CP Legion (8 – 6 – 2) vs.   JK Lannisters (11 – 5)

The Legion were able to earn a victory in a critical match to keep their title hopes alive.  Things didn’t look good for Chris on the offensive side.  The Legion had decent offensive numbers, but the Lannisters were superior in all categories except steals.  Nelson Cruz had four home runs and 20 RBI and three players had two home runs. The Legion had a good week from Cody Bellinger and won steals with just two.  This left the Legion with a 4-1 deficit before pitching.

Fortunately for Chris, the Lannisters suffered a series of technical issues and player implosions that led to the worst pitching performance for the week.  Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole had outstanding starts and allowed just two earned runs in 16.0 IP.  Incredibly, though, the Lannisters had a team ERA of 8.08 for the week even including these strong performances.  Five starters allowed at least five earned runs, including nine for Stephen Strasburg.  Wade Davis got into the act, allowing five earned runs and losing his closer job.  The Legion easily won ERA and WHIP thanks to nice weeks from several pitchers.  However, there was still hope for the Lannisters when several Legion pitchers failed to go six innings and get quality starts.  However, the Rays’ decisions to move Jake Odorizzi’s start left the Lannisters without an eighth pitcher on Sunday and Chris won strikeouts by one.  Although the Lannisters would have won the week with another starter, it is hard to feel any sympathy for the loss after such a miserable week from so many pitchers.  The win keeps the Legion close and adds even more pressure for the coming weeks’ matches.

RK Possums (10 – 5 – 1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (7 – 8 – 1)

The closest team to the Lannisters is the Possums.  However, the PhoeGnomes are still within striking distance and they managed to pull out a close win and improve their position.  The team won three categories on offense, but many of them were close.  Three PhoeGnomes’ players had two home runs:  Andrew Benintendi, Jose Altuve, and George Springer.  Benintendi had six RBI and Josh VanMeter had three steals. These steals were enough to tie the category.  The Possums managed to win home runs thanks to a great week from Ronald Acuna Jr..  However, no other Possums player had more than three RBI.  This caused another strange situation where the Possums won home runs but lost RBI and SLG.

The PhoeGnomes suffered the same issues as the Lannisters on pitching.  The team had an abysmal ERA and failed to get many quality starts.  However, the Possums also failed to throw enough innings in most of their games. This led to fewer quality starts despite earning a better strikeout total.  A few bullpen meltdowns let the team with a poor WHIP.  The lack of pitching quality cost Rick, and the team was unable to overcome the offensives deficit.  The win pulls the PhoeGnomes to within 2.5 games of the league lead.  The Possums benefitted from the Lannisters’ loss and remain just 0.5 games back.

SM Lasershow (3 – 13) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (6 – 8 – 2)

The Goofballs needed a win to remain in contention and they responded to the challenge with a great all-around week, probably the best in the league.  Kevin was near the top of the ague in every category except saves.  He had the best ERA and WHIP in the league thanks in large part to a masterful Jose Berrios starts in which he allowed just two hits and struck out 11.  No starter allowed more than two earned runs.  The team’s numbers would have been even better if not for a single bad inning from Luke Jackson.  Sean had an okay week including a good start from Zack Wheeler.  Unfortunately for Sean he didn’t have the volume of quality starts, saves, or strikeouts to compete in those categories and Kevin swept all five.

Like pitching, Kevin’s hitting was also near the top of the league.  Jean Soto had three home runs.  Ketel Marte, Carson Kelly, Anthony Rendon, and Max Kepler had three homers each.  Javier Baez had a home run and a steal.  Rendon also added nine RBI.  The volume of Kevin’s quality hitters was too much for the Lasershow to compete with.  They were able to tie in steals, but it wasn’t enough and the Goofballs remained in contention for at least another week.  They are now three games back from the league lead.

LK Armadillos (6 – 6 – 4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (7 – 7 – 2)

The week’s final match also presented an opportunity for two mid-tier teams to move closer to the league lead.  The Armadillos and Thunderwolves had a close match that eventually tipped in the Armadillos favor.  Both teams had excellent pitching.  Kyle had great starts from German Marquez, Aaron Nola, and Lance Lynn.  Each recorded ten strikeouts and Kyle won the category.  Other players threw fewer innings and weren’t bad, but were definitely less effective.  For example, Zack Greinke allowed two earned runs in just 5.0 IP.  This was okay, but not enough for a quality start or a big boost to ERA and WHIP.  The Armadillos suffered similar problems with Patrick Corbin but had slightly better efforts from Jack Flaherty and Noah Syndergaard.  Six pitchers had quality starts, and the team had the better WHIP and ERA.  This left Larry with a 3-1-1 advantage before hitting.

Both teams were good enough to win against many other teams on offense.  The Thunderwolves led the league in RBI and the Armadillos led in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  Leading the way for Kyle was Vladimir Guerrero Jr..  He had three home runs and 11 RBI.  The Armadillos countered with a three hoe run week from Trevor Story and Starling Marte.  Eight other Armadillos players had at least one home run, and the power up-and-down the lineup was too much for Kyle to overcome.  The Armadillos moved to just two games back of first place.  The Thunderwolves lost on a good week because they did not lose any ground to the Lannisters and remain just three games back.

Next Week

Week 18 has several massive battles.  The most important features the Legion and Possums.  Both teams are desperate for a win to keep close to first.  The Goofballs and PhoeGnomes have a match in which the loser is likely to be out of contention.  The Armadillos are heavily favored against the Lasershow, but Sean’s team has been better lately.  Finally, the Thunderwolves need to rally against the Lannisters, who themselves are looking to avoid a three game losing streak.