League Summary

Week #05 provided some standout performances in unexpected areas.  Each match-up was close and could have turned with only slight changes in dynamics.  Overall, it was a down week for offense and a strong one for pitching.  Only two teams had ERAs over 4.00, and only two teams had OPS values above 0.800.  This led to counting stats like runs and RBI to decide outcomes.

HP PhoeGnomes (0-3) vs. RK Possums (0-3)

Heather earned her first win of the season and the Possums were left with more heartbreak when the week ended.  The PhoeGnomes had one of the top overall pitching performances for the week, and was also one of two teams with a high OPS.  The squad was second in the league in OPS, tied for first in RBI, and near the top in steals and home runs.  Aaron Judge contributed 3 home runs and 7 RBI, but Alec Bohm was the real star of the week.  He had 8 RBI, 6 runs, 1 home run, and an OPS of 1.514!  Bobby Witt Jr. added 4 steals.  The Possums fought hard to stay close, and managed to win two offensive categories.  Francisco Lindo was on fire with 3 home runs and 3 steals.  Josh Naylor and Jose Babellero each added 2 steals.  However, only one Possums regular had an OPS over 1.000, and the team lacked the more well-rounded stats that someone like Bhom provided.  Heather took a narrow lead.

Both teams had great pitching, and were second only to the Wolf Spiders in overall terms.  Heather had the best WHIP in the league, but the Possums were tied for the league lead in saves.  Heather’s ERA was even more impressive when paired with her IP totals.  Rick had the much higher K/9 rate, but Heather was able to throw more innings at a higher quality to win three categories and take the week in a narrow 6-4 win.  Tanner Houck redeemed himself with two great starts.  Aaron Nola also did some heavy lifting to achieve 10 strikeouts in his start. The Possums had a poor start from Jose Butto that ultimately cost them a chance at the rate categories. 

The PhoeGnomes earned their first win, and have to be happy with their effort.  The Possums also showed that their play is trending upward.  This hasn’t translated to a victory yet, but they would have beaten several other teams this week.  Rick has to hope that he can eventually put it all together and begin to move up the standings.

CM Skyline Sluggers (1-2) vs. CP Kraken (2-1)

After a tough week against the Hares, Chris hoped to return to winning form against the Skyline Sluggers.  However, Charlie was determined to get back to winning and enjoyed a strong overall week.  The end result was another close win for Charlie’s team.  The match was decided on the pitching side.  Charlie dominated with a 5-0 sweep.  He led the league in strikeouts by a wide margin, and was tied for first in saves.  The team had a good IP total, and managed strong enough rate stats to not worry over the weekend.  Leading the way was Brandon Pfaadt who had two starts for 11.1 IP and recorded 15 strikeouts.  He allowed only 4 earned runs.  Marcus Stroman had a strange week with two starts over 9.1 IP.  He had 13 strikeouts but also gave up 7 earned runs.  This depressed the team’s ERA and WHIP, but the overall production was solid enough to win the week.  The Kraken had down weeks from multiple pitchers, including Edward Cabrera, Michael King, and Reid Detmers.  It was enough for Chis to cede all five categories before accounting for offense.

The Kraken fared better on offense.  Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker, and Yordan Alvarez each had 2 home runs.  Dalton Varsho contributed a home run and a steal.  In all, 7 players had at least 1 home run and 3 regular players had an OPS over 1.000.  However, Matt Olson had a tough week, as did Oswaldo Cabrera.  Evan Carter rebounded for the Skyline Sluggers with 2 home runs.  Rhys Hoskins and Isaac Paredes also had nice weeks, and contributed to Charlie winning the OPS category.  He tied in steals and this was all more than enough for a victory.  This pulls the Skyline Sluggers back to 0.500, and represents another tough loss for the Kraken, who also fall to even on the year.  Charlie’s overall strong start remains a signal that he intends to compete this year.  The Kraken have also been up and down, and Chris will have to find consistency to challenge the Wolf Spiders and Armadillos.

KK Wolf Spiders (3-0) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (1-1-1)

The week’s strangest match-up paired the Wolf Spiders and Goofballs.  The week was, again, largely decided by pitching.  Kyle took a dominating position in ERA and led the league in the category.  No pitcher allowed more than 3 earned runs for the week.  Seth Lugo had an outstanding 7.0 IP, 9 strikeout effort.  Kirby Yates added two saves.  The goofballs couldn’t compete on rate stats, though they did have good numbers.  However, Kevin was able to tie for the league lead in saves and also post the higher IP total.  Logan Webb was a standout with 8.0 IP and 0 earned runs.  However, he had only 4 strikeouts, and this was a theme for the Goofballs.  This allowed Kevin to win IP, but falter in strikeouts.  Kyle took a 3-2 lead.

The defending champs kept up the pressure with a strong 7 steal performance.  However, neither team could muster any power and both were at the rock bottom of the league in OPS, HR, and RBI.  Willson Contreras was the best of the bunch for the Goofballs, with 2 home runs.  However, these were mitigated by a small 3 run and 2 RBI split.  Kyle struggled mightily, though, with only 5 home runs and no players with more than 1.  Overall, Kyle didn’t have a home run on his roster on Sunday, and the this lack of power cost him a tie in the category and thus the week.  Kevin and Kyle shared an ugly 5-5 draw.  Neither team can be happy with their performance on the offensive side.  The lack of power left both teams rolling the dice, but Kevin did just enough to survive.  For his part, Kyle remains unbeaten, but the team will have to find some offensive firepower going forward.

LK Armadillos (2-0-1) vs. JK Hares (2-1)

The Hares and Armadillos each entered the week on a high note.  However, Armadillos showed why they were in a higher tier and able to win under adversity.  The Hares weren’t embarrassing, but they fell back down to 0.500 with multiple teams.  Larry’s major advantage came on offense, where they tied for the league lead in home runs, RBI, runs, and steals.  They led in OPS outright.  Gunnar Henderson was the best of the squad with 3 home runs, 8 runs, 7 RBI, 2 steals, and a 1.266 OPS.  Pete Alonso had a good week as well with 3 home runs.  The Hares enjoyed a 2 home run week from Mike Trout and an incredible 8 steals from Elly De La Cruz.  Unfortunately the rest of the team went cold.  Vinne Pasquantino had a nightmarish 1 for 20 showing.  The Hares did tie the Armadillos in runs and steals, and would have won at least three categories against many other teams.

On pitching, the Armadillos posted the third best numbers in the league.  Tarik Skubal was on fire with 13.0 IP, 15 strikeouts, and just 1 earned run.  Ranger Suarez was also unhittable with 15.0 IP, 13 strikeouts, and 1 earned run.  He had a 0.40 WHIP for the week.  When half of a team’s starts are this good, it will be almost impossible for the competition to keep up.  The Hares tried to counter with more innings, but this ultimately didn’t work out as the team suffered a few sub-par outings.

This was enough for the Armadillos to win convincingly over the weekend, but it should be noted that the Hares did hold a 6-4 lead on Friday with all qualifying starts.  The end result was closer than the score might indicate.  However, if the Armadillos can continue to find this kind of pitching, they will be difficult to beat. They appear to the current class of the league.

Next Week

The week’s most interesting match is probably the Kraken versus the Wolf Spiders. Both teams believe they are contenders, but each have struggled a bit in the last two weeks.  They will need to rise to the occasion against a fellow first-division squad.  The Armadillos and Skyline Sluggers meet for the first time this year.  Both teams are pretty hot, and this could be more compelling than initially expected.  The PhoeGnomes and Goofballs also meet in yet another battle of hot teams.  Finally, the Possums will seek their first win versus the Hares.  The Hares have been hot-and-cold, and the Possums are due for a big week at some point.  Neither team wants go give way, but Rick has to hope for a better outcome eventually!

Introduction

Week 04 saw two teams continue their winning streaks while two others righted the ship.  The league’s leaders maintained good form with narrow victories of game competition.  The Goofballs and Hares put together outstanding efforts to defeat their rivals.  The Kraken suffered their first defeat, and the Possums remained winless for the week.

JK Hares (1-1) vs. CP Kraken (2-0)

The week’s most surprising result was the Hares’ win over the Kraken.  Chris entered the week on a two game winning streak.  The Hares turned the tables and delivered the league’s best overall performance.  Jeff’s squad led the league in runs, home runs, steals, OPS, ERA, and WHIP.  They were tied for the lead in saves, second in RBI and strikeouts, and near the top in IP.  This was the team’s most complete performance in the last two seasons.  leading the way was Elly De La Cruz.  The second year sensation had two home runs, 5 RBI and runs, and 4 steals.  He added 7 walks, including 4 in one game to solidify a 1.315 OPS.  If De La Cruz can continue to reach base and steal at this rate, he has the potential to be a fantasy monster.  However, it wasn’t just Cruz who put up good numbers.  Vinnie Pasquantino added 2 home runs and had a 1.362 OPS.  Riley Greene, Trea Turner, and Amed Rosario also had OPS over 1.000.  Turner’s rebound is a welcome site for the Hares, and his 10 runs put the category out of reach.  For their part, the Kraken had great weeks from Triston Casas and Jordan Westburg.  Each had two home runs and great OPS over 1.000.  However, the Hares’ overall attack was just too strong, and they swept the hitting categories.

On pitching, the Hares were even more dominant relative to the rest of the league.  Corbin Burnes was the only pitcher to allow 3 earned runs.  The rest of the staff were stellar, and piled up strikeouts.  The team’s rate stats were easily the class of the league.  Zack Wheeler in particular was strong with just 1 hit over 7.1 IP.  The team’s random assortment of relief pitchers had a great week too, recording 4 saves.  The Kraken had good strikeout totals across the board, but they allowed too many runs, especially Josh Hader and Cole Ragans.  Ragans in particular suffered a catastrophic meltdown, allowing 7 earned runs in 1.2 IP.

The Hares cruised to a win, and joined the top of the league at 2-1.  The Kraken will need to regroup after the loss, and find more consistent pitching success if they want to contend without relying on overwhelming offense.

RK Possums (0-2) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1-1)

The second best performance in the league belonged to the Goofballs.  Kevin had the second best pitching for the week, behind only the Hares.  He also had enough offense across the board to earn a solid 6-2-2 win.  The star of the show was Washing shortstop CJ Abrams.  He had 12 hits, 3 home runs, 8 runs, and a steal.  Kyle Schwarber had only 3 hits, but all three where home runs!  Corbin Carroll didn’t have good power but added 3 steals.  Abrams, Nic Hoerner, Bryce Harper, and Willson Contreras all had OPS values over 1.000.  The Possums were competitive on offense had had a great week from Josh Naylor and Adolis Garcia.  They each had 2 home runs, and Garcia had the team’s only OPS over 1.000.  This parity left the Goofballs with a narrow 2-1-2 lead.

The Goofballs were supported by their pitching.  Kevin started 8 different starters and non allowed more than 2 earned runs except Mitch Keller, who allowed only 4.  No player had massive strikeout totals, but everyone was consistent.  The team also kept walks to a minimum.  In total this led to the second best ERA in the league.  Rick had some good numbers on his side, but the squad couldn’t limit the damage with runners on base.  For example, Tyler Glasnow struck out 15 over just 13.0 IP, but allowed 6 earned runs.  Jason Foley and Jordan Romano had 2 saves each to win the category, but it wasn’t enough.  Kevin was able to secure 3 categories and take the week.

While the win wasn’t the statement victory that the Hares enjoyed, Kevin followed up last week’s shocking tie with his first win of the year.  The Possums posted good numbers, but were up against a tough squad.  Ultimately Rick falls to 0-3 and must look for answers next week.

LK Armadillos (1-0-1) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (0-2)

The PhoeGnomes entered the week looking for their first win.  The Armadillos were out for blood after having a victory reversed to a tie thanks to a scoring change that swung the WHIP category versus the Goofballs last week.  Ultimately, Larry did enough to earn a narrow 6-4 win.  Both teams had great pitching, and it looked like Heather might take the win thanks to her staff.  Aaron Nola was the workhorse with 15.1 IP and 16 strikeouts versus just 3 earned runs.  Tanner Houck had what must be the best start of his career with a 9.0 complete game allowing just 3 hits, no earned runs, and 9 strikeouts.  Heather easily took IP, strikeouts, saves and WHIP.  However the Armadillos were able to sneak through and win ERA.  Ranger Suarez led the way with his own complete game shutout.  Neither team had a starter allowed more than 3 earned runs.  However, the Armadillos threw fewer innings at a slightly more effective clip.  This led to a very narrow win in just one category.

This would normally limit Larry to seeking a tie, but the Armadillos were able to capitalize on the PhoeGnomes’ offensive struggles to sweep all five categories and earn an outright win for the week.  Julio Rodriguez and Gunnar Henderson were the stars of the week.  Henderson had 3 of the team’s 5 home runs.  Rodriguez added two steals, and the pair were the only players with OPS over 1.000.  Heather tried her best to counter with a horde of players in the lineup looking for platoon advantages.  A whopping 19 players took the field for the PhoeGnomes, but sadly few paid dividends.  Cody Bellinger was the best of the crop, but he had only 1 home run, 2 runs, and 3 RBI.  This allowed the Armadillos the claim a very narrow victory.  Both teams will need to find more consistent offense without shuffling too many players.  The teams combined for a ridiculous 36 players getting at-bats.  One has to wonder if both managers may be overthinking their situations.  On the other hand, when things aren’t going well, you have to try something, and maybe the teams were looking for any spark in their lineups.

CM Skyline Sluggers (1-1) vs. KK Wolf Spiders (2-0)

The league’s only undefeated team is the Wolf Spiders.  They maintained their hot start against the Skyline Sluggers.  However, neither team had stellar weeks, and it was a battle of attrition on pitching.  Both teams were at the bottom of the league in most pitching categories.  Kyle had a rate 3 starters make 2 starts for the week.  However, despite combining for 32.1 IP, this trio which included Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and Seth Lugo managed just 17 strikeouts.  This is a shockingly low number, but Kyle did manage to win 4 categories on solid ERA and WHIP numbers. 

Both teams had decent offense, but the week was really decided by the pitching.  Marcus Semien and Starling Marte had 2 home runs each for the Sluggers.  Kyle countered with a nice week from Salvador Perez.  The teams split most categories, and Kyle earned a narrow 6-4 win.  The defending champions are once again at the top of the league and remain undefeated at 3-0.  They are the only team without a loss or a draw.  However, there are signs that there may be vulnerabilities for the Wolf Spiders.  Then again, the same could be said about every team so far this year!  The results are all that matters, though, and Kyle remains on top of the league… for now.

Next Week

The league leaders face tough challenges.  The two big winners this week – the Hares and Goofballs, face the top tier Armadillos and Wolf Spiders respectively.  The Kraken hope to have better luck against the Skyline Sluggers, who have cooled after their hot start.  Finally, the PhoeGnomes and Possums meet and, barring a tie, someone will earn his or her fist win of the season!

League Overview

After the second week of the season ended, the league was left with more questions than answers. Only three teams won their first two match-ups. The defending champion Wolf Spiders, Armadillos, and Kraken all captured wins. Meanwhile, the Goofballs, PhoeGnomes, and Possums all remained winless. The Skyline Sluggers and Hares are the only teams even at 1-1.

This isn’t surprising, as every team has faced injuries, dealt with serious flaws, or suffered scheduling problems. The only team that has looked solid in both games is the Kraken, who remain the story of the early season thanks to their dominance.

There is one other small note. I am renaming the weeks to align with ESPN’s Matchup number. That means that this was “Week 03” as this was “Matchup 3” in the site. I’m doing this in case anyone needs to cross-reference the reports and might later get confused about which week the report refers to.

CP Kraken (1-0) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (0-1)

The Kraken remained red hot this week as they dominated the PhoeGnomes. Chris continues to deliver on both the offensive and pitching side of the ledger. The Kraken had a remarkable run of starting pitching. The staff gave up only 7 earned runs for the week. Cole Ragans proved to be a smart pickup with a good two-start week with 13 strikeouts and only 3 earned runs. Reid Detmers and Logan Gilbert also had great outings. Chris easily won each category except saves, and led the league in ERA by a wide margin. They were also second in WHIP and had solid counting totals.

On offense, neither team excelled, but Chris generated enough power to score an easy win for the week. Juan Soto was stellar with a 1.245 OPS, 2 home runs, and a steal. Heather enjoyed great efforts from Bobby Witt Jr and Jose Altuve. They each had 2 home runs, and Witt added a steal and 10 runs. Each had an OPS well over 1.000. Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to turn the tide, as the reset of the team struggled. Vlad Guerrero Jr. continued his slow start to the season. He was one of 7 players with an OPS under 0.500.

The Kraken have proven they are potential title contenders. Their second consecutive week of good play means the rest of the league needs to take them seriously. If Chris can find a way to continue to conjure good pitching, they may be the primary team to push the Wolf Spiders.

LK Armadillos (1-0) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1)

The week’s most competitive match features the Armadillos and Goofballs. These two teams have developed into compelling rivals in recent seasons. The Armadillos were the first to strike this year, as Larry squeaked out a victory by the thinnest of margins.

On Offense, the Goofballs had a bizarre, disappointing week. The team had the lowest run, home run, and RBI totals in the week by a significant margin. They had the second lowest OPS, and the gap between then and the next worst team was 0.090. What makes this even more shocking is that Michael Busch had 3 of the team’s 5 home runs. Corbin Carroll added 3 steals, but this was essentially the team’s whole output. The Armadillos led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, and were near the top in steals. The biggest star was clearly Pete Alonso. He had 4 home runs, 8 runs, 7 RBI, and a 1.603 OPS. Taylor Ward, Colton Cowser, and Brice Turang all had significant at-bat totals and each had and OPS over 1.000. The Armadillos are getting epic production from overlooked players. When paired with high steals totals from Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Anthony Volpe.

Both teams had quality pitching efforts. They were both at the top of the league behind the Kraken. Kevin relied on more IP to generate a ton of strikeouts (tied with the Hares) and the most saves in the league with 4. Jose Berrios was incredible with two starts, 13.2 IP, 13 strikeouts, and no earned runs. Freddy Peralta also added 11 strikeouts in just 5.1 IP. The Armadillos threw fewer innings, and were not competitive in counting stats. However, the team showed solid control and were able to sneak a victory in WHIP. In fact, the Goofballs could have tied the week by flipping WHIP, and had a chance on Sunday. However, Robert Suarez gave up a walk in an otherwise fine outing where he recorded a save in the last game on Sunday. This was enough to tilt the category and thus the week.

The narrow victory keeps the Armadillos undefeated, but the team will need to find more pitching (if only in terms of quality) to compete. Kevin can take comfort in his pitching, but needs to put both offense and pitching together to record his first win.

CM Skyline Sluggers (1-0) vs. JK Hares (0-1)

The Skyline Sluggers tried to follow-up their first week against the struggling Hares. Jeff has dealt with a horrible run of luck the last two years, with multiple players falling to season-ending injuries, demotions, trades, and even criminal activity. However, no loss has hurt as much as that of Spencer Strider. The team’s most valuable player went down for the year with an elbow injury. The Hares had a chance to trade him for a package of players from the Kraken. Chris and the Kraken must be elated to have avoided this pitfall.

Despite this, the Hares put together a solid effort this week and picked up their first win. The team had the highest OPS for the first time in ages, and also had great home run and RBI totals. Leading the way was Marcell Ozuna, who had 3 home runs, 11 RBI, and a 1.394 OPS.

Neither team had good pitching, but the Sluggers suffered meltdowns from Brandon Pfaadt and Andrew Heaney. Only Nathan Eovaldi had a good start. The Hares had to rely on Corbin Burnes to have two good starts with 12.0 IP and 11 strikeouts and only 3 earned runs. George Kirby, Zack Wheeler, and Pablo Lopez all suffered blowups, but the Hares did just enough to pick up the win. Neither team can feel too proud of their second week, but the Hares will take a win any way they can get one. They are sure to continue to scour the available players list in their unending quest to find value.

KK Wolf Spiders (1-0) vs. RK Possums (0-1)

The week’s final match saw the Wolf Spiders continue to win with a solid outing against the Possums. Kyle had a rough first week, but held on for a narrow win against the Hares. This week, Kyle’s offense came to life and ha had a pretty solid week of pitching. Jonah Heim had 2 home runs and then six other players had one each for the Wolf Spiders. The team also had an incredible 6 steals from Ronald Acuna Jr.. This would have beaten many other teams by themselves.

Rick had two incredible starts from Joe Ryan and Tyler Glasnow. They combined for 1 earned run, 13.0 IP, and 26 strikeouts, and just 1 walk. This good work was undone by nightmare outings from Sean Manaea and Tanner Bibee, the first week’s hero. Kyle had a better ERA thanks to overall better quality across the board. Clay Holmes added two saves, and Kyle was able to win the week and improve to 2-0. The Possums didn’t embarrass themselves, but they need to right the ship quickly if they want to compete this year.

Next Week

Next week offers a few intriguing match-ups. The Kraken face the Hares and appear to hold an advantage. However, one can’t help but wonder if the Kraken’s pitching staff will eventually turn back into a pumpkin. The Wolf Spiders and Armadillos each face mid-tier teams in the Skyline Sluggers and PhoeGnomes respectively. Heather in particular will need to focus against the resourceful Armadillos. Finally, unless there is a tie, either the Possums or Goofballs will get their first win of the year.

League Overview

The first week of the season saw a number of surprise performances. Two familiar contenders won close matchups.Tthe Skyline Sluggers and Kraken surprised their opponents with tenacious performances.

The most disturbing trend in the opening week is injuries.  Nearly all teams suffered at least one important injury that cost a top-ranked player time on the field.  With ILs already full, this trend will force some teams to make difficult decisions.  Owners must decide to keep injured players on the active roster and cut healthy players, reducing their bench.  This might help put some bubble relief pitchers back on the market for needy teams.  Conversely, teams could cut their injured players and allowe opportunistic competitors to hunt for bargains.

KK Wolf Spiders vs. JK Hares

The defending champs opened the season veruss the Hares.  While Kyle was the clear favorite, the Hares kept things close until the last games of the night on Sunday.  Neither team’s stats were great, but none were terrible either.  Both suffered pitching meltdowns (Bobby Miller’s 1.2 IP, 5 ER start for Kyle and George Kirby’s 6 ER, 3.2 IP start for Jeff).  Zach Wheeler had a fantastic 10 strikeout start for the Hares, but Shane Bieber matched him before falling victim to the injury plague.  The star of the week for Kyle was Camilo Doval who had a clutch save in a late Sunday game that tied both strikeouts and saves and secure the win for Kyle.

On offense, no one on either team had a massive week but Spencer Steer had 3 home runs, 9 RBI and a steal.  The Hares led the league in steals for the first time in this millenium, thanks to 4 from Elly De La Cruz.  Ultimately the Wolf Spiders managed to squeak out a win, but neither team can be happy with their opening performance.  Kyle is suffering severe injuries for the first time in his run, and it will be interesting to see if he can adapt.

LK Armadillos vs. RK Possums

The league’s runner-up took care of business against the Possums, who also finished in the top division.  The teams were evenly split on offense, with neither producing championship-calibre results in the first week.  No Armadillo had more than one home run, and the highest OPS of a regular player was Mookie Betts with 0.953.  Rick fared little better, but Adolis Garcia had 2 home runs, (in addtion to one on opening day that Charlie, Larry, and Jeff saw in person)!

The Armadillos were able to win on the strength of pitching.  Emmanuel Clase and Edwin Diaz combined for a massive 5 saves to lead the league.  No starter was spectacular, but Grayson Rodriguez had a nice outing.  The Possums led the league in strikeouts, led by 9 from Tanner Bibee in just 5.1 IP.  However, the rest of the team was dragged down by miserable efforts from Max Fried and Jack Flaherty.  The Possums couldn’t compete in rate stats, and it cost them the week.  This was certainly not a strong opening for either team.  All four of these first teams have work to do if they want to contend with the weeks’ two big winners, discussed below.

CM Skyline Sluggers vs. HP PhoeGnomes

The week’s biggest winner was Charlie.  The Skyline Sluggers put up dominant numbers and thwarted a week that Heather would have won against many other team.s  The Skyline Sluggers led the leaguue in ERA and WHIP.  They were second in Saves, OPS, and home runs.  The offense was led by a trio of players who had 2 home runs (William Contreras, Shohei Ohtani, Isaac Paredes).  They all had OBP over 1.000 as well.  Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge tried to help the PhoeGnomes keep pace, but it wasn’t enough.  Charlie won 4 categories, but lost steals.

Both teams had excellent pitching, and these were easily the two best performances of the week.  Tanner Houck was absolutely incredible for the PhoeGnomes.  He recorded 17 strikeouts in just 12.0 IP and didn’t allow and earned run.  Framber Valdez and Aaron Nola also went without allowing a run.  However, Charlie was able to top this with five starters who didn’t allow a run, and one who allowed just one.  Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a standout with 8 strikeouts in 5.0 IP.  Nathan Eovalidi was also great with no earned runs and 7 K’s in his start.  Charlie won the rate categories and saves, and took a win to open the season.  Is this the start of a new era for the Skyline Sluggers?  This is definitely Charlie’s best start to a seaon.  The PhoeGnomes also performed admirably, and can take some positive momentum into next week.

CP Kraken vs. KG Capital City Goofballs

The Kraken delivered the offensive equivalent of Charlie’s pitching by leading the league in home runs and OPS while finishing second in runs and RBI.  Chris presented a balanced attack with 4 players with two home runs and 9 players contributing at least one.  Five regulars or semi-regulars had an OPS over 1.000.  Matt Olson was the best of the crew with 4 RBI, 5 Runs, and 2 home runs.  The Goofballs had some decent offense, including a 3 homer week from Bryce Harper.  Neither team had many steals, and the Kraken took 4 categories.

The Kraken also excelled on the mound, whereas the Goofballs fell flat.  Shota Imanaga dominated with 9 strikeouts and no earned runs in 6.0 IP.  Triston McKenzie and Logan Gilbert allowed 4 ER each to bring up the rate stats, but others picked up the slack like Cole Ragans.  The Kraken avoided the massive blowups that doomed the Hares and other teams.  The combined performance was the strongest in the league by a wide margin.

The Kraken are known to have a powerful offnese.  However, if they can find consistent success like this on the mound, they are certain to jump into contender status.  However, this was just the first week, and the staff’s depth has yet to be tested.  The Goofballs will have to sort out their pitching woes to return to the top of the league.  The shocking output from the Kraken should put the rest of the league on notice, especially last year’s leaders, who started out slow.

Next Week

The Kraken will face another solid opponent when they take on the PhoeGnomes. Charlie and the Skyline Sluggers face one of their rivals, the Hares, who need to find some offensive production. The Possums face a tough second opponent with the defending champs, the Wolf Spiders. Finally, the Armadillos and Goofballs will battle in what is sure to be a competitive match.