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.