Results
AZ SnakePit 3, BBTNG 6
BBTNG booked their playoff spot with the win, but AZ limp towards the last week of the regular season, still not certain of post-season competition. BBTNG poured on 50 RBIs and 48 K's, but despite a 1.07 WHIP could only manage a 4.84 ERA. Hunter had 4 HR for them, and Ortiz three for AZ; Haren (BBTNG) had a win and 16 K's, while Padilla (AZ) posted a victory and ten K's.
Man of the Match: Ramirez (BBTNG) - 7 R, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .400
DFA'ders 9, KarateMonkeyDeathCar 0
DFA came within one win of a clean sweep over Karate, and most of their victories were by wide margins (one save and 4 K's were about the only close categories). Karate were three men short, with Polanco, Eckstein and Gordon all DL'd. Crede and Jones joined Berkman with 3 HR for DFA - they need four more points than Snakepit in the last week's match-ups, in order to make the playoffs.
Man of the Match: Berkman (DFA) - 6 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, SB
Uk Dbacks 5, The Fighting Amish 5
UK put up a credible fight against the playoff-bound Amish, holding them to a tie in a contest where no-one ever had a clear upper hand. Amish edged hitting, but a poor pitching performance (6.13 ERA) allowed UK to come back, with Ryan's two saves and zero ERA crucial in helping them win both categories. Amish and Seals both have hopes of a first-round bye in the playoffs: week 22 will decide it.
Man of the Match: Beltran (Amish) - 10 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI
JByrnesIsMyHomie 9, GregSchulteOverdrive 1
Can anyone stop Byrnes? They ran their record for the year to 18-1-2, with a comprehensive demolition of another playoff rival in Greg. Dye smacked five homers for them - more than Greg's entire team - and they batted .357, led by Guerrero's .458. Greg did take ERA, behind Rogers' two wins and 0.64 ERA, but even a 1.17 WHIP wasn't enough to withstand the Byrnes juggernaut.
Man of the Match: Smoltz (Byrnes) - 2 W, 17 K, 0.56 ERA
Browncoats 1, Random Fandom 7
Browncoats sank to the bottom, following a defeat by Fandom, who still have a long shot at a playoff spot. This was not a good hitting contest, with only six homers, 35 RBIs and no stolen bases between the teams combined. However, Random did enough to win everything bar SBs, and also had the edge in pitching, with Borowski's three saves giving Brown their sole victory. Guillen scored eight of Random's runs.
Man of the Match: Myers (Random) - 1 W, 9 K, 0.63 WHIP
7-2 Offsuiters 6, BigLebowski 3
7-2 pipped Big to keep their faint post-season hopes alive. Cabrera had 8 runs and 9 RBIs for them, and wasn't even their best offensive player this week, as they took all hitting categories save SBs, where Roberts' three bags gave it to Big. Big also posted a credible 3.50 ERA and 42 K's (13 each for Hernandez and Pettitte) but Putz's two saves means 7-2 were not to be denied overall victory.
Man of the Match: Delgado (7-2) - 6 R, 4 HR, 11 RBI, .389
The Loose Seals 5, ?Chalino Sanchez! 4
Truly a game of two halves, all Seals points coming in hitting, while Chalino dominated pitching almost as much. However, wins were tied at two, and that was enough to give Loose overall victory, though Chalino did enough to move off the bottom. Peavy had 12 K's for them, while Loose's Damon was the only player to hit more than a single homer, and scored seven runs as well.
Man of the Match: Reyes (Loose) - 7 R, 5 RBI, 4 SB, .375
Standings
W-L-T GB
*1. JByrnesIsMyHomie 141-52-17 -
*2. The Loose Seals 116-74-20 23.5
*3. The Fighting Amish 116-76-18 24.5
*4. BBTNG 109-90-11 35
5. GregSchulteOverdrive 103-91-16 38.5
6. AZ SnakePit 98-97-15 44
7. DFA'ders 95-102-13 48
8. Random Fandom 93-103-14 49.5
9. 7-2 Offsuiters 88-102-20 51.5
10. Uk Dbacks 85-106-19 55
11. BigLebowski 81-115-14 61.5
12. KarateMonkeyDeathCar 81-116-13 62
13. ?Chalino Sanchez! 80-119-11 64
14. Browncoats 74-117-19 66
* = clinched playoff spot
Week 22 Matchups
AZ SnakePit vs. 7-2 Offsuiters
DFA'ders vs. BBTNG
Uk Dbacks vs. KarateMonkeyDeathCar
JByrnesIsMyHomie vs. The Fighting Amish
Browncoats vs. GregSchulteOverdrive
The Loose Seals vs. BigLebowski
?Chalino Sanchez! vs. Random Fandom
Two playoff spots are still up for grabs, with five teams (Greg, AZ, DFA, Random and 7-2) in the hunt. Greg should seal one with victory over bottom-placed Browncoats, but DFA have a tougher task against 4th-placed BBTNG. Random will need to beat up on Chalino, but AZ face 7-2, and these two sides seem to be going in different directions: AZ down, 7-2 up. Can AZ hold on? Byrnes face Amish in what could be a preview of the playoffs, and UK face Karate in a battle of two teams who won't make the playoffs but are still able to move up the standings.