JK Lannisters (14 – 8 – 1) vs.  CP Legion (13 – 8 – 2)

The week’s most important matchup paired the Lannisters and Legion.  If the Lannisters won, they would continue to lead the league, control their own fate, and eliminate the Legion.  If the Legion won, they would take the lead going into a huge matchup with the Possums.  The Lannisters were able to earn the win with a strong all-around performance that was the best in the league.  The team led the league in home runs, RBI, OBP, and SLG.  They were second in ERA, WHIP, and quality starts.  On offense, three players led the way.  Nelson Cruz had three home runs and nine RBI.  Trey Mancini had two home runs and 10 RBI.  Eloy Jimenez had two home runs and six RBI in part-time duty.  Bryce Harper mirrored these stats.  The Legion had good home run totals, but failed to gain much traction for the week.

The Legion had a few bright spots on pitching like Yu Darvish, but the team failed to find sustained success.  The Lannisters got good starts from Stephen Strasburg, Luis Castillo, and Jacob deGrom.  Gerrit Cole again led the way with a ten-strikeout performance which gave him over 300 total for the season.  These performances allowed the Lannisters to dominate both offense and defense and win the week.  The Legion fought to the bitter end, but came up just short in the 2019 season.  They will now play for third place in their next match.  The Lannisters control their own fate, which will be discussed after the Possums / PhoeGnomes report.

HP PhoeGnomes (10 – 12 – 1) vs.  RK Possums (13 – 8 – 2)

After the Lannisters’ victory, the Possums had to win to keep their title hopes alive.  The PhoeGnomes were able to push them to the limit, but Rick managed to survive and stay in the race.  Both teams posted strong offensive stats and were near the top of the league in all categories.  Ten different Possums’ players had at least one home run.  Jonathan Villar was the best of the group with two home runs and three steals.  Ronald Acuna stayed hot with two home runs of his own.  The PhoeGnomes had a great week from George Springer who had three home runs and five RBI.  Brandon Nimmo also had three home runs.  The PhoeGnomes didn’t have the consistent home run power that the Possums showed, but did managed to win SLG while the Possums took all four other categories.

The PhoeGnomes were strong on pitching and won three categories.  Mike Foltynewicz had a great start, as did Mike Clevinger.  However, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Yarbrough successful outings.  This gave the Possums a small window to capture WHIP.  Despite a bad outing for Trevor Bauer, Justin Verlander and Charlie Morton did enough to capture strikeouts.  The disastrous Yarbrough start allowed the Possums to keep control of WHIP and thus win the week.  The PhoeGnomes put up a solid effort and almost upset a top team for the second week in a row.

The win keeps the Possums’ hopes alive.  After all of the playoff discussion last week, there are now only two matches that matter.  The Lannisters will win the title if they defeat or tie the Thunderwolves.  The Possums can win the title only if they win and the Lannisters lose.  The Lannisters hold a 3-1 tiebreaker edge over the Possums, so any tie scenarios will not matter.  The Possums face the Legion, who will be looking to play spoiler after a disappointing loss to the Lannisters.  The Thunderwolves are sure to put up a strong fight as well.  The final week of the season often has unpredictable lineups and pitching matchups, so anything can still happen.

SM Lasershow (4 – 19 – 0) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (10 – 11 – 2)

While the Lasershow and Goofballs are both out of contention, Sean put up yet another outstanding week of stats to earn another victory.  They posted the best pitching stats in the league and had nice offensive numbers as well.  Eduardo Rodriguez had a great 10 strikeout start for the Lasershow and Marco Gonzalez and Zack Wheeler were also quite good.  The offense enjoyed huge weeks from Jeff McNeil and Mitch Moreland.  Each player had three home runs.  Yuli Gurriel and Willie Calhoun each added two more.  This was enough to overcome the Goofballs, who suffered a familiar series of pitching meltdowns that ultimately doomed the team.  The win continues to show the progress the Lasershow have made this season.

LK Armadillos (10 – 8 – 5) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (10 – 10 – 3)

The week’s final match saw the Armadillos continue to push for third place by defeating the Thunderwolves.  Larry’s team posted a strong all-around week.  Alex Bregman had three home runs, as did Pete Alonso.  Mark Canha added two more, and the team had eight total players contribute at least one home run.  The Thunderwolves had six players with home runs, but failed to gain a lot of traction despite starting a lot of different players and trying different matchups.  Kyle tried to rotate in players to get favorable match-ups but came up a little short. On pitching, James Paxton had a great start, but the rest of the team was more mediocre.  Lance Lynn didn’t have a great ERA or WHIP, but did contribute a monster 20 strikeouts in two starts.  The Armadillo shad better all-around numbers including a strong start from Patrick Corbin and a nice week from Alex Colome.  This was enough to earn the win for the week and stay in the third place hunt.

Next Week

Two matches dominate.  The most interesting is the Possums / Legion battle.  Chris needs to win to hold on to third place, while the Possums must win to have any chance of claiming the title.  The Lannisters play the Thunderwolves, and need to tie or win to clinch the title.  They will also win the title with a Possums loss or tie, regardless of their outcome with the Thunderwolves.  The Armadillos want to win third place, and face the Lasershow, who have proven to be a challenge especially late in the season.  Finally, the Goofballs and PhoeGnomes meet in a final match.