RK Possums (9 – 4 – 1) vs.  JK Lannisters (10 – 4)

With first place on the line, the most important match of the week paired the Lannisters and Possums.  The two teams had split their first two meetings so this match has implications for tie-breakers as well as the league lead.  In this match, the Lannisters won thanks to superb pitching and a strong offense.  Leading the way was an unlikely hero – Trey Mancini.  He had four home runs and seven RBI for the week to lead both teams.  Nelson Cruz, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, and Manny Machado each had a pair of home runs to help the Lannisters tie for the league lead.  The team also had a stellar OBP and SLG thanks to strong weeks from role players like Eric Sogard and Marwin Gonzalez.  The Possums tried to counter with a nice three homer week from Max Muncy and an astonishing seven steal week from Ronald Acuna Jr. to easily win the category and lead the league.  The team tied in home runs thanks to good power up and down the lineup.  However, they lost the other three categories by large margins and the pitching wasn’t able to keep pace.

The Possums suffered several down weeks, including a disastrous stint for Andrew Cashner and bag games from Jeff Samardzija and Charlie Morton.  Every Possums’ starter allowed at least two earned runs and the team mustered only two quality starts.  In contrast, the Lannisters had only one starter allow three runs.  Luis Castillo had two great starts and Walker Buehler matched him and recorded 18 strikeouts.  The pair had four quality starts.  Although they didn’t lead the league in any pitching category, the Lannisters were near the top in everything but saves.  This was enough to earn a comfortable victory for the week.  The Possums have to be disappointed, because this loss means they cannot win a tie-breaker with the Lannisters and fall to 1.5 games behind.

LK Armadillos (5 – 5 – 4) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (6 – 7 – 1)

The Lannister victory means that all of the other contenders needed to step up to avoid losing ground.  The Armadillos kept their title hopes alive with a strong victory against the PhoeGnomes.  The Armadillos put up the best overall week in the league.  The pitching staff led the way with a bizarre but effective quality over quantity strategy.  The team made only five starts and essentially conceded strikeouts and possibly quality starts.  However, two excellent Clayton Kershaw outings gave the team a huge lead in ERA.  The bullpen posted good numbers behind Craig Kimbrel.  The PhoeGnomes tried their best and also posted good numbers.  They led the league in strikeouts behind Mike Clevinger and Chris Sale, both of whom were lights-out with 24 total strikeouts in just 12 IP.  The relief corps gave up too many runs to be effective, though, and Heather had to settle for just three category wins.  However, things looked promising after Heather took WHIP despite the Armadillos’ strategy.

Unfortunately the PhoeGnomes were let down by their offense while the Armadillos put up excellent numbers.  George Springer did all he could with four home runs and eight RBI.  Rafael Devers added three of his own, but the rest of the team struggled to get on base or hit for power.  The Armadillos enjoyed their own four home run week from Edwin Encarnacion, who had 11 RBI as well.  Keston Hiura had eight RBI and three other Armadillos’ players had two home runs.  The consistent production saw the Armadillos sweep all five categories and place near the top of the league in them all as well.  This was enough to overcome the slight pitching deficit and earn a hard-fought win that was closer than the final score indicate.  The win means the Armadillos keep pace three games behind the Lannisters along with two other teams.  Heather falls back to seventh place 4.5 games back.  The loss drops her two games below 0.500, but it’s too early to close the book on her season.

SM Lasershow (2 – 12) vs.  CP Legion (6 – 6 – 2)

The struggling Legion were desperate for a win and they earned one against the Lasershow to also remain three back from the lead.  The team’s offense was a strength this week with great home run power and rate stats.  Cody Bellinger had three home runs, and four other Legion players had two.  Three additional players each added one home run.  Trea Turner had three steals and Nolan Arenado added three RBI.  The Lasershow also put up good numbers.  Christian Yelich had three home runs and eight RBI, along with two steals.  Francisco Lindor and Yuli Gurriel each had two home runs and five RBI.  Unfortunately for Sean, he didn’t have the depth needed to match the Legion and Chris won all offensive categories except for steals.

In a trend that is all too common for both of these teams, the pitching side was troublesome for both.  However, the Legion were able to do enough to capture three categories and earn the win for the week.  Robbie Ray and Caleb Smith weren’t particularly effective in their starts, but they each struck out seven.  Roberto Osuna and Liam Hendricks had two saves each.  The Lasershow got a nice start from Sonny Grey and another from Eduardo Rodriguez to earn a win in quality starts with just two.  It was the Legion who won the day and remain within striking distance of the lead.

KK Thunderwolves (7 – 5 – 2) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5 – 7 – 2)

The week’s final match saw the Goofballs bring down the Thunderwolves with a strong all-around showing.  Both teams wanted a win but the Goofballs needed one more to keep their title hopes alive.  After weeks of strange happenings, the team finally got a solid pitching performance and led the league in ERA, WHIP, and quality starts.  Lucas Giolito had two great outings and Marcus Stroman and Ryan Yarbrough did not allow an earned run.  Kevin Gausman had a nice eight strikeout game.  The Thunderwolves took saves behind a monster four save effort from Ian Kennedy, but the rest of the team struggled and Kevin win everything else but strikeouts with ease.

Both teams were decent on offense, but failed to hit the highs of the league leaders.  Kyle had a great week from Eduardo Escobar with three home runs and 10 RBI.  Michael Brantley had three home runs for himself as well.  The Goofballs countered with their usual phalanx of players and saw success up and down the shifting lineup.  Javier Baez and Ryan McMahon had two home runs each.  Five different Goofballs had a steal to win the category.  Ketel Marte was solid with a 9/18 H/AB and 0.833 SLG.  This was enough for Kevin to win three categories and earn a close win.  The loss means the Thunderwolves join the Armadillos and Legion three games behind the league leaders.  The Goofballs are at four back and still have hope.

Next Week

The stake are high for everyone in Week 16.  The Legion and Armadillos pair off, as do the Possums and Goofballs.  If the Lannisters win against the PhoeGnomes, it will be hard for the loser of either of those matches to remain in contention with just nine weeks left.  There will be less pressure if the PhoeGnomes can pull off an upset, which Heather needs to keep her dreams alive.  The Thunderwolves seem to have the advantage against the Lasershow, but Sean’s improved team could still spoil Kyle’s chances.

HP PhoeGnomes (6 – 6 – 1) vs.  SM Lasershow (1 – 11)

After a rough start to the season the Lasershow have found some consistency.  The team put together some strong performances in losing efforts.  Over the long week, Sean was able to put together the best offensive performance in the league and earn a second victory.  They led the league in OBP and steals.  They tied for first in home runs and were second in OBP.  Christian Yelich was one of six Lasershow players with a steal – he had three home runs and three steals.  Yuli Gurriel had six home runs and 14 RBI.  Maikel Franco added three home runs, as did Yasiel Puig.  Heather had a nice offensive week from Rafael Devers who had five home runs and 14 RBI.  She was able to take RBI, but this as the only category the PhoeGnomes won.

Neither team’s pitching lived up to their offensive counterparts.  Heather suffered a few meltdowns from Ross Stripling, Chris Sale, and Zach Eflin.  The trio combined for 25 earned runs over 27.1 IP.  Eflin’s short outing likely cost Heather strikeouts for the week.  The Lasershow also had a rough week from a few pitchers, most notably Zack Wheeler, Max Fried, and Mike Minor.  However, David Price had a strong 20 strikeout week, and Sonny Gray had a nice start.  This was enough for Sean to win quality starts, strikeouts, and ERA.  Heather won saves, but it wasn’t enough to swing the week.  Sean relied on great offense and adequate pitching to earn and overdue win.

CP Legion (6 – 5 – 2) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (6 – 5 – 2)

The Thunderwolves and Legion met with control of third place on the line.  The match was incredibly close and was eventually decided by an extra innings game.  Both teams registered good pitching, which is certainly welcome news for the Legion.  Chris rebounded to lead the league in saves and capture WHIP by a small margin.  Liam Hendriks and John Means did not allow an earned run for the week, and Hendriks had four saves.  Robbie Ray was also strong with 16 strikeouts over two starts.  The Thunderwolves were slightly better over ten more innings, though.  Aaron Nola stayed red hot with 23 strikeouts for the week.  Kirby Yates was strong, as was Zack Greinke.  Kyle had the second best ERA and strikeout total in the league.  The teams tied in quality starts, so there was a 2-2-1 tie before hitting.

In terms of home runs and RBI, the Legion were much stronger than the Thunderwolves.  Cody Bellinger led the way with four home runs and Jose Ramirez added three of his own.  Yordan Alvarez had seven RBI and four different Legion players had a steal.  Kyle failed to compete in either home runs or RBI, but he did win steals thanks to Whit Merrifield’s three.  Rhys Hoskins had 10 RBI despite just one home run.  Josh Bell was on fire with five home runs and 14 RBI.  The team had a strong OBP total and also matched the Legion in SLG.  The Legion were in the lead up until the final game of the week.  In a shocking turn of events, Cody Bellinger made an extra out in the tenth inning of the Dodgers’ game.  This was enough to give a tiny edge to the Thunderwolves.  This flipped the category and ultimately the week.  Kyle narrowly escaped with a win and remains in third place just two games behind the league leaders.

JK Lannisters (9 – 4) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5 – 6 – 2)

The Lannisters held on to first place with a strong showing against the Goofballs.  The Lannisters had the best overall performance for the week.  Their pitching was outstanding with the best ERA and WHIP in the league by a considerable margin.  They won quality starts and likely could have led the league in strikeouts had the team needed to use more starters to secure the win.  Stephen Strasburg was the star of the week with 20 strikeouts, two quality starts, and no earned runs in two outings.  Luis Castillo and Jacob deGrom were strong as well, and Gerrit Cole totaled 22 strikeouts in 13.0 IP.  The Goofballs threw 26.0 more innings than the Lannisters but at slightly lower quality and efficiency.  They posted good numbers and won saves, but the Lannisters held a commanding 3-2 lead.

On offense, Mike Trout was on fire.  He had one fewer home run than the entire Thunderwolves team with eight.  He added 18 RBI and seven walks.  Danny Jansen finally showed signs of life with four home runs and seven RBI in the catcher slot.  Jean Segura added two steals in part-time duty secure another category.  The Goofballs had a good RBI week thanks to Juan Soto, Kevin Kiermaier, and Javier Baez who had seven apiece.  However, the team didn’t have enough power to compete in home runs and were near the bottom in SLG and OBP.  This meant the Lannisters enjoyed a comfortable victory and remain in first place, just ahead of the Possums.

LK Armadillos (5 – 4 – 4) vs.  RK Possums (8 – 4 – 1)

The week’s final battle saw the Possums hold on to second place against the Armadillos.  Rick was tied for the lead in home runs and was second in steals.  Max Muncy, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Ronald Acuna Jr. each had three home runs.  Josh Donaldson had four and eight RBI.  Starling Marte had a great week for the Armadillos with three home runs, 12 RBI, and steal.  Trevor Story and Alex Bregman had good weeks but it wasn’t enough for the Armadillos to compete beyond RBI.  This gave Rick a heavy 4-1 advantage before pitching.

Both squads had the best pitching in the league besides the Lannisters.  They tied with an impressive eight quality starts.  Rick led the league in strikeouts and was second in WHIP and third in ERA.  The Armadillos were just behind the possums in both categories.  Patrick Corbin was strong for the Armadillos with 28 strikeouts over 20.0 IP and three quality starts.  The Possums got 18 strikeouts from Charlie Morton and 26 from Trevor Bauer.  The Possums were slightly more efficient, and earned three categories and a win for the week.  The match was closer than the final score indicated and one bad Possums start could have ruined quality starts, ERA, and WHIP.  Rick was able to hold on, and remains in second place.

Next Week

The most important match of the week features the Possums and Lannisters.  The teams have split two matches so far.  This means that the loser of this match cannot win a tiebreaker against the winning team.  The Legion will try to keep pace but must play the hot Lasershow.  The Goofballs meet the Thunderwolves, and Kevin needs a win to remain close to the top.  Kyle wants a win since one of the top two teams will lose ground this week.  Finally, the Armadillos will try to right the ship against the PhoeGnomes.

LK Armadillos (5 – 3 – 4) vs.  JK Lannisters (8 – 4)

The Lannisters exacted more revenge on the Armadillos for last year’s title win, this time with a Sunday power surge.  The Armadillos put up solid numbers and easily won steals.  DJ LeMahieu had two home runs and 10 RBI.  Eleven total Armadillos players had at least one home run.  On most weeks this would be enough to win.  However, the Lannisters dominated RBI with 52, including 15 on Sunday to lead the league.  Manny Machado was on fire with four home runs and eight RBI.  Jean Segura had three in limited playing time.  Matt Chapman had three and nine RBI.  In total, the Armadillos won three categories, but the Sunday barrage gave the Lannisters two.

On pitching, the Armadillos suffered the same fate as the Legion and PhoeGnomes.  Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed 15 earned runs in 17.0 IP.  The team managed single quality start for the week and had the second worst ERA and SLG in the league.  In contrast, the Lannisters had the best ERA total in the league and were second in strikeouts, WHIP, and quality starts.  Gerrit Cole was in the middle of the action with two quality starts and 13 strikeouts.  Luis Castillo rebounded for a nice outing.  Overall, the Lannisters were able to capture the win and stay in first place ahead of the Possums.  The win is the second over the Armadillos this year, meaning there is no way Larry can win a possible tie breaker this time around – The Lannisters will have that advantage.

SM Lasershow (1 – 11) vs.  RK Possums (7 – 4 – 1)

The Possums needed a win to keep pace with the Lannisters.  Though they didn’t have the Lannisters’ strong pitching, Rick had enough hitting and pitching volume to win the week.  The Possums led the league in home runs, steals, OBP and SLG.  Max Muncy led the way with three home runs and 12 RBI.  Joey Gallo had three home runs as well and Ronald Acuna had four steals.  Ten different Possums had at least one home run.  The Lasershow had decent hitting as well, but it wasn’t enough to win a category.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had three home runs in the losing effort.

Neither team had dominant pitching stats but the Possums led the league in quality starts with five.  The Lasershow also failed to record a save.  Trevor Bauer and Max Scherzer totaled 36 strikeouts in 22.2 IP.  Jesse Chavez also added a nice quality start.  Max Fried pitched well for the Lasershow, as did Mike Minor.  However, they were only able to take ERA while the Possums took all of the counting stats and WHIP.  This was enough for Rick to earn a win and stay close behind the Lannisters at the top of the league.

KK Thunderwolves (5 – 5 – 2) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (6 – 5 – 1)

The Thunderwolves and PhoeGnomes met in a battle between two fairly hot teams.  Neither team posted great offensive numbers but Kyle earned the victory thanks to good pitching stats and several PhoeGnomes’ players’ meltdowns.  The Thunderwolves led the league in both ERA and WHIP.  Aaron Nola stayed hot by striking out 10 in his only start.  Lance Lynn bounced back to strike out ten as well.  Zack Greinke was solid over two starts.  The PhoeGnomes managed more strikeouts in fewer innings, but several pitchers suffered catastrophic failures.  Blake Snell, Chris Sale, and Zach Eflin allowed 21 earned runs in 21.1 IP.  This volume of poor quality innings left quality starts, ERA, and WHIP well out of reach, though Heather did win saves.  Kyle held a 3-2 advantage before accounting for offense.

The Thunderwolves were slightly more consistent on offense and narrowly won all five categories.  Rhys Hoskins had three home runs and Josh Bell added two more.  Nick Senzel had two steals.  The PhoeGnomes failed to steal a base.  Matt Olson was strong for Heather with three home runs, but the rest of the offense didn’t click.  The team’s home runs, RBI, steals, and SLG were worst win the league, and their OBP was next to last.  Kyle earned a solid win and stayed above 0.500.  Heather suffered her first down week in a while and will need to regroup next week.

KG Capital City Goofballs (5 – 6 – 1) vs.  CP Legion (6 – 5 – 2)

The Goofballs and Legion struggled to a tie for the week.  The Legion offense was strong, but the pitching staff undid their hard work.  Kevin did just enough to force the tie on the week’s final day of play.  Kevin put up solid offensive numbers.  Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon each had two home runs.  However, the Legion were superior in all of the other categories.  They were second in the league in RBI, steals, OBP, and SLG, and third in home runs.  David Dahl had three homers and eight RBI in relatively few at bats.  Four other Legion players had two home runs, and Trea Turner had four steals.  This was enough to sweep all five categories.

On pitching, neither team was great but the Legion struggled to a greater extent than the Goofballs.  Chris’s team had a 6.11 ERA, but what is truly shocking is that this was only the third worst ERA for the week!  The Legion also joined the Lasershow to earn the dubious honor of not recording a save for the week.  The Goofballs easily won ERA, WHIP, and saves.  However, they needed a strong performance from Miles Mikolas on Sunday to earn a quality start and record enough strikeouts to win both categories.  The Legion were let down by Robbie Ray who failed to get out of the fourth inning.  The tie means that both teams lose some ground to the Thunderwolves, Lannisters, and Possums.  However, given the relatively poor performances, each is probably happy with the result.

Next Week

This week is the long All Star week, so each team can start a maximum of 10 pitchers with a minimum of 7.  Remember that the minimum will still show as five on the site, so we will count at the end of the week to make sure everyone has enough starts.  The Possums face the Armadillos in a critical grudge match.  The PhoeGnomes will try to return to winning form against the Lasershow.  The Lannisters and Goofballs meet in yet another long-week match.  Finally, the Thunderwolves and Legion meet in a critical battle to emerge from the middle of the league.