LK Armadillos (8-3-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (7-5)

The week’s most important match of the week featured the Armadillos and PhoeGnomes.  Heather had a chance to pull within a half game out of the league leaders.  A PhoeGnomes victory would also help the Possums and Lannisters against heavy underdogs, and keep the loser of the Legion/Goofballs match close.  Heather delivered with the best overall performance of the week.  The PhoeGnomes had the best steals, OBP, and SLG totals in the league.  Only four PhoeGnomes players had home runs, but Jose Ramirez and Wilson Contreras had three each and 13 total RBI.  Trea Turner had an incredible seven steals, more than any of the team.  However, he was lost for the year with a serious injury.  The Armadillos were not competitive on offense.  Keon Broxton was among the worst players in the league and had a SLG of 0.071.  The Armadillos had the lowest RBI, OBP, and SLG numbers in the league.  Heather earned an easy sweep.

Heather posted good pitching numbers to complement her offense, she had the better ERA, WHIP, and strikeout numbers.  The Armadillos had more wins and saves, but it was far from enough…  Clayton Kershaw’s strong outing was washed out by a Carlos Carrasco disaster.  Heather relied on four good starts from Gio Gonzalez and Chris Sale.  They pitched 26.1 innings, struck out 37, and allowed just three runs.  This was more than enough for Heather to earn the victory for the week.  Heather moved closer to the top of the league with the win.  However, the loss of Turner will test her depth.  The Armadillos will look for answers, especially on offense.

KG Capital City Goofballs (6-4-2) vs.  CP Legion (7-4-1)

With the PhoeGnomes win, Chris had a chance to move into a tie for first place with a victory over the Goofballs.  Kevin needed a win to gain ground, and further legitimize his place at the top of the league.  Chris posted a strong combined attack, much like the PhoeGnomes.  Kevin suffered a power outage and found no help on pitching.  Chris’s best player was Carlos Correa, who had three home runs and 10 RBI.  Aaron Judge was strong as well, with 11 walks and a 0.552 OBP.  Kevin tried to counter, but outside of a four home run week for Elvis Andrus, no other player produced much power.  Only three Goofballs’ regular players had SLG over 0.300.  Chris swept four of five categories and was well on his way to a win.

On pitching, Chris posted good numbers while Kevin struggled.  The Legion’s Jimmy Nelson had a great 11 strikeout start.  Robbie Ray and Luis Severino had bad weeks, but these results were offset by a nice Brad Peacock start and good bullpen work.  The Goofballs got two bad starts from Jose Berrios, one dud from German Marquez, and middling results for Johnny Cueto.  The bullpen was good and led the league in saves.  However, it was far from enough and Chris cruised to a win.  He is now tied with the Armadillos for first place.

JK Lannisters (6-5-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-9-2)

After a few weeks of better pitching, the Lannisters hoped to gain ground on the leaders against the Thunderwolves.  Kyle has the worst record in the league, but put up excellent numbers in what proved to be a losing effort.  The Thunderwolves had the best pitching stats in the league but a wide margin.  The led the league in ERA and WHIP and were second in wins.  Zack Greinke and James Paxton were dominant.  They pitched 25.1 innings and struck out 25.  Alex Wood and Jordan Montgomery had good single starts.  The Lannisters countered with better strikeout efficiency.  Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg struck out 12 and 13 respectively in 7 innings each.  Rich Hill had two outstanding starts and struck out 18.  Gerrit Cole had another meltdown to spoil the rate stats.  Overall, Kyle held a 3-1-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the underdogs, the Lannisters retaliated with a good offensive showing.  After lacking power last week, Jeff led the league in RBI and was near the top in SLG and OBP.  Mookie Betts broke out of a long slump with three home runs and three steals along with 11 RBI.  Robinson Cano continued to provide steady production at an advanced age.  He had four home runs and nine RBI.  Kyle had good weeks from Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor, but it wasn’t enough.  The Lannisters even left four home runs on the bench Sunday after the results of the week were already finalized.  Kyle put up a good fight, though, and this was the only match of the week that wasn’t decided well ahead of the weekend.

RK Possums (5-4-3) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-8-2)

The final match of the week saw the Possums meet the Happy Hollidays.  Rick’s team is another that could benefit from the Armadillos’ loss.  Rick responded with the second best offensive week in the league.  He tied for the lead in home runs and was second in OBP and SLG.  Khris Davis had four home runs and Joey Votto added three.  Other starts like Xander Bogaerts and Cody Bellinger struggled, but role player like Jedd Gyorko and Evan Gattis had home runs and good RBI totals.  Chris M.  didn’t have an answer, and posted just three home runs for the week.

The Possums offered enough good pitching to win four categories with ease.  Corey Kluber dominated with 12 strikeouts over 8.0 innings pitched.  Max Scherzer was also superb, winning two games and striking out 18 over 13.0 innings with one earned run allowed.  The Hollidays didn’t have an answer.  Carlos Martinez struggled in two starts, and Ervin Santana collapsed.  Chris’s team had the worst strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP numbers in the league.  Rick earned an easy win, and never hard to worry entering the weekend.

At the half-way point in the season, the standings are as tight as they’ve ever been.  Six teams are within 1.5 games of first place.  Every team owns at least one tiebreaker against a team near them.

Next Week

The long All-Star weekend features two critical battles.  The Legion and Lannisters meet after a draw in their first match.  Both teams need a win and expect a competitive week.  The Possums and Goofballs also collide.  Kevin needs to rebound whereas Rick wants to keep winning.  The Armadillos get a respite and face the Hollidays.  Finally, Heather will try to hold down the Thunderwolves.

The Armadillos took over the all-time Elo lead after the Legion suffered an upset by the Possums.  Rick had the biggest gain of the week and is just a point behind the Goofballs for fourth place.  Heather also moved above 1,500 while the Hollidays and Thunderwolves fell further into the abyss.

Rick is the heavy favorite over Chris P., and the Lannisters are not far behind versus the Thunderwolves.  Both the Armadillos and Legion are slight favorites in their matches.

CP Legion (7-3-1) vs.  RK Possums (4-4-3)

The week’s most important match featured the Possums and Legion.  Rick needed a victory to stay over 0.500.  Chris P. hoped to gain ground on the Armadillos.  The match was close, but a strong pitching performance earned the Possums a victory.  Rick’s team posted some of the best pitching numbers in the league, including the highest strikeout total.  The team also had strong rate stats and excellent bullpen work.  The key was Corey Kluber.  He threw 16.0 innings pitched, struck out 24, didn’t allow an earned run, and had a WHIP of 0.50.  The return of Kluber as an ace could stabilize the top of the Possums’ rotation along with Max Scherzer.  Chris wasn’t competitive in ERA, WHIP, or strikeouts.  He managed a tie in wins, but difficult weeks from Marco Estrada and Brandon McCarthy left the Legion with a 0-4-1 hole.

On offense, Rick posted excellent power numbers.  He led the league in home runs and was second in RBI.  He also tied for the lead in steals.  Ian Kinsler added two home runs and two steals.  Cody Bellinger had a monster week with five home runs and 12 RBI.  However, Chris was more competitive on offense.  Aaron Judge continued to surge with three home runs.  Chris had better consistency up and down his lineup and won OBP with ease.  He also managed to take SLG by a few points.  Unfortunately for the Legion, the team had too big a hole on pitching and Rick took three categories and secured a solid 7-2-1 win.  The Possums are still in 6^th place after the win, but remain just two games behind the Armadillos.  The Legion fell to one game back.  Both teams benefitted from the Lannisters’ result against the league leaders.

JK Lannisters (6-5) vs.  LK Armadillos (8-3)

After a series of difficult weeks, the Lannisters needed a positive result against the league leaders.  A loss would have spelled disaster.  The Armadillos hoped to have enough offense to overcome a troubled pitching week and stay on top.  The Lannisters showed a second week of great starting pitching.  Jeff led the league in WHIP and was second in ERA.  The team also led the league in saves.   Jacob deGrom continued to show improvement and had a solid start.  Gerrit Cole also performed well, as did Mike Fiers.  Three Lannisters’ relievers had two saves.  The Armadillos had more strikeouts over a higher innings count, but they were not competitive in the rate stats.  Wins were tied, despite the Lannisters making a solid pickup for an emergency Sunday start.  Derek Holland left the game with a lead, but the White Sox bullpen blew the game.  The lack of a win cost Jeff the victory for the week.

Both teams were evenly matched on offense.  The Armadillos won steals, but the Lannsiters led the league in RBI.  The two teams tied in home runs.  Corey Seager had a monster three home run game for the Lannisters, but the Armadillos countered with three from Mike Zunino.  The two teams eventually tied the category.  After a strong Sunday, the Armadillos pulled ahead by narrow margins for the rate stats.  Giancarlo Stanton and Keon Broxton had Sunday home runs, which tied the category and put the team over the top on SLG.  Larry was able to salvage an unlikely draw.  The Lannisters likely believe they deserved better for the week, but can take comfort in not losing ground and tightening the race overall.  The lack of a win helps the Legion not fall as far, and gives a boost to the Possums, PhoeGnomes, and Goofballs.

HP PhoeGnomes (6-5) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-7-2)

Like the Possums, the PhoeGnomes needed a win to gain ground on the Legion and Armadillos.  The Hollidays showed some fighting spirit on offense, but were doomed by abominable pitching.  On offense, both teams showed solid power.  Heather had great weeks from Andrew McCutchen and George Springer, who combined for five home runs.  Seven Hollidays’ regulars had home runs, and they led the league in SLG.  Justin Turner had ten hits in just 22 at bats.  However, Chris didn’t record a steal and Heather took the category with ease.  This led to a 2-2-1 tie before pitching.

The PhoeGnomes led the league in wins, but did not have good rate stats.  Dylan Bundy struggled in two starts.  He was offset somewhat by Chris Sale and Jake Arrieta.  The bullpen was good, too.  Strong counting stats gave Heather a huge advantage.  The Hollidays didn’t pitch enough innings to amass counting stats.  They fell apart in the rate categories.  Francisco Rodriguez had a 32.40 ERA and Lance Lynn allowed seven earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.  Heather won these categories essentially by default.  This gave her a solid win for the week and an outcome that was never in doubt.  The win boosts the PhoeGnomes a full game on the Legion and a half game on the Armadillos.

KK Thunderwolves (1-8-2) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5-4-2)

The final match of the week saw the Goofballs defeat the last place Thunderwolves.  Kevin relied on a balanced attack.  On offense, Anthony Rendon was the Goofballs’ top performer with two home runs and a 0.923 SLG.  Kevin used 22 players for the week and only three of them did not have at least one hit.  The Thunderwolves had a good week from Adrian Beltre, but struggled elsewhere.  He had the fewest home runs in the league as well as the lowest OBP and SLG.  The two teams tied in steals and RBI.  Both teams tied for the lowest RBI total in the league.  Overall, Kevin built a solid 3-0-2 lead based on good OBP and SLG numbers.

Kevin pulled away with good pitching.  The Goofballs and Lannisters had the best weeks for pitching, and Kevin led the league in ERA and was second in wins and WHIP.  Johnny Cueto had a strong start, as did Mike Montgomery.  The bullpen was even better.  No Goofballs’ relief pitcher allowed a run.  Kyle suffered a disastrous start from Julio Teheran who allowed seven earned runs in 3.0 innings pitched.  Yu Darvish rebounded with a good start, but it wasn’t enough.  Kyle had many more strikeouts than Kevin, but it wasn’t enough.  The Goofballs took four categories and notched an easy victory for the week.  Like the PhoeGnomes, the Goofballs gained ground on the league leaders.

Next Week

After a series of brutal matches, the Lannisters hope to take advantage of the Thunderwolves.  The Possums hope to keep rolling against the Hollidays.  The most interesting match of the week pairs the Goofballs and Legion.  Both teams need a win, and have a chance to gain ground since the Armadillos face the PhoeGnomes.  Heather needs a victory, especially with the Possums and Lannisters having heavy advantages.  The Armadillos and Legion have challenging opponents, and will watch each other’s scoreboards.

The top three teams all gained ground for the week.  The Armadillos had the biggest increase.  Heather picked up the most points for the week and moved within one win of 1,500.  The Possums took a fall, but are still above average.

Next week features several close matches.  Kevin is a 66% favorite over the Hollidays, but all other matches are closer to 50%.  The Lannisters are underdogs for the first time in almost 1.5 seasons.

Week 11 proved to be a strange one in the Dirt Mountain League.  The league’s worst offensive team posted the best offensive stats.  The worst pitching team had the best pitching performance.  The PhoeGnomes had a monster offensive week, while the Possums struggled.  The end result was little change in the standings.

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

The most important match of the week for the standings paired the Armadillos and Goofballs.  Kevin had a chance to tie for first with a victory.  However, the Armadillos had other plans.  Larry offered the second best offensive performance of the week.  The team had the most RBI by a wide margin.  They tied for the lead in home runs.  They were near the top of the rate stats with the PhoeGnomes and Hollidays.  Anthony Rizzo, Mike Zunino, and Edwin Encarnacion combined for ten home runs and 26 RBI.  Eric Thames and Keon Broxton added two home runs each.  The Goofballs didn’t have an answer outside of steals.  Despite starting 23 offensive players, Kevin had the lowest number of home runs in the league and was near the bottom in most categories.

Neither team had spectacular pitching stats, but Kevin had too much ground to make up to be competitive.  The Armadillos had better rate stats thanks to good starts from Carlos Carrasco and Clayton Kershaw.  Kevin hoped that a good week from David Price might stabilize his position, but he allowed six runs in 11 innings.  Both teams had mediocre saves and win totals.  This resulted in a comfortable win for the Armadillos.  Larry remains in first place, and the Goofballs have to hope that this loss does not haunt them later in the year.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-6-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-5)

The two most surprising results of the week came from the Hollidays and Armadillos.  Chris M.’s team has the worst offense in the league but posted their best results ever.  They led the league in OBP, tied for the lead in home runs, and were second in SLG.  Dexter Fowler and Yasiel Puig had seven total home runs.  Five Hollidays had more than one home run.  On Saturday, the team recorded seven home runs and even left more on the bench!  The Lannisters had good offensive numbers, and led several categories before the historic weekend outburst.  They won a single category – steals – and had to hope that their miserable pitching would come through.

Thankfully for the defending champs, the pitching staff rose to the occasion.  The Lannisters had the best ERA and saves numbers in the league.  They were second in WHIP and wins.  Jacob deGrom finally had a breakthrough complete game.  Jon Lester, Gerrit Cole and others posted solid numbers.  The bullpen was excellent, too.  This gave Jeff a five category sweep after the Hollidays failed to mount much of a challenge.  The end result was a victory for the favored team, but the offensive explosion serves as a reminder that any team can win at any time.

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

The PhoeGnomes were the third team to post monster offensive numbers.  Heather led the league in SLG and was near the top in all other categories.  Andrew McCutchen and Logan Morrison had three home runs each.  Jose Ramirez and George Springer added two more each.  The Possums put up a good fight and had fine totals as well.  Cody Bellinger exploded for four home runs in the losing effort.  Rick couldn’t compete in rate stats, but was pretty close in the counting categories.  However, Heather still managed a huge 5-0 lead.

On pitching, Heather followed the Armadillos’ strategy of posting mid-level numbers against an opposing meltdown.  Rick struggled to the worst ERA in the league, but had a decent WHIP.  He also had a good strikeout total.  However, the bad ERA limited the pitchers’ wins.  Heather took advantage and made up for the lack of strikeouts with a better WHIP, wins, and saves total.  As usual, Chris Sale was the standout for Heather, but Gio Gonzalez was solid as well.  With a better offensive showing, Rick could have been competitive.  Heather was able to win with relative ease.  Both teams remain firmly in the middle of the league.

CP Legion (6-3-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-7-2)

The closest match of the week featured the Legion and Thunderwolves.  The battle was tied going into the last game on Sunday.  The teams were evenly matched on pitching.  Chris and Kyle had equal wins, strikeouts, saves, and split ERA and WHIP.  Both teams had rate stats toward the bottom of the league.  Jimmy Nelson was great in two starts for the Legion, but he was offset by a disastrous Marco Estrada start.  Kyle had good starts from Alex Wood and Zack Greinke, but suffered a bad Yu Darvish start on Sunday.  The Darvish start failed to capture wins and strikeouts and contributed to Chris taking ERA.  This put immense pressure on both team’s offenses.

The offensive battle was as close at the pitching.  Kyle benefitted from a good showing from Rougned Odor.  Chris had contributions from a handful of players like Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt.  Ultimately, the teams split most categories.  Kyle took RBI and SLG, but Chris captured OBP and steals.  Going into the last game Sunday, the teams were tied in home runs, and tied overall.  However, Carlos Correa had a late home run to give the Legion the category and the win.  This, paired with the disastrous Sunday Yu Darvish start (which Kyle attended in person), has to be demoralizing for the Thunderwolves.  Chris found a way to win, and Kyle is still stuck in the league basement.

Next Week

Week 12 features two key battles.  The most important features the Armadillos and Lannisters.  Jeff needs to win to maintain his tie-breaker and gain ground on first place.  The Possums and Legion meet in a match Rick needs to keep pace.  The PhoeGnomes hope that the Hollidays’ offense returns to earth.  Finally, the Goofballs hope to get back on track against the Thunderwolves.

There is yet another Elo leader after Week 10.  The Legion moved into first place while the next four teams all lost ground.     Heather was the biggest winner for the week, and is much closer to 1,500.  The Thunderwolves and Hollidays even gained points for their ties.

The Lannisters and Legion are enormous favorites against the Thunderwolves and Hollidays.  However, the other team matches are almost coin-flips!

 

Ties and close matches dominated the Dirt Mountain League’s results for Week 10.  There were only 1.5 categories of difference across all teams.  As a result, teams are even more bunched together near the top.

LK Armadillos (7-2) vs.  CP Legion (5-3-1)

The week’s most anticipated match featured the Armadillos and Legion.  Chris P. had a chance to close to within 0.5 games out of first with a win.  The Armadillos have persevered through multiple injuries, but have showed weakness.  The Legion capitalized with a strong all-around performance.

On pitching, the teams were evenly matched.  Larry had the edge in wins and ERA for most of the week.  However, Chris was dominant in strikeouts and WHIP.  The Legion had 16 more strike outs than the Armadillos even though both teams threw the same number of innings.  The Armadillos had good starts from Clayton Kershaw and Steven Matz.  The Legion countered with great relief appearances from Roberto Osuna and Raisel Iglesias, who each had three saves.  Overall, the teams basically split the pitching categories with the Legion retaining a slight 3-2 edge.

On offense, Chris posted solid numbers across the board.  None of his stats led the league but they were all near the top.  Aaron Judge and Jake Lamb were the main catalysts.  They combined for five home runs and 17 RBI.  Paul Goldschmidt added to the rate stats.  The Armadillos lagged behind in home runs and RBI.  However, Eduadro Nunez captured steals on his own and the team had a higher aggregate OBP than the Legion.  These two categories weren’t enough, though, and the Legion took a close 6-4 win.  Things were close going into the weekend, but Aaron Judge’s huge Sunday lifted the Legion.  Chris is not just a half game out of first.

KK Thunderwolves (1-7-1) vs.  RK Possums (4-3-2)

The best offensive performance of the week came from the Possums.  Rick’s team led the league in home runs, RBI, OBP and SLG, most by a wide margin.  Joey Votto continued to be a stabilizing force, with four home runs and six RBI.  Three other players – Khris Davis, Josh Donaldson, and Charlie Blackmon – had at least six RBI as well.  Only two Possums’ regulars had SLG below 0.450.  Kyle wasn’t able to offer much competition, with limited power and low on-base totals.  However, he was able to tie the critical steals category on Sunday with a stolen base from rookie Lewis Brinson.  The Possums had two steals themselves and looked poised to break the tie until Brinson’s steal evened the category.

Despite the 4-1 lead on offense, the Possums were unable to take advantage and didn’t pick up a single category on pitching.  Kyle posted much better numbers here and won ERA and WHIP without any real challenge.  Strikeouts were close, but a monster week from Chase Anderson (13.2 IP, 12K, 1 ER) gave Kyle the edge.  Both teams scattered four saves, and the Possums had two more wins.  This resulted in a rare 4-4-2 tie score for the week.  For the Possums, the tie is better than a loss but still a missed opportunity given the fall of the Armadillos.  Kyle would have preferred a win, but after a difficult, inconsistent start to the season, I’m sure the team is happy with a tie against one of the hotter teams in the league, especially given the Thunderwolves’ offensive struggles.

JK Lannisters (5-4) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (4-5)

The Lannisters continued to slide against the PhoeGnomes.  Jeff posted the second best home run, RBI, SLG, and OBP numbers in the league.  This was a welcome return to form after last week’s struggles.  This was enough for a 4-1 category advantage.  Despite injuries to four starters, the Lannisters found enough depth to get by.  Eight Lannisters had home runs, including a good week from Tommy Joseph.  Brian McCann added two of his own, and Corey Seager did well.  Heather lacked power, and only Aaron Hicks had a week worth speaking of.  However, Trea Turner contributed three steals and Heather too the category.

On pitching, neither team performed well.  The Lannisters posted a dismal ERA that approached 9.00.  Only Kenley Jansen and Stephen Strasburg had ERAs below 4.50.  Jansen provided the team’s only win.  Heather wasn’t much better.  Her ERA and WHIP were near the bottom of the league.  However, she was significantly better than the Lannisters and won the categories without opposition.  Gio Gonzalez had two strong starts, and the bullpen came through with four saves.  This was enough to tie the Lannisters in the category and assure the victory for the week.  The 5-4-1 margin was a close one, but the Lannisters were never truly competitive after their multiple pitching meltdowns.  The PhoeGnomes are now back to 0.500 and within striking distance of the lead.

KG Capital City Goofballs (5-3-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-6-1)

The week’s final match was yet another close battle between the Goofballs and Hollidays.  Chris M. enjoyed an unusual amount of offensive support from his team, and took three of five categories.  The MVP for the team was Jonathan Schoop, who had three home runs and six RBI.  Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler had good weeks of rate stats, too.  The Goofballs struggled mightily and had the worst offensive stats in the league for OBP and SLG.  They were near the bottom in the counting stats as well.   The one bright spot was steals, where they took a one-steal victory.  This saved a tie versus the game Hollidays squad.

Kevin was better in the pitching counting stats.  He had the second most steals and wins in the league.  He also had a good saves number.  Chris Archer had a monster counting week, with 19 strikeouts over 13.0 innings pitched.  However, Archer gave up six earned runs.  The Hollidays had a good week from Carlos Martinez and Ervin Santana.  The team’s inning deficit limited strikeouts and other counting numbers.  However, they had much better rate stats.  This all resulted in a 3-2 lead for the Goofballs and overall 5-5 deadlock.  Like the Thunderwolves, the Hollidays are likely happy with this result since the Goofballs have been one of the better teams this year.  Kevin can take comfort in the Armadillos’ loss but will also look back on this week as a missed opportunity.

Next Week

The Armadillos find themselves in another battle, this time against the Goofballs.  Both teams will need a win after failing to get the job done in Week 10.  The Hollidays will try to keep their good fortune going against the Lannisters.  The week’s winners, the Legion and PhoeGnomes, will face tough tests against the Thunderwolves and Possums respectively.

There were major changes to the top of the all-time Elo leaderboard this week.  After the Lannisters’ loss, both the Legion and Armadillos move up a spot.  Larry is now on top with Chris close behind.  The Lannisters have an edge over the Goofballs, but both Heather and Rick picked up a lot of points.  Rick is only a few points behind the Goofballs.

The winner of the Armadillos/Legion match will become the new Elo leader next week.  The teams are a 50/50 toss-up.  The Lannisters are slight favorites over the PhoeGnomes, and the Goofballs are the biggest favorites over the Happy Hollidays.

Week 09 produced more interesting results and saw the standings tighten even further.  However, after weeks of close match-ups, every contest was won by a decisive margin.

HP PhoeGnomes (4-4) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5-2-1)

The week’s top performance came from the PhoeGnomes.  After weeks (if not seasons) of underperformance, Heather’s team amassed an offensive performance to rival the Lannisters’ outing a few weeks ago.  Heather easily led the league with 20 home run, an 0.3977 OBP, and a 0.6332 SLG.  Eleven players had home runs, but the standout was a surprise.  Zack Cozart had four home runs and eight RBI in a career week.  Nolan Arenado, Aaron Judge, Max Kepler, Justin Bour, and Logan Morrison added at least two home runs each.  Jose Bautista was the only player with more than 10 at-bats with a SLG below 0.500.  The Goofballs had a good week, including a rare three home run effort from Kevin Kiermaier.  It wasn’t enough, and Heather took an easy 4-0-1 lead.

Heather’s pitching was not as good as her hitting, but she did enough to secure a comfortable win.  Dylan Bundy and Wade Miley were good enough to offset a bad start for Jake Odorizzi.  The Goofballs threw more innings and took strikeouts by a wide margin.  He also won saves.  However, the puzzling decline of Kyle Hendricks continued and Jose Berrios regressed.  The Goofballs were overwhelmed and the PhoeGnomes earned a key victory.  The win means that six teams are within three games of first place!

KK Thunderwolves (1-6-1) vs.  LK Armadillos (6-2)

The Armadillos continued to win, albeit with ugly pitching numbers.  Larry had the most strikeouts in the league and tied with three other teams for the most saves.  However, the starters’ numbers were lackluster.  German Marquez struggled, as did Sonny Grey.  However, Clayton Kershaw rebounded from a bad start to record 14 strikeouts over just 7.0 innings pitched.  Goof performances offset the bad, and the Armadillos managed mediocre rate stats.  Normally, this would play to the Thunderwolves’ strengths.  However, Kyle failed to capitalize.  The main culprits were Yu Darvish and Julio Teheran.  Darvish struggled against the Astros.  Teheran allowed 17 hits and 10 earned runs over just 11.1 IP.  This put Kyle in a deep hole.  He managed to take wins, but the Armadillos held a solid 3-1-1 lead.

On offense, neither team posted monster numbers but the Armadillos did enough to win for the week.  Giancarlo Stanton and Alex Bregman had two home runs each.  Seven other Armadillos’ players had home runs.  Kyle lacked power outside of Adam Jones.  He also had the lowest OBP in the league.  Kyle’s offense lacks the kind of impact bats that can rise to the occasion when the pitching staff falters.  The Thunderwolves need a plan to either bring in impact players or get younger.  Meanwhile, the Armadillos remain in first place after winning a match without their best numbers.

RK Possums (3-3-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-3)

The Possums made it back above 0.500 with a strong win against the injury-plagued Lannisters.  They did it thanks to good hitting and the best pitching in the league.  Rick had the best ERA and WHIP in the league by a huge margin.  The Possums tied for the lead in saves and wins.  They were second in strikeouts.  There Possums starters had at least ten strikeouts in single starts.  Jason Vargas and Max Scherzer threw excellent complete games and allowed just 12 hits in 18 IP.  Even with a bad week from Mike Leake, the Possums had an easy 4-0-1 week.  The Lannisters’ pitching woes continued.  The struggles are somewhat surprising, since the team holds three of the nine most-owned starting pitchers across all fantasy leagues.

The Possums had a good offensive week and the Lannisters struggled to make progress in any category.  The returning Josh Donaldson had three home runs for the Possums, and Josh Donaldson and Cody Bellinger added two each.  The Lannisters had another good week from Marcell Ozuna, but it wasn’t enough to stay close.  The Possums have quietly climbed back into contention after a miserable start.  The Lannisters have lost three in a row and face several injuries to key players.

CP Legion (4-3-2) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-5-1)

Like the Possums, the Legion also moved back above 0.500 after a decisive win over the Hollidays.  Chris P. posted offensive numbers that would normally lead the league.  He had the second best SLG, OBP, and home runs.  He led the league in RBI.  Carlos Correa went off on the hapless Rangers’ pitching staff and had four home runs and 12 RBI.  Ryan Zimmerman and Miguel Sano added three each and posted 15 total RBI.  Only one Legion regular had a SLG below 0.450.  The team didn’t record any steals, and Chris M. easily led the league with seven.  However, the Legion secured a great 4-1 lead.

Neither team posted spectacular pitching numbers.  The Hollidays had the better ERA and were competitive in the rate stats.  Carlos Martinez had a solid start, but his work was undone by a bad week for Ervin Santana.  The Legion threw 14 more innings and took strikeouts.  Luis Severino had a good week and Robbie Ray had a masterful 10-strikeout complete game.  The Legion didn’t repeat their effort from last week, but it was enough to easily win the week.

Next Week

The league’s best rivalry is renewed again as the Armadillos will try to push the Legion back down the standings.  The Goofballs will try to make up for last week’s loss against the Happy Hollidays.  The Possums are hoping to continue to move up against the Thunderwolves.  Finally, the Lannisters will try to return to form against the PhoeGnomes.

After three upsets this week, the Elo ratings are closer than ever.  The Legion, Lannisters, and Armadillos are within 12 points of each other.  The Hollidays gained ground on the Thunderwolves.  Rick moved further above 1,500.  Kyle is on the verge of falling below 1,400.

The Armadillos and Legion are heavy favorites over the Thunderwolves and Hollidays.  The Goofballs have an edge over the PhoeGnomes.  The closest match of the week features the Lannisters and Possums.