RK Possums (5 – 3) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (4 – 3 – 1)
Week 10 featured close battles in almost every match-up. The most interesting was the Possums versus the Goofballs. Both teams are positioned near the top of the league behind the Legion. In this match, each team had strong pitching. Kevin was slightly better and led the league in quality starts, ERA, and WHIP. They tied for first in strikeouts (with the Possums). Leading the way was Lucas Giolito. He struck out 19 in two quality starts. Merrill Kelly was also strong with 10 strikeouts in his single start. The bullpen was productive and struck out ten betters despite not getting many saves. The Possums were also strong. They were second in the league in ERA and WHIP. They tied for the lead in saves and strikeouts. Max Scherzer was excellent with 21 strikeouts over two quality starts. Justin Verlander and Trevor Bauer were also solid. Rick had four pitchers record a save – this is a rarity now that there are only two relief slots. Saves was the only category that the Possums won, despite good numbers.
Each team’s stats were close on offense, too, but here Rick too the advantage. Xander Bogaerts, Joey Gallo, and Max Muncy each had two home runs. Ronald Acuna Jr. had two steals. The Possums had strong production up and down the lineup. Kevin boasted a strong week from Anthony Rizzo and Juan Soto. Each had two home runs. However, Kevin didn’t have quite the overall strength that the Possums showed. Rick won home runs by one and took SLG by a wider margin. Rick’s RBI and stolen base totals were slightly above the Goofballs. Kevin took OBP but Rick swept the other four categories and it was just enough to earn a 5-4-1 win. Kevin needed one home run or strikeout to capture a tie. The results gives Rick sole possession of second place and momentum going forward.
KK Thunderwolves (4 – 3 – 1) vs. SM Lasershow (1 – 7)
The season’s most surprising team has been the Thunderwolves. Kyle’s team is near the top of the league and in position to challenge for the title. After a fast start, the team lost a little momentum. However, they turned things around against the Lasershow and won a solid match. Like the Goofballs, the Thunderwolves best showing was on pitching. Aaron Nola had an excellent start, but the most surprising contributor was Lance Lynn. He struck out 17 in two quality starts. Kirby Yates recorded two saves and Zack Greinke was serviceable over two outings. Kyle had strong quality start, ERA, and WHIP totals. Meanwhile the Lasershow continued to struggle. David Price had a good start but others like Marco Gonzales and Jhoulys Chacin imploded. The Thunderwolves were able to sweep all five categories and set up a strong chance of winning the match.
Despite this poor pitching showing, Sean put up good offensive numbers and tried to keep the match close. The Lasershow led the league in OBP by a wide margin. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Tommy Pham each had OBPs over 0.500. Christian Yelich had two steals and seven different players had a home run. This gave the Lasershow solid category wins in OBP, SLG, and steals. However, Kyle was able to win RBI and home runs. Eduardo Escobar was the best of the group – he had three home runs, nine RBI, and a steal. Josh Bell was also strong with two home runs and a good overall SLG. This was enough for the Thunderwolves to secure victory. Kyle is now two games over 0.500 and remains a threat to the top teams.
CP Legion (6 – 2) vs. LK Armadillos (2 – 3 – 3)
The week’s most peculiar match-up featured the Legion and Armadillos. Both teams put up excellent offensive numbers and abysmal pitching. The ultimate result was a tie, and both teams surely consider this a massive missed opportunity. The Armadillos led the league in home runs and RBI. Gary Sanchez had three homers and six other players had two. Trevor Story had seven RBI and role players like Hunter Renfroe had a SLG of 1.286. The Legion couldn’t match these totals but managed to have a stronger OBP and SLG. Derek Deitrich had four home runs and nine RBI. Nine different Legion players had SLG over 0.500. Ten had an OBP of at least 0.400. This production left the two teams with two categories each and one tied.
The pitching from both teams was as bad as the offensive numbers were good. The ERA and WHIP totals were near the bottom of the league. Each team’s ERA was double the Goofballs’ total and the Armadillos’ WHIP was twice what Kevin posted. Each team had a series of meltdowns and poor outings. Brandon Woodruff allowed six earned runs in just 4.0 IP for the Armadillos. Matthew Boyd and Clayton Kershaw were bright spots over four starts – they struck out 28 in just 24.0 IP. The situation was direr for the Legion. Matt Strahm allowed 10 earned runs in 10.1 IP. Steven Matz and Chris Paddack were poor as well. Roberto Osuna recorded three saves, however, and there were a handful of quality starts to go around. The Armadillos took ERA and saves but didn’t pitch enough innings to compete for strikeouts. Both teams tied in quality starts and this resulted in a tie for the week. Both teams are left to wonder what might have been if there had just been a slightly better pitching effort. For now, the Legion remain in first place. The Armadillos managed their fourth tie for the year, and continue to look for momentum to defend their title.
HP PhoeGnomes (3 – 4 – 1) vs. JK Lannisters (4 – 4)
The week’s final match saw the Lannisters win with a sloppy effort against the PhoeGnomes. On the positive side for the Lannisters was the offense. After several down weeks, the team seemed to find more power. They tied for second in home runs and had a good RBI total. Matt Chapman led the team with three home runs and Austin Meadows stayed red-hot with two home runs, 10 RBI, and two steals including one steal of home. Mike Trout returned from injury with two home runs and a steal. The PhoeGnomes weren’t terrible on offense. Adam Jones and Matt Olson had two home runs each. However, the team’s OBP couldn’t compete with the Lannisters and the SLG numbers just weren’t there. Thanks to Meadows, the Lannisters took steals and swept the other four categories as well.
Like the Legion and Armadillos, neither team had great pitching. Heather was slightly better thanks to a nice week from Cole Hamels and Zach Plesac. Each of these pitchers earned a quality start. Aroldis Chapman had three saves. Chris Sale had ten strikeouts. No one had great numbers, but they were good enough to compete in all five categories. Heather won ERA and WHIP with ease, and narrowly won strikeouts. However, the Lannisters managed to equal the PhoeGnomes in quality starts and saves. Kenley Jansen had three saves and Gerrit Cole had two quality starts. This was enough to tie two categories, and thus secure the win. The Lannisters are back above 0.500, and the PhoeGnomes took another step back despite a decent effort.
Next Week
The biggest match of the week pits the Lannisters against the Legion. Jeff is one of only two teams to beat Chris this year, and the Legion need a win to have a chance to win a tiebreaker. The next best match is the Thunderwolves versus the Armadillos. Each team needs a win to keep pace. The Possums are heavy favorites against the PhoeGnomes and the Lasershow hope to frustrate the Goofballs.
The week’s closest match paired the Legion and Thunderwolves. Both teams are experiencing unexpected success early in the season. Kyle won this meeting behind strong power and pitching. The two teams easily led the league in home runs with 15. Kyle posted the best SLG in the league and had the most RBI. Josh Bell and Vladimir Guerrero Jr each had four home runs for the Thunderwolves. Eduardo Escobar and Gleyber Torres each had three. Nick Senzel won the steals category on his own with four for the week. Chis had a three home run week from Kris Bryant and Cody Bellinger. Ten total Legion players hit home runs. Despite this heroic effort, Chris was unable to win any offensive categories. The Thunderwolves had a slight edge across the board.
Heather sealed the win with a good pitching showing. They led the league in strikeouts thanks to an absurd total of 27 from Chris Sale in just 12.1 IP. Sale’s total equaled the Lasershow’s team total! Several members of the Lasershow struggled. Zack Wheeler and Marco Gonzales each had 9.00 ERAs. This made it almost impossible to win any rate stats, and Heather was able to cruise to a smooth victory. The loss drops the Lasershow into last place. The PhoeGnomes are now beginning to move up the standings after a few solid weeks in a row.
The Armadillos and Lannisters met in another close contest. Both teams had solid pitching, but the Lannisters managed to pull ahead slightly on offense thanks to a balanced attack. Larry managed to win three pitching categories including saves and both rate stats. Hyun-Jin Ryu was almost as good as Blake Snell – he threw 17 innings, struck out 15, recorded two quality starts, allowed no earned runs and had a 0.35 WHIP. Other Armadillos’ pitchers performed well, including Patrick Corbin and Matthew Boyd. A few bad outings from Noah Syndergaard and Max Fried kept the team from being in the PhoeGnomes class, but they were still outstanding. The Lannisters had productive weeks from their starters but they gave up more runs and walks. Luis Castillo was the standout – he threw only 6.0 IP but had 11 strikeouts. Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg also added 26 strikeouts combined. Jeff easily won the category and quality starts, leaving the Armadillos with just a small lead.
The Possums overcame a slow pitching week thanks to dominant offense to earn a win over the Lasershow. Like the Armadillos, the Possums displayed extreme home run power. They led the league with 16 and had seven combined from Charlie Blackmon and Eugenio Suarez. However, they were unable to produce as many RBI as one might expect. They still won the category but only 4th in the league overall. Sean didn’t offer much power, but he did lead the league in steals thanks to Yasiel Puig and Francisco Lindor. They also had the league’s best OBP behind Jeff McNeil and Andrelton Simmons. Improving OBP is a critical area for the Lasershow, so hopefully this step lasts. They also had a good SLG but the Possums took the category based on their home runs. This gave Rick a slim 3-2 lead.
The most unexpected start to the season belongs to the Thunderwolves. For the first time in several seasons, Kyle is multiple games above 0.500. His team is in second place behind good pitching and hitting. Kyle added to his resume with a win over the Possums in Week 05. The Thunderwolves offense led the way. Although the team did not have stats on par with the Lannisters or Armadillos, they were near the top of the league in most categories. Four players had two home runs including Rhys Hoskins, who had eight RBI. Six Thunderwolves had SLG values over 0.700. This gave Kyle easy wins in home runs, RBI, and SLG. They also won OBP handily and tied steals. Rick had a nice three home run / nine RBI week from Jose Abreu, but the rest of his offense was quiet. This put Kyle in a commanding position for the week.
The week’s top performer overall was the Lannisters. Jeff’s team led the league in multiple categories and dominated the Lasershow. The Lannisters were tops in strikeouts, OBP, and SLG. They were second in quality starts and RBI. Manny Machado tallied four home runs, and eight other Lannisters contributed one. Stats appeared up and down the lineup – role players like Jonathan Schoop had a home run and four RBI to add to the team’s strong total. The Lannisters didn’t steal a base, but they easily won the other four offensive categories and built an almost insurmountable lead.
The week’s final match saw the Legion win with confidence against the PhoeGnomes. Chris posted the week’s best pitching stats and finished just behind the Lannisters in total performance. Mike Soroka had a masterful week over two quality starts, striking out 13. Caleb Smith and Matt Strahm were solid as well. Heather had good pitching stats behind Luke Weaver and a three-save Josh Hader week. She won strikeouts by virtue of more innings pitched. Chris held a slim 3-2 lead before accounting for hitting.
The week’s best match paired the Legion and Possums, two of last season’s top teams. Both teams were off to a good start, but the Legion earned a dominant victory that saw him lead the league in many categories. Chris’s standout performers were his pitchers. They led the league in ERA and WHIP by a wide margin. They tied for the lead in quality starts. Chris Paddack had the best start of the week, allowing no earned runs and just one hit and walk along with nine strikeouts. This effort, when paired with a dominant bullpen showing from Roberto Osuna, handed the Legion a tiny 0.59 WHIP. This was easily the best number in the league and was less than half of some other team’s totals. Trevor Williams and Caleb Smith also had strong performances. Rick’s pitchers threw more innings than Chris’s team, and he easily won strikeouts. Max Scherzer was especially strong. The team was good enough to tie quality starts, but Rick was still well behind before counting offense.
Although the Legion are the story of the week, Kevin made it back to 0.500 with a strong showing against the PhoeGnomes. Kevin led the league in home runs and was second in RBI. He was also near the top in steals and SLG. Leading the way were Javier Baez, Juan Soto, and Freddie Freeman. Each player had three home runs, and the group totaled 19 RBI. Soto also added two steals. Nine total Goofballs hit a home run, though the team’s OBP number was still low. OBP aside, the Goofballs easily won four categories. The PhoeGnomes had the second lowest home run and SLG totals in the league. No PhoeGnome had multiple home runs. Overall, the disappointing offensive showing left Heather in a tough position on the pitching side.
On offense, there were even more close categories. The Armadillos swept home runs, OBP, and SLG. However, they won home runs but just one and SLG was only 0.032 apart. Ozzie Albies had three home runs for the Armadillos. Trevor Story added two more, and six other Armadillos had one each. Sean countered with a great week from Travis Shaw, who had three home runs. Christian Yelich had one home run and three steals. Andrelton Simmons and a nice 0.636 SLG. Despite this effort, the Armadillos were able to get just a little more production from their stars and took the week. Both teams had a shot, and Sean can look to build on this balanced effort next week.
The week’s only match of two winning teams paired the Armadillos and Legion. The rivalry between these two teams is probably the most intense in the league. In this early contest, the Legion won a decisive victory. Chris led the league in four hitting categories: home runs, steals, OBP, and SLG. Yasmani Grandal led the Legion with three home runs, but nine total Legion players contributed at least one. Cody Bellinger paid early dividends with two home runs and two steals. Jesse Winker added a pair of home runs in part time duty. The Armadillos had a nice three home run week from Pete Alonso, but it wasn’t enough to stay competitive. Domingo Santana contributed eight RBI to help tie the category, but Chris captured a strong 4-0-1 advantage on offense.
Both teams put up respectable offensive numbers. Kevin had more home runs and RBI, but Rick easily won steals and OBP. Rick’s top hitter was Khris Davis, who stayed red-hot with five more home runs and 10 RBI. Ronald Acuna Jr. added three home runs of his own. Tim Anderson contributed three stolen bases and Rick dominated the category. The Goofballs countered with good weeks from multiple players. Anthony Rendon had two home runs and eight RBI. Ten different Goofballs had at least one home run. Unfortunately for the Goofballs, Anthony Rizzo and Freddie Freeman struggled for the week. This gave Rick a slight edge in SLG that carried through the final game on Sunday. Kevin had a chance to flip the category, but he couldn’t quite get enough power to turn the result. Rick won a narrow 5-4-1 match. The Goofballs would have beaten many other teams in the league, and Kevin has to hope for better luck in future weeks.
The week’s most interesting match paired the second and third place teams from last season. Rick started out with strong hitting. Khris Davis had five total home runs for the long week. Joey Gallo started strong as well with four home runs. The pair combined for 21 RBI, nearly half of the Possums’ total. The rest of the Possums put up good offensive numbers as well, but the team had some trouble getting on base. This left an opening for the Lannisters. Despite a slow start, the perennial contenders put together good power numbers. The addition of Tim Tebow seemed to spark the team. Mike Trout had five home runs and 12 RBI, mostly against hapless Rangers’ pitching. Bryce Harper and Matt Chapman added three more home runs each. Rick was able to win steals, but the Lannisters posted better numbers in the other three categories. This put a lot of pressure on the Possums’ pitching staff.
The defending champion Armadillos opened the season against the PhoeGnomes. Despite being a heavy favorite, the Armadillos struggled early in the week. Their offense came alive in the end, though, and they led the league in home runs. Gary Sanchez had three in one game and four for the week. J. D. Martinez, Domingo Santana, and Trevor Story added three apiece. Santana was strong on the bases as well, with three steals. This gave the Armadillos a five category sweep. Heather enjoyed a monster week from Cody Bellinger, who hit five home runs. However, he was traded mid-week and his replacement Paul Goldschmidt also added a homer. This wasn’t enough to help the PhoeGnomes, but the team posted respectable totals and several categories changed throughout the week.
Kevin was able to secure victory thanks to a good pitching week. Marcus Stroman and Jose Berrios were strong in their four combined starts. The re-emergence of Stroman would be a huge addition for the Goofballs, who consistently uncover bounce-back players. Jon Gray struck out ten in his only start for the week. With the exception of German Marquez, Kyle’s starters struggled to throw many innings. Fortunately for the Thunderwolves, they managed to take strikeouts anyway and won saves behind a nice week from Kirby Yates. Eventually the Goofballs’ overall quality won the day, and Kevin secured another season opening win. Kyle showed some improvement on offense, and will need to have better starting pitching to contend in the future.
The Legion were more consistent on offense. Paul Goldschmidt added four home runs in part-time duty. Willson Contreras added three of his own. Christian Yelich did all he could for the Lasershow with five home runs and 11 RBI for the week. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Legion won all the categories but steals. This total gave the Legion a solid win to open the year.
The week’s closest match saw the Possums lose a heartbreaking 5-4-1 decisions to the Legion. Chris relied on good hitting and solid pitching to win by the thinnest possible margin. Blake Snell probably clinched the Cy Young award with two strong starts. He did not allow an earned run and struck out 16 in 11.2 innings pitched. He also earned two wins. Hyun-Jin Ryu had a clutch win on Sunday to tie the hotly-contested wins category. Rick dominated strikeouts and WHIP, but Chris had the better ERA. Both teams pitched the same number of innings, but Chris had one extra save. Both of these small differences shifted the week late, and the Possums were not able to counter on offense despite leading the league in steals. Chris delivered the Possums just their fifth loss of the season.
The Possums’ loss gave the Armadillos a chance to eliminate the Lannisters and guarantee themselves at least a share of the title with a victory. Unfortunately for Larry, the improved Lasershow had other ideas. Sean led the league in OBP and SLG thanks to great weeks from Christian Yelich and Tommy Pham. The pair combined for three home runs and two steals. Kyle Freeland had a pair of nice starts as well. The Armadillos were not competitive after a series of injuries and offensive slumps. The Armadillos deployed an absurdly high number of position players (25) and pitchers (12). This means that only three players on the roster didn’t see action (though the number is higher in reality since some of these players were added and cut within the week). The Armadillos tried everything they could to get good match-ups, but they couldn’t counter the Lasershow. Sean’s team has shown a great deal of improvement late in the season.
The Lannisters took care of business with a strong performance against the PhoeGnomes. The Lannisters led the league in home runs and RBI. Mike Trout contributed four home runs and Manny Machado was hot for the week. On pitching the PhoeGnomes were never competitive after bad starts form key rotation members. The dominant win kept the Lannisters alive to the final week. The loss also dooms the PhoeGnomes to last place, but Heather still has a chance to end the season on a high note versus the Possums
Kevin and Kyle had a close match this week that Kevin eventually won. Kyle Hendricks was the Goofballs’ star of the week with two starts, two wins, and 13 strikeouts. Will Smith had two saves. Freddie Freeman was also solid on offense with two home runs. Kyle had a good week from Wil Myers, but the team faced criticism for not starting “Kevin Kramer” and refusing to trade him to the Lannisters for a package including a “Ricky”, “Jeff”, and “Kyle”.
Dirt Mountain Baseball League 