The race for the playoffs saw a bunch of teams looking to secure one of the four remaining playoff places in the final week of the BaseballGB Fantasy League regular season. Which teams have a shot at glory and which ones just missed out?

They may not have made the playoffs but the Bombers finished the biggest winners of week 22 after defeating the Sox 11-1. Hosmer and Trea Turner each hit .400 or better, homered three times and knocked in eight, as did Bregman. Syndergaard had a win, seven strikeouts and did not allow an earned run while Ramos and Harris took care of saves and holds. Ervin Santana helped take WHIP for the Sox, while Kyle Seager and Encarnacion each hit three homers.

The Chasers needed a win to secure their playoff place and got just that, defeating the Knights 8-2. Morales was the star man with five homers, 14 RBIs and a .409 average. Kluber struck out 19 and teamed with Lester and McHugh to take ERA and WHIP. Price helped take wins for the Knights while Anderson and Betts swiped two bases each.

Batteries Essential put up a good fight but even though they defeated the Riverkings 8-4 it is their opponents who will be in the playoffs. Santana hit three homers, Cruz and Lucroy each knocked in seven and Cespedes had eight RBIs. Porcello helped take ERA and WHIP. King Felix won twice for the Riverkings, Fernandez struck out 14 and Giles had three saves.

Norwich ended the regular season by handing my Isotopes a 7-4 loss. Braun was the star hitter with six runs and eight RBIs and he was joined by Rizzo in hitting three homers. Allen had three saves while Maeda and Fulmer helped claim ERA and WHIP. Trout stole three bases for my team while Lindor helped take average. Wainwright won twice and Sale racked up 20 strikeouts.

Beckenham finished the year with a win against the Maltsters, who still did enough to claim a playoff place. Chris Davis led the A&E Dept with five runs, three homers and six RBIs while Kennedy helped make the difference in wins, ERA and WHIP. Murphy hit .455 for the Maltsters and was one of four players with a steal. Paxton struck out 11 while Davis, Clippard and Gregerson took care of saves and holds.

Iron Men secured their playoff place with a 6-4 win against the Slugs. McCann hit three homers while Bradley Jr scored eight runs and knocked in six and Tulo hit .429. Diaz had three saves while Scherzer, Roark and Iwakuma helped take ERA. The Slugs had nine strikeouts from MadBum while Reyes and Rodriguez helped take WHIP. Herrera had two holds while Hanley Ramirez and Beltre each slugged three homers.

Finally, the RBIs fell just short of a playoff place – just 4.5 games back – after losing 6-5 to Jesmond. Dozie Villa and Hernan Perez powered and offensive sweep and neither side managed to record a hold, sealing Jesmond’s win. The RBIs had five different pitchers with a win, including Hill’s near perfecto, which included nine strikeouts. Melancon had three saves.

The first round of playofff matches is as follows:

Isotopes (1st) v Riverkings (8th)

Norwich (2nd v Maltsters (7th)

Knights (3rd) v Chasers (6th)

Slugs (4th) v Iron Men (5th)

The matchups last one week as normal, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals.

Thanks for playing and better luck next year to:

RBIs (9th)

Batteries Essential (10th)

Sox (11th)

Jesmond (12th)

Bombers (13th)

A&E Dept (14th)

The end of the regular season in the BaseballGB Fantasy League is fast approaching. Which team managed to book their place in the championship bracket in the penultimate matchups before the playoffs begin?

My Isotopes were the biggest winners of the week, defeating Iron Men 11-1. Trout (.556) scored eight runs and joined Frazier in posting a three-homer week while Beltran drove in eight. On the mound, Teheran won twice and struck out 15, helping take ERA and WHIP in the process. Thornburg had three saves. Grilli and Feliz helped Iron Men salvage holds while Pujols had a four-homer week.

Jesmond also reached double digits, defeating the Sox 10-1. Dozier was the star of the offensive sweep, hitting five homers, driving in nine, scoring six, stealing two bases and batting .367. Justin Upton belted three homers. Martinez struck out 19 and had a win, as did Hendricks, who helped take ERA and WHIP. Chapman and Barraclough helped the Sox take holds and tie for saves, while Le Mahieu scored seven runs.

The Slugs ran out 9-2 winners against the Maltsters as Adrian Beltre (11 runs), Hanley Ramirez (10 RBIs) and Gattis each hit three homers. Freeman and Inciarte helped take average while the Slugs nabbed Moncada from the free agent pool. Oh had two saves, MadBum struck out 10 and Rodriguez helped take ERA and WHIP. Segura and Goldschmidt helped the Maltsters take steals while Gregerson and Clippard racked up the holds.

Another matchup, another 9-2. This time it was Batteries Essential who picked up the win against the Bombers. Cruz hit three homers for Batteries Essential while Pollock hit .400, scored five runs and stole two bases. Familia had three saves but Gausman was the star pitcher win a win, eight strikeouts and managing to avoid allowing any earned runs. Bregman and Harris helped the Bombers take RBIs and Holds, while they also made a move, picking up Dodger rookie pitcher Jose De Leon.

The Chasers are in possession of the final championship place heading into the final week after an 8-4 win against the A&E Dept. The pitchers won five categories as Kluber struck out 11, Lester helped take ERA and WHIP with his near no-no and Jansen and Dyson had two saves each. Bogaerts scored seven runs while Melky Cabrera and Reddick helped take average and OPS. Carter homered twice and knocked in six for Beckenham while Hamilton stole five more bases. The pitchers didn’t see much work but K-Rod had two wins, two saves and helped take ERA and WHIP.

Norwich got the better of the RBIs 7-2 in a matchup which was a lot closer than the score suggests. Odor had a monster week, with six runs, five homers, 15 RBIs and a .444 average while Blanaton had the lone hold and Carrasco helped take ERA and WHIP. Machado and JD Martinez each hit two homers for the RBIs while Dahl swiped two bases. Pineda struck out 12 while Melancon and Johnson had two saves each.

Finally, the Riverkings defeated the Knights 7-4 in a matchup packed with power. Abreu hit four homers and drove in 13 while Yelich hit three homers, knocked in nine and stole two bases. Darvish struck out 13, Moore helped take ERA and WHIP and Giles had three saves. Desmond and Cron (who hit four homers) each scored seven runs for the Knights while Kinsler batted .458. Soria had the lone hold.

One more playoff place booked

The Slugs join the Isotopes, Knights and Norwich in the playoffs, which means that four places are still up for grabs in the final week of the regular season. The Chasers are above the Sox on a tiebreak while the RBIs, Batteries Essential and Jesmond will be hoping for big wins in the final week to give them a chance of making it.

The crucial week 22 matchups are as follows:

Isotopes (1st) v Norwich (2nd)

Knights (3rd) v Chasers (8th)

Slugs (4th) v Iron Men (5th)

Riverkings (6th) v Batteries Essential (11th)

Maltsters (7th) v A&E Dept. (13th)

Sox (9th) v Bombers (14th)

RBIs (10th) v Jesmond (12th)

It was a big week for upsets in the BaseballGB Fantasy League as a number of teams towards the top were handed defeats. Two more teams have claimed playoff places too…

The Riverkings boosted their playoff hopes with a 1-1 win over the A&E Dept. Carpenter scored six runs and joined Abreu (six RBIs and Espinosa (.360) and Piscotty in hitting two homers. Rodon won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Archer struck out 16. Watson had three saves. Andrus stole two bases for Beckenham while McGee had a hold.

The Bombers shot up the standings after their 10-2 win against Jesmond. The Bombers lived up to their name as Polanco hit three and drove in nine while Bryant homered four times but was outdone by Gary Sanchez, who hit five homers, drove in nine and hit .522 for the week. Syndergaard had a win, co-oled the staff with seven strikeouts and helped take ERA and WHIP. Jesmond had three steals from Perez who was one of four players with a multi-home week. Osuna had the lone save.

The Chasers picked up a big win against the Slugs, coming out on top 9-2. Donaldson’s monster Sunday made the difference in runs and forced a tie in RBIs while Pedroia batted .600 with a pair of steals. Lester had a win, 14 strikeouts and helped take ERA and WHIP while Jansen had four saves. Freeman had a three-homer week for the Slugs while Jones and Dull had a hold each.

The RBIs took a big leap towards the playoff places after a 9-2 win against Iron Men. Castro and Machado sparked an offensive sweep while Hill and Arrieta each had a win and helped take ERA. Johnson had three saves. Scherzer and Verlander helped take WHIP for Iron men while Feliz had the lone hold, while the hitters were close in a number of categories.

The Sox ran out 8-2 winners against Norwich. Kemp led the team with five runs and seven RBIs while  Miggy and Kyle Seaher each hit over .400 for the week. Vogelsong had a win and helped take ERA. Carrasco struck out 17 for Norwich while Braun was one of three players with a steal.

Batteries Essential hit their way to a 7-4 win against the Knights. Russell and Tomas each had two homers and made the difference in RBIs while the returning AJ Pollock batted .600. Logan had two holds while Gausman won twice without allowing an earned run. Betts swiped two bases for the Knights while Price won twice, struck out 15 and helped take WHIP.

Finally, my Isotopes and the Maltsters finished in a 6-6 tie. Gonzalez homered four times and drove in 13 while Marte swiped three bases. Sales made the difference in WHIP while Britton, Thornburg and Reed took care of saves and holds. Goldschmidt led the Maltsters with eight runs and a .375 average while Gray had 10 strikeouts and Samardzija picked up a win without allowing an earned run.

Two more teams clinch playoff places:

Despite suffering losses this week, results elsewhere meant that the Knights and Norwich have secured a playoff place. That leaves five more places still up for grabs with plenty of teams in with a shout with just two weeks of regular season matchups remaining. Here’s to some good battles between now and the end of the season.

Week 21 matchups:

Isotopes (1st) v Iron Men (5th)

Knights (2nd) v Riverkings (8th)

Norwich (3rd) v RBIs (9th)

Slugs (4th) v Maltsters (6th)

Sox (7th) v Jesmond (14th)

Chasers (10th) v A&E Dept (11th)

Bombers (12th) v Batteries Essential (13th)

Week 19 in the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw one team secure a playoff place and quite a few upsets. Just three weeks of the regular season left…

My Isotopes stay top after defeating the Chasers 9-2, clinching a playoff spot in the process. Trumbo hit three homers, Gonzalez knocked in six and Zobrist scored seven runs. Bauer struck out 13 while Leake had a win without allowing an earned run. For the Chasers, Alex Gordon and Cain each hit well over .400 while Benoit had two holds.

The Bombers caused an upset, defeating the Knights 9-2 in matchup which showcased the joys of the head-to-head format (although Chris may not agree with me on this one!). Bryant had a monster week with nine runs, three homers, 11 RBIs and a .483 average. The pitching staff was boosted by a pair of wins and 14 strikeouts for Syndergaard while Green struck out 16 and helped take ERA and WHIP. Robertson and Wilhelmsen took care of saves and holds for the Knights while Arenado drove in 11 runs.

The Sox picked up an 8-3 win against Iron Men in a matchup with plenty of power. Five players had multi-homer weeks for the Sox as Miller and Ozuna hit three each and LeMahieu hit a pair, scored nine runs, drove in six and hit .583. Not too shabby. Santana had a win and 16 strikeouts, helping take ERA and WHIP too. Dee Gordon swiped two bases for Iron Men while Diaz had three saves and Feliz had two holds.

The Maltsters and RBIs had a real slugfest and it was Cheshunt that came out on top 7-4. Segura hit .481 with five runs, steals and RBIs while Goldschmidt scored 10 times. Gyorko hit three homers while Martin belted four. Velasquez struck out 17 while Samardzija took care of WHIP. The RBIs, who posted fantastic offensive numbers that would have won most other matchups, saw JD Martinez hit three homers and drive in six while Happ had a win and Rodney collected four saves.

An offensive sweep saw the Slugs defeat the Riverkings 6-4. Beltre hit three homers while Harper led the team with 6 runs, 10 RBIs, a .407 average and a pair of steals. King Felix won twice for the Riverkings, striking out 16 and teaming with Darvish and Archer to help take ERA and WHIP. Watson had two saves and Neris collected a trio of holds.

Jesmond just got the better of Norwich 6-5. The offense won five categories as Votto scored and knocked in six while Longoria and Justin Upton had a pair of homers and six RBIs each. The pitching staff didn’t see much action, but Carlos Martinez helped take ERA. Norwich took average thanks to Castillo’s .524 while Phelps had two wins and 17 strikeouts, joining Duffy and Maeda in posting stingy WHIP numbers.

Finally, the A&E Dept picked up a narrow 6-5 win against Batteries Essential as the pitching staff won five categories. Kennedy was the star man, winning twice and leading the staff with 11 strikeouts, also helping to take ERA and WHIP. Cingrani had two saves. Offensively, Billy Hamilton had just the two steals this week, matched by Nunez and Andrus. Tomas led Batteries Essential with seven runs, four homers and nine RBIs while Span batted .464 for the, er, span of the matchup.

Just three weeks of the regular season left

With just 9 games separating the team in the last playoff place of 8th and 13th, there is still plenty to play for. Make sure you set your lineups, hit the 20 inning minimum limit and scour the waiver wire and free agent pool for useful additions.

The week 20 matchups are as follows

Isotopes (1st) v Maltsters (6th)

Knights (2nd) v Batteries Essential (13th)

Norwich (3rd) v Sox (7th)

Slugs (4th) v Chasers (11th)

Iron Men (5th) v RBIs (9th)

Riverkings (8th) v A&E Dept (10th)

Jesmond (12th) v Bombers (14th)

There were some monster offensive weeks in the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Find out which teams looked at their ERAs and winced and which team has taken over at the top.

What a week for the Slugs, who completed a clean sweep against Batteries Essential. In a monster week for the offense, Freeman hit four homers, Jose Ramirez scored nine and Hanley Ramirez drove in nine,. If that wasn’t enough, Beltre hit a cool .519. Lackey was the star pitcher, collecting a win, 11 strikeouts and posting ERA and WHIP stats of 0.61. Jones had three holds and Oh two saves. The result was tough on Batteries Essential, who actually hit pretty well.

Norwich also reached double figures, defeating the Bombers 10-1. Once again, Bath failed to reach the 20-inning minimum limit, but Norwich won all of the pitching categories anyway. Norwich had a big week from Braun for six runs, four homers and nine RBIs. Fulmer had a win, 15 strikeouts and helped take ERA and WHIP while Miller had two holds and Betances and Allen had two saves each. Khris Davis hit three homers for Bath while Rendon knocked in eight.

The RBIs picked up a big win, defeating the Chasers 9-2. Four players had multi-homer weeks for the RBIs, including three for Moss. Suarez and Castro knocked in seven while Dahl scored seven runs. Happ had a win without allowing an earned run while Chatwood struck out 12. Madson had three saves. The Chasers took average and holds thanks to Pedroia Cain and Benoit.

My Isotopes slugged their way to a 9-3 win against the Riverkings going top of the standings in the process. Lindor and Gonzalez each hit .375 while Trumbo homered three times and knocked in eight. Bauer won twice, Sale struck out 14 and Britton collected three saves. King Felix helped take ERA and WHIP while Neris had two holds.

A pitching sweep helped Iron Men defeat Jesmond 9-3. Iwakuma won twice and struck out 10 while Roark, Scherzer and Verlander helped take ERA and WHIP. Gomez, Diaz and Jeffress took care of saves and holds. Correa was the offensive star, hitting three homers, scoring six times and knocking in 12. Votto and Longoria helped Jesmond take average and OPS while Villar swiped three bases.

The Maltsters edged past the Sox 6-5, taking five offensive categories. Blackmon was the star man by far, belting seven homers, scoring 13 runs and driving in nine, all while batting .563. Not bad, eh? Goldschmidt and Segura stole three bases each. Seager drove in 10 for the Sox, while reliever Barraclough led the team with eight strikeouts while Bundy and Hellickson helped take ERA and WHIP.

Finally, the newly-named Beckenham A&E Dept finished level with the Knights. Once again, Hamilton ran wild with eight steals while Revere scored seven runs and the incredible Altuve batted .480 for the week. Greinke struck out nine. Betts had a monster Sunday for the Knights, ending the week with three homers and 10 RBIs. Robertson had a win and two saves. It wasn’t a great week for either staff on the ERA front, but Hammel and Garcia made the difference for the Knights.

The week 19 matchups

Isotopes (1st) v Chasers (10th)

Knights (2nd) v Bombers (14th)

Norwich (3rd) v Jesmond (12th)

Iron Men (4th) v Sox (9th)

Slugs (5th) v Riverkings (7th)

Maltsters (6th) v RBIs (8th)

A&E Dept (11th) v Batteries Essential (13th)

It was a week of milestones after Ichiro’s 3,000th hit and the impending retirements of Tex and A-Rod, but how did our teams fare in the BaseballGB Fantasy League?

My Isotopes were the biggest winners of the week, defeating Batteries Essential 10-1. Trout scored six runs and knocked in eight while Gonzalez hit .429 and Marte swiped three bases. Stroman struck out 17 while Reed had the lone win and a hold but it was a good week to be bad for my pitchers. Lucroy homered three time for Batteries Essential.

As if to underline the joys and frustrations of head-to-head play, the Chasers pitched much better than my team did but had little to show for it as the Sox were even better, winning 10-2. Dylan Bundy looks an inspired pickup with two wins, 16 strikeouts and great ERA and WHIP stats. CarGo and Miggy each had two homers and eight RBIs while LeMahieu scored seven runs. The Chasers salvaged steals and saves thanks to Pillar and Jansen.

Becknam defeated Bath 10-2, sweeping the pitching categories as the Bombers failed to meet the 20 inning minimum limit. Sano knocked in seven runs for Becknam while Hamilton ran wild with eight steals. Bautista homered twice for Bath while Rendon and Khris Davis scored five runs each.

Iron Men pitched their way to an 8-4 win against Norwich. Roark had two wins and teamed with Iwakuma to help take ERA and WHIP. Jeffress and Feliz had three holds each while Diaz notched four saves. Myers scored seven runs, stole two bases and hit .458. Norwich had power from Braun (3 HR, 9 RBIs) and Napoli (4 HR, 7 RBIs) while Duffy won twice and struck out 22.

The Knights suffered a rare defeat, losing 7-4 to the Slugs. Jose Ramirez scored six runs, stole a base and hit .414 for the week. MadBum and de Grom struck out 11 while Odorizzi helped take WHIP and Herrera had three saves. Arenado homered three times and drove in eight for the Knights, while Lamb also belted three round-trippers. Garcia and Hammel helped take ERA while Strop had two holds.

The RBIs squeezed past the Riverkings 6-5 thanks to an offensive sweep. Machado and Ramos each hit thee homers while Dahl and Fowler scored seven runs each. For the Riverkings, Darvish struck out 17 and teamed with Archer and Rodon to take ERA and WHIP. Watson had a win and two saves.

Finally, the Malsters and Jesmond finished all square. Paxton had a win and 12 strikeouts as the Maltsters had the better of the pitching categories while Blackmon scored six runs. For Jesmond, Dozier hit three homers and drove in nine while Villar stole five bases and hit .478. Osuna had two saves.

The week 18 matchups are as follows:

Knights (1st) v Lollygaggers (11th)

Isotopes (2nd) v Riverkings (7th)

Norwich (3rd) v Bombers (14th)

Iron Men (4th) v Jesmond (13th)

Slugs (5th) v Batteries Essential (10th)

Maltsters (6th) v Sox (9th)

Chasers (8th) v RBIs (12th)

Trade deadline fallout

Teams will have to see how the trade deadline has impacted their roster. Are their closers now set-up men on contenders? Has a pitcher moved to a better ballpark to pitch in? Have any players lost at-bats due to other acquisitions? The league trading deadline is August 14 in case you want to make any moves.

Week 17 matchups

Knights (1st) v Slugs (5th)
Norwich (2nd) v Iron Men (4th)
Isotopes (3rd) v Batteries Essential (9th)
Maltsters (6th) v Jesmond (12th)
Chasers (7th) v Sox (10th)
Riverkings (8th) v RBIs (11th)
Bombers (13th) v Lollygaggers (14th)

The second half of the BaseballGB Fantasy League is under way. Which teams are well rested after the All-Star break, and which wish the first half hadn’t ended? There is also a big trade to report.

The Slugs were the big winners of the week, defeating the Bombers 10-2 thanks to an offensive sweep. Hanley hit five homers but was outdone by Turner (5 HR, 10 R, 14 RBI) and Story (6 HR, 13 R, 12 RBI). Five pitchers had double-digit strikeouts, led by MadBum with 15. Wilson had three holds for the Bombers while Syndergaard helped take ERA.

Norwich halted the Chasers’ good run of form with a 9-3 win. Braun scored 12 times, Rizzo knocked in a dozen and Napoli homered four times. Carrasco and Duffy won twice while Estevez had four saves and Betances four holds. Bogaerts, Pedroia and Melky Cabrera helped the Chasers salvage average, while Kluber and McHugh each struck out 16 and helped take ERA

My Isotopes stay second after defeating the Lollygaggers 8-4. Frazier hit three homers while Lindor, Trumbo and Beltran each hit a pair. Leake struck out 15 while Britton had five saves and Reed three holds. Billy Hamilton hit .359 for Becknam, stealing ten bases. Kazmir and Hamels each won twice, striking out 11

The cellar-dwelling Sox started the second half of the season by defeating Batteries Essential 8-4. Kemp slugged six homers and knocked in nine while CarGo led the team with seven runs. Barraclough had two wins out of the pen while Hellickson and Liriano each struck out 13 and helped take WHIP. Tanaka helped salvage ERA for Batteroese Essential, while Familia had four saves and Brach had three holds.

Iron Men just got the better of the Maltsters 7-4 in a matchup with a number of very close categories. Pujols led the club with six runs, four homers and 12 RBIs while Verlander struck out 19 and joined Sanchez, Scherzer and Iwakuma in taking ERA and WHIP. Feliz had four holds. The Maltsters had seven different players swipe a base, including Murphy (.455). Wright picked up two wins.

The Riverkings did just enough to get past Jesmond 6-5. Yelich scored 10 runs and Bruce knocked in 10 while Darvish struck out 20, Gausman helped take ERA and WHIP and Watson had five holds. For Jesmond, Votto hit .517 and joined Dozier and Longoria in hitting three homers. Villar stole five base and Ramos had four saves.

Finally, the Knights and RBIs could not be separated, finishing in a 6-6 tie. Ortiz drove in nine while Kinsler scored nine times and hit four homers. Eight different players stole a base and Strop had three holds. The RBIs had the better of the pitching, as Tillman won twice, teaming with Arrieta and happ to take ERA and WHIP. Pineda struck out 14. Madson had four saves.

Trade blockbuster!

There is a trade to report as the Riverkings traded Kershaw for King Felix – a blockbuster. Kershaw is still injured but Batteries Essential are picking up an elite pitcher for the stretch run, while the Riverkings are sacrificing a top pitcher for another very good one who is healthy now. A risk for both teams, but I like it.

The week 16 matchups

Knights (1st) v Isotopes (2nd)

Norwich (3rd) v Maltsters (7th)

Iron Men (4th) v Bombers (13th)

Riverkings (5th) v Sox (14th)

Slugs (6th) v Lollygaggers (11th)

Chasers (8th) v Jesmond (10th)

Batteries Essential (9th) v RBIs (12th)

Some teams are heading into the All-Star Break with a spring in their step whilst others may be using this week to ponder some roster changes. Read on to find out who is in which camp.

Batteries almost swept the board in their match-up with Jesmond, with only an impressive stolen base total thwarting a rout. Jesmond’s bag-stealers were led by Milwaukee’s Jonathan Villar who pilfered five. As for Batteries, they received nice weeks from Addison Russell and Nick Castellannos (3 homers apiece) and then benefited from Jesmond forfeiting the pitching categories due to failing to reach the innings pitched minimum.

After a rare blip against Jesmond in Week 13, the league-leading Knights got back to winning ways in Week 14 with a comprehensive 10-1 win over the Super Sox. The Knights’ week was powered by three Red Sox. The duo of Mookie Betts and David Ortiz were at the heart of an offensive sweep, whilst David Price amassed 20 K’s towards an impressive 60 overall for the team. The Super Sox were able to nab the ERA category, with Dallas Keuchel’s return to form helping out there, but losing Matt Harvey to injury will be a blow.

Mark’s Isoptopes remain in second place thanks to an impressive 10-2 victory over the Slugs.

The Slugs lived up to their name – in one sense – with a slugging effort that took the HR category and their pitching staff lit up the K box with 69 on the week. Madison Bumgarner contributed 20 K’s to the cause, with John Lackey adding on another 13.

However, the Isotopes wouldn’t be denied as Mark Trumbo continued to wield some fearsome thump with four bombs on the week and Zach Britton and Santiago Casilla combined for 6 saves.

Richie’s RBI’s also grabbed a 10-2 win, this one coming at the expense of the Lollygaggers. They swept the pitching categories as Chris Tillman picked up two wins and Mark Melancon and Ryan Madson combined for 5 saves, whilst the Lollygaggers’ ace Zack Greinke sat on the sidelines due to injury. The Lollygaggers’ batting lineup did most of their damage with their feet (10 SB’s) rather than with the lumber, allowing the RBI’s to take four of the six offensive categories.

Norwich No II remain at number 3 in the standings thanks to an 8-3 win over the Riverkings. Kenta Maeda has repaid the faith Norwich (and probably more importantly the LA Dodgers) showed in him with an impressive first half-season in the States and he gave the team a win and 18 K’s last week, with Cleveland’s duo Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar chipping in 20 K’s combined too.

The Riverkings took the Hold category thanks to Watson, Giles and Neris, yet they couldn’t compete on the batting side with Maikel Franco leading No II’s charge with four long-balls.

The Maltsters were able to pick up a 7-3 win in large part due to a strong pitching showing. The batting side of things was an even contest with the Bombers living up to their name by fielding four players who had multiple homer weeks despite Jose Bautista being on the DL. Cheshunt countered with six stolen bases and Daniel Murphy having another strong week (3 HR, 10 RBI) as he continues to beat up on his former team, the New York Mets.

The pitching went south for the Bombers though, typified by Noah Syndergaard leaving his last start early due to “arm fatigue” and the Malsters took advantage with a good showing across the board despite no standout performers on the week.

Finally, my Chasers lost out to the Iron Men predominantly due to a fairly disastrous week for my pitching staff. Andrew Cashner and Shelby Miller’s blow-ups were not too far out of line from what I’ve seen from them before, but adding another clunker of a start from Jon Lester really scuppered my chances and Iron Men took full advantage, not least through the always-impressive Max Scherzer.

The match-up was kept respectable as a result of my Chasers rescuing four of the six offensive categories. Josh Donaldson – surprise, surprise – led the way with 3 homers and 7 RBI, whilst Robinson Cano ended the first half strongly for Iron Men (and the Mariners).

Week 15 match-ups

The Week 15 match-ups cover the next two weeks, taking in the post-All Star Friday to Sunday contests and then all of the games the following week. Here are the match-ups for the extended clashes:

Knights (1st) v RBI’s (13th)
Isotopes (2nd) v Lollygaggers (10th)
Chasers (6th) v Norwich No II (3rd)
Maltsters (7th) v Iron Men (4th)
Riverkings (5th) v Jesmond (12th)
Batteries (8th) v Super-Sox (14th)
Slugs (9th) v Bombers (11th)

The week 14 matchups

Knights (1st) v Sox (13th)
Isotopes (2nd) v Slugs (7th)
Norwich (3rd) v Riverkings (5th)
Iron Men (4th) v Chasers (6th)
Maltsters (8th) v Bombers (12th)
Jesmond (9th) v Batteries Essential (11th)
Lollygaggers (10th) v RBIs (14th)