One team has confirmed their place in the 2015 BaseballGB playoffs, while the race for the remaining places is really heating up. And which manager benefited from the latest no-hitter?

We start with the week’s biggest winners, as Norwich boosted their playoff hopes with a 10-2 win against Jesmond. A pitching sweep saw six different players collect wins, including Syndergaard, who led the staff with 12 strikeouts. Jansen had three saves and Siegrist a pair of holds. Wood and Fiers helped take ERAS and WHIP. Lindor scored five runs, stole three bases and teamed with Beltran to take average and OPS. Desmond had two homers for Jesmond, while Phillips and McCutchen knocked in six runs each and Santana knocked in seven.

My Isotopes are keeping their playoff hopes alive – just – with an 8-3 win against the RBIs. The pitchers took five categories, with Holland striking out 14 and teaming up with Anderson to take ERA and WHIP. Clippard had a win, a save and a hold. Ortiz, Beltre and Cruz each hit two homers, Ethier batted .455 and Molina knocked in nine runs. For the RBIs, Vogt and McCann each scored five times and teamed with Votto to take OPS. Davis, Ziegler, Melancon and Tolleson combined for 10 saves.

The Sox hit their way to a 7-4 win against the Maltsters. Goldschmidt, Braun and Cespedes each hit two homers and Dee Gordon stole four bases. Lynn won twice and joined Verlander in taking ERA and WHIP. Cano and Peralta helped the Maltsters take average, while Ramos had two saves, Greinke struck out nine and joined Walker and Sanchez in posting sub-1.00 WHIPs.

Batteries Essential defeated the Riverkings 7-5 in a battle of two teams currently in the final playoff places. Zimmerman, Brantley and Kipnis led an offensive sweep for Batteries Essential and Romo and Tazawa each had a hold. The Riverkings took the remaining pitching categories as King Felix and Nola picked up wins, deGrom struck out 14 and Harvey helped take ERA and WHIP.

The Knights are another step closer to the playoffs after defeating the Chasers 6-4. The clear MVP was Encarnacion, who slugged six homers and drove in a ridiculous 17, slugging over 1.700. Upton hit just the four homers. Street had two saves and Estrada and Kennedy helped take ERA and WHIP. Lucroy and Headley gave the Chasers the edge in runs, while the same two batters joined Melky Cabrera in posting strong averages. Quintana struck out 14 and Martinez and Zimmermann each had wins.

The Slugs edged past Iron Men 6-5. Bautista scored eight runs and stole a base while Gattis and Piscotty helped take average and OPS. Boxberger had two saves and Lester struck out 13. Iron Men had multi-homer weeks from Ramos, Sano and JD Martinez, with the latter two driving in six runs each. It was an excellent week for the pitching staff, as Kluber, Wacha, Keuchel and Tanaka helped take ERA and WHIP, while Watson had three holds. Iron Men do have the consolation of being the first team to book a playoff place. Congratulations!

Finally, Bits & Bytes caused an upset by defeating the Lollygaggers 6-5. In a matchup light on offense, Carpenter and Belt led a sweep for Bits & Bytes while four different starters picked up wins. Becknam dominated the rest of the pitching stats, as Kershaw struck out 14, Benoit and Axford took care of holds and saves and Jake Arrietta’s no-hitter put the icing on the cake of some good ERA and WHIP stats.

With just two weeks of the regular season left, any of the top 12 could still make it to the playoffs. The week 21 matchups are as follows:

Iron Men (1st) v Knights (2nd)

Jesmond (3rd) v Chasers (11th)

Slugs (4th) v Sox (5th)

Norwich (6th) v Batteries Essential (7th)

Riverkings (8th) v Bits & Bytes (14th)

Lollygaggers (9th) v RBIs (10th)

Isotopes (12th) v Maltsters (13th)

With less than a month to go until the fantasy playoffs, two teams are tied at the top and the race for the final playoff place is heating up. Then there’s the matter of finding out which manager benefited from the latest no-hitter…

Iron Men go top of the standings after their 10-1 win against the Maltsters. An offensive sweep saw Sano hit four homers, score eight times and drive in nine, while a pair of Pirates, Kang (3 HR, 6 RBI) and Marte (8 R, 2 HR, 3 SB) also had big weeks. Two more Pirates had big weeks for the pitching staff as Cole racked up 13 strikeouts and Watson collected three holds. Wacha, Rodon and Keuchel helped take ERA and WHIP. The Maltsters salvaged saves thanks to two each from Holland, Casilla and Ramos. Calhoun had a two-homer week.

The Knights are climbing up the standings after defeating the Slugs 9-3. Chris saw his batters take five out of six categories as Donaldson (9 R, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .524) had another monster week, as did fellow Jay Encarnacion (8 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .450). CarGo also hit three homers. Gregerson had two wins and a save while Salazar helped take ERA and WHIP. Price had nine strikeouts for the Slugs, while Soria notched two holds. Five different players stole a base and Piscotty hit three homers.

Norwich defeated the Chasers 9-3 in another matchup with plenty of power. Bryant (8 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .391) was the pick of the hitters, while Schwarber also went deep three times. Siegrist had two wins and Kimbrel and Rondon had two saves each, but the star pitcher was Fiers, who threw a no-hitter, helping take ERA and WHIP in the process. Escobar helped the Chasers take steals, while Zimmermann struck out 13 and Herrera had the lone hold.

Batteries Essential picked up a big win, defeating the Lollygaggers 8-2. There wasn’t much power on display, but Brantley and Andrus went deep and Revere (.571) and Miggy (.542) helped take average and OPS. Tazawa had two saves and Iglesias and Chavez helped take ERA and WHIP. Kershaw struck out 17 for Becknam, while Hammel, Hamels and Kazmir all reached double-digits. Benoit had three holds and Segura swiped three bases.

The RBIs came up big with an 8-4 win against the Sox. The pitchers took five categories as Weaver and Severino picked up wins and helped take ERA and Volquez struck out 12. Melancon and Tolleson each had a win and two saves. Solarte hit three homers, while McCann, Votto, A-Rod and Fowler went deep twice. For the Sox, Gordon scored six runs and stole five bases, Goldschmidt drove in seven and Strop had the lone hold.

My Isotopes are scrapping to stay in the playoff race, defeating Bits & Bytes 7-4. Yadier Molina homered twice and knocked in six, while Cruz scored five runs and Altuve batted .433. Sale  struck out 14 and Clippard and Madson had a hold each. Ellsbury gave Bits & Bytes the edge in steals, while Strasburg picked up a win and teamed with Teheran, McHugh and Ventura in posting impressive team ERA and WHIP stats.

Finally, Jesmond are second in the standings – but level with Iron men on percentage points – after their narrow 6-5 win against the Riverkings. The offense fell a homer shy of a sweep, as Pollock scored eight runs, stole four bases and batted .483, while Santana homered three times and Arenado drove in six. Archer’s gem made the difference in WHIP. Khris Davis hit four homers from the Riverkings, while deGrom and Gallardo each picked up wins and helped take ERA. McCullers struck out eight while Rosenthal and Smith had a pair of saves and holds respectively.

STRETCH DRIVE

There are just three weeks left of the regular fantasy season, and it is still possible that any of the top 12 could sneak into that last playoff place. Those managers who play hard in the final few weeks could still get their rewards, so here’s hoping for some good battles in the final weeks.

The week 20 matchups are as follows

Iron Men (1st) v Slugs (4th)

Jesmond (2nd) v Norwich (9th)

Knights (3rd) v Chasers (11th)

Sox (5th) v Maltsters (13th)

Batteries Essential (6th) v Riverkings (7th)

RBIs (8th) v Isotopes (12th)

Becknam (10th) v Bits & Bytes (14th)

With just four weeks of the regular fantasy season left, the race for the playoffs is hotting up. Which teams are still in the hunt for a shot at winning it all? And who benefited from Iwakuma’s no-hitter?

We begin with this week’s biggest winners – my Isotopes. I wish I could have typed that more often this season! An offensive sweep paved the way for a 9-3 win over Batteries Essential. Adam Jones hit five homers, scored eight times and knocked in 10 while batting .400 and Ortiz hit .556 with two homers and eight RBIs. Cruz belted three homers. Sales and Chen each won twice, with Chris racking up 22 strikeouts. Clippard had two holds and Vizcaino picked up the lone save. Batteries Essential salvaged strikeouts, ERA and WHIP thanks to Bumgarner (26 K) and Hutchison, who each won twice.

The Sox also had an offensive sweep, defeating Bits & Bytes 8-4. Hosmer had three homers, scored eight times and knocked in 10 while Alvarez also belted three homers. Braun and Goldschmidt drove in seven each. Robertson and Betances had a pair of saves and holds respectively. Bits & Bytes saw Ventura pick up a win and strike out 15, teaming up with Teheran and McHugh to take ERA and WHIP. Bits & Bytes would have won batting average with a collective .315 most other weeks.

Another matchup, another 8-4 score. The Riverkings defeated Norwich, with Rizzo, Pence and Pederson each hitting a pair of homers. Bogaerts drove in six and Zobrist batted .455 for the week. Another Royal, Cueto, won both of his starts and struck out 12, joining Harvey and deGrom in taking ERA. Abrreu scored six runs for Norwich, while four players including Lindor swiped a base. It was a big week for the closers, as Jansen, Kimbrel, Rondon and Miller combined for nine saves while Iwakuma’s no-hitter made the difference in WHIP.

The Slugs took five out of six offensive categories on their way to a 7-4 win against the Chasers. Bautista, Heyward and Castillo each homered twice while Duffy drove in eight. Herrera had two steals. Lester picked up a win and led the staff with 10 strikeouts. K-Rod had three saves for the Chasers, while Martinez and Zimmermann helped take ERA and WHIP. Parra scored eight runs.

Jesmond are top after a 7-5 win against the Lollygaggers. An offensive sweep included 15 homers, with Davis hitting five (and driving in nine), Desmond going deep twice and Garcia and Arenado belting a pair. Pollock batted .478, scored nine times and stole four bases. Osuna picked up three saves. Kershaw helped Becknams take wins, ERA and WHIP, while Haren struck out 10 and Benoit had two holds.

The RBIs slugged their way to a 6-5 win against Iron Men. Votto drove in seven, joined Fowler in scoring six and matched McCann and Puig with two homers. Polanco hit .483 for the week and fellow Pirate Melancon had two saves. Sano was Iron Men’s top hitter (2 HR, 7 RBI, .368) and also stole a base. Kluber, Keuchel, Wacha and Jungmann each had a win, with the latter leading the staff with nine strikeouts and helping take ERA and WHIP.

Finally, the Maltsters and Knights couldn’t be separated, finishing 6-6. The Maltsters had the better of the pitching, as Greinke struck out 14 and joined Santiago and Garcia in taking WHIP. Sanchez had three holds. Soler had led the hitters with 6 RBIs and Cano hit .407. The Knights had multi-homer weeks for CarGo and d’Arnaud while Justin Upton scored six ruuns and Blackmon stole two bases. Salazar was the pick of the pitchers with a win and teamed up with Kennedy to take ERA.

Standings update

With four weeks left of the regular season, there is an almighty scrap going on for the final playoff places. As it stands, there are just 11.5 games separating the teams in 8th (the last playoff place) and 13th and 14.5 games between the teams in 6th to 13th. There’s still plenty to play for!

The week 19 matchups are as follows

Jesmond (1st) v Riverkings (7th)

Slugs (2nd) v Knights (4th)

Iron Men (3rd) v Maltsters (13th)

Sox (5th) v RBIs (9th)

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

Chasers (8th) v Norwich (11th)

Isotopes (12th) v Bits & Bytes (14th)

There is a new leader in the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Read on to find out which team has surged to the top in Week 17.

We begin with the biggest winners of the week, as Jesmond thrashed my Isotopes 10-1, going top of the standings in the process. It was a monster offensive week for Jesmond, who took a sweep thanks to seven runs and eight RBIs each from McCutchen (.563, 2 HR) and Davis (3 HR). On the mound, Archer struck out 17, Carrasco helped take ERA and WHIP and Osuna had three saves. My team salvaged wins thanks to Anderson. Offensively, my team put up decent numbers which would have led to a few more category wins in most other weeks, but that’s head-to-head play for you. Cruz hit four homers and Ortiz belted three.

A great result for Norwich saw them defeat Becknam 9-3 thanks to another offensive sweep. The decision to pick up Kyle Schwarber is really paying off for Norwich, as he hit two homers, scored eight and knocked in eight. Abreu hit three homers and Granderson and Grichuk went deep twice. Rondon and Jansen had two saves each while Siegrist had a pair of holds. Iwakuma and Odorizzi helped claim WHIP. Arrieta had two wins for Becknams and racked up 11 strikeouts, joining Shoemaker in posting a perfect ERA.

The Chasers picked up a big win, defeating the Riverkings 8-2. Kinsler batted .417 for the week and scored eight runs while Seager swiped three bases. K Rod had three saves while Quintana struck out 11 while Gray and Zimmermann claimed ERA and WHIP. For the Riverkings, Franco (seven) and pence (six) made the difference in RBIs and King Felix made the difference in wins.

Iron Men defeated Bits & Bytes 8-4, taking five out of six offensive categories. V-Mart hit three homers and knocked in 10, while Kendrick batted .407 with seven runs before injuring his hamstring. Kluber was the pick of the pitchers with a win, a near no-no and 14 strikeouts, while Watson had two holds. If it wasn’t for Jim Johnson’s meltdown on Sunday, they would have won ERA and WHIP too. Bits & Bytes had four homers from Carpenter and three from Belt while McGee notched a win, a hold and a save.

Here come the Knights. Surging up the standings like the Mets, Chris defeated the RBIs 8-4. In a matchup full of monster offensive numbers, the Knights completed a sweep thanks to Donaldson (9 R, 5 HR, 8 RBI), CarGo (5 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI) and Encarnacion (6 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI). The bullpen had three wins, including one from Storen who also had a hold. Karns struck out 15 for the RBIs, while Ziegler, Tolleson and Melancon each had two saves. Hitting 13 homers, including three from Crawford, would usually be good enough to win that category, but not this time.

The hitters played their part as Batteries Essential defeated the Sox 6-3, falling a steal shy of a sweep. Zimmerman had three homers and knocked in nine while joining Machado in batting .429 for the week, while Yelich had four steals and Brantley batted over .500 for the week. Nelson struck out 12. The Sox had two steals from Goldy, while Ubaldo helped take wins, ERA and WHIP.

Finally, the Slugs defeated the Maltsters 6-4. New Jay David Price won twice, striking out 18 and helping take ERA and WHIP while Soria had two holds in his new role with the Pirates. Bautista scored seven runs and Heyward swiped two bases. Longoria homered twice for the Maltsters, joining Cervelli and Soler in helping to take average and OPS. Scherzer struck out 19 batters.

With just five matchups of the regular season left, the week 18 matchups are as follows:

Jesmond (1st) v Becknam (6th)

Iron Men (2nd) v RBIs (11th)

Slugs (3rd) v Chasers (7th)

Knights (4th) v Maltsters (12th)

Sox (5th) v Bits & Bytes (14th)

Batteries Essential (8th) v Isotopes (13th)

Riverkings (9th) v Norwich (10th)

TRADE DEADLINE REMINDER

WEEK 17 MATCHUPS