Week #09 of the season saw several close battles take place. The Armadillos were able to slip by the Possums and take over first place. The Hares took down the Wolf Spiders and moved into 4^th place for the first time in several season. The Sluggers earned a nice win over the PhoeGnomes, while the Kraken and Goofballs were unable to settle their differences.

RK Possums (6-2) vs. LK Armadillos (7-2)

The week’s biggest match-up had first place on the line. The Armadillos and Possums entered with identical records. The battle was a close one, but the Armadillos came out on top. The did it via their pitching. They led the league in ERA, IP, and strikeouts while finishing second in WHIP. Tarik Skubal was on fire Sunday, with a complete game, 2 hit, no walk shutout with 13 strikeouts. This put all categories except saves out of reach for the Possums.

Despite the heavy deficit from pitching, Rick was still in position to tie if his offense could come through. Although steals were out of reach, the Possums had a strong SLG. Taylor Ward was incredible with 3 home runs, 9 runs, and 12 RBI. Manny Machado and James Wood were also solid, with OPS values over 1.000. Unfortunately for the Possums, the Armadillos were just a little better in the counting stats. Pte Crow-Armstrong led the way with 2 home runs and 10 RBI. Six other players had at least one home run, and this was enough for the Armadillos to tie runs, win home runs by 1, and RBI by 3.

The loss is a tough one for the Possums, who fall back into second place. The Armadillos move into first, and are on a nice unbeaten streak. It remains to be seen whether or not they will run away with the title, but the Possums, Hares, Kraken, and others will need to perform better in the heart of the season to keep the defending champs in check.

KK Wolf Spiders (1-6-1) vs. JK Hares (4-4)

The inconsistent Hars met the Wolf Spiders, and Jeff was finally able to enter the first division after many years in the bottom tier. The Hars won thanks to strong offense, earning a clean sweep of five categories. Trea Turner put the team on his back with 3 home runs, 8 runs and RBI, and 4 steals. His OPS of 1.275 paired with Ryan O’Hearn’s 1.202 to help the team finish second in OPS and runs to the Goofballs. The Wolf Spiders struggled to get anything going, and the Hares were comfortable with a 5-0 sweep.

Kyle fared much better on pitching. For most of the week, ERA, WHIP, and saves were never in doubt. Robbie Ray was great, with 13.0 IP, 14 strikeouts, a 0.69 ERA, and 0.77 WHIP. However, other pitchers didn’t deliver quite the K/9 that Ray showed. This gave the Hares a narrow opening, and they took advantage. Despite having a mediocre ERA, Dylan Cease managed 14 strikeouts in 12 IP, and other Hares starters made the most of their opportunities. They couldn’t flip IP, but they did win strikeouts and ensure a win for the week. The loss is surely frustrating for the Wolf Spiders, because a similar stat line is often good enough for a win. The Hares are back above 0.500, despite being managed from London, Singapore, Thailand, Bali, Svalbard, and Norway at various points throughout the season.

CM Skyline Sluggers (2-6) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (4-3-1)

The Skyline Sluggers earned a victory against the PhoeGnomes, despite some peculiar stat lines. Neither team could manage much on offense, and would have lost the majority of categories to any other team in the league. However, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king and Charlie proved this with a 4-0-1 stat line. Anthony Santander had a nice OPS, while Shohei Ohtani had 2 home runs. Only three PhoeGnomes players had a home run, and this cost the team a near-sweep.

Heather was actually quite good on offense. Her squad had a nice ERA and were in the top of the league for most categories. Kodai Senga had two nice stats and 10 strikeouts. However, other starters struggled to record many strikeouts. The Sluggers only started four pitchers, and therefore lost ERA and WHIP by default. They were also dominated in IP and strikeouts, but did record 3 saves to the PhoeGnomes 2. This was enough to earn the narrow 5-4-1 win.

KG Capital City Goofballs (3-5) vs. CP Kraken (4-2-3)

The week’s final match was a wild contest that was, in many ways, the most interesting of the week. The Kraken and Goofballs each put up great numbers across the board. Kevin dominated on offense, posting the highest runs, home run, RBI, and OPS numbers by a wide margin. Logan O’Hoppe led the way with 4 home runs, and Seiya Suzuki added 3 more, with 10 RBI and 9 runs. Four regular players had OPS values over 1.000. The Kraken were also strong on offense, but they weren’t able to keep pace. Aason Judge and Matt Olson each had 3 home runs, but didn’t put up the massive RBI totals that Kevin’s stars posted. Kyle Tucker added a pair of home runs and steals. This gave Chris the win in steals, but his overall performance wasn’t quite able to match the Goofballs’.

Both squads had excellent pitching. Kevin led the league in ERA, but relied on a less-is-more approach that ceded IP and strikeouts. This mean that Chris had a path to a tie with strong saves and WHIP totals. The Kraken answered the call, with great starts from Jesus Luzardo, Chris Bassitt, and others. Luke Waver added 3 saves, and Chris was able to salvage a tie.

Next Week

There are several interesting battles next week.  The Kraken and Possums will look to bounce back against the struggling PhoeGnomes and Wolf Spiders respectively. The Armadillos face a tricky match against the Goofballs. Finally, the Hares will try to consolidate and pick up a win over the Skyline Sluggers.

The seventh and final match in the first cycle of the 2025 season is complete. Each team is left to evaluate where they stand in terms of contention. Are the Possums, with their 6-1 start, a legitimate title threat?  Have the Armadillos rebounded and returned to form?  Can the Kraken of PhoeGnomes find the consistency they need to win?

Every team has questions. Are the Wolf Spiders really at the bottom of the league table? What’s going on with the Goofballs? How have the Hares endured despite so many injuries? Can the Sluggers make a run? All of these questions must be answered, but only time will tell what the final outcome will be.

RK Possums (5-1) vs. CM Skyline Sluggers (2-4)

The week’s biggest winner was the Possums. Rick’s team relied on an offensive surge to outlast the Skyline Sluggers. Rick led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, and OPS. Manny Machado, Willson Contreras, and Francisco Lindor all had OPS over 1.100.  Lindor had 3 home runs and 3 steals. However, the best player on the field was Freddie Freeman.  He dominated the week with 3 home runs, 12 RBI, and an astonishing 1.500 OPS.

The Sluggers actually put up a good fight on offense. They were second in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  This was driving by Shohei Ohtani posting a 1.390 OPS with 4 home runs and 10 RBI. This was a case where Charlie caught the wrong team on a hot week – he would have easily won at least 3 offensive categories against any other team. However, versus the Possums, the tally was 0-4-1 before pitching.

Neither team distinguished itself on the mound. The Sluggers had the worst ERA and WHIP in the league.  The Possums were a shade better and led the league in IP. Matthew Boyd had two nice starts for 12.0 IP with 15 strikeouts. This was enough for Rick to sweep all five categories and claim a strong 9-1 win. The victory leaves Rick in sole possession of first place with only one loss in the first cycle.

LK Armadillos (4-2) vs. CP Kraken (3-1-2)

The defending champs entered the week in second place, facing their most bitter rivals, the Kraken. Chris’s squad has suffered from inconsistency all year, and this week was no different. After posting numbers at the top of the league on offense last week, the Kraken were next to last in OPS and last in runs. Oddly enough, the team posted a good home run and RBI total, and won both categories. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge each had a trio of home runs and posted OPS totals over 1.00. However, no other regular was above 0.750. The Armadillos were middle of the road on offense. Their only standout category was steals. Miakel Garcia has 3, Wyatt Langford 2 (in just 4 Abs), and four other players had one. Gunnar Henderson had 2 home runs, and this was enough for Larry to win three categories two.

The battle would be decided on pitching, and neither team could predict how this would go. Both teams have weeks of outstanding pitching but often descend into chaos and rely on numbers over quality. These World War I style battles of attrition can frustrate and overwhelm opponents, but come with casualties in the form of bloated ERAs and gruesome WHIPs. This week was different, with the Armadillos posting quite strong numbers. No category was good enough to lead the league, but they were solid across the board. Tarik Skubal was the highlight with 7.0 IP and 12 strikeouts. Cristopher Sanchez also had a nice 6.0 IP start with 0 ER and just 1 hit allowed. The Kraken didn’t have anyone implode, but the starters failed to throw enough innings to challenge in counting stats. The team’s ERA was middling, and this was a recipe for and Armadillos win.

The loss is a bitter one for the Kraken, who sometimes look like the best team in the league, and other times fail to live up to the hype. Chris will need to find a way to stabilize his performances to compete for the title, but there’s no doubt the talent is there. The Armadillos have righted the ship after a slow start. The rest of the league should take notice, as no one wants to allow the Armadillos to snowball to a massive lead again this year.

JK Hares (2-4) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (2-4)

On the subject of rivals, the Hares brought their ugly style of play to take on the Goofballs. Neither team has impressed this year, but they always put up a spirited fight, especially against each other. As expected, the Hares relied on speed and pitching to win. The squad was tied for first in steals, led by Trea Turner and Jackson Chourio with 3 each. George Springer and Eugenio Suarez each had 2 home runs. The Goofballs matched this total with a big 3 home run week from Kyle Schwarber. The Hares won runs easily thanks to Turner and Springer and held a 3-1-1 lead.

On pitching, the Hares produced one of the most shocking and bizarre weeks in the history of the league. Underpinning it all was an epic meltdown by Ryan Pressly. He “pitched” 0.0 innings, gave up 8 earned runs, allowed 5 hits, 1 walk, and failed to retire a batter. This resulted in the infamous “INF” ERA. In almost any other circumstance, this would doom the Hares for the week. However, this was not the case. The rest of the team rallied behind two incredible starts each from Tony Gonsolin and Zack Wheeler. They combined for 4 starts, 24.0 IP, 29 strikeouts, and just 4 earned runs. Jhoan Duran added 3 saves. In a shocking twist, this was enough for the Hares to win ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts.

The Goofballs didn’t have a bad week. They threw a respectable number of innings and recorded good strikeout totals without any big meltdowns. This was just a case of running up against a hot staff. If you remove the unemployed Pressly’s outing, the Hares would have easily led the league in ERA and WHIP. The win keeps the Hares at the top of the second division, and the Goofballs one slot below looking for answers.

KK Wolf Spiders (1-4-1) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (3-2-1)

The week’s final match featured the best pitching in the league by a wide margin. Both teams would have led the league in ERA and WHIP, and it wasn’t particularly close. Kyle enjoyed a big week from Nathan Eovaldi who threw 13.0 IP and 14 strikeouts over two strong starts. The PhoeGnomes countered with yet another brilliant week from Cole Ragans. In just 10.0 IP, he recorded 19 strikeouts. Pablo Lopez had 17 in 11.0 IP.  Other pitchers didn’t record gaudy strikeout totals, but did limit the runs and hits allowed. Heather won 3-2, but it was incredibly close.

The offensive struggle was even closer. Both teams posted shameful home runs totals. The two teams combined for fewer home runs than any single team in the league. The only real highlight for the PhoeGnomes was Bobby Witt Jr.’s 5 steal rampage. Kyle equaled this total across a smattering of players. The Wolf Spiders just couldn’t get any offense going and had the worst OPS in the league. The PhoeGnomes won with the rare 5-4-1 line, and the match could have easily ended up in a tie if things broke a bit differently.

Next Week

Week 8 begins a new cycle, and the biggest matchup is the Kraken versus the league-leading Possums. This is the kind of match-up the Possums must win if they are to be true contenders for the title. On the flip-side, the Kraken have to put together a winning streak at some point if they want the coveted trophy. The PhoeGnomes and Hares meet in an intriguing match of unpredictable teams. The Sluggers and Goofballs face each other in a battle to get things moving in the right direction. Finally, the Armadillos meet the Wolf Spiders. This would have been a dream match just a couple of seasons ago, but now the tide has turned. Kyle would love to upset his rival and put more pressure on the defending champions.