With three weeks of the regular season remaining, one team has secured their place in the playoffs. Find out which manager can start looking forward to September after Week 19 of the BaseballGB Fantasy League.

The Slugs were the biggest winners of the week, defeating the Maltsters 11-0. Acuna Jr had a monster week, powering an offensive sweep with 11 runs, four homers, nine RBIs three steals, a .464 average and an OPS over 1500. Lester picked up a win without allowing an earned run and posting sub-1.00 WHIP stats while Heaney struck out 11 and Leclerc collected four saves. Holds from McHugh and Miller spared the Maltsters from a whitewash.

Norwich stay top of the standings and secured their playoff place with an 11-1 thumping of Batteries Essential. Five Norwich batters hit a pair of homers, including Castellanos, who also led the team with eight runs and 10 RBIs. Story swiped two bases. In a pitching sweep, Flaherty picked up a win without allowing an earned run and Buehler struck out eight and helped take WHIP. Smith had two saves while Ottavino picked up a pair of holds.

Batteries Essential, with a roster decimated by injuries and no effort made to replace the inactive players, took average thanks to Ramos batting .412. They just crept over the 20 inning minimum limit by 0.1 innings but may not manage to do so next week without some work to the roster.

The Knights continue their strong form with a 9-2 win against Beckenham that leaves them third in the standings. Jose Ramirez scored and knocked in seven to go with his three homers while Calhoun batted .357 for the week and Hicks swiped two bases in an offensive sweep. Norris had a pair of saves while Buchholz helped take ERA and WHIP. Beckenham had wins from six different pitchers, including Mikolas who struck out 11.

The Isotopes stay second after an 8-3 win against the RBIs. Upton (.360) and Realmuto (.320, seven RBIs) each homered twice and scored four runs as the hitters fell a steal shy of an offensive sweep. Dominguez collected two saves while Arrieta made the difference in ERA and WHIP. Severino struck out 14 for the RBIs while Clevinger won twice and Romo and Watson had a hold each.

The Sox caused an upset by defeating the Riverkings 7-5. Gattis and Andujar each hit three homers, with Miggy also knocking in nine. Adam Jones helped take OPS. With the only Sox relievers both on the DL, it was up to the starters to carry the load. DeGrom and Happ each won twice with Jacob striking out 21. Combined with Kershaw and Cole, no pitcher had an ERA above 1.50 or a WHIP higher than 1.05.

The Riverkings will feel hard done by to lose having posted such good ERA and WHIP stats, but at least Boxberger and Edwards Jr took care of saves and holds. Merrifield scored four runs and stole two bases while batting .429, teaming with Jose Martinez (.474) and Choo (.533) to take average.

Finally, the Bombers and Chasers ended in a 6-6 tie. Bath had the better of the offense as Ozuna homered twice and Chirinos knocked in seven. Moustakas (.500) and Bogaerts (.400) helped take average and OPS. A skeleton pitching staff took ERA and WHIP thanks to Foltynewicz. Goldschmidt scored five runs for the Chasers and Cain stole two bases while Nola was among five pitchers with a win and Taillon struck out 12. Brach and Stammen had a hold each while Treinen picked up a pair of saves.

The standings after Week 19 look like this:

Norwich are the first team to secure a playoff place with just 1.5 games separating the Chasers and RBIs for the final postseason spot. There are just three week of the regular season remaining.

The Week 20 matchups are as follows:

Isotopes (2^nd) v Bombers (11^th)

Batteries (12^th) v RBI’s (9^th)

Beckenham (7^th) v Norwich No II (1^st)

Maltsters (6^th) v Knights (3^rd)

Riverkings (4^th) v Slugs (5^th)

Chasers (8^th) v Super-Sox (10^th)

Week 18 saw the top two go head-to-head in the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Who would come out on top?

The Knights were the biggest winners of the week, defeating Batteries Essential 10-2. The rejuvenated Kole Calhoun hit a pair of homers, scored seven runs and knocked in five while Trea Turner hit .345 for the week. Gausman led the staff with eight strikeouts and had a 0.75 WHIP, the same as Rodon, who did not allow any earned runs. Norris and Parker had a save each while Oh and Jeffress took care of holds. Benintendi took OPS for Batteries Essential while Sale, Davis and Godley had a win each.

The Maltsters also enjoyed a productive week, defeating the Riverkings 9-2. Martinez and Zunino each hit four homers, with JD driving in 11 while batting .464. Votto hit .429. Bauer powered the pitching staff with a pair of wins and 19 strikeouts, all with sub-1.00 ERA and WHIP. Barnes had a pair of holds. Betts scored 10 runs for the Riverkings and also swiped two bases. Iglesias and Chapman combined for three saves.

The Sox stayed ahead of the Bombers with a 6-3 win. Andujar was the offensive star, hitting three homers, scoring and driving in eight. Marte swiped three bases. De Grom made the difference in ERA and WHIP. The Bombers took average thanks to Ozuna batting .385 and Bogaerts posted an OPS over 1.000. Sabathia struck out 19 but is now on the DL. What with McCullers also on the shelf, the Bombers are in danger of missing the 20 inning minimum limit next week.

The RBIs tightened their grip on the final playoff place by defeating the Chasers 6-4. Markakis (.444, eight RBIs) and Gregorius (.348) scored six runs each and combined with Gallo (.348) and Shaw (.357) to take average and OPS. Freeland was one of four pitchers with a win and led the staff with 15 strikeouts. Dozier and Cain had two steals each for the Chasers while Stammen and Brach had two holds each. Nola did not allow an earned run while Lynn posted sub-1.00 ERA and WHIP numbers.

Norwich kept their place at the top of the standings, defeating the Isotopes 6-5 in the battle of the top two. Hedges (.500), Freeman (.385) and Davis (.368) took care of average and OPS while Lucchesi and Corbin each picked up a win without allowing an earned run and with sub-1.00 WHIPs. Aguilar knocked in 10 for the Isotopes and joined Upton in launching three homers. Lindor stole three bases. Morton led the pitchers with 12 strikeouts while Colome collected a hat-trick of holds.

Finally, the A&E Dept and the Slugs ended all square at 6-6. Beckenham had five steals from Hamilton while the pitchers took five categories. Carrasco picked up a win and struck out 17 while MadBum did not allow any earned runs and Mikolas and Wheeler posted sub-1.00 WHIPs. Diaz collected five saves in a bumper week for the Seattle closer. Stanton had a big week for the Slugs, scoring eight runs, belting five homers and driving in nine. Muncy led the team with a .333 average and an OPS in the 1300s. Trivino and Robertson had a hold each.

The standings look like this:

The week 19 matchups are as follows:

Norwich v Batteries Essential

Isotopes v RBIs

Riverkings v Sox

Knights v A&E Dept

Maltsters v Slugs

Chasers v Bombers

Week 17 of the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw another change at the top – and the top two go head-to-head this week.

The Maltsters were the biggest winners of the week, using an offensive sweep to defeat the Sox 9-2. Nelson Cruz did most of the damage, homering four times and driving in 10, Marwin Gonzalez scored five runs and hit three homers and Hosmer batted .348 with a steal. Anibal Sanchez was one of three pitchers with a win while Jansen had the lone save of the matchup and McHugh and Madson had a hold each. Cole struck out 16 for the Sox while De Grom made the difference in ERA and WHIP for a very thin pitching staff.

Norwich go back to the top of the standings after their 9-3 win against the Chasers, sweeping the pitching categories in the process. Tanaka picked up a win, struck out 17 and posted a sub-1.00 ERA while Smith and Vazquez had two saves each and Ottavino picked up a pair of holds. Story hit four homers, drove in 11 and stole a base. Dozier (.368) and Baez (.417) each scored five runs and teamed with Posey (.467) to take average and OPS.

The RBIs picked up a 9-3 win against the Bombers to boost their chances of a place in the top eight. Gallo scored five runs, homered three times and knocked in seven while Gregorius and Markakis each batted .333 for the week and helped take OPS. Shane Bieber picked up a win and struck out 14 while Romo had a save and a hold. Chirinos was one of four Bombers with a steal and McCullers helped make the difference in ERA and WHIP in a scoreless outing which ended early because of injury.

Beckenham defeated the third-placed Riverkings 7-5. Carpenter launched four homers and batted .423 for the week, with McCutchen going deep twice and batting .440. Carlos Carrasco picked up a win without allowing an earned run and posted a 0.55 WHIP. Allen and Bradley had a hold each. Merrifield, Choo and Betts each scored five runs for the Riverkings, with Torres and Choo driving in six runs each. Merrifield also swiped three bases. Cahill struck out 10 while Dominguez picked up a pair of saves.

Batteries Essential were among the winners this week, defeating the Slugs 7-5. Despite a batting lineup of just four players, Abreu hit .478 and Benintendi stole two bases. Verlander had a win and 14 strikeouts and teamed with Godley to take ERA and WHIP. Herrera had two saves. The Slugs had eight runs from Soto while Acuna Jr and Rizzo (five RBIs) homered twice. Trivino and Betances had a hold each.

Finally, the Isotopes squeezed past the Knights in a very tight matchup. Flores, Suarez and Yelich all hit .400 or above for the Isotopes, taking OPS in the process too. Morton picked up a win and struck out eight while Rodney, Rondon and Hand had two saves each. Hand also had a hold while Colome picked up a pair. The Knights had the better of the offense as Trea Turner scored eight runs and stole six bases while Jose Ramirez knocked in eight to go with his three homers. Quintana made the difference in ERA and WHIP.

The standings now look like this:

The week 18 matchups are as follows:

Norwich v Isotopes

Riverkings v Maltsters

Knights v Batteries Essential

A&E Dept v Slugs

Chasers v RBIs

Sox v Bombers

Trade deadline reminder:

If you want to make a trade, you have until August 12 to do so.

After the excitement of the All Star Game and some big trades it was time for the second half of the BaseballGB Fantasy League to get under way. And the top three teams are now separated by just half a game after week 16.

Norwich were the big winners of week 16, defeating the Bombers 10-2. Schoop and Khris Davis each scored nine runs and hit seven homers, with Davis driving in 16 to Schoop’s 15. A pitching sweep included two wins from new A Familia, Corbin and Flaherty struck out 17 each and Tanaka did not allow an earned run or many baserunners on his return from injury. Ottavino had two saves and two holds. The Bombers took average on a tiebreak thanks to Chirinos (.375) and Margot (.360) while Trout swiped five bases.

The Isotopes move to the top of the standings on a tiebreak after defeating the Slugs 9-2. In a matchup full of offense, Yelich was the star, batting .537 with 10 runs, four homers and 14 RBIs. Hoskins showed no ill effects from the Home Run Derby, scoring 11 runs with seven homers and 14 RBIs. Wood and Greinke won twice each and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Colome had three holds. Acuna Jr stole three bases for the Slugs while Hill led the staff with 17 strikeouts.

The Maltsters started the second half with an 8-4 win against the A&E Dept. Pham led the team with seven runs while J.D. Martinez drove in nine. They also stole a base and Zunino batted .357. In a busy week for the bullpen, Kimbrel and Jansen had three saves each while Barnes had a trio of holds. Bundy and Castillo each posted WHIPs around .080. Carpenter’s salsa-powered home run binge helped Beckenham club 15 in total while Porcello and Wheeler each won twice and helped take ERA while Carrasco struck out 16.

The Riverkings are second on a tiebreak after their 7-5 win against Batteries Essential. Molina scored eight runs, Merrifield stole five bases and Bregman knocked in seven and was one of three players with a multi-homer week. Iglesias and Chapman had two saves each while Edwards Jr picked up two holds. With just four active batters, Batteries Essential had no hope at counting stats but did take average thanks to Blackmon (.344), Beltre and Benintendi (.333 each). Sale was one of four players with a win, struck out 19 and posted a 0.58 WHIP.

The Sox got the better of the RBIs 6-5. Kinsler scored 12 times and hit .452 for the Sox, while Chris Davis scored 10 runs. Polanco hit .500 for the week and stole three bases. Kershaw, new Yankee Happ and Cole helped take ERAS and WHIP. The RBIs had the edge in homers and RBIs thanks to a five-homer, 12-RBI week from Perez while Gallo launched four dingers. Newcomb won twice, including his near no-no, while Berrios and Clevinger struck out 15 each and Watson and Romo had a hold each.

Finally, the Knights and Chasers could not be separated, finishing in a 6-6 tie. The Knights had the better of the offense, with Pollock scoring 10 runs, Grandal hitting four homers and Encarnacion driving in eight and batting .345. Jeffress had two holds. Dee Gordon and Brian Dozier stole three bases apiece for the Chasers, who took the majority of the pitching stats. Scherzer (18 strikeouts) and Gray each won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Treinen collected three saves.

Transactions

There is still time to make trades, with the league’s deadline on August 12. But there have been some notable transactions. The Riverkings have cut bait with All Star outfielder Nick Markakis while the Bombers have run out of patience with Gary Sanchez, sending him to the waiver wire instead of the DL.

The standings after week 16 look like this:

And here are this week’s matchups:

Orpington Isotopes (1^st) v Newcastle Knights (4^th)

Batteries Essential (12^th) v Mighty Slugs (7^th)

Beckenham A&E Dept (5^th) v Durham Riverkings (2^nd)

Cheshunt Maltsters (6^th) v Weston-Super-Sox (10^th)

Norwich No II (3^rd) v Cheddar Chasers (8^th)

Richie’s RBI’s (9^th) v Bath Bombers (11^th)

The first half of the season is complete and the BaseballGB Fantasy League managers can enjoy a well-earned rest for a few days during the All Star break. Here’s how things look after week 15.

The A&E Dept ended the first half on a high with a 9-3 win against the Sox. Arenado hit .409 and joined Hamilton in scoring five runs while Smoak launched four homers and drove in seven. The pitchers were knocked around but Wheeler was one of six with a win and also led the staff with 15 strikeouts. Allen picked up a pair of saves and Bradley had a hat-trick of holds. Cole, Happ, de Grom and Kershaw helped the Sox post a sub-1.00 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP although there is plenty of offense to spare on their bench and DL spots.

The Knights, who have been on a good run, picked up an 8-4 win against the Bombers, who forfeited all of the pitching categories after failing to reach the 20 inning minimum limit. A couple of All Stars helped the knights take two offensive categories as Jose Ramirez hit five homers and knocked in 11 while Machado went deep three times. Even though the Bombers forfeited the pitching categories, the Knights were in line to win them all, as Quintana collected a win without allowing any earned runs and Cueto struck out seven. Morrow and Jeffress had two saves and holds respectively. The Bombers had nine runs from CarGo while LeMahieu hit .409 for the week and Trout stole two bases.

The Chasers improved their chances of a playoff spot by defeating the Slugs 8-4. Brian Dozier hit three homers and knocked in 10 runs while Baez stole two bases. On the mound, Gray was one of six pitchers with a win, although Sonny was the pick of the bunch as he did not allow any earned runs. Nola struck out 15 and helped take WHIP. Treinen had two saves. Stanton scored six runs and hit .382 for the Slugs and Betances had a pair of holds.

Norwich closed the gap on the top two with a 7-4 win against the RBIs. Rendon scored seven runs, Rosario hit .444 for the week and Story helped take OPS. The staff may have been winless but Flaherty did not allow any earned runs and helped take WHIP while it was a bumper week for Rivero, who saved five games, and Ottavino, who picked up three holds. Five RBIs batters had multi-homer weeks, led by Shaw with three, while Perez drove in seven runs. Bieber (no, not that one) was one of three pitchers with a win while Clevinger struck out 19.

Batteries Essential picked up a rare win to end the first half, defeating the Maltsters 6-4. With only five active batters, counting stats are unlikely to produce many wins, but Blackmon hit .440  for the week and Benintendi had the lone steal. Verlander struck out 18 and teamed with Sale and Duffy (who both did not allow any earned runs) to take WHIP. The Maltsters had another big week from Martinez, who scored eight runs and joined Votto in knocking in six. In a busy week for the bullpen, Jansen and Kimbrel had three saves each and Barnes picked up a pair of holds.

Finally, the battle between the top two ended in a 6-6 tie. The Riverkings had the better of the offense as Bregman and Betts each scored eight runs and knocked in seven. Alex hit three homers while Mookie hit .538 for the week and Peraza batted .520. Chapman, Boxberger and Iglesias had two saves each. Yelich was one of four Isotopes players with a steal, while Maeda picked up two wins and led the staff with 10 strikeouts. Greinke and Arrieta did not allow any earned runs and helped take WHIP while Colome and Devenski had a hold each.

Here’s how the standings look after week 15:

Week 16 match-ups

Isotopes (2^nd) v Slugs (6^th)

Batteries (12^th) v Riverkings (1^st)

A&E Dept (5^th) v Maltsters (7^th)

Knights (4^th) v Chasers (8^th)

Norwich No II (3^rd) v Bombers (10^th)

RBI’s (9^th) v Super-Sox (11^th)

Due to the All Star break, these matchups will end on Sunday, July 29 with the next roundup to follow shortly after that.

Trade deadline reminder:

The MLB deadline may be July 31, but our league’s trading deadline is August 12. There is plenty of time to have a look at other teams and see if there is a match for a deal.

As we get closer to the All Star break, which teams are in good form as the first half of the season nears its end? And which managers may have been distracted by events in the World Cup?

Norwich were one of two teams to hit double digits this week, defeating the Sox 10-1. The offensive production was spread fairly evenly among the team, with Harper scoring eight runs, Schoop and Castellanos hitting a pair of homers, Hicks and Khris Davis knocked in four each and Story batted .421 for the week. Flaherty led the staff with nine strikeouts, Familia had a win and a save and Ottavino and Hader had a hold each. The bullpen also helped take ERA and WHIP, not allowing any earned runs during this gameweek. Marte stole four bases for the Sox and Kershaw picked up a win.

The A&E Dept also had reason to celebrate this week, defeating Batteries Essential 10-1. Carpenter led the team with six runs, two homers and five RBIs while Tim Anderson (four steals) and Hamilton (six steals, .444 average) ran wild. Guerra was the pick of the pitchers as he recorded a win and led the staff with eight strikeouts without allowing an earned run. Diaz had three saves and Bradley picked up a pair of holds. Blackmon had a three homer week for Batteries Essential and Verlander made the difference in WHIP.

The Knights put in another strong performance as they defeated the RBIs 9-2. Turner led the team with six runs and eight RBIs while Ramirez stole five bases. Pollock and Grandal hit .400 for the week. Martinez won both of his starts, struck out 10 and helped take ERA and WHIP while Morrow had two saves. Judge belted three homers for the RBIs and joined Gennett in touching home plate six times and Watson had two holds.

The Isotopes stay second as an offensive sweep paved the way for a 9-3 win against the Maltsters. Lindor scored nine runs and stole two bases, Suarez and Aguilar hit three homers, while Realmuto joined the Brewers slugger in driving in nine. Kemp hit .444 for the week. On the mound, Greinke was one of four starters with a win and was joint leader in strikeouts with nine. Maeda helped make the difference in ERA. Freddy Peralta helped the Maltsters take ERA while Kimbrel had three saves and Garrett and Barnes had three holds each in a busy week for the bullpen.

For the first time this season, a team failed to meet the 20-inning minimum requirement. The Bombers fell an inning shy, forfeiting all six categories in a 9-3 defeat to the Slugs. The teams shared the offensive categories as Bogaerts hit .400 for the Bombers and Albies had the lone steal. The Slugs had a three homer week from Muncy, who also scored seven runs. Stanton and Soto knocked in five runs each. Keuchel won both of his starts and Heaney struck out 20.

Finally, the Riverkings stay top with an 8-4 victory against the Chasers, taking all but one of the offensive categories. Betts scored seven runs and was one of three players with a multi-homer week, Peraza stole three bases and Merrifield hit .480. Snell did not allow any earned runs while Dominguez had the only hold and  Iglesias and Boxberger had two holds each. Goldschmidt knocked in seven runs for the Chasers in what was a very good offensive week for both teams. Scherzer had a win and 12 strikeouts while Weaver posted a 0.25 WHIP.

The standings after week 14 look like this:

Week 15 matchups:

Riverkings v Isotopes

Norwich v RBIs

Knights v Bombers

Slugs v Chasers

A&E Dept v Sox

Maltsters v Batteries Essential

Schedule around the All Star break:

A reminder that week 15 will be the final week before the All Star break. Week 16 will run from Monday, July 16 to Sunday, July 29.

For the third week in a row, we have a different leader at the top of the BaseballGB fantasy league. Read on to find out which team is now leading the pack.

What a week for the Riverkings, who catapulted themselves to the top of the standings with an 11-0 win against the Bombers. Bregman was the offensive star, batting .464 for the week with seven runs, five homers, 10 RBIs and a pair of steals. On the mound, Paxton and Snell each won twice and struck out at least 20 with tiny ERA and WHIPs. Dominguez had three saves. It was hardly a terrible week for the Bombers, who put up pretty decent numbers across the board, but they came off second best.

The Slugs continued their good form, defeating the RBIs 9-3 thanks to an offensive sweep. Contreras hit .417, stole a base and led the team with seven RBIs while Muncy and Crawford had a pair of homers and scored six runs each. Skaggs struck out 14 while Kela had two saves and Robertson had the lone hold. Severino won twice without allowing any earned runs and joined Freeland in posting a sub-1.00 WHIP.

The Knights got the better of Norwich with a 7-2 win. Machado and Trumbo hit two homers each and helped take average while Jose Ramirez swiped two bases. Gausman had a win and a sub-2.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP. Castellanos drove in eight for Norwich (although he could have hit double digits if not for Pillar’s great catch on Sunday) and Vazquez and Lucchesi each struck out nine.

The Sox put some extra space between themselves and Batteries Essential with a 7-3 win. Up against a threadbare offensive lineup, it was no surprise that the Sox dominated the hitting categories, as Lowrie hit .400, it three homers and joined Marte in scoring six runs. Gattis knocked in seven. Cole and Kershaw helped take ERA and WHIP. Sale was one of three pitchers with a win, Verlander struck out 14 and Davis had two saves.

The Isotopes picked up a 7-4 victory against Beckenham but slipped off top spot in the process. Aguilar hit three homers and Hoskins, who knocked in five, launched a pair of dingers. Yelich was one of three players with a steal. It was a big week for Morton, who picked up a win to go with his 24 strikeouts. He teamed with Greinke, Maeda and Wood to take ERA and WHIP while Colome had three holds. The A&E Dept had a big week from Carpenter, who hit .500 and scored eight runs while Arenado hit three homers. Diaz was a saves machine, picking up five.

Finally, the Maltsters and Chasers could not be separated, finishing level at 5-5. Devers and JD Martinez hit two homers apiece for the Maltsters, while Jansen had three saves, Bauer struck out nine and Musgrove did not allow any earned runs in an otherwise rough week for the pitchers. Baez was the clear offensive star for the Chasers, scoring 10 runs and knocking 11 to go with his .483 average. Reddick and Dee Gordon swiped two bases each. Stammen and Brach had a hold each.

The standings after week 13 look like this:

The week 14 matchups are as follows:

Riverkings v Chasers

Isotopes v Maltsters

Norwich v Sox

Knights v RBIs

Slugs v Bombers

A&E Dept v Batteries Essential

We have a new leader at the top of the BaseballGB Fantasy League with two teams on identical records. And the team in third is just half a game back.

Read on to find out what happened in week 12.

The Maltsters were the biggest winners of the week, defeating the Bombers 10-2. Cruz scored eight, knocked in eight and belted three homers while Votto scored seven, hit two homers and knocked in nine. Bauer was the star of a pitching sweep, winning twice with 19 strikeouts and sub-1.00 ERA and WHIP numbers. Jansen had two saves and Garrett collected a pair of holds. Bogaerts was one of three players with a steal for the Bombers while Margot hit .500 and Albies batted .556.

An offensive sweep helped the Knights defeat the Sox 9-3. Olson led the team with three homers and joined Ramirez in scoring eight runs. Jose also hit .412 and swiped four bases, while fellow Indian Encarnacion knocked in 12. Montgomery struck out 11, Parker had two saves and Jeffress notched the lone hold. The Sox had wins from Cole, deGrom and Happ, who also helped take ERA and WHIP.

The Riverkings kept their good run going with an 8-3 win against the RBIs. Molina led the team with seven runs and five homers, while Moncada drove in nine and stole a base. Iglesias had three saves in a busy week for the closers, with Kluber not allowing any earned runs and posting a sub-0.30 WHIP. The RBIs had the edge in average thanks to Mazara (.370) and Berrios picked up a win to go with his 18 strikeouts.

The Isotopes had a big week with the bat as an offensive sweep saw them defeat Batteries Essential 8-4. Lindor scored 10 runs and hit three homers, as did Aguilar, who also drove in eight. Altuve hit .474 and was one of five players with a steal. Greinke won both of his starts and Rodney picked up a pair of saves. Batteries Essential had 24 strikeouts from Sale, who teamed with Duffy in taking ERA and WHIP. Herrera had the only hold of the matchup.

Norwich suffered a rare defeat – one which knocked them off the top of the standings – as the Slugs ran out 8-3 winners. Stanton hit .448 for the week with three homers and joined Nimmo in knocking in seven. Doolittle and Kela had three saves each while Lester picked up a win without allowing any earned runs. Norwich had two steals from Brantley while Corbin, Flaherty and Pivetta each had at least 12 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.68 or better.

Finally, the A&E Dept got the better of the Chasers 7-3. Beckenham took five offensive categories as Arenado hit five homers and knocked in 13, joining Carpenter in scoring seven runs. Hamilton led the team with two steals. MadBum and Porcello did not allow any earned runs while posting miniscule WHIPs. Baez was one of four Chasers with a steal while Gray struck out 14 and Stammen had a pair of holds.

The standings now look like this:

It’s remarkable that 12 weeks in the top three are separated by just 0.5 games. There are some good battles to be had in the race for a playoff place, so be sure to keep on top of injuries, use your DL spots and the waiver wire for replacements and make sure you won’t fall short of the 20 inning minimum limit.

Week 13 matchups:

Isotopes v A&E Dept

Norwich v Knights

Riverkings v Bombers

Maltsters v Chasers

Slugs v RBIs

Sox v Batteries Essential

There were a host of closely-fought matchups in week ten of the BaseballGB Fantasy Baseball League. Which teams would manage to grind out a result?

The Riverkings were the biggest winners of the week, defeating the Knights 7-2 to remain top of the standings. The offense carried the load as Bregman, who joined Torres and Choo in hitting two homers, led the staff with seven runs and Jose Martinez batted an even .600 for the week with four homers and nine RBIs. Paxton won twice and teamed with Kluber to take ERA and WHIP. Trea Turner swiped two bases for the Knights while Quintana and Martinez struck out 10 each. Hand had two saves and a hold.

The Slugs crept closer to .500 with their 7-4 win against the Slugs. Muncy and Stanton hit three homers each, Rizzo knocked in seven and Crawford hit .667 for the week. Skaggs led the staff with eight strikeouts while Robertson picked up a pair of wins in relief. Marte hit .077 for the week for the Sox but still managed to steal three bases. Happ and Cole helped take ERA and WHIP and Soria picked up four saves.

The A&E Dept are back at .500 after defeating the RBIs 7-5. Beckenham had just six RBIs on the week, but Carpenter (.385) scored six runs and Dickerson (.381) and McCutchen (.360) each touched home five times. Diaz, Allen and Bradley took care of saves and holds while Mikolas and Stripling made the difference in ERA and WHIP. The RBIs had two-homer weeks from Gallo, Judge and Perez, while Gregorius stole two bases and Gennett knocked in six. Severino struck out 17 and was one of six pitchers with a win.

The Isotopes squeezed past the Chasers 6-5. The Isotopes hitters did most of the heavy lifting, with Altuve (two steals), Yelich and Kemp (eight RBIs) all scoring six runs and Upton launching three homers. Colome and Devenski had two holds each. The Chasers got some long overdue production from Goldschmidt (10 runs, four homers, 11 RBIs, .640) while Brach had two saves and Scherzer struck out 22 and teamed with Gray and Lynn to take ERA and WHIP.

Norwich edged past the Maltsters 5-4 thanks to three-homer weeks from Freeman (six runs), Story (six RBIs) and Khris Davis. Corbin, Buehler and Tanaka helped take ERA and WHIP, although the latter two left their starts with injuries. Votto hit .429 for the Maltsters, teaming with JD Martinez and Cruz to take OPS. Bauer struck out 12 while Kimbrel and Jansen had a save each.

Batteries Essential picked up a rare win, defeating the Bombers 5-4. Benintendi homered twice and Abreu knocked in six for a thin offensive lineup while Godley struck out 11 and Davis had two saves. Moustakas scored four runs for the Bombers while Ozuna and Santana knocked in four each. Sabathia and Marco Gonzales helped take ERA and WHIP.

The standings after week 10 look like this:

Week 11 match-ups

Durham Riverkings (1st) v Norwich No II (2nd)

Orpington Isotopes (3rd) v Weston-Super-Sox (11th)

Cheshunt Maltsters (8th) v Richie’s RBI’s (4th)

Mighty Slugs (7th) v Newcastle Knights (5th)

Beckenham A&E Dept (6th) v The Bath Bombers (10th)

Batteries Essential (12th) v The Cheddar Chasers (9th)