The season reached its half-way point this week, and the battle for the championship is a fierce one. There are four teams in the mix, and a shocking upset gave hope to everyone chasing the Armadillos. The Possums took partial advantage and are now tied for the league lead. The Hares and Kraken are just behind those two. This week’s bizarre results show why this season has been so variable, with any team seemingly able to win on a given week.

JK Hares (6-5) vs. LK Armadillos (8-2-1)

The Hares shocked the world with a dominant victory over the defending champs. The win is the first for the Hares versus the Armadillos since week #18 of the 2023 season. After a weak effort against the Kraken, the Hares rebounded with a big week on both sides of the board. They led the league in home runs and were second in runs and RBI. Elly De La Cruz was unstoppable with 4 home runs, 8 runs, 7RBI, 1 steal, and a 1.500 OPS. Eugenio Suarez, Jackson Chourio, and Gleyber Torres added 2 home runs each, and OPS values over 0.950. This was more than enough to sweep four offensive categories with relative ease.

The Hares’ pitching was great as well. The team obliterated the rest of the league in terms of strikeouts. Zack Wheeler picked up 16 in 12.0 IP, but Spencer Strider and Framber Valdez were even better. They struck out 13 and 12 over 6.0 and 5.0 IP respectively. Valdez has been incredible in his last few starts and will be relied upon after Hares’ superstar Corbin Burnes was lost for two seasons for Tommy John surgery. The Armadillos were able to win saves, but the rest of the staff couldn’t hold up.

The Hares won by a wide margin and pulled to within 1.5 games of the league leaders. The Armadillos follow up their tie to the PhoeGnomes with a loss, and while it’s not time to panic yet, there is surely some tension in the locker room. The team can take solace that no other team has put together a consistent hot streak recently and everyone appears to be treading water with injuries and volatile play.

RK Possums (8-3) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (4-5-2)

The team best poised to take direct advantage of the Armadillos’ defeat was the Possums. Rick could take the outright lead with a win but had to settle for a tie against the PhoeGnomes. How did this happen? The main issue was a weird lack of home runs for the Possums, despite a strong power week overall. Rick led the league in runs, RBI, and OPS, but had only 7 home runs. Josh Naylor and Willson Contreras each had a pair of home runs, but other players weren’t as solid. For example, Manny Machado led the team with 10 RBI, but somehow didn’t have a home run, and scored only 3 runs. Fernando Tatis Jr. had a 1.212 OPS over 21 at-bats, but also lacked a homer. This gave Heather the category, and with a tie in steals, Rick only earned a 3-1-1 lead.

Heather had the better week on the pitching side. She led the league in ERA and WHIP and was second in strikeouts. Chris Sale and Yusei Kikuchi were the difference makers. Sale had a vintage 11 strikeout, 7,0 IP and 1 ER outing. Kikuchi allowed 3 runs over 5.2 IP, but did add 10 strikeouts. The Possums were doomed by a rough week from Robert Suarez, and a strange pair of starts from Matthew Boyd.  He went 12.0 IP but had only 3 strikeouts. By contrast, Framber Valdez and Spencer Strider threw fewer IP, but had 25 strikeouts compared to Boyd’s 3.

The rare 4-4-2 tie allowed Rick to move into a tie for first place. However, opportunities to gain ground on the Armadillos are rare, and the team is probably frustrated they did not take the outright lead. For Heather’ s part, she can take pride that she tied both top two teams in the league. With a bit more luck, perhaps these ties will eventually become wins.

CM Skyline Sluggers (3-7-1) vs. CP Kraken (6-2-3)

The Kraken were another team that seemed likely to take advantage of the Armadillos’ stumble. Unfortunately for Chris the Skyline Sluggers had other plans. Charlie’s revamped pitching staff led the way. While not at the top of the league, the team’s rate stats and IP and save totals were enough to easily win four categories. Walker Buehler was strong in 7.0 IP with 7 strikeouts. Zach Eflin, Luis Severino, and Will Warren also had serviceable starts and did no harm (though not striking out too many). This was more than enough after the Kraken staff self-immolated. Every pitcher Chris put in the lineup allowed  at least 1 earned run (including relievers). Griffin Canning imploded with a whopping 10 earned runs in 9.2 IP. Nick Lodolo was even worse on a per-inning basis with 6 earned runs in just 3.1 IP. The Kraken somehow still won strikeouts but the damage was done. Charlie led 4-1.

Both teams were solid on offense, especially in the home run department. Ian Happ contributed 3 for the Sluggers and Chris enjoyed a trio from Aaron Judge.  Will Castro was an unlikely star for Charlie with a 1.197 OPS and a home run. Shohei Ohtani has a monstrous 1.416 OPS, and this was enough to hold the category. The Kraken had strong runs and steals totals, but they couldn’t match the Sluggers’ power. Charlie cruised to a win, and Chris is left to ponder the missed opportunity to make it a three-way tie for first place.

KG Capital City Goofballs (3-7-1) vs. KK Wolf Spiders (1-8-2)

The week’s final match saw the Wolf Spiders take on the Goofballs. While neither team is a title contender this year, both teams have enormous pride and try their best every week. This week it was the Wolf Spiders who came out on top thanks to a vintage pitching performance. David Peterson was incredible with a complete game shutout with 6 strikeouts. Joe Ryan and Merrill Kelly were also good in shorter efforts.

On offense, Ronald Acuna Jr added 3 home runs and a steal to form the base of a solid week for Kyle. His ridiculous 1.789 OPS led the league by a wide margin! Brandon Nimmo had a solid 0.918 OPS to shore up the rate stats even further. Kevin had good home run power with 8 different players recording at least one. However, only CJ Abrams had an OPS over 1.000 (with 1.104). The team also struggled to pick up steals, and Kyle picked up a nice 6-3-1 win, his second of the year.

Next Week

The second half of the season opens with a series of interesting battles. The most critical is the Hares versus Possums. Jeff’s team is inconsistent, but if they are on, they will cause trouble for even the best teams. Rick needs to pick up a win, and maintain his hold on first place. The Armadillos face the same, against the Skyline Sluggers. Charlie’s team has been hot of late, and could present a problem if their pitching holds up. Meanwhile ,the Kraken will try to get back on track against the Wolf Spiders. Finally, the PhoeGnomes and Capital City Goofballs will meet. This match is critical for the standings in the bottom half of the league, with possible draft pick implications.