LK Armadillos (4 – 3 – 4) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5 – 5 – 1)

The week’s best performance belongs to the Armadillos.  After a slow start the defending champs are beginning to find more consistency and move up in the standings.  This week’s victim was the Goofballs.  The Armadillos led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  They were second in OBP to the Lannisters.  Pete Alonso had a massive week with four home runs and eight RBI.  Gary Sanchez added three home runs of his own and nine RBI.  Four other Armadillos’ players had two home runs.  Even part timers like Domingo Santana were solid – he had two homers, five RBI, and four walks in just 14 at-bats.  Freddie Freeman tried to keep the Goofballs close with two home runs and 10 RBI, but it wasn’t enough to compete in non-steals categories.  Larry won four categories with ease before accounting for pitching.

Neither team had elite pitching but the Armadillos were competitive with the rest of the league and easily outmatched the Goofballs.  Clayton Kershaw and Mike Fiers had solid starts.  Brandon Woodruff had 18 strikeouts over 13.0 IP.  Brad Hand and the relief corps were dominant.  The Goofballs threw slightly more innings and had a higher strikeout total than Larry’s team, but it wasn’t enough.  Poor starts from Lucas Giolito and Joey Lucchesi put the team out of contention in the rate stats, and the Armadillos cruised to an easy win.  The loss drops the Goofballs below 0.500 and the Armadillos continue their steady march up the standings.

JK Lannisters (7 – 4) vs.  SM Lasershow (1 – 10)

The Lannisters remained in first place despite a spirited challenge from the Lasershow.  Both teams put up excellent offensive numbers.  The Lannisters led the league in OBP and were second in home runs, RBI, SLG, and steals.  As usual, Mike Trout was at the center of the offense with three home runs, 10 RBI, and a steal.  Mookie Betts added a home run and two steals.  Manny Machado had three home runs and eight RBI.  Matt Chapman remained hot with two home runs in limited duty.  Sean got great production from Christian Yelich.  He had three home runs and a steal.  Jeff McNeil had two home runs and two steals.  Overall the Lasershow’s offense was solid, but it couldn’t quite keep pace with the Lannisters.  Sean tied for third in home runs, led the league in steals, and was third in SLG.

The Lannisters gained greater separation on pitching.  They led the league in strikeouts, quality starts, ERA, and were second in WHIP.  Jacob deGrom returned to form with 19 strikeouts over 14.1 IP and two quality starts.  Walker Buehler also earned a quality start and struck out 16 in a complete game three-hitter.  This level of production covered for a few down outings from Luis Castillo and some bullpen hijinks.  Sean got a few decent pitching performances but his starters had trouble lasting deep enough into games to compete in strikeouts or quality starts.  Sergio Romo was solid with two saves, but the team could only tie this single category.  The Lannisters won four others and earned a win.  The match was probably closer than the score indicated, and the Lasershow continue to show competitive fire, but seem to always face a hot team.

RK Possums (7 – 4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (5 – 5 – 1)

The week’s most bizarre result belongs to the Possums and Thunderwolves.  The final outcome of this match rested on a tie in both SLG and OBP.  I can’t remember another time in which this has happened.  The week started well for the Thunderwolves.  They had strong pitching from Aaron Nola who struck out 10 in just 8.0 IP.  German Marquez added another eight strikeouts in 8.0 IP.  Lance Lynn provided valuable innings and one quality start.  This was enough to top the Possums in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts, despite Justin Verlander 17 strikeouts in 14.0 IP.  Verlander also allowed seven earned runs, and likely cost the Possums the victory had he been only slightly more effective.  Max Scherzer also had a nice start for the Possums and their bullpen was effective.  This gave Rick two categories to Kyle’s three before accounting for offense.

Neither team posted great offensive numbers but both were competitive.  Gleyber Torres was outstanding for the Thunderwolves – he had three home runs and nine RBI.  Whit Merrifield added two home runs, as did Nick Senzel.  This was enough to edge the Possums in both categories.  The Possums struggled to show much power or RBI capability.  Three Possums’ players had three home runs but totaled just eight RBI.  Each team lacked doubles power and neither had a good OBP.  This led to a bizarre situation where Rick won steals, OBP, and SLG despite the scoreboard showing ties in OBP and SLG.  This happens when the numbers are so close that they round to the same value.  However, the Possums must have had the higher value before rounding.  For example, Rick could have had a 0.3187 OBP vs. the Thunderwolves’ 0.3186.  Each rounds to 0.319 but the Possums’ number is slightly higher.  Under the old system, you could view the actual value out the three decimal places.  However, this is not possible on the new site.  It is also impossible to calculate the SLG numbers since doubles and triples are not broken out for the week.

However, it is possible to calculate OBP.  Something bizarre happens, though.  When I used the inputs the game displays on the scoreboard summary, I get a different OBP than what is shown.  I don’t know if it does not count HBP or something else, but I cannot replicate the 0.319 OBP.  The chart above shows what I calculated, which does have the Possums ahead in the category but with a different value.  If anyone has any idea what could be happening here please let me know.  As it stands now, the Possums managed to squeak by in both categories and sneak away with a tie.  The Thunderwolves are likely devastated by the result and know that a single hit or out would have turned the tide for either category and give him the win.

CP Legion (6 – 4 – 1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (5 – 5 – 1)

The week’s final match saw the PhoeGnomes outlast the Legion thanks to some major pitching shenanigans.  Heather posted mediocre pitching numbers that ordinarily would have lost categories.  She had good saves and quality starts totals but a few bad outings left her near the bottom for ERA and WHIP.  Madison Bumgarner had a blow-up that undid a nice Shane Bieber outing.  Cole Hamels was solid, but Chris Sale was pedestrian.  Normally this would spell trouble, but the Legion were somehow even worse.  They were last in the league in ERA and WHIP, second to last in strikeouts and quality starts, and failed to record a save.  Trevor Williams was at the core of the meltdown with seven earned runs in 5.0 IP.  Andrew Heaney was equally bad, giving up five in just 3.2 IP.  Even the two quality starts met the bare minimum threshold of 6.0 IP and three earned runs.  Overall the staff was simply not competitive and Heather swept the categories with ease.

On offense the Legion were better, but it was too little, too late.  Yordan Alvarez had three home runs and eight RBI, and Yasmani Grandal added another pair of home runs.  Three Legion players managed a steal, and Heather did not have the power to compete.  However, she managed to win steals and this was enough to ensure that she took the week overall.  Even a tie in steals wouldn’t save the Legion, those Jose Ramirez tried to do his part.  The loss is the third straight for the Legion, who need to revamp their pitching approach.  The win also moves up the PhoeGnomes, who are now over 0.500 and in the mix for the title.

Next Week

Next week’s biggest match features the Lannisters and Armadillos.  The Lannisters have long struggled with the Armadillos, and need a win to stay on top.  The Possums will try to keep rolling against the Lasershow.  The Legion and Goofballs both need a win to get back on track.  Finally, the PhoeGnomes and Thunderwolves meet in an interesting match with heavy implications for the standings.