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)