CRP @ MON: The Pool Sharks improved their win total by a whopping 39 games over last season, finishing with a league 2nd-best total of 93, while the reigning champion Patriots just scraped into the playoffs with 82 wins.
STATS: Montreal is 7th in RS, 5th in ERA, 4th in E, and 1st in X-out %; Conn River is 3rd, 10th, 7th, and 6th, respectively. Patriots won season series, 7-5, but scored only 1 more run than Montreal.
KEYS: Montreal seems to have the edge in starters, with Greinke (13-9, 2.52), Beachy (13-3, 2.91), Kennedy (18-11, 3.17), and Sherzer (14-9, 3.54) facing off against Weaver (16-10, 2.87) and a bunch of guys named Joe; only other Patriots starter with a winning record was Bailey (12-7, 4.48). On the other hand, Patriots have stronger lineup, with 3 players having 20+ HR's versus none for Pool Sharks.
LOVE/HATE: CRP v. MON: Reyes hit .408 and slugged .592, while Weaver was 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA. McCann hit only .152, while Gee was 0-2, 9.64. MON v. CRP: Gonzalez hit .364, but only 1 HR; Beachy was 1-0, 0.69. On the flip side, Fowler hit only .195, and Linebrink was 0-1, 15.88, giving up 14 hits and 10 runs in only 5.2 innings.
VBO @ TEX: Again, a flip-flop: Texas went from 79-83 to 91-71, while the OddSox went in the opposite direction, going from 97 wins to 83.
VBO @ TEX: Again, a flip-flop: Texas went from 79-83 to 91-71, while the OddSox went in the opposite direction, going from 97 wins to 83.
STATS: Texas is 2nd in RS, 6th in ERA, 12th in E, and 10th in X-out. Virginia Beach is 8th, 4th, 9th, and 3rd. KEYS: Armadilloes outhomered opposition by 67; OddSox were outhomered by 38. Texas has power throughout the lineup: seven players in double figures in HR's, four with 27 or more. Kuroda (15-9, 2.68) and Bumgarner (15-7, 2.81) are top flight starters. Bullpen is a worry, with Bell with only 23 saves, 3.93 ERA. For Oddsox, not much in hitting department, but Dickey (14-8, 2.69) and Myers (17-10, 3.18) are top starters, and bullpen is more solid. Texas won 12 of 18 meetings between the teams this year. LOVE/HATE: TEX v. VBO: Sandoval, .353/.380/.765, 8 HR's and 17 RBI's (more HR's than Fielder, Pence, and Upton combined) in only 68 AB's; Desmond, .219/.242/.219. VBO v. TEX: Victorino, .356/.397/.576; Pena, .173/.295/.308.
LIT v. WES: Two teams combined to lose 190 last year, combined to win 176 this season. STATS: A study in opposites: Littleton scored the most runs, Westpark the fewest. Westpark 1st in ERA, but Littleton, despite playing in a bandbox, was 3rd. Ripcats have big edge in fielding, with fewest errors and 4th best X-out %, while Rockies rank 10th and last. KEYS: Teams tied series at 6 games apiece, although Ripcats were shut out 3 times. Westpark has slight edge in pitching, but Rockies have huge edge in offense: Pujols and Berkman alone had only 17 fewer homers than Ripcats did as a team. Best hope for Westpark is to keep game close and turn it over to bullpen, which featured league-best 2.56 ERA, and had four relievers with ERA's under 2.00, including J. J. Putz, who posted 1.92 ERA and saved league-record 50 games in 53 chances. LOVE/HATE: WES v. LIT: Morse, .326 BA, Jurrjens, 2-0, 1.29; Holliday, .205 BA, Wolf, 0-2, 14.21 (and no, he won't be on the playoff roster). LIT v. WES: Pujols, .400/.444/.580; Berkman, .156/.289/.281.
LIT v. WES: Two teams combined to lose 190 last year, combined to win 176 this season. STATS: A study in opposites: Littleton scored the most runs, Westpark the fewest. Westpark 1st in ERA, but Littleton, despite playing in a bandbox, was 3rd. Ripcats have big edge in fielding, with fewest errors and 4th best X-out %, while Rockies rank 10th and last. KEYS: Teams tied series at 6 games apiece, although Ripcats were shut out 3 times. Westpark has slight edge in pitching, but Rockies have huge edge in offense: Pujols and Berkman alone had only 17 fewer homers than Ripcats did as a team. Best hope for Westpark is to keep game close and turn it over to bullpen, which featured league-best 2.56 ERA, and had four relievers with ERA's under 2.00, including J. J. Putz, who posted 1.92 ERA and saved league-record 50 games in 53 chances. LOVE/HATE: WES v. LIT: Morse, .326 BA, Jurrjens, 2-0, 1.29; Holliday, .205 BA, Wolf, 0-2, 14.21 (and no, he won't be on the playoff roster). LIT v. WES: Pujols, .400/.444/.580; Berkman, .156/.289/.281.
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