Week 23 of the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw the top eight teams do battle in the first round of the playoffs. Only four could survive to reach the semi-final stage.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Durham Riverkings | 24 | 1 | 18 | 7 | .230 | .656 | 1 | 3 | 44 | 1 | 5.52 | 1.32 | 2 |
| Mighty Slugs | 34 | 7 | 29 | 4 | .255 | .789 | 2 | 4 | 64 | 1 | 3.34 | 1.35 | 9 |
The Slugs, seeded fifth, knocked out the fourth-placed Riverkings with a convincing 9-2 score. Juan Soto was the star of the show, scoring and driving in eight while launching four homers and hitting .393 for the week as the hitters took five out of six categories. Lester picked up a win and struck out 16 as he teamed with Derek Rodriguez to take ERA. Doolittle and Leclerc had two saves apiece.
The Slugs had a big week from Merrifield (10 runs, five steals) but he was the only batter to homer. Snell made the difference in WHIP.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Norwich No II | 34 | 10 | 35 | 3 | .249 | .777 | 3 | 7 | 52 | 3 | 2.70 | 1.10 | 8 |
| The Cheddar Chasers | 29 | 6 | 16 | 4 | .316 | .865 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 5.36 | 1.44 | 4 |
Norwich, the top seed, avoided a first-round exit by defeating the Chasers 8-4. The pitchers did most of the work, winning five categories. Buehler (0.50 WHIP) and Hader (two holds) led the staff with nine strikeouts, with Walker and Tanaka not allowing any earned runs. Osuna and Vazquez had three saves each.
Offensively, Rendon and Springer scored seven runs each while Khris Davis knocked in seven and joined Story and Harper in homering twice. For the Chasers, Cain stole two bases while hitting .407 and Haniger hit .400 for the week. Taillon was one of four pitchers with a win but it wasn’t enough as they move into the consolation playoffs.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Beckenham A&E Dept | 29 | 5 | 16 | 3 | .256 | .791 | 5 | 2 | 55 | 2 | 2.59 | 1.03 | 3 |
| Newcastle Knights | 33 | 10 | 28 | 6 | .244 | .795 | 5 | 5 | 49 | 2 | 2.31 | 1.18 | 7 |
In the battle of two former Croydon Pirates it was the Knights who came out on top 7-3. Newcastle took five offensive categories as Pollock scored six runs and Machado and Encarnacion each hit two homers and knocked in five. Jose Ramirez and Trea Turner stole two bases each.
Jeffress and Yates had two saves each and Trevor Williams did not allow any earned runs in what was a very well-pitched matchup. Beckenham had the edge in average thanks to McCutchen (.350) while Marquez struck out 15 and Wheeler, Mikolas and Porcello each had sub-1.00 WHIPs.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Orpington Isotopes | 27 | 14 | 28 | 3 | .254 | .878 | 3 | 0 | 63 | 3 | 5.02 | 1.34 | 7 |
| Cheshunt Maltsters | 21 | 8 | 21 | 1 | .284 | .845 | 4 | 5 | 56 | 2 | 3.31 | 1.01 | 5 |
The Isotopes came back from 9-2 down before Saturday’s games to defeat the Maltsters 7-5. Every Isotopes batter homered, while Puig’s monster Saturday (three homers, seven RBIs) certainly helped. Altuve led the team with five runs while Yelich homered twice and stole two bases. Strasburg struck out nine while Rondon, Hand and Colome had a hold each. It was tough on the Maltsters, who took average thanks to Votto (.421) and Profar (.381). Luis Castillo won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Kimbrel collected three saves.
The Championship semi-finals
Norwich No II vs Mighty Slugs
Newcastle Knights vs Orpington Isotopes
The Consolation semi-finals
Cheddar Chasers vs Durham Riverkings
Beckenham A&E Dept vs Chesnut Maltsters
1 comment
That was one close match-up between myself & JJ – swung back and forward all week.