After an extended matchup following the All Star Game, it’s time to see which teams have started the second half of the BaseballGB Fantasy League in good form.

We start with the biggest winners of the week, as the RBIs completed a clean sweep of Jesmond. Harper led the team with a .441 average, 14 runs and five homers, while Lamb knocked in 12. Segura and Villar had three steals each.

Jacob Barnes led the staff with two wins and two holds while Rivero and Chapman had three saves each. Tanaka struck out 15 while Severino helped take ERA and WHIP. Jesmond were hampered by a number of injured players not on the DL and not using their bench pitchers.

The Maltsters stay top – although with their lead cut – after defeating the Chasers 8-4. The pitching staff took five out of six as Kluber and Sale each had a win, more than 20 strikeouts and helped take ERA. Osuna had two saves while Nicasio and new Mariner Phelps had two holds each.

Altuve hit .450 and joined McCutchen in stealing three bases while Gregorius scored seven runs. Kyle Seager hit three homers for the Chasers while Upton knocked in seven. Dozier helped take OPS while Quintana and Cole made the difference in WHIP.

The Slugs got the better of Norwich 8-4 in a well-fought matchup. Both teams had plenty of pop, but the Slugs had the edge as Souza Jr and Trout each hit three homers. Trout stole two bases and Taylor hit .500 and helped take OPS. Paxton (two wins) and Archer (20 strikeouts) helped take ERA and WHIP.

Trumbo scored eight runs for Norwich and was one of four players with six RBIs, while Hand, Devenski and Edwards Jr each had two holds and Diaz saved five games.

The Knights started he second half with a 7-4 win against the Riverkings. LeMahieu scored 12 runs while Smoak (one of three players with eight RBIs) and Stanton hit four homers each. Verlander racked up 13 strikeouts while Peacock and Salazar helped win ERA and WHIP. Baez hit .407 for the Riverkings, while Arrieta was one of five pitchers with a win. Jansen had three saves and Betances picked up four holds.

Batteries Essential’s offense carried them to a 7-5 win against the Sox. Blackmon was the star, leading the team with 15 runs, four homers, eight RBIs and a .447 average as the team hit a very impressive .319 overall. Norris and Neris had two saves each while Fiers made the difference in WHIP.

The Sox ran wild, with Gordon swiping three bases. Hill won twice, striking out 17 while helping to take ERA. Madson had two holds. Incredibly for the Sox, all eight pitchers who took to the mound picked up at least one win, which I’m not sure has ever happened before in our league.

Beckenham picked up a 6-5 win against the Isotopes thanks to the pitching staff. Lester won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Scherzer led the staff with 19 strikeouts. Davis had four saves while Garcia stole two bases and Schoop scored 10 runs.

For the Isotopes, Arenado hit .444 with five homers and 16 RBIs while Watson had the lone hold. The less said about the ERA and WHIP, the better as the whole staff was roughed up.

Finally, the Bombers squeezed past Iron Men 6-5. The pitching staff took five categories as Wacha picked up a win without allowing an earned run, Darvish struck out 18 and Pedro Baez had three holds. Phillips hit .439. Sano scored seven runs for Iron Men while Rendon hit four homers and knocked in 12. Jim Johnson had three saves. Each manager will be waiting to find out the extent of injuries to Kershaw and Strasburg.

Trading deadline reminder

While our league trading deadline is not until August 13, the MLB deadline will be next Monday. This could impact your teams in a number of ways. Will your closer on a bad team now be a set-up man on a good team? Will a starting pitcher have to face tougher teams if he is traded to a new league or division? Will a trade open up a place for a top prospect who is available in the free agent pool? Keep an eye on the transactions as they could really help you make your own splash at the deadline.

Week 16 matchups

Maltsters (1st) v Isotopes (4th)

RBIs (2nd) v Slugs (6th)

Norwich (3rd) v Knights (11th)

Bombers (5th) v Jesmond (14th)

A&E Dept (7th) v Batteries Essential (9th)

Chasers (8th) v Iron Men (12th)

Riverkings (10th) v Sox (13th)

Which teams would finish the first half of the season in the playoff places? Let’s find out as we review week 14 of the BaseballGB Fantasy League.

The Maltsters finished the first half by strengthening their grip on top spot with a 10-1 win against the Bombers, falling a steal shy of an offensive sweep. McCutchen hit three homers, Ozuna knocked in 11 and Altuve had a monster week, belting two homers, scoring nine, knocking in 10, stealing two bags and batting .625 for the week.

Kluber led the staff with 18 strikeouts and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Osuna collected three saves and Nicasio had a hat-trick of holds. Carrasco was one of three Bombers with a win while Turner hit three homers.

Norwich also hit double digits, defeating Jesmond 10-2. Odor led the team with seven runs and three homers, while Freeman – now eligible at 3B – drove in eight on his return from injury.

Norwich took a pitching sweep as Jesmond failed to meet the 20-inning minimum limit, but that shouldn’t detract from a fine week for Nola, who picked up a win, struck out 17 and helped take ERA and WHIP. Correa hit .421 for Jesmond while fellow Astro Bregman had two steals.

The Isotopes hit their way to a 9-2 win against Batteries Essential. Realmuto hit .429 while Gennett (six runs) and Cruz (11 RBIs) each hit three homers. Teheran, Wood and Straily each had a win and helped take ERA and WHIP while Holland had two saves. Hamilton stole five bases for Batteries Essential and Corbin led the staff with nine strikeouts.

The RBIs ended the first half on a high, defeating Iron Men 9-3. Judge hit his now customary three homers for the week in an offensive sweep, while Bell led the team with six runs and six RBIs. Segura had a steal and hit .433. Tanaka had a win and 13 strikeouts while Rivero saved three games. Lorenzen helped salvage holds for Iron Men while that Kershaw guy won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP.

A pitching sweep helped the Slugs defeat the Riverkings 8-3. Godley helped take ERA and WHIP, Archer struck out 16 and Nelson won twice while Colome had four saves and Barnes collected three holds. Beltre, Adams and Schwarber helped take OPS while Souza Jr was one of three players with a steal. Shaw hit two homers for the Riverkings, scoring eight runs and batting .400 wile Murphy hit .435 and knocked in nine.

The Chasers got the better of the A&E Dept 7-5. Benintendi knocked in nine and Gyorko was one of three players with a steal. Kennedy struck out 14 and helped take WHIP (by 0.01) while Ray made the difference in ERA. Barraclough had three holds and Wilson collected a pair of saves. Beckenham had the edge in wins thanks to Greinke while Frazier scored six runs and Bruce belted three homers and helped take average and OPS.

Finally, the Knights closed the gap on the Sox with a 7-5 win. Pham hit .417 for the week but the star was Stanton, who scored nine runs, hit five homers and knocked in eight. Peacock and Albers each won twice while Cahill led the staff in strikeouts and Ramos had four saves. The Sox had the edge in runs and steals thanks to Gordon and Springer while Madson had the lone hold and Price and Hill helped take ERA and WHIP.

Longer matchups this week:

Due to Tuesday’s All-Star Game, the week 15 matchups will run from Friday 14th up to and including Sunday 23rd.The minimum innings limit and normal weekly player adds rules remain in place.

The week 15 matchups are:

Maltsters (1st) v Chasers (7th)

Norwich (2nd) v Slugs (6th)

RBIs (3rd) v Jesmond (14th)

Isotopes (4th) v A&E Dept (8th)

Bombers (5th) v Iron Men (11th)

Riverkings (9th) v Knights (12th)

Batteries Essential (10th) v Sox (13th)

Reminder:

The top eight at the end of the season advance to the playoffs. All is not lost for the teams at the lower end of the standings – just 10.5 games separate 14th from 8th and with eight regular season matchups left, there is still plenty of time to catch up. And remember you can always make trades if you need to reshape your roster.

With the first half of the season almost over, which teams are riding high in the BaseballGB Fantasy League – and who would come out on top in the battle of the top two?

The Maltsters held onto top spot in some style, defeating the RBIs 10-1 in the battle of the top two. It was a team effort as Altuve stole four bases, McCutchen hit .533, Jose Ramirez hit three homers and Santana and Abreu each knocked in eight.

Sale, who struck out 20 and Pomeranz each won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Reed had three saves. Carpenter scored seven runs for the RBIS while Barnes had the lone hold.

The Slugs used an offensive sweep to defeat the Knights 10-1. Cano was the star hitter, launching four homers, driving in nine and batting .350 while Souza Jr scored five runs. Paxton and Nelson each had a win, double-digit strikeouts and helped take ERA and WHIP. Bush and Ramos salvaged saves for the Knights.

The A&E Dept closed the gap on the Bombers with this 8-3 win. Orlando Arcia hit three homers – as did Frazier – and hit .524 for the week while Pederson drove in six. Scherzer won twice, struck out 18 and helped take ERA and WHIP. Rodney and Greinke also won twice while Iglesias had three saves.

Trea Turner swiped seven bases for the Bombers before his injury while Justin Turner scored five runs. Rosenthal collected a pair of holds.

Another matchup, another 8-3 as Batteries Essential defeated the Chasers. In what I’m pretty sure must be a BaseballGB record, Maikel Franco was the only Batteries Essential hitter not to homer.

Andrus belted four homers, scored seven times, stole two bases and joined JD Martinez in hitting .400. Gonzalez, Gray, Bauer and Volquez each put up stingy ERA and WHIP numbers while Givens had two holds. Duvall drove in 10 for the Cahsers while Gyorko knocked in eight. Gausman won twice and Wilson had two saves.

The Sox picked up a 7-4 win against the Isotopes thanks to Mookie’s monster Sunday. Betts scored 10 runs and knocked in 11 this week, batting .483. Hill helped take ERA and WHIP while Maurer had two saves. Khris Davis had a steal and helped the Isotopes take OPS while Samardzija won twice while striking out 10.

Norwich climb up to second with a 6-4 win against Iron Men. The pitchers did most of the heavy lifting, falling a save shy of a sweep. Nola led the staff with nine strikeouts and was one of six pitchers with a win. Two others, Stroman and Matz, did not allow earned runs and helped take WHIP.

Edwards Jr and Hand had two holds each. Gardner knocked in seven runs. Encarnacion scored six runs while Sano homered twice and knocked in six. Rendon also launched a pair of homers and hit .360. Johnson had two saves.

Finally, Jesmond defeated the Riverkings 10-4. Correa knocked in 10 and hit .500 but was outdone by Votto, who hit .524 and helped take OPS. De Grom helped take ERA and WHIP and three relievers had a save as the staff just made it over the 20-inning minimum. Shaw scored five runs and homered twice for the Riverkings, while Murphy also touched home five times and Healy went deep twice. Arrieta picked up a win and struck out 10.

The week 14 matchups are as follows:

Maltsters (1st) v Bombers (4th)

Norwich (2nd) v Jesmond (12th)

RBIs (3rd) v Iron Men (1th)

Isotopes (5th) v Batteries Essential (8th)

A&E Dept (6th) v Chasers (7th)

Slugs (9th) v Riverkings (10th)

Sox (13th) v Knights (14th)

Week 12 of the BaseballGB fantasy league saw a heavyweight clash at the top of the standings.

Would Cheshunt hang on to top spot or would Norwich reclaim the place they have held for much of the season?

In the battle at the top it was the Maltsters who came out ahead, winning 9-3. McCutchen hit two homers, scored six runs and knocked in seven, while Jose Ramirez and Bradley Jr joined him in helping to take average and OPS. Kluber picked up a win, did not allow an earned run and struck out 24 while Osuna had two saves.

Gardner stole two bases for Norwich, who saw Bellinger hit five homers and knock in 12 in vain. Six different pitchers struck out eight, including Devenski out of the pen. Hand and Edwards Jr had two holds each.

The Slugs defeated the Sox 9-3 in a matchup which was closer than the final score suggests. Dickerson scored seven runs while Zimmerman hit .368 for the Slugs, with Cano homering twice and driving in 11. Berrios had a win, eight strikeouts and helped take ERA and WHIP. Gordon stole four bases for the Sox while Maurer had two saves and Dayton collected a pair of holds.

Batteries Essential had reason to celebrate after defeating the Bombers 8-3. In a close matchup, Batteries Essential had the better of the offense as Grandal scored six runs and joined Kinsler, who stole three bases, in belting a trio of homers.

Morrison drove in seven. Gray struck out 12, Fiers helped take ERA and WHIP while Bedrosian and Neshek had a pair of holds each. Turner and Broxton each hit well over .400 and helped take OPS for the Bombers while Shaw had the lone save.

The Riverkings are getting closer to .500 after defeating Iron Men. Travis Shaw had a three-homer week while Murphy drove in eight and Inciarte hit .414. Santana led the staff with two wins and 13 strikeouts. Harris had four holds for Iron Men while Kershaw helped take ERA and WHIP.

The Knights picked up a 7-3 win against Jesmond as Corey Seager had a big week. He hit .538, hit three homers – as did Stanton – and knocked in seven. Montgomery had a win, struck out 10 and did not allow an earned run. Forsythe and Correa each scored seven runs for Jesmond while Bregman stole two bases. De Grom helped take WHIP by a hair.

The RBIs go second after edging past the A&E Dept 7-5. Judge led the team with six runs, three homers and six RBIs while Perez and Maybin swiped two bases each. Joe Ross had a win and helped take ERA while Barnes had two holds.

Schoop helped the A&E Dept take average and OPS while Davis had two saves and Scherzer and Lester each struck out 11 and helped take WHIP.

Finally, the Isotopes did just enough to get past the Chasers 6-5. Khris Davis hit .345 and stole a base while Estrada struck out 10. Herrera had three saves while Watson had the lone hold. Straily made the difference in WHIP.

Goldschmidt scored eight runs, homered twice and helped take OPS for the Chasers, while Cole won twice and Quintana helped take ERA on a tiebreak.

The week 13 matchups are as follows – and include another top-two battle:

Maltsters (1st) v RBIs (2nd)

Norwich (3rd) v Iron Men (9th)

Bombers (4th) v A&E Dept (8th)

Isotopes (5th) v Sox (14th)

Chasers (6th) v Batteries Essential (10th)

Riverkings (7th) v Jesmond (13th)

Knights (11th) v Slugs (12th)

Week 11 of the BaseballGB fantasy league is complete – and we have a new leader. Read on to find out who has taken over at the top.

We have a new leader as the Maltsters go top with a 9-1 win against the Riverkings. Cheshunt fell a steal shy of an offensive sweep as four players had three-homer weeks, including Jose Ramirez (nine runs, .516) while Abreu knocked in nine. Vargas won twice while Kluber and Sale struck out 10 each and helped take ERA and WHIP.

The Riverkings had a nice week offensively and would have won more categories in practically any other week, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles in H2H sometimes. They salvaged saves thanks to four from Jansen.

The RBIs used an offensive sweep to defeat Batteries Essential 9-3. Carpenter was the pick of the bunch, batting .455 with nine runs, two homers and six RBIs. Tanaka struck out 18, Rivero picked up the lone save and Barnes had two holds. Six Batteries Essential pitchers collected wins, with Gio Gonzalez the pick as he helped take ERA and WHIP too.

The Slugs picked up a much-needed win against Jesmond 8-4. Taylor was the offensive star, leading the team with five runs, seven RBIs and three steals. The addition of Faria really paid off, as he won twice, striking out 17 and helping take ERA and WHIP in the process. Ottavino had two holds.

Jesmond had multi-homer week from four players and took saves thanks to Knebel but came perilously close to forfeiting all the pitching categories after amassing just 21 innings during the week.

The Bombers slugged their way to a 7-4 win against the Isotopes. Thames belted four homers, Turner swiped four bases, Cabrera scored six runs, Perez hit .421 and Brantley .600 in a team effort. Strasburg struck out 15 and Baez had three holds. Arenado’s heroics on Sunday helped the Isotopes nick RBIs while Herrera had two saves. It was hardly a great week for WHIP and ERA but Straily and Alex Wood made the difference.

Beckenham knocked Norwich off the top with a 7-5 win. Rizzo made the difference in average and OPS while Lester and Scherzer helped take WHIP and had a win and 10 strikeouts. Allen had two holds and Rodney four saves. Walker helped Norwich win ERA and Belling led the team with seven runs, four homers and eight RBIs. Gardner stole two bases.

The Knights defeated Iron Men, who failed to met the 20-inning minimum innings limit, 7-5. Rupp, Le Mahieu and Conforto each swiped a base for Newcastle while Bradley had two wins and a hold without allowing an earned run. Peacock had 10 strikeouts and Bush collected a save. Iron Men had monster offensive weeks from Cain (four homers, .458) and Encarnacion (four homers, 10 runs, 10 RBIs).

Finally, the Sox squeezed past the Chasers 6-5 in a matchup packed with good offense for both teams. Betts scored eight runs and joined Puig in belting three homers while Gordon hit .435 and stole four bases. Maurer had two saves and Madson picked up a pair of holds. Fowler hit four homers and knocked in 11 for the Chasers, while Cole and Kennedy each picked up a win and helped take ERA and WHIP. Gausman and Ray struck out seven each.

Minimum innings reminder

Please make sure you set your teams up to meet the 20 inning minimum limit. It would be a shame to see teams lose categories by falling short. If you are suffering with injuries, make the most of your DL slots, scour the free agent or start trade talks with teams with a surplus.

Week 12 matchups

There’s a mouthwatering clash as the new leaders take on second-placed Norwich.

Maltsters (1st) v Norwich (2nd)

RBIs (3rd) v A&E Dept (7th)

Bombers (4th) v Batteries Essential (13th)

Isotopes (5th) v Chasers (6th)

Iron Men (8th) v Riverkings (9th)

Jesmond (10th) v Knights (12th)

Sox (11th) v Slugs (14th)

I’m ‘pinch-blogging’ for Mark this week in the BGB Fantasy League round-up. Let’s see if anyone had a perfect 10 week or if it was a week to forget for others.

Jesmond got the biggest win of the week as the Super-Sox pitchers fell one inning below the required minimum of 20, handing those 6 points away. Dallas Keuchel’s absence clearly hurt the Super-Sox, whilst Jesmond got three saves from Corey Knebel and a couple of holds from Andrew Miller.

Joey Votto had a big week for Jesmond with four home runs and a 1.300 OPS and Ian Desmond added three stolen bases. Six of the Super-Sox’s seven home runs came from Houston Astros (McCann, Gurriel and Springer).

Norwich No II built on their lead at the top of the league with an impressive 9-2 victory over Batteries Essential. Gary Sanchez’s four home runs and 13 RBI led Norwich’s offence, with Mark Reynolds, Aaron Hicks and Kris Bryant chipping in multiple homers each too. For Batteries’ Charlie Blackmon played a huge role in the team drawing the runs category as he crossed the plate 11 teams.

Sonny Gray and Gio Gonzalez amassed 24 strike-outs to help Batteries take that category, but otherwise the pitching glory went to Norwich No II, not least through Craig Kimbrel and Edwin Diaz picking up saves whilst not allowing any runs.

Iron Men picked up a good win against the Slugs. Chris Archer gave the Slugs 19 K’s on the way to a team total of 63, but the Iron Men’s staff got 19 K’s from Carlos Martinez too and were more efficient in keeping runs off the board. The Iron Men offense received handy contributions from a range of players, rather than an individual exceptional week, and that proved enough with the Slugs having to get by during Mike Trout’s absence.

Beckenham picked up a needed win against the Riverkings in a match-up of two parts. The A&E Dept romped their way to all six offensive categories, with Schoop and Bruce each hitting three home runs and Buster Posey adding nine RBI. The Riverkings were able to fight back by taking four of the pitching categories, but Iglesias’s three saves, and in particular Max Scherzer’s 24 strike-outs allowed Beckenham’s to snatch those two categories and the match-up win.

Mark’s Isotopes left me little chance to make fun of him in his absence by earning a 7-4 win over the RBI’s. Starlin Castro led the Isotopes with 3 HR and 10 RBI, whilst Jake Lamb gave Ritchie’s team 11 RBI and some bloke called Aaron Judge got a few half-decent hits along the way too. Saves and K’s were once again a key part of the winning team’s arsenal as the Isotopes took those two (Samardzija adding 16 K’s to the total), with RBI’s being hurt by disappointing performances from Tanaka and Porcello.

Maltsters stay in second place after a narrow victory over the Knights. They had no less than 11 pitchers contributing across the week on their way to five of the pitching categories, Osuna being the pick of the bench in earning three saves. The Knights’ offense hit back with Smoak sticking three balls over the fence LeMahieu and Seager both providing 7 RBI, but Maltsters took the batting average and Andrew McCutchen’s stolen base proved the only piece of bag theft by either team.

Finally, my Chasers had a hard-fought draw with the Bombers. My batting line-up came out on top in five out of six, with Justin Upton’s 10 RBI helping no end, but the Bombers’ pitching staff won five out of six on that side of the match-up to level things up. Strasburg, Robertson and Rosenthal were the key contributors, although Robbie Ray continued to pitch brilliantly for my team (and the D-Backs) with two wins and 23 K’s.

Week 11 match-ups

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

Week nine of the BaseballGB fantasy league saw the league leaders held – but could the teams below them take advantage?

The Riverkings were the biggest winners of the week, downing Batteries Essential 10-2. Both teams put up great offensive numbers, but Durham came out on top as Healy hit three homers and joined Inciarte in knocking in six. Morales scored eight runs and Murphy and Beckham each hit .500. Manaea picked up a win and helped take ERA and WHIP, Leake struck out 11 and Vizcaino had two holds. Andrus stole four bases for Batteries Essential and Glover collected two saves.

The Maltsters climb up to second with a 9-2 result against the Slugs. Sale won twice and struck out 18 while Vargas helped take ERA and WHIP. Osuna had four saves. Altuve scored eight runs and hit .481, while McCutchen also scored eight runs and was one of four hitters with a multi-homer week. Zimmerman hit three homers and knocked in nine for the Slugs, while O’Day and Minor had two holds each.

The Sox took five out of six offensive categories on the way to a 8-3 win against the Bombers. Springer was the clear star, scoring 10 runs, hitting four homers, knocking in six and batting .520. Maurer had three saves and Price helped take ERA and WHIP on his return from injury. The Bombers had five steals from Trea Turner while Carrasco had a win and 10 strikeouts.

Iron Men defeated Jesmond 8-4, taking five pitching categories. Kershaw struck out 14 and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Martinez picked up a win and Oh had two saves. Holliday scored six runs while Bour hit .417 and helped take OPS. Correa had a four-homer, 12 RBI week for Jesmond while Votto was one of four players with a steal and Miller and Alex Wilson had two holds each.

In the battle of the former Croydon Pirates, JJ’s A&E Dept edged past the Knights 6-5. Posey hit .409 and Garcia was one of three players with a steal. Roark won twice while Scherzer struck out 11 and teamed with Wainwright to help take ERA and WHIP. Stanton scored seven runs, Pujols knocked in seven and Donaldson hit four homers for the Knights. Bradley had two holds.

Norwich held a big lead in the early days of this matchup but were pegged back to tie 6-6 with the Isotopes. Gardner hit three homers while Sanchez and Bellinger had two each and Perzaz stole four bases. Kimbrel had three saves while Devenski and Hand had two holds each. For the Isotopes, Cruz scored eight runs, hit .400 and helped take OPS while Teheran won twice and Straily struck out 10.

The RBIs and Chasers could not be separated, finishing 6-6. Villar swiped two bags for the RBIs while Judge helped take OPS. On the mound, Barnes had two holds while Severino struck out 15 and helped take ERA and WHIP. Goldschmidt, Fowler, Benintendi and Upton (six runs, seven RBIs, .381) each hit two homers for the Chasers. Five different pitchers had a win, including Wilson, who also had two saves.

Standings tighten up

This week’s results mean just 6.5 games separate first from fifth while 10.5 games cover the top seven. Plenty of incentive to keep those rosters up-to-date.

Week 10 Matchups

Norwich (1st) v Batteries Essential (8th)

Maltsters (2nd) v Knights (12th)

RBIs (3rd) v Isotopes (5th)

Bombers (4th) v Chasers (7th)

Riverkings (6th) v A&E Dept (11th)

Sox (9th) v Jesmond (13th)

Iron Men (10th) v Slugs (14th)

There were a couple of big winners in week eight of the BaseballGB Fantasy League while the rest of the matchups were very close indeed.

Batteries Essential were the big winners of the week, shutting out the Knights 9-0. Blackmon was the star, hitting three homers, knocking in 12, stealing a base and hitting .400 on the nose. Hendricks had a win, Norris helped take ERA and WHIP while Glover and Clippard took care of saves and holds. Conforto, Bautista and Stanton each hit two homers for the Knights.

Beckenham picked up a big win, defeating the Slugs 9-2. Rizzo had a four-homer week and knocked in six while Bruce hit .400 and Nunez stole two bases. Greinke struck out 18 while Scherzer helped take ERA and WHIP and Rodney had three saves. Dickerson scored seven runs for the Slugs while Ottavino had the lone hold.

Norwich suffered a rare defeat as they lost to the Chasers 7-5. An offensive sweep was powered by Duvall, who hit four homers and knocked in 11 while Lindor batted .368 and Dozier, Upton and Benintendi each stole two bases. Robbie Ray made the difference in WHIP. Duffy picked up nine strikeouts for Norwich, while Hand had two saves and a hold and Velasquez helped take ERA.

The RBIs closed the gap on Bath by defeating the Bombers 7-5. Lamb scored five runs, knocked in seven and belted three homers while Villar swiped three bases. Severino picked up a win and helped take ERA and WHIP. Kipnis, Brantley and Solarte helped take average and OPS for Bath, while Strasburg struck out 15, Robertson had two saves and Rosenthal notched a hold.

The Isotopes did just enough to get past the Riverkings 7-5. Khris Davis was the star man, scoring and driving in six with two homers. Five different pitchers picked p wins, including Cueto, who struck out 16. Baez and Inciarte helped Durham take average while Betances had three saves and Ervin Santana helped take ERA and WHIP.

Another matchup, another 7-5 score. This time Iron Men got the better of the injury-ravaged Sox, who must have set a BaseballGB record for most players on the DL in a week and did well to keep it close. Iron Men put on a power display as Rendon hit four homers, knocked in nine and hit .429 while Bogaerts scored eight runs. Kershaw struck out 16 while Johnson had two saves. Betts and Dee Gordon stole two bases each for the Sox, while Harvey won twice, Maurer and Madson had two holds each and Musgrove helped take ERA and WHIP.

Finally, the Maltsters edged past Jesmond 6-5. Jose Abreu scored seven runs, homered twice and hit .452 while Santana knocked in seven as the offense fell a steal shy of a sweep. Osuna had three saves. McCullers won twice and teamed with de Grom and Triggs to take ERA and WHIP while Miller had a hold.

Week nine matchups:

Norwich (1st) v Isotopes (5th)

Bombers (2nd) v Sox (9th)

RBIs (3rd) v Chasers (7th)

Maltsters (4th) v Slugs (12th)

Batteries Essential (6th) v Riverkings (8th)

A&E Dept (10th) v Knights (13th)

Iron Men (11th) v Jesmond (14th)

It’s time to see how the past week has shaped the standings after week seven of the BaseballGB Fantasy League

The RBIs were the week’s biggest winners, defeating the Sox 9-1. The pitchers were a save shy of a sweep, as Freeland won twice and helped take WHIP. Severino led the staff with seven strikeouts and helped take ERA while Rivero had two holds. Lamb scored seven, hit four homers and knocked in 10.

Anderson helped the Sox salvage average but what with numerous injuries to an already thin pitching staff, moves will need to be made to make sure the 20 inning minimum limit is reached next week.

The Maltsters picked up a nice 8-3 win against Iron Men. Castillo hit .438 and joined Abreu in launching three homers while Altuve and Bradley hit two each. Rodriguez struck out 13 while Nicasio had two holds and Melancon and Reed picked up a pair of saves. Bogaerts and Cain stole two bases each for Iron Men while Martinez helped take ERA and WHIP.

The Slugs outslugged Batteries Essential 8-4. Dickerson hit five homers and knocked in nine while Trout hit three and drove in eight. Givens had two wins and a hold out of the pen while Archer struck out 18 and Berrios helped take WHIP. JD Martinez scored seven runs as part of a four-homer week, batting .389 while Hamilton stole four bases and Nolasco made the difference in ERA.

Beckenham defeated Jesmond 7-5 thanks to an offensive sweep. Garcia hit .379, homered twice and knocked in nine while Nunez stole two bases. Allen had three saves. Jesmond took the remaining pitching categories as De Grom picked up a win with nine strikeouts while not allowing an earned run and Miller had three holds.

Norwich stay top after defeating the Bombers 6-5, but Bath put up a good fight. Bryant scored seven times and hit three homers while Reynolds led the team with six RBIs. Walker, Stroman and Duffy helped take ERA and WHIP while Kimbrel had the lone save. Miguel Cabrera hit .500 for Bath and Trea Turner swiped three bases. Strasburg won twice and struck out 14.

The Isotopes squeezed past the Knights 6-5. The pitchers did most of the heavy lifting as Samardzija and Wood helped take ERA and WHIP, Estrada struck out 17 and Holland had three saves. Owings hit .385 and had the lone steal. The Knights had a three-homer week from Davis while Bautista, Conforto and Seager each scored seven runs. Four different starters picked up wins.

The Chasers edged past the Riverkings 6-5 as the pitchers won four categories. Ray picked up a win without allowing an earned run and Quinatana led the staff with seven strikeouts. Fowler, Duvall and Lucroy each knocked in six while Goldschmidt and Benintendi swiped two bases each. Murphy hit three homers for the Riverkings, Kemp hit a pair and scored seven runs and Baez batted .571. Betances had two saves.

Injuries start to bite

This week has seen a number of players hit the DL, notably Freddie Freeman. So far we have avoided any pitching forfeits as all teams have managed to meet the 20-inning minimum limit, but now might be a good time to check your rosters, make the most of DL spots and either scour the free agent pool for replacements or see if you can swing a trade with another team.

Week eight matchups:

Norwich (1st) v Chasers (6th)

Bombers (2nd) v RBIs (3rd)

Maltsters (4th) v Jesmond (13th)

Isotopes (5th) v Riverkings (7th)

Batteries Essential (8th) v Knights (9th)

Slugs (10th) v A&E Dept (14th)

Sox (11th) v Iron Men (12th)

There were plenty of offensive sweeps in week six of the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Read on to find out which teams were hot at the plate and who’s in a slump.

The Knights were the biggest winners this week, defeating the Chasers 10-1. Conforto scored eight runs and hit a Ted Williams-esque .409 while Bautista homered three times and drove in eight. Cahill had a win and 14 strikeouts and Lackey helped take ERA and WHIP. Bush had three saves. The Chasers had the edge in steals thanks to Gyorko, Goldschmidt and Lindor. Goldy and Upton had three homers each.

Iron Men also hit double digits, defeating the A&E Dept 10-2. Cain hit .458 but was outdone by Walker, who powered an offensive sweep with a .462 average, six runs, two homers and 10 RBIs. Martinez won twice and Oh had three saves. Scherzer struck out 19 for Beckenham while Greinke helped take WHIP. Posey had a four-homer week.

Bath keep on rolling with a 7-2 win against the Riverkings. There wasn’t much offense but Thames scored six runs and Perez drove in six. Carrasco helped take ERA and WHIP, Strasburg struck out nine and Rosenthal had two holds. Shaw helped the Riverkings take average and steals while Morton won twice.

The Slugs used an offensive sweep to down the Isotopes 7-5. Cano hit .750 for the week, Dickerson hit .483 and scored seven runs while Altherr hit four homers and knocked in eight. Colome and Ottavino had a hold each. Wood was the pick of the Isotopes, winning twice, striking out 21, not allowing an earned run and helping to take WHIP.

The Maltsters edged past the Sox 6-5 thanks to a pitching sweep. Sale had a win and 12 strikeouts while Vargas helped take ERA and WHIP. Santana scored five runs. Betts had a monster week for the Sox, hitting three homers, scoring eight times, driving in 11 and hitting .375.

Jesmond squeezed past Batteries Essential 5-4. Correa homered twice and knocked in 10 while Molina also had a multi-homer week and stole two bases. Jacob de Grom struck out 18. Andrus and Blackmon scored five runs each for Batteries Essential while Grandal hit .591. Fulmer, Maeda and Kendrick helped take ERA and WHIP.

Finally, Norwich and the RBIs finished all square. Stroman had 10 strikeouts and helped take ERA while Duffy made the difference in WHIP for Norwich. Three different relievers had a save while Devenski and Hand had two holds each. Harper hit three homers, knocked in seven and hit .417 while Broxton hit .400, hit two homers, scored eight and swiped a pair of bases.

The week seven matchups are as follows:

Bombers (1st) v Norwich (2nd)

RBIs (3rd) v Sox (7th)

Isotopes (4th) v Knights (10th)

Maltsters (5th) v Iron Men (11th)

Batteries Essential (6th) v Slugs (12th)

Chasers (8th) v Riverkings (9th)

Jesmond (13th) v A&E Dept (14th)