Atlanta Braves 4, New York Yankees 2

Both of these teams were on the verge of elimination entering this game, with the loser guaranteed to be knocked out of the playoffs. This meant that this game was a necessary win for both teams. While the Yankees had a comparatively uneventful game, winning 3-1 at Eckman Acres in a game where the Braves committed 6 errors, the Braves had what was arguably the most interesting game of the year.

It all started when Nodakkian decided to use Todd Xavier as his starting pitcher. Normally Todd is a solid enough pitcher, and his speed allows him to gobble up infield grounders, but this week the Yankees AI flat-out refused to hit the ball in that manner. While Nodakkian hoped to get 4 innings out of his starter, eventually he had to give up on Todd when the Yankees got their 11th run. Randy Johnson came in, and started pitching very well in relief, but while the Braves offense did its best, when the 6th inning started they were trailing by 5. On the mound, Randy managed to avoid giving up any runs, but in the bottom of the inning, the Braves ended up with runners on first and third and two outs, still trailing by five.

Enter Lance Lambert, who smashed a homer to reduce the deficit to two. Then Zenon Estrada, who hit a homer to make it a one-run game. Then Mikey Thomas, who hit a third homer to tie it up. (Incidentally, this was also the second time this trio went back-to-back-to-back in this game, as they performed the same feat in the first inning.) While the Braves were unable to make it four in a row and couldn’t win the game here, this sent the game to extra innings, tied at 11.

The game stayed tied until the eighth, when Todd Xavier took the mound in relief of a tired Randy Johnson and gave up a run. Randy returned to the mound after that, and in the bottom of the eighth the Braves managed to score again on a sequence where Lance Lambert almost hit a game-tying homer and Zenon Estrada singled him in. The game could’ve ended there, with Mikey Thomas almost bashing another homer, but instead his long hit was caught at the wall for the third out.

Randy Johnson stayed on the mound for the next two innings, and the Braves continued to not give up any runs. Still, eventually the game had to end, and in the top of the 10th the Braves loaded the bases with no outs. Zenon Estrada then stepped up to the plate and smashed a grand slam that barely got over the right-field hedges to not only end the game, but also give the Braves the win at a time where they needed to get at least two runs across (not that Nodakkian was aware of this).

As a consequence of this game, the Yankees are eliminated from playoff contention. While the Braves hoped to keep their playoff chances alive, they were already eliminated from the wild card race due to having lost to the Bombers, Tapirs, and Mariners earlier in the year, and were subsequently eliminated from the NL East by wins from the Angels and Marlins.

Player of the game: Two Braves deserve the nod. Zenon Estrada had the best game at the plate (although Lance Lambert also did amazingly), going 6-for-6 with two singles, a double, and 3 homers including the game-winning grand slam, along the way batting in seven runs. On the other side of the game, Randy Johnson took over for an embattled Todd Xavier on a day when the Yankees were raking, and faced exactly the same number of batters (26) while getting twice as many outs (20), not walking anybody (Xavier had two walks), allowing only six hits (Xavier allowed 16), throwing 9 strikeouts, and completely shutting down the Yankees AI in order to allow the Braves to come back and win.

Oakland Orioles 14, Minnesota Monsters -1

Oakland hoped to extend their lead in the AL West to two by winning this game, while the Monsters wanted to snap their losing streak and keep their dreams of making the playoffs reasonably possible. The Orioles did their job, putting up 17 runs on the road off of 21 hits and a walk, and although they allowed 3 runs this still got them a respectable score of 14 on the day. As for the Monsters, they suffered their first AI defeat of the year and the first one for a team in the AL this season (if forfeits are excluded). Minnesota was only able to manage 5 hits, no walks, and no stolen bases, as BootyHunter struck out eight times and only scored a single run while allowing the Orioles to score twice. This marks a low point for the Monsters, and quite a skid for a team that started the season with a 50-run game (still the highest score so far this year). In the aftermath, Minnesota’s playoff hopes hang by a thread, requiring almost every matchup in the AL East for the rest of the season to break their way. Things are rosier for the Orioles, as this win keeps them atop the AL West, but wins from the Wombats and Blue Jays keep them from extending their lead further.

Player of the game: The Orioles’ Joella Minotti went 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, a double, and a home run. She ended up crossing home every time she got up to bat and also batted in two runs.

Anaheim Angels 10, Baltimore Bombers 6

In a game that was must-win for the Angels in order to keep control of the NL East and that was important for the Bombers in terms of staying the undisputed top dogs in the NL, both AIs came out strongly, with the Bombers held to a post-Week 3 low of 6 runs (equaling their previous week’s output against the Cardinals) and the Angels held to a post-Week 2 low of 10 runs. The Bombers were able to muster 5 more baserunners in this outing, adding 3 hits and 2 walks (15 total hits, 2 walks) but like last week failed to get any hits longer than a double and were also only able to steal one base (as opposed to last week’s 6). As for the Angels, they only had three more hits and no walks–but those three extra hits were all home runs. At the end of the day, the Bombers remain on top of the NL Central and with the best record in the NL, but have to deal with ending their season a tough division that has come on strongly since the start of the season, while with the Cardinals losing the Angels have a one-game lead in their division and a chance to eliminate the Cardinals from contention completely next week.

Player of the game: Julie Dunkel went 4-for-4 at the plate for the Angels, with two singles, a double, and a home run, tallying two RBIs and scoring thrice herself. On the mound, she allowed six hits but no runs and struck out two batters on only 38 pitches. After the game, she went off to feed the pigeons.

New York Giants 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2

Heading into the All-Star Break, the Cardinals were one of two teams in the NL to have suffered only one loss. Although there were questions about their offensive production, their strong AI had held up well for the most part (the exception being a game against the Angels), and unlike the other initially reputable AIs hadn’t played most of its games against the NL West. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their schedule got tougher coming out of the All-Star Break, as they had games against the wild card-leading Tapirs, West-leading Devil Rays, and Central-leading Bombers. They went 1-2 over the course of these three games, raising questions about their ability to compete with the big boys and ending up just barely out of the immediate playoffs. A game against a Giants team that hadn’t won since Week 3 promised some respite, but instead New York produced an upset. While neither of the teams did amazingly, the Giants found were able to get 13 hits against Mr. Clanky that they turned into 4 runs despite never getting more than a double, while the Cardinals struggled defensively, with Mr. Clanky giving up 14 hits and 4 runs in a narrow 5-4 victory (although the robot did manage to get 11 strikeouts, pushing him over the 100 mark for the season with three games still to go). In the end, the Giants made up a game on the Devil Rays heading into the home stretch, while the Cardinals fall back a game in both the wild card and NL East races due to wins from the Tapirs and Angels. For the Giants, this is great news, as they have a chance to catch or even surpass the Devil Rays if they can at least match the Devil Rays record and beat them in Week 13, while for the Cardinals this makes their Week 12 game against the Angels enormous, as a win will give them a shot at the playoffs while a loss will eliminate them from contention.

Player of the game: Luanne Lui was instrumental in the Giants win. Although she only went 2-for-3 with no RBIs and both her hits were singles, her speed allowed her to steal three bases and she scored two of the Giants four runs. Plus, on the mound, she pitched a 4-hit, 7-strikeout complete game shutout. Postgame, she gave Teddy a big hug and credited him with helping her decide which pitches to throw.

Super-Duper Wombats 14, Mighty Tigers 5

With the Orioles winning in the second game submitted this week, the Wombats needed a win to keep pace in the AL West. Fortunately, they were playing the unsteady Tigers, who have veered between great offense and mediocre offense with a side of not-that-fantastic defense on their side of the game. The Tigers actually had one of their better weeks defensively since Ozzy took over, only allowing 2 runs although they gave up 10 hits, but offensively they were below average, managing to score just seven runs on 18 hits. The Wombats had a much better day, snagging a shutout despite also allowing 10 hits and scoring 12 runs in a 19-hit game that was bolstered by 4 home runs. In the end, the Wombats easily walked away with the win, and stay only a game behind the Orioles in the division chase.

Player of the game: Ichiro went 4-for-4 with four singles, scoring thrice and knocking in a run. Sure, it’s not as flashy as being a cleanup batter, but cleanup batters need runners on base to be at their most effective. Just ask Vladimir Guerrero, his teammate on the Wombats, who had 2 solo shots and nothing else.

Colorado Rockies 19, Super-Duper Melonheads 12

After a surprising upset of the Red Sox by the Orioles last week, the playoff picture was much impacted, with the Rockies once again tied for the wild card slot with the Red Sox (Red Sox hold tiebreaker) and the Orioles having a one-game lead in their division. Both teams wanted to win this week to strengthen their playoff chances, but only one could. The Melonheads performed reasonably well, as they got 18 runners on base (15 hits, 3 walks) and knocked 11 of them in, but by allowing a run their total run differential went from +11 to +10, and with the home bonus proration they scored a +12; not fantastic, but not too shabby. Unfortunately for them, the Rockies had one of their best games all year, as Colorado managed 27 hits and a walk on their way to a 19-0 shellacking (notably, the Rockies used two pitchers, each of whom allowed only one hit and each threw only one pitch outside the strike zone). In the end, the Rockies ran away with the game, and with the Red Sox losing again when they had a bad day against the Blue Jays and the Orioles beating the Monsters the Rockies now have a one-game lead in the wild card race while the Melonheads sit two games behind the Orioles for the AL West division title with a game between the two coming up next week.

Player of the game: The Rockies’ Timmy Unger went 5-for-5. Four of these hits were singles, but the other hit was a homer. On top of this, he managed 4 RBIs (second-highest on the team this week) and scored four times himself (team leader). He was also one of only three Rockies to steal a base.

Montreal Marlins 9, Montreal Expos 5

The final out-of-division game for these two teams was the Battle of Montreal. Hopes were that it would be more interesting than the Battle for New York that took place earlier this season; while it wasn’t exactly the most interesting game, at least neither team lost to the AI outright, showing that the Expos are likely over their early-season woes. The Marlins managed a 9-0 shutout, setting the bar reasonably high but still reachable for the Expos; however, the Expos failed to adequately rebound from their forfeit to the Mariners, only garnering 6 runs off of 15 singles and 5 walks and allowing a pair of runs on defense. In the aftermath, the Marlins stay in both the wild card and NL East races, while the Expos have been forced to leave Montreal. The Montreal Expos have changed their name to the Nationals and relocated to Washington, D.C, and because the Giants beat the Cardinals require both a win against the Devil Rays and a win from the Cubs in Week 12 just to stay alive in the playoff race.

Player of the game: Since the Marlins statistics were destroyed in a fire (it’s a long story involving Vince Neil, seventeen plates of ribs, a hotel matchbook, and an ambulance), we’re going to name as the player of the game…Augustus St. Cloud. No, he didn’t pay me off. Really, he didn’t. I’ve always had this awesome Les Paul. He didn’t pay me off! No more questions!

Arizona Diamondbacks 15, Crazy Indians 15 (Home Decision)

The closest game this week occurred at the Paveway, in a tight match between the Diamondbacks and the Indians. While the Indians had led the AL all year and were the last undefeated team remaining, the Diamondbacks had rebounded after starting 0-3 to manage a 5-5 record upon playing the rest of the league (they had actually managed a winning record by Week 10, but a loss to the Rockies dropped them back to .500). The Indians put up a fairly good performance, scoring 19 runs off of 26 hits, while the Diamondbacks also did well, managing to score 15 runs off of only 17 hits and a walk in a very efficient game where they smacked an amazing 6 home runs. If the offensive side was all that mattered, the prorated home bonus wouldn’t have been quite enough for the Diamondbacks, getting them up to 18 runs against the Indians 19. However, both defenses gave up a few runs themselves, with Yurya allowing 3 runners to cross the plate and crazyei8hts allowing four. This left the teams tied at 15, and since the home team wins, the Diamondbacks took the game on a home team decision that both keeps them alive in the playoff race and gets them back up to a winning record. As for the Indians, they enter the final three division games with only a 1-game lead on the Rockies.

Player of the game: Sheila Basanti went 3-for-3 for the Diamondbacks, with two of those hits being home runs and the other one being a double. Not only did she end up scoring every time she came up to bat, but she smacked in an astonishing 7(!) RBIs. After the game, the team went out for soft pretzels, and they were delicious; she got hers with jalapeños.

Blue Blue Jays 21, Boston Red Sox 8

The Blue Jays entered this game trying to keep pace in the AL West race, while the Red Sox were trying to ensure that they could keep control of the wild card seed. In the end, though, only one could win, and the Red Sox fell for the second week in a row. The Blue Jays accomplished this feat with a very good day on offense, as they managed 27 hits and a walk on their way to scoring 20 runs, although they did give up 3 on defense. Meanwhile, gmchappe had his worst showing of the year; although he managed to get 19 hits and a walk, his team was held to a single stolen base from Jackie Robinson, and while Boston did get 11 runs off of these 20 runners, they likewise gave up three runs. In the end, the combination of a good day from KiiiiiiiiiiiiiiS and a bad day from Boston meant that the Red Sox fell out of the playoffs completely and now trail the Rockies by a game while the Blue Jays remain only a game out of the division lead due to the Orioles winning. It’s not all bad news for the Red Sox, though; since the Athletics lost, the Red Sox are also only one game out of the division title, and stand a reasonable chance of claiming it if they can beat the Athletics in the final game of their season.

Player of the game: La papa is Spanish for potato, and this week Chico Pappas was definitely mashing taters for the Blue Jays, going 5-for-5 with a single, two doubles, and two homers on his way to 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored. He was also one of four players who stole one base (nobody else managed to steal any).

Seattle Mariners 17, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10

This was a must-win game for both these teams. For the Mariners, a win would keep them in both the wild card race and the AL Central race–a necessity, given that the Bombers and Tapirs share their division. For the Devil Rays, a win would keep them two games up on the Giants. Both these teams came to play, as the Devil Rays put up one of their best performances yet, managing to score 9 runs on 12 hits and 2 walks while pitching a shutout. This wasn’t enough to take down Seattle, though, as elchrisblanco posted 29 hits that turned into 17 runs in a shutout away game. Consequently, the Mariners remain two games back in both the wild card and the division and the intent to make the last few games matter, while Tampa Bay is now only one game ahead of the New York Giants as they enter the final division series. This could be important; while the Nationals likely won’t manage to edge out the Devil Rays for a playoff berth at this point, they could still play spoiler, and if the Giants can manage a couple of wins, they could very well sneak in as the NL West champions.

Player of the game: Davy Marian came to play! Not only was he the only member of the team to avoid being out, he was the only one to hit any homers, as he posted a 5-for-5 statline of 3 singles and 2 home runs for 4 RBIs and 4 runs scored. The only blemish on the day was an error he made in the field, but with an offensive statline like that, he’s easily forgiven.

Pittsburgh Pirates 12, Philadelphia Athletics 4

The Pirates were already eliminated when they came into this game, but like any good coach Jyknight wants his kids to go out and play as hard as they can. This week, they did just that; although pitcher Brad Radke allowed 4 runs and only threw 3 strikeouts, the offense combined for 20 hits (including five home runs) on their way to scoring 14 runs in total. Meanwhile, the Athletics had a surprisingly small game, putting up only four runs off of seven hits and a walk. In the end, the Athletics took the loss, but due to other losses across the league they remain in first place in the AL East and with a good chance of taking the second seed in the AL playoffs; in fact, because the Indians lost, they remain only a game behind of the first seed and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker for playoff positioning against them.

Player of the game: Although the Pirates performed well, nobody stood out in particular, so this week the award goes to the losing team’s pitcher, Amanda Hellerman. Although she didn’t do too well at the plate, going 0-for-1 with a walk, she did pitch a perfect game, and that’s always an accomplishment worthy of celebration.

Albuquerque Tapirs 27, Crazy Cubs 8

After MarcoMcGwire’s departure from the league, the Cubs were left coachless for Week 10, but at the start of Week 11 a newbie stepped in to take the reins and led the Cubs to their best showing on the year, scoring 10 runs (previous high: 7) and notching a run differential of 8 (previous high: 5). They did this by getting 10 runs off 17 hits, with all but two of their players getting two hits or more, and by not giving up too many runs (4 in total) despite their weak defense. Unfortunately for them, they ran into the red-hot Tapirs, who took advantage of the Cubs weak defense by smacking 38 hits, stealing a season-high 26 bases, and scoring 27 runs. A massive effort would have been needed to drop the Tapirs this week; expecting that from a newcomer playing his first game is just unrealistic. Still, it was a very strong effort from EclipsedxShadow, and although the Cubs need to sweep their final three games as well as have all the other results in the NL West fall their way, the fact remains that they currently look better than they have since early in the season. As for Albuquerque, this win combined with the Bombers loss puts them in a dead heat for the division title, with the Bombers currently holding the tiebreaker, and when combined with the Cardinals loss the Tapirs now have a 2-game lead against all other competitors in the wild card race, with their closest competition likely being the division rival Seattle Mariners, whom they play next week.

Player of the game: Angelique Harding was in rare form this week, managing to notch a 4-for-6 statline with two singles, two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Of course, that’s not all she did; she also pitched a one-hit shutout where she only faced 18 batters (getting the one runner out on a double player), threw four strikeouts, and only threw one ball outside the strike zone. And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, well, Ricky Johnson went 6-for-6 (all singles), had 1 RBI, scored four times, and grabbed a team-leading 8 stolen bases.