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?
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Orpington Isotopes | 32 | 14 | 43 | 3 | .359 | 1.054 | 7 | 1 | 54 | 3 | 3.26 | 1.14 | 9 |
| Batteries Essential | 22 | 4 | 23 | 2 | .223 | .648 | 4 | 0 | 61 | 2 | 3.22 | 1.04 | 3 |
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.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Bits & Bytes | 20 | 6 | 24 | 3 | .315 | .877 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 2.23 | 1.07 | 4 |
| Weston-Super-Sox | 35 | 14 | 47 | 8 | .345 | 1.008 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 3 | 4.21 | 1.38 | 8 |
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.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| NE Riverkings | 28 | 10 | 30 | 1 | .286 | .954 | 6 | 6 | 61 | 1 | 2.86 | 1.21 | 8 |
| Norwich No II | 34 | 8 | 26 | 4 | .262 | .770 | 3 | 9 | 42 | 0 | 4.23 | 0.96 | 4 |
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.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Mighty Slugs | 22 | 10 | 29 | 2 | .291 | .875 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 1 | 5.11 | 1.73 | 7 |
| The Cheddar Chasers | 28 | 5 | 20 | 1 | .221 | .618 | 2 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 4.54 | 1.29 | 4 |
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.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Becknam Lollygaggers | 17 | 8 | 23 | 5 | .218 | .641 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 3 | 4.96 | 1.30 | 5 |
| Jesmond Dennings | 38 | 15 | 39 | 9 | .314 | .973 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 2 | 5.18 | 1.60 | 7 |
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.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Richie’s RBI’s | 33 | 9 | 29 | 2 | .314 | .949 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 4.33 | 1.15 | 6 |
| Iron Men | 16 | 2 | 17 | 2 | .222 | .614 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 3 | 1.55 | 0.99 | 5 |
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.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Cheshunt Maltsters | 19 | 4 | 21 | 0 | .253 | .682 | 3 | 3 | 50 | 3 | 4.37 | 1.20 | 6 |
| Newcastle Knights | 30 | 7 | 19 | 4 | .251 | .745 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 3.75 | 1.38 | 6 |
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)
