 IP.  This base was too much for the Thunderwolves to handle.  Heather won strikeouts, quality starts, ERA, and WHIP.  The team’s ERA and WHIP were easily the best in the league.  Kyle had an okay pitching week, but he faced to steep a climb to challenge Heather’s best results.

The offensive battle was closer.  Each team had good power numbers.  George Springer had five home runs and 10 RBI for the PhoeGnomes.  Kyle countered with a three homer week from Michael Brantley.  Heather usually steals many bases, but the team was held in check this week.  Kyle won the category with just two.  He also had a slightly higher SLG since seven players had home runs.  However, Springer’s week was enough to give Heather home runs, RBI, and OBP.  When added to her pitching numbers, this was enough to take a secure win.  The Thunderwolves were respectable, but Heather picked up a desperately needed win.  It remains to be seen whether she can build on the remarkable pitching results, but at least it’s a step in the right direction for the struggling franchise.

JK Lannisters (3 – 2) vs.  LK Armadillos (2 – 1 – 2)

The Armadillos and Lannisters met in another close contest.  Both teams had solid pitching, but the Lannisters managed to pull ahead slightly on offense thanks to a balanced attack.  Larry managed to win three pitching categories including saves and both rate stats.  Hyun-Jin Ryu was almost as good as Blake Snell – he threw 17 innings, struck out 15, recorded two quality starts, allowed no earned runs and had a 0.35 WHIP.  Other Armadillos’ pitchers performed well, including Patrick Corbin and Matthew Boyd.  A few bad outings from Noah Syndergaard and Max Fried kept the team from being in the PhoeGnomes class, but they were still outstanding.  The Lannisters had productive weeks from their starters but they gave up more runs and walks.  Luis Castillo was the standout – he threw only 6.0 IP but had 11 strikeouts.  Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg also added 26 strikeouts combined.  Jeff easily won the category and quality starts, leaving the Armadillos with just a small lead.

On offense, Larry couldn’t find any rhythm.  Alex Bregman stayed hot with three home runs.  Six other players also had home runs, but the team continued to struggle with a low batting average, meaning they weren’t getting singles, doubles, or triples to go with their home runs.  This also cascades into OBP issues.  The Lannisters won SLG and OBP with ease – they had 20 more walks than the Armadillos.  They also won home runs thanks to a solid team effort.  Mike Trout had two and eight other players had one.  Mookie Betts had a 0.467 OBP and Jose Martinez added solid production.  They easily led the league in RBI.   Larry took steals, but it wasn’t enough.  The Lannisters claimed a 6-4 victory over a team that typically gives them problems.  This could be a useful win as the season moves along.

RK Possums (2 – 3) vs.  SM Lasershow (1 – 4)

The Possums overcame a slow pitching week thanks to dominant offense to earn a win over the Lasershow.  Like the Armadillos, the Possums displayed extreme home run power.  They led the league with 16 and had seven combined from Charlie Blackmon and Eugenio Suarez.  However, they were unable to produce as many RBI as one might expect.  They still won the category but only 4^th in the league overall.  Sean didn’t offer much power, but he did lead the league in steals thanks to Yasiel Puig and Francisco Lindor.  They also had the league’s best OBP behind Jeff McNeil and Andrelton Simmons.  Improving OBP is a critical area for the Lasershow, so hopefully this step lasts.  They also had a good SLG but the Possums took the category based on their home runs.  This gave Rick a slim 3-2 lead.

On pitching the Lasershow had far superior quality – they won ERA and WHIP with little trouble.  Eduardo Rodriquez and Jhoulys Chacin were outstanding and didn’t allow a run over two starts.  Felipe Vazquez picked up three saves.  However, Rick was able to tie this critical category behind Shane Greene and Sean Doolittle.  Andrew Miller had 2.0 IP for Sean, but he didn’t record a save.  This would eventually cost the team a tie.  The Possums threw more innings and, predictably, had more strikeouts.  They also won quality stats, thanks to two good efforts from Max Scherzer.  This 2-2-1 split was enough for Rick to earn a narrow victory.  However, the Lasershow would have beaten or tied several other teams in the league.  Rick moves back to 0.500 after a somewhat frustrating opening to the season.

CP Legion (4 – 1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (2 – 2 – 1)

The week’s second best overall performer behind the PhoeGnomes were the Legion.  They were near the top of the league in every statistical category.  The Goofballs put up a solid effort but it just wasn’t enough.  The best Legion members were the pitchers – they posted great stats would have dominated the league most weeks if not for Heather’s great work.  Caleb Smith and Chris Paddack struck out 22 in just 14.1 IP.  Roberto Osuna captured three saves.  Only the injured Tyler Glasnow allowed more than two runs for the week, and he only allowed three over 5.2 IP.  Kevin threw more innings but his team couldn’t match the level of production from Chris’s squad.  Yu Darvish and Domingo Santana weren’t terrible but they failed to go deep into their games.  The Legion dominated all five categories.

The same pattern continued on offense.  Chris deployed a lot of players in part time and platoon situations and it payed off.  They had 14 total home runs, including four from Kris Bryant.  However, only one other player had two, with the rest just having one.  This kind of up-and-down the lineup production is sure to frustrate opponents.  This is the same tactic that Kevin usually deploys, but Chris executed it more successfully this week.  Adalberto Mondesi had three steals and a home run.  Nolan Arenado led the team with a 0.737 SLG.  This was more than enough to supplement the pitching and capture the week with a 10-0 rout.   Like the Lasershow, the Goofballs didn’t play poorly.  They caught a hot team that countered their best stats.

Next Week

The Legion and Lannister wins clear the standings somewhat.  Chris remains in first place, one game ahead of the Lannisters.  Kyle is still in third at just 1.5 games back.  Larry and Rick are tied for fourth, while the Goofballs, PhoeGnomes, and Lasershow are at the back of the pack.  The Goofballs have another tough match against the Lannisters.  The Thunderwolves can try to prove they deserve to be in the first division against the Legion.  The Lasershow and PhoeGnomes pair off, and at least one of the teams will make progress.  Finally, the Possums meet the Armadillos for the first time this year.  This will be Rick’s first chance to get some revenge for the shocking end to last season, where still-unsigned Craig Kimbrel secured the title in a non-save situation.

KK Thunderwolves (2 – 1 – 1) vs.  RK Possums (2 – 2)

The most unexpected start to the season belongs to the Thunderwolves.  For the first time in several seasons, Kyle is multiple games above 0.500.  His team is in second place behind good pitching and hitting.  Kyle added to his resume with a win over the Possums in Week 05.  The Thunderwolves offense led the way.  Although the team did not have stats on par with the Lannisters or Armadillos, they were near the top of the league in most categories.  Four players had two home runs including Rhys Hoskins, who had eight RBI.  Six Thunderwolves had SLG values over 0.700.  This gave Kyle easy wins in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  They also won OBP handily and tied steals.  Rick had a nice three home run / nine RBI week from Jose Abreu, but the rest of his offense was quiet.  This put Kyle in a commanding position for the week.

Neither team had great pitching stats, but most categories were evenly matched.  Kyle had a good week from Zack Greinke while Rick relied on Justin Verlander.  The two teams threw almost the same number of innings.  Rick had a slight edge in strikeouts and quality starts.  However, Kyle won ERA by a tiny amount.  Both teams had two saves.  This was just enough to give Kyle the needed win.  Rick could have tied if not for a disastrous start from Joe Musgrove, who allowed five earned runs in just 2.2 IP.  The win keeps the Thunderwolves near the top of the standings.  Rick’s slow start is becoming more of a concern.  However, the Possums were one of the most feared teams in the league last year and have time to turn around their season.

SM Lasershow (1 – 3) vs.  JK Lannisters (2 – 2)

The week’s top performer overall was the Lannisters.  Jeff’s team led the league in multiple categories and dominated the Lasershow.  The Lannisters were tops in strikeouts, OBP, and SLG.  They were second in quality starts and RBI.  Manny Machado tallied four home runs, and eight other Lannisters contributed one.  Stats appeared up and down the lineup – role players like Jonathan Schoop had a home run and four RBI to add to the team’s strong total.  The Lannisters didn’t steal a base, but they easily won the other four offensive categories and built an almost insurmountable lead.

On pitching, the Lannisters kept up the pressure with five quality starts and a league-leading 69 strikeouts.  Jon Lester, Gerrit Cole, and Jacob deGrom each had a seven inning start with no earned runs.  The trio gave up only five total hits.  Lester in particular was strong, recording 11 strikeouts and posting a 0.29 WHIP.  The Lasershow struggled to keep up and the Lannisters won another four categories.  Overall, it was a dominant return to form for the Lannisters, who are dealing with numerous injuries.  Sean will need to make some changes going forward to get back to winning.

KG Capital City Goofballs (2 – 2) vs.  LK Armadillos (2 – 1 – 1)

The week’s closest match was a strange 5-5 tie between the Goofballs and Armadillos.  These teams are evenly matched and seem to gravitate toward ties.  On offense, the Armadillos led the league in home runs with 15.  Alex Bregman had five along with 10 RBI.  Like the Lannisters, the Armadillos had production up and down the lineup.  Eight players had at least one home run.  Ozzie Albies added eight RBI.  The Goofballs countered with a great week from Anthony Rizzo and Keel Marte.  The pair totaled six home runs and nine RBI.  The Goofballs had more overall power and took SLG despite Larry winning home runs.  The Goofballs also took OBP when the Armadillos posted the league’s worst total.  Larry did take RBI, and Kevin captured steals.  Alex Bregman was thrown out stealing, and this would haunt the Armadillos after factoring in pithing.

The Goofballs went with a quality-over-quantity strategy that seemed to work.  They won ERA and WHIP behind a masterful start from Kyle Hendricks.  However, they didn’t throw enough innings to be competitive in quality starts or strikeouts.  Larry took these categories with ease and dominated saves.  This left the stats deadlocked.  Kevin came one RBI from winning and the Armadillos were one steal behind.  The close match means both teams lose ground against the Legion, Lannisters, and Thunderwolves.  However, the result is obviously better than a loss that could have gone either way.

HP PhoeGnomes (1 – 3) vs.  CP Legion (3 – 1)

The week’s final match saw the Legion win with confidence against the PhoeGnomes.  Chris posted the week’s best pitching stats and finished just behind the Lannisters in total performance.  Mike Soroka had a masterful week over two quality starts, striking out 13.  Caleb Smith and Matt Strahm were solid as well.  Heather had good pitching stats behind Luke Weaver and a three-save Josh Hader week.  She won strikeouts by virtue of more innings pitched.  Chris held a slim 3-2 lead before accounting for hitting.

Although pitching was close, offense was a no-contest win for the Legion.  Chris had good numbers across the board, and Heather failed to be competitive in anything but steals.  Nolan Arenado haunted his former team with three home runs for Chris.  Jesse Winker and Willson Contreras added two apiece.  The PhoeGnomes finished at the bottom of the league in SLG and OBP, and barely beat the Lasershow for home runs and RBI.  Chris earned a solid win that keeps him in first place with his only loss coming against the Lannisters.  Heather remains in last place, and must find more offense to compete.

Next Week

Week 06 features a few strong matches.  The surprising Thunderwolves will try to keep things rolling against the PhoeGnomes.  The Possums hope to rally against the Lasershow.  The Goofballs and Legion meet in an intriguing contest.  Kevin can challenge the Legion offensively, but what about pitching?  Finally, the Lannisters meet their long-time nemeses, the Armadillos.  The Possums and Armadillos frustrate the Lannisters more than any other team, but their strong pitching might give them the advantage this week.