The BaseballGB Fantasy League went on a home run binge in week nine. Which teams jogged round the bases while the others looked at their ERAs and winced?

Hats off to Jesmond, who were the big winners of the week, falling an hold shy of a clean sweep against the RBIs. Longoria was the star man, with seven runs, five homers and nine RBIs to go with a .464 average. Votto hit three homers and Villar also went deep three times and stole three bases. Carlos Martinez won twice, struck out 15 and joined Ross and Hendricks in taking ERA and WHIP. Ramos had three saves. The RBIs had a nice week from JD Martinez but the pitching staff, including Arrieta, went winless.

League leaders Newcastle show no signs of slowing down, defeating the Chasers 11-1. Betts scored nine runs, hit five homers and knocked in 10 while Ortiz hit three homers and joined Kinsler and Arenado in driving home eight. Strasburg struck out 10, Hammel helped take ERA and WHIP and Rondon and Colome had two saves each. Strop had three holds. The injury-hit Chasers took wins thanks to Lester and Kluber.

The Riverkings were also big winners, defeating batteries essential 10-1. Carpenter scored 10 runs and hit a ridiculous .560 for the week, while Bruce hit four homers and knocked in nine. Fernandez picked up a win and 14 strikeouts, teaming with Kershaw to take ERA and WHIP. Familia had two saves for Batteries Essential and Cruz belted three homers.

In a matchup full of power – the battle of the Seagers – the Sox defeated the Bombers 9-3 in a real slugfest. CarGo hit five homers  and knocked in 11 while Kyle Seager hit .481 and knocked in 12. Harvey picked up a win and didn’t allow an earned run while Hellickson struck out 12. Papelbon and Chapman had two saves each. Corey Seager hit six homers for the Bombers, knocking in 11 while Justin Wilson helped take holds and WHIP on a tie-break.

The Maltsters slugged there way to an 8-3 win against the Lollygaggers. Murphy and Blackmon (eight RBIs) each hit three homers while Valencia batted .450 for the week. Estrada and Wright each won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Strickland had two holds.Davis scored seven runs for the Lollygaggers while Hamilton (four), Andrus and Nunez (three each) ran wild. Kazmir, Kennedy and Greinke all had double-digit strikeouts.

Norwich snapped my winning streak with a 7-4 score as the offense won five categories. Duvall had three homers while Springer scored eight, drove in eight and joined Rizzo, Franco, Kang and Mazara in hitting two homers. Betances and Salazar each had nine strikeouts while Miller and Phelps had a pair of holds each. My Isotopes took ERA and WHIP thanks to Holland (who won twice) and Wainwright while Britton had three saves and Trout and Marte swiped bases. Frazier and Trumbo each hit three homers.

Iron Men got the better of a closely-fought matchup, defeating the Slugs 7-4. Cano scored nine runs while Correa knocked in seven while batting .414. Six pitchers, including Scherzer and Verlander, picked up wins while Jeffress had three saves and Feliz two holds. Gattis homered four times and helped take OPS for the Slugs, while Gausman struck out 13 and MadBum made the difference in ERA.

Week 10 matchups

Knights (1st) v Maltsters (7th)
Norwich (2nd) v Slugs (6th)
Riverkings (3rd) v Bombers (10th)
Isotopes (4th) v Jesmond (11th)
Iron Men (5th) v Lollygaggers (9th)
Batteries Essential (8th) v Chasers (12th)
Sox (13th) v RBIs (14th)

Sweeps were the recurring theme of week eight in the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Read on to find out which teams were celebrating.

The Knights are still top after defeating the Riverkings 9-3. A pitching sweep was led by Strasburg, who won twice, struck out 15 and teamed with Hammel and Garcia to take ERA and WHIP. Rondon had a save and Harris two holds. Betts scored five runs, Big Papi knocked in nine and Desmond and Kinsler had two steals each. Beltran hit three homers for the Riverkings while Khris Davis helped take average and OPS.

An offensive sweep saw the Chasers rebound with an 8-2 win against the Lollygaggers. Bogaerts scored nine runs and joined Posey, Donaldson and Melky Cabrera in having a multi-homer week while Pedroia hit .417. Kluber and Lester made the difference in ERA and WHIP. The Lollygaggers took strikeouts and holds thanks to Nelson and David Hernandez.

My Isotopes keep gradually climbing the standings after defeating Iron Men 8-4 thanks to an offensive sweep. Zobrist hit an even .500 for the week, leading the team with six runs and joining Trumbo in knocking in six. Trumbo, Frazier and Holliday had multi-homer weeks and Marte stole five bases. Teheran led the staff with 15 strikeouts while Jepsen had three saves. Verlander and Iwakuma picked up wins for Iron Men and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Feliz had two holds. Cano and Pujols each hit three homers.

Bath got the better of Batteries Essential 7-3 as the hitters fell an RBI short of an offensive sweep. Hosmer knocked in nine runs, Bryant scored eight and hit two homers, while Polanco also went deep twice and hit .385 with two steals. Latos and Syndergaard’s very brief outing helped take WHIP. Batteries Essential had two wins from Cueto, who helped take ERA and Pomeranz struck out 13.

Another matchup, another offensive sweep. This time it was the Maltsters on good hitting form, defeating the Slugs 7-5. Murphy hit .391, Valencia scored seven runs, Martin homered three times and joined Goldschmidt in knocking in six. Davis and Gregerson had three saves each. Odorizzi and Lackey each had a win and double-digit strikeouts for the Slugs, helping take ERA and WHIP too. O’Day and Herrera had two holds each.

Norwich pitched their way to a 6-3 win against the RBIs. Walker struck out nine and helped take WHIP while Maeda picked up a win without allowing an earned run. Betances had two holds. Kang and Mazara each knocked in five while Springer batted .370. Machado scored five runs for the RBIs and made the difference in OPS while four pitchers including Arrieta picked up wins.

Finally, the Sox edged past Jesmond 6-5 thanks to a big offensive week. Ozuna and CarGo each scored eight runs and joined Kemp and Miguel Cabrera in posting multi-homer weeks while Encarnacion knocked in six. Keuchel helped take WHIP but the pitching staff is so thin the Sox are running the risk of falling short of the 20-inning minimum limit. Jesmond Ross, Hendricks, Nola and Matz all picked up wins for Jesmond, helping take ERA while Osuna and Ramos had two saves each. Villar stole four bases.

We have a new leader atop the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Read on to find out who has taken over at the top.

We start with the week’s big winners as the Slugs completed a clean sweep against the Chasers in a matchup which was closer than the score suggests. Gardner scored five runs and helped take average and OPS while Freeman homered twice and Kipnis drove in nine. Myers stole two bases. On the mound, MadBum had two wins and 17 strikeouts, helping take ERA and WHIP, while Herrera had three holds and Vizcaino had two saves. Melky Cabrera batted .455 for the Chasers and Bogaerts .400 and Donaldson had a multi-homer week.

The Bombers picked up a welcome 9-1 win against Jesmond, falling a steal shy of an offensive sweep. Living up to their name, the Bombers whacked 14 homers, including four from Bautista, three from Bryant and two each from Hosmer and Conforto. Polanco scored seven runs and Melvin Upton and Rendon helped take average and OPS. Syndergaard had two wins, 21 strikeouts and did not allow an earned run while Doolittle had a hold. Villar swiped three bases for Jesmond while Ramos had a pair of saves.

My Isotopes have found some form, picking up another win be defeating the Maltsters 9-2 in a very well-pitched matchup. The hitters took five categories as Trout led the team with nine runs and two homers, while he joined Lindor, who hit .438 in stealing two bases. Six different pitchers, including Sale, Teheran and Wainwright, collected wins and helped take ERA and WHIP. Casilla had three saves. Goldschmidt had six RBIs for the Maltsters and Velasquez struck out 10 for a pitching staff which would have won ERA and WHIP most other weeks.

Iron Men picked up an impressive 9-3 win against the RBIs, taking WHIP on a tie break. Ellsbury scored six runs and joined Pujols and Cano in knocking in five runs while Jackie Bradley Junior’s hit streak saw him bat .438 for the week. Scherzer only struck out 18 this week, joining Aaron Sanchez and Roark in taking ERA and WHIP. JD Martinez hit three homers for the RBIs while Fowler and Granderson each hit two. Melancon had three saves and six pitchers including Arrieta, collected victories.

The Riverkings defeated the Lollygaggers 7-4. Bruce homered twice while Beltran knocked in nine and teamed with Yelich to take average and OPS. Watson and Neris had two holds each while Kershaw and Feranandez made the difference in ERA and WHIP. Burns had six runs and three steals for the Lollygaggers while K Rod had three saves and Hamels (17), Greinke (14) and Wood (13) racked up the strikeouts.

The Knights are back on top after beating Batteries Essential 6-4. Kinsler scored eight runs and joined Betts in homering three times and driving in six while helping to take average and OPS. Strasburg struck out 10 and Harris had two holds. Batteries Essential had wins from five different pitchers, including Familia (who had three saves) and King Felix, who helped take ERA and WHIP. Cruz had eight RBIs.

Finally, the last-placed Sox defeated last week’s leaders 6-5. Miguel Cabrera was a one-man wrecking crew, leading the team with six runs, three homers, six RBIs and a .500 average. Zimmermann had two wins on a thin pitching staff. Norwich had 14 strikeouts from Salazar and three holds from Betances and took ER and WHIP despite it hardly being a vintage week for either side’s pitchers.

It’s time to catch up with the latest news from the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Which manager benefited from Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game?

Iron Men were the week’s big winners, falling a steal shy of a clean sweep. Jackie Bradley Jr was the star hitter, batting .429, homering three times and driving in an incredible 15 runs. Tulowitzki also hit three homers while Correa, McCann and Pujols each hit a pair.On the mound, Scherzer’s 20 strikeouts made him the clear pitching star, joining Sanchez in picking up a win and taking ERA and WHIP. Tazawa had the lone hold and Gomez three saves. The Sox didn’t play that badly, and a fair few categories were reasonably close. But the roster hasn’t been touched for a while and pitching help in Chapman, McCullers and Santana was left to waste on the bench.

My Isotopes are showing some form after a slow start, defeating the Chasers 8-2. Frazier belted four homers and batted .426 for the week, topped by Zobrist’s .526. Marte stole four bases. Leake on twice and led the staff in strikeouts, teaming with Sale and Teheran to take ERA while Britton had three saves. The Chasers had the edge in RBIs thanks to Cain and Bogaerts, who knocked in eight each, while Lester made the difference in WHIP.

Norwich stay top with a 7-4 win against Jesmond. The hitters won five categories as Franco and Braun helped take average and OPS while Springer hit three homers, knocked in nine and scored six times. Chen led the staff with 12 strikeouts and Miller and Betances had two holds each. Villar had three steals for Jesmond, while Osuna and Ramos had two saves each and Cole and Nola helped take ERA and WHIP.

In a matchup stacked with offense, the Riverkings outslugged the Slugs 7-5. Carpenter and Beltran each belted four homers while Shaw led the team with nine runs and nine RBIs. Jose Fernandez had two wins and 22 strikeouts, joining Kershaw and the bullpen (who didn’t allow an earned run) to take ERA and WHIP. Herrera was one of four Slugs with a steal, joining Ramirez and Molina in taking average and OPS. Rosenthal had two saves and Kelvin Herrera and O’Day had two holds each.

The Knights are in second after edging past the Bombers 6-5, as the pitchers took five categories. Strasburg had a win and led the staff with 18 strikeouts while Price and Garcia helped take ERA and WHIP as well as picking up victories. Offensively, Desmond and Betts each knocked in 10. For the Bombers Jones hit four homers, scored nine, drove in nine and hit .520, while Corey Seager also hit four homers and Rendon stole two bases.

Becknam defeated Batteries Essential 6-5 on a WHIP tiebreak. Nelson, Wood (14 strikeouts), Santiago and Shields helped take ERA and WHIP while McGee had four saves. Offensively, the team hit a very impressive .335, led by Davis at .524 while Altuve (two steals), Parra and Hamilton all hit .400 or better. Six Batteries Essential hitters had two-homer weeks, including Russell who drove in nine and helped take OPS. King Felix picked up a win and Logan had three holds.

Finally, the RBIs squeezed past the Maltsters , also by a 6-5 score. Arrieta led the pitchers with 11 strikeouts and joined Tillman in taking ERA and WHIP while Melancon, Madson and Rodney each had two saves. Machado scored six runs and joined Morales and Martinez in having a multi-homer week. The Maltsters had the edge in RBIs thanks to Blackmon, who also stole a base and joined Murphy and Eaton in taking average and OPS. Strickland had two wins out of the bullpen and Nuno the lone hold.

Week Seven matchups

Norwich (1st) v Sox (14th)
Knights (2nd) v Batteries Essential (4th)
Riverkings (3rd) v Lollygaggers (5th)
Isotopes (6th) v Maltsters (8th)
Iron Men (7th) v RBIs (11th)
Chasers (9th) v Slugs (10th)
Bombers (12th) v Jesmond (13th)

Week five of the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw yet more changes at the top of the standings. Read on to find out who the new leader is.

The Riverkings dropped from top to fourth after a 10-2 loss against my Isotopes. An offensive sweep was led by a monster week for Zobrist, who scored eight runs, hit four homers and knocked in 15. Trumbo hit three homers and Trout went deep twice and drove in eight, teaming up with Lindor to help take average and OPS. Sale was the pick of the pitchers with a win and nine strikeouts while Casilla had three holds. The Riverkings barely made it over the 20 inning minimum limit, and Kershaw’s latest start was left on the bench, but they did manage to take holds and ERA thanks to Neris, Giles and Watson.

The Maltsters are over .500 after their win against the Sox. A pitching staff sweep helped enormously, with Samardzija the star with a win and 18 strikeouts. Gregerson had two saves and Nuno two holds. Murphy and Diaz helped take average and OPS while Goldschmidt stole two bases. Encarnacion, Seager and Ozuna each had multi-homer weeks for the Sox, who will be boosted by Chapman’s return from suspension.

Norwich picked up an 8-3 win against the Bombers, going top after taking five offensive categories. Five players had multi-homer weeks including three for Odor, while Rizzo scored 10 runs and teamed with Braun to take average and OPS. Salazar had a win, struck out nine and did not allow an earned run. The Bombers salvaged speed thanks to Rendon, Bryant and Polanco, while Cishek had three saves and Stripling helped take WHIP.

Matt’s Chasers got the better of the RBIs 7-4. Reddick batted .542 for the week, while Belt scored five runs and teamed with Pillar to help take OPS. Quintana and Ramirez each had two wins in a monster week for the pitchers, while Lester and Kluber didn’t allow an earned run and Dyson had two holds. The RBIs had plenty of power from Phillips, who hit five homers and drove in nine. Severino struck out 13 while Melancon and Rodney had two saves each.

The Knights are in second after defeating the Lollygaggers 7-5 in a battle of former Croydon Pirates. The Knights belted 14 homers, including four from Ortiz (who knocked in eight) and three each from Duda and Pederson. Arenado helped take average. Colome had three saves, Stroop picked up two holds and Garcia made the difference in WHIP. Altuve scored nine runs and stole four bases for the Lollygaggers, while Hamels picked up a win without allowing an earned run and Wacha led the staff with 14 strikeouts.

Iron Men just got the better of Jesmond 7-5. Cano was the star hitter, scoring eight times, hitting four homers and batting .516 for the week. Jeffress had two saves and Henderson and Tazawa a hold each. Votto gave Jesmond the edge in RBIs, while Nola and Hendricks had a win each and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Cole led the staff with 13 strikeouts.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 Mighty Slugs	32	9	23	5	.279	.816	4	2	46	0	2.06	1.08	6
 Batteries Essential	31	12	40	3	.302	.917	1	3	35	1	3.64	1.19	6

The Slugs and batteries essential couldn’t be separated, ending 6-6. The Slugs had the better of the pitching as Bumgarner, Lackey and Archer helped take wins, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP while Kipnis, Herrera and Harper each scored five times. Cespedes belted four homers for Batteries essential and Lucroy hit three more while batting .417 but it was Crawford who led the team with nine RBIs. Familia had two saves and Logan the only hold.

Week six matchups

Norwich (1st) v Jesmond (13th)
Knights (2nd) v Bombers (12th)
Batteries Essential (3rd) v Lollygaggers (5th)
Riverkings (4th) v Slugs (9th)
Chasers (6th) v Isotopes (7th)
Maltsters (8th) v RBIs (11th)
Iron Men (10th) v Sox (14th)