The 10^th week of the season saw a few close match-ups, but in the end the favorites all prevailed. The top three teams in the league, including the Armadillos, Possums, and Kraken, all took care of business and kept pace with each other. The Hares won an ugly, ugly match against the Skyline Sluggers that featured bizarre performances and strategic maneuvers. The rest of the league is left searching for answers.

RK Possums (6-3) vs. KK Wolf Spiders (1-7-1)

Top honors this week go to the Possums, who pulled out a close battle with the Wolf Spiders. Both teams were near the top of the league in most pitching categories. The Wolf Spiders took both rate categories. Jacob deGrom showed strong form in two starts over 11.1 IP with 2.38 ERA. Robbie Ray continued a strong recent run with a great outing. However, Kyle’s pitchers did not put up huge innings totals. This in turn limited the teams strikeouts. The Possums tried to capitalize on IP, and would up winning the category by just one more out than Kyle. However, Rick’s crew was much better recording strikeouts and won the category in dominant fashion. Leading the way was Spencer Schwellenbach, who strike out 11 over just 6.1 IP with 0 earned runs. This left the two teams dead-even at 2-2-1.

The Possums were able to pull away thanks to a slightly better offensive showing than the Wolf Spiders. The two critical categories were homeruns, RBI, and runs. The two teams tied in runs, and Rick had one extra home run and 3 more RBI than Kyle. James Wood and Francisco Lindor were key, with 3 home runs each and 13 total RBI. Both had OPS north of 1.150. Wood also added two steals. Kyle had a nice two-homer week from Christian Yelich and Austin Riley. However, the rest of the squad didn’t add enough and Rick was able to win 4 of 5 categories. The Wolf Spiders were potentially just home run away from a tie. However, this week belonged to the Possums, and there is no denying that the team will contend going forward.

HP PhoeGnomes (4-4-1) vs. CP Kraken (4-2-3)

The week’s second bitter intra-family rivalry featured the Kraken and PhoeGnomes. Heather started the week strong with an excellent pitching performance. She led the league in strikeouts and WHIP by a huge margin. She also won ERA with ease. The main contributor was Garrett Crochet with 13.2 IP and an unfathomable 23 strikeouts. The Kraken were not competitive in any category other than saves. Jesus Luzardo humiliated himself, and the legacy of his ancestors with a brutal 3.1 IP, 12 ER start. Fortunately for the Luzardo line, another pitcher would actually commit a worse atrocity on the mound, and that war crime will be discuss later.

Much like the Possums, the Kraken were able to rally at the plate. Aaron Judge (who else?) had 3 home runs, but Junior Caminero topped him with 4 home runs and 13 RBI. Jeremy Pena and Juan Soto had 2 home runs each to add to the totals. This gave Chris a strong OPS and league lead in home runs. Heather had a great 3 home run week from Jose Altuve, but this wasn’t enough to challenge and Chris swept all of the hitting categories. This earned him a victory and also keeps pace with the Armadillos.

JK Hares (5-4) vs. CM Skyline Sluggers (3-6)

Our third match-up featured the Hares versus the Sluggers, two unpredictable teams. The Hares managed a win despite abominable efforts from the Hares pitching staff. On the positive side for the Hares, Framber Valdez had a great complete game with 9 strikeouts. His teammates decided to flush this effort down the toilet. George Kirby allowed 6 earned runs in just 5.0 IP. Dylan Cease was also pedestrian. However, the worst of the worst was Brandon Pfaadt. He entered the game and did not record an out while allowing an abominable 8 earned runs. This is the second such start for the Hares this year, and management took noticed. Pfaadt was cut before the game was over, and Tony Gonsolin was also thrown overboard. This decimation, in the truest Roman meaning of the word, was cathartic, but the damage was done. The Sluggers started their full compliment of pitchers and easily won all categories except saves. Here, the Hares were able to take control thanks to a nice week from Ryan Helsley.

Both teams were evenly matched on offense. Elly De La Cruz had 2 home runs for the Hares, as did Jackson Chourio. He added 2 steals as well. This left the team in a good position, but the Skyline Sluggers were challenging in OPS. Shohei Ohtani was the focal point as usual, and he had an impressive 4 home runs and 1.226 OPS. However, going into the final day, Charlie needed production to challenge in other offensive categories. In an act of desperation, the Hares cleared their lineup and bet that the Sluggers wouldn’t be able to maintain their OPS. The strategy worked as the Sluggers dipped down below 0.800 OPS and this was just enough for the Hares to earn the win. Whether or not this more ruthless style of management will work long-term remains to be seen. For now the Hares remain in the first division, and the Sluggers are firming in the lower third of the league.

LK Armadillos (7-2) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (3-5-1)

The week’s final match also features the top overall performer, the Armadillos. Larry’s team wasn’t at the top of any offensive stat (except for steals). However, the were consistently excellent, and the numbers spelled disaster for the Goofballs. Cal Raleigh was the best of the best with a monstrous 6 home runs, 10 RBI, and a steal. Pete Alonso and Jose Ramirez also had 2 home runs. The most remarkable total was steals, where the team dominated the league with an incredible 18 total. Chandler Simpson and Pete Crow-Armstrong each had 5 steals, and either player alone would have beaten every other team in the league, save the Possums. When a team has this much power and utterly dominates a category to such a degree, it will be tough to defeat them.

Kevin tried his best to salvage a tie on pitching. Both teams ended up posting great stats. Sonny Gray and MacKenzie Gore combined for 2 scoreless starts. Gray in particular was notable with his 10 strikeouts. Sadly for Kevin, Ranger Suarez countered Gray with 10 strikeouts over two solid starts. Tarik Skubal was also strong in his scoreless start. Neither team had huge innings totals, but Larry’s team did enough to secure the win, including a 3 save week from Emmanuel Clase. For now the Armadillos remain in firm control of first place, but 3 teams are within 2 games, so anything can still happen.

Next Week

The action looks to be more even next week. The Kraken and Hares always have interesting contests, and Chris needs a win to keep pace. The Possums face the Goofballs in another interesting battle. The Armadillos face the struggling PhoeGnomes, who need to try to turn things around. Finally, two of the lowest teams meet with a chance to earn a much-needed win as the Sluggers take on the Wolf Spiders.