Happy 4th of July all! This recap written by yours truly – the 2021 League Champion! Pictured below – my favorite fireworks scene from a movie – when the kids from the Sandlot played their only night game under a sky lit up by fireworks!
Skyline Sluggers (4-8) vs. Possums (6-6)
With 24 weeks worth of matchups for the season, this past week signaled the beginning of the second half for the league. Charlie took his Sluggers up against the Possums in what turned out to be one of the tighter matchups of the week.
On offense, the Sluggers were led by Shohei Ohtani who was 7-21 with 7 runs, 4 hr, 5 rbi and a 1.462 OPS. It wasn’t just a one man wrecking crew though, as Charlie had 4 other players with 10+ plate appearances that also posted an OPS over 1.000 The Possums offense was led by offseason trade acquisition Luis Robert, who hit 3 homers and stole 4 bases with an 1.165 OPS. Rick also had 4 other players with multiple HR weeks which gave him that category, and he nipped Charlie on SB 6-5 because of the aforementioned Robert. Those were the only 2 offensive categories Rick won however, as the consistency across the board from the Sluggers offense gave them narrow victories in Runs and RBI, with a significant advantage in OPS despite being outhomered 16-13 for the week.
When it comes to pitching, Charlie’s starters carried the week for him. He only had one starter who gave up multiple runs and he won the rate stats relatively easily as Rick had to endure rough outings from multiple starters. The Possums took innings and saves, but the advantage in IP did not include an advantage in K’s, as the Sluggers took that category on the strength of 3 double digit K performances from his SP, including that guy Ohtani (he’s good at baseball). Sluggers take the pitching categories 3-2 and the week 6-4.
Hares (5-7) vs. Kraken (3-8-1)
League veterans Jeff and Chris did battle this past week in the only matchup featuring two below .500 teams. Both teams came into the week struggling and desperate for a victory. The Hares came into the matchup on a 4 game losing streak and the last place Kraken had posted a disappointing 2-5-1 record over their last 8 weeks.
The Hares pitching registered a dominant performance this week, posting a league low 2.42 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. Dylan Cease had two solid outings and Jeff got very good single starts from Burnes, Bieber, Kirby, and Strider (that sounds like a law firm). Chris got a great week from Reid Detmers, who struck out 19 in 13 innings of work with a 2.08 ERA and 0.69 WHIP, but his beloved Astros let him down, as Cristian Javier and Hunter Brown combined to give up a combined 9 ER and 18 H over only 8 IP. The Kraken were able to take IP for the week, but that was it for him on that side, as the Hares took K’s as well as saves behind a 3 save week from Ryan Pressly.
With a solid 4-1 advantage in pitching, the Hares needed only to tread water on the hitting side to take the week and end their losing streak. Jeff didn’t really get any standout performances from any hitters beyond Eloy Jimenez’s 2 HR/8 RBI/1.075 OPS week. The Hares hit a league low 7 HR and notched just 34 RBI for the week. The Kraken easily outpaced the Hares in both those categories, as they were led by Matt Olson and Kyle Tucker who combined for 5 HR and 17 RBI for the week while each posting an OPS over 1.200. Jeff was able to keep OPS close, but Chris took that category narrowly as well.
Going into Sunday, the Kraken held a slim 1 run advantage with the two clubs being tied in steals. Michael Harris II turned out to be the difference maker, as his stolen base and run scored (one of five runs scored by the Hares on Sunday) gave Jeff both runs and steals by the narrowest of margins. The Hares end their slide and take the week 6-4 while the Kraken are still looking for answers.
Wolf Spiders (8-4) vs. PhoeGnomes (5-6-1)
Defending Champ Kyle went into Week 13 as one of only two teams in the league with a winning record (more on that other team in just a bit) while Heather was looking to get herself level at 6-6-1.
On offense, both teams and strong weeks in the power department. A trio of Phoegnomes had 3 HR weeks, with Altuve, Ezequiel Duran, and Nick Castellanos combining for 9 HR and 21 RBI. Kyle got an absolute monster week from Ronald Acuna, Jr. who registered a 1.916 OPS, 9 runs scored, 5 HR, 7 RBI, and 4 steals. Spencer Steer also made his presence felt for the Wolf Spiders registering 3 HR 7 RBI and a 1.388 OPS. The two clubs split HR and RBI, with Kyle taking runs scored and steals, and Heather notching a narrow victory in OPS, giving Kyle a 3-2 lead on the hitting side.
Both teams posted relatively strong pitching performances. Rotation stalwarts Zac Gallen and Shane McClanahan had surprisingly disappointing weeks for the Wolf Spiders, but that was offset by 12 innings of shutout ball thrown by the apparently ageless Justin Verlander, as Kyle’s squad posted a 3.04 ERA and 1.07 WHIP overall. The PhoeGnomes couldn’t match either ratio, as a poor performance by Mackenzie Gore (2.2 IP, 6 H, 7 ER) spoiled most of the otherwise solid work done by Heather’s pitching staff this week, as they were able to gain the advantage over the Wolf Spiders in Innings and K’s. The bullpens were going to be the difference here. Heather got a save apiece from both Jordan Romano and Kenley Jansen, but it wasn’t enough to take the category as Kyle picked up a pair of saves from Camilo Doval and one save from David Bednar to take the category 3-2, giving Kyle a 6-4 victory overall for the week.
Armadillos (11-1) vs. U-Haul Trucks (5-7)
*Cracks knuckles*
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am SICK and TIRED of the Armadillos running roughshod over the rest of the league this year. I honestly don’t even like armadillos in real life. Like what do they even think they are? Are they an anteater? Are they a snail? Are they a porcupine? Come on armadillos, pick a lane!
The last time I ever rooted for an Armadillo was when the fictional ones from Texas St. were playing ironman football led by Paul Blake at QB, Andre Crimm at DT, Manumana the slender at OT, and Lucy Draper at K.
But I digress…
Larry’s squad entered the week on an 11 week winning streak putting himself in great position to hang up another championship banner at Armadillo HQ. Sensing a desperate time and with the season hanging in the balance, the Goofballs decided to temporarily change the name of the franchise (without league approval) in hopes of stopping the apparently unstoppable Armadillos.
With regard to hitting for the week, it was very much a back and forth matchup in every category except steals, which Larry tends to win by like 50,000 every week. The Armadillos tried to lean heavily on Julio Rodriguez, Mookie Betts, and Jose Ramirez, as they played the matchups at mostly every other position this week, starting a total of 21 different players on offense. Larry got 4 HRs and 17 RBI from the aforementioned trio. The U-Haul Trucks did not do much offensively for the 2nd week in a row, but a strong Sunday performance in HR (3) and OPS (.876) gave them two hitting categories for the week, while a late HR by Pete Alonso gave Armadillos the advantage in RBIs, to go along with their relatively easy victories in SB and runs scored.
All Larry had to do was hold serve against the Goofballs weak pitching staff and they’d be well on their way to a 12th straight victory.
Oops.
The ‘Dillos had a nightmarish outing from Eury Perez (0.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 H) and relatively poor starts from Yusei Kikuchi and Logan Gilbert, leading them to post the worst numbers in the league in ERA and WHIP this week. Larry also didn’t get much volume from his usually stellar bullpen, as Emmanuel Clase and Josh Hader combined for only 2.1 IP and 1 save for the week.
The U-Haul Trucks have struggled immensely on the bump for the season, but this week was a different story. Jordan Montgomery was dominant in two starts, tossing 13.1 IP while striking out 12 and posting a 0.68 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Devin Williams anchored the Trucks bullpen posting 4 saves and 4 scoreless innings. All the Goofballs staff had to do on Sunday to sweep the pitching categories was avoid multiple major blowups, and they did just that, sparing any drama. Trucks win the pitching categories 5-0 and the week 7-3, giving their Owner and GM a great 42nd birthday present and hopefully providing some hope to the rest of the league that the Armadillos can be beaten.
This Week:
The sizzling hot Skyline Sluggers, winners of 3 in a row, will look to put the Armadillos on a streak of the losing variety. Kyle and his Wolf Spiders, who’ve won 6 of their last 7 face a Goofballs squad that has won 4 of their last 5. Rick and Jeff take identical 6-7 records into their matchup, with both hoping to get to .500, and Heather takes the PhoeGnomes into battle against Chris’ Kraken, in a battle to determine who will be sleeping on the couch at their house next week (just kidding, we know Chris will be sleeping on the couch no matter the result).
Everyone have a wonderful holiday and be safe tonight!!
Dirt Mountain Baseball League 