League Summary

Week #10 saw a series of shocking upsets as lower-rated teams rose up to take revenge on their neighbors higher in the standings.  In all, three of the week’s four matches ended with the lower-rated team taking a victory.  Not only did the underdogs secure wins, but they did so with solid performances across the board.  Only the Armadillos were able to withstand their challenger, and the Goofballs suffered a rough loss.  This leaves only two teams over 0.500 and Larry at the top of the standings.  With Kyle’s (and baseball’s overall) best player out for the year, can any team compete with the Armadillos?

RK Possums (2-6) vs. KK Wolf Spiders (6-1-1)

The week’s biggest win came from the Possums.  Rick’s squad has struggled to find consistent success this year, but Week #10 saw them take a major step in a promising direction by defeating the two-time defending champion Wolf Spiders.  The Possums became only the second team besides the Armadillos to achieve the feat this year.

The Possums’ win was the result of good offense and solid  pitching.  Rick swept the 5 offensive categories.  He was tied for second in home runs and led the league in steals.  Francisco Lindor was the major difference maker with 2 home runs, 2 steals, 5 RBI, and an OPS of 1.067.  Fernando Tatis Jr was also hot with 10 hits and a 1.045 OPS.  Kyle had a trio of players with 2 home runs, including Alex Bregman, Corey Seager, and Ryan Mountcastle.  The three all had OPS stats over 1.000.  However, the rest of the team produced only one home run, and Rick took all categories.

Kyle had a strange week when it comes to pitching.  The Wolf Spiders easily had the best ERA in the league thanks to four great starts from Luis Castillo and Justin Steele.  No Wolf Spider pitcher allowed more than 2 earned runs.  However, the team threw a limited number of innings, and the Possums were able to capitalize.  Despite allowing far more earned runs, the Possums’ starters like Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan built up enough innings and strikeouts to easily win two categories and save the week.  The loss is only the second for the Wolf Spiders, who now fall to second place.  Rick has to hope that the win is a statement victory that is a harbinger of better things to come for the middle of the season.

JK Hares (2-6) vs. CM Skyline Sluggers (4-4)

The week’s next upset came at the hands of the Hares versus the Skyline Sluggers.  Jeff’s team has run into some unfortunate injury luck to start the season, so it was nice to see some new role players step up and contribute for a week.  The team’s catchers were on fire, with Will Smith and Ryan Jeffers combining for 5 home runs.  Ty France managed an OPS over 1.080, and Riley Greene stayed hot with 2 steals, a home run, and a 1.289 OPS.  Charlie kept pace with a huge week from Christian Yelich who had 8 RBI and an OPS of 1.222.  However, the teams tied in both RBI and steals, and this gave the Hares a small advantage.

On pitching, the Skyline Sluggers suffered from a series of meltdowns that cost them the week.  Charlie Morton had two nightmare starts that led to 8 total earned runs and a Chicago-themed 6.17 ERA.  Nestor Cortes struggled on Sunday, and the bullpen was merely adequate.  The Hares had to deal with some scheduling oddities and relied on two sport starters on Sunday to eat some innings.  However, the pick-ups didn’t completely embarrass themselves.  James McArthur did, though, by allowed 4 earned runs and recording no outs, good for an INF ERA and WHIP.  Ultimately, the Hares got a rebound start from George Kirby and a great effort from Bryce Miller that were enough to secure three categories and the win.  The Skyline Sluggers are now just below 0.500, but remain competitive.  The Hares have a long way to go, but this is a signal that they are certainly not content with a last-place finish.

HP PhoeGnomes (3-5) vs. CP Kraken (3-4-1)

The week’s most shocking match paired the Kraken with the PhoeGnomes.  Heather earned yet another upset victory for the underdogs, but in a somewhat roundabout manner.  To start, the Kraken dominated on offense.  They led the league in every category but steals.  Heather picked the wrong time to trade Aaron Judge, because he unleashed 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 6 runs, and 2 steals.  Juan Soto added 3 home runs and 9 RBI.  The Legion had 7 players with 1.000 OPS or higher (though some had low at-bat totals).  Yordan Alvarez added 2 home runs, and another 2 steals.  The PhoeGnomes only took steals, thanks to six individual players recording one.

Neither team had a great week pitching, but the Kraken dealt with three shocking meltdowns.  First, Bailey Ober struggled to a 5.0 IP, 6 ER line.  Shota Imanaga trumped this, with a 7 ER, 4.1IP outing.  Finally, Taj Bradley said “hold my beer!” and served up 9 earned runs on just 3.1IP.  This was enough to cost Chris any chance of holding the rate stats.  In addition, these starts were so short that it gave Heather a window to win the non-rate categories as well.  The PhoeGnomes had their share of rough starts as well, with Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Bradish, and Chris Sale allowing 18 earned runs in their three starts.  However, Heather was able to get enough support from her other starters, plus her bullpen, to sweep all five categories.  This ensured a 6-4 win for the week.  The victory is nice for the PhoeGnomes, but the Kraken have to be frustrated that, yet again, their league-leading offense was undermined by poor pitching.  Rumors continue to swirl that the Hares and Legion could make a deal for a quality starter.  However, the scarcity of pitching has necessitated a high asking price for consistency.

LK Armadillos (6-1-1) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (3-2-3)

The week’s only favored team to win was the Armadillos.  Larry’s squad moved into first place with a solid win against a game Goofballs squad.  The Armadillos struggled a bit on offense this week, but did manage to win runs, RBI, and steals.  Kevin took OPS and had a great home run total.  Freddie Freeman was the best hitter for the Goofballs with 2 home runs and 1 1.291 OPS>  Rafael Devers had a 1.068 OPS.  Kyle Schwarber continued the strange trend of slow players stealing bases with 2.  Larry countered with a great week from Jose Ramirez and Gunnar Henderson.

On pitching, the sides were evenly matched.  Ultimately, the Armadillos were able to grab three categories, and secure a narrow win.  The team had a series of good starts, and Tarik Skubal was the best of the bunch.  He had only 7.0 IP, but allowed just 3 hits, 1 walk, no earned runs, and 8 strikeouts.  Reynaldo Lopez had a similar start with 8 strikeouts.  Kevin had a nice week with Freddy Peralta striking out 18 in just 10.2 IP.  However, Peralta allowed too many earned runs and Trevor MeGill managed an INF ERA and WHIP.  All totaled the Armadillos won the week 6-4.  It was another close call for the Goofballs.  For the Armadillos, they now posses sole control over first place.  Can any team stop their rise?

Player and Pitcher of the Week

The top player was definitely Aaron Judge in a losing effort for the Kraken.  The top pitcher is going to be Tarik Skubal, because without his quality effort, the Goofballs would have swung two categories and thus the week.

Next Week

The season rolls on as two winners, the hot PhoeGnomes and Armadillos, face off.  The Kraken face the Hares, and will likely spend a good amount of time scouting the Hares’ quality pitchers.

The Wolf Spiders will try to get back on the winning track versus the Skyline Sluggers.  Finally, the Goofballs and Possums will face off in a battle to move up in the middle tier of the standings.