Week 9 was absolutely nuts! The Backyard Conference continued to host a tight race for the last playoff slot (and we’re not even two-thirds of the way through the season), scabs continued to play in the Indoor Conference, and it’s crowded at the top in the Frontyard Conference! Add in several close games, including what might be the best Matchup Of The Week ever, and you’ve got a recipe for a dramatic and fantastic week of baseball.

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Junior Athletics

The Junior Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers entered this game both at 7-2 and tied for the lead in the Frontyard Conference. Despite both being leaders of their conference, they’d taken wildly different routes to get there. For the Athletics, it was a case of drafting great defense and solid offense that led them to their 7-2 record, as their only losses had come on a day when that offense faltered and they lost to the AI, and on a day when their offense faltered and they lost a tight defensive game on the home tiebreaker (to the Dodgers, interestingly enough). As for the Dodgers, they were drafted for offense, pitching, and absolutely nothing else in a scenario that left the woefully underpowered arm of Gretchen Hasselhoff behind home plate (opening third base for steals almost immediately on most fields), and after a cheating scandal that broke in the first two weeks, they were forced to forfeit their first two games (one of which was reversed by mutual agreement) and bring in a replacement head coach. This coach turned out to be surprisingly good, and the Dodgers proceeded to outhit most of their competition, only losing when the Twins put up 29 runs on their home field.

Naturally, plenty was on the line in this game. In addition to conference supremacy, pride was on the line, as Athletics coach MelloMathTeacher was fired up about his team’s close road loss to the Dodgers and intent on avenging it (largely by stealing as many bases as possible). With home field advantage and an incredibly strong defense led by the impeccable AI pitching of Todd Xavier on their side, the Athletics were looking to shut down the Dodgers high-octane offense, while the Dodgers were hoping to punch through in a way they couldn’t in these teams’ first matchup.

The game started auspiciously for the Dodgers, as they opened the game with a home run from Leah Wayne. They continued to score after that in the top of the first, as after a Debby Nagasawa groundout Albert Pujols hit a 2-run homer to right field; this was followed by Gretchen Hasselhoff and Ronny Dobbs both getting on base, where Jose Meisenheimer blasted only his second home run of the year to put Los Angeles up 6-0. Two swift popouts from the bottom of the order ended the top of the first, though, and when the Athletics took over they wasted no time setting up a comeback.

It started when leadoff batter Courtney Valentino hit an infield single and then stole two bases to land on third. She was singled in by Nan Porter, and after stealing second the Athletics ended up with runners on first and third after a Ray Tran single. Dawn Cozart then hit a ground rule double to offscreen left field, and with runners on second and third and no outs Sally Dobbs came to the plate with her team trailing 6-2 and no outs. She batted in a run with an outfield single, but some poor baserunning from Dawn Cozart resulted in a rundown and the game’s first out. Sally did end up getting to third on a pair of steals, though, and after Holly Franklin made it to first on an infield single where the defense chose not to attempt a play at first, Wendy Parsons came up to bat. After Holly stole second, Wendy grounded out to the pitcher, and Butch Sherrod came to the plate, where he hit a ball into the outfield that scored two runs and allowed him to land on first. Although the next batter ended up popping out, the damage was done, and the projected prorated score at the end of the inning was 6-6.

In the top of the 2nd, Los Angeles retook the lead after Leah Wayne tripled and was then driven in by a Debby Nagasawa double. After an Ernie Steele infield single where Debby advanced to third on a throwing error, Albert Pujols came up to the plate, and after Ernie stole second, he hit a deep sacrifice fly that scored both of the baserunners, putting the Dodgers up 9-6. They failed to score any further, however, and in the bottom of the second the Athletics took control. They opened with another Courtney Valentino where she stole second and third, got Nan Porter on base with an infield single where she subsequently stole second, and loaded the bases on a Ray Tran single where the coach chose not to send Courtney home. Dawn Cozart then came up and hit a single to deep right field that scored two runs, making the score 9-8; she was followed by Sally Dobbs, who batted in Ray from third after a double steal to tie the game. Another double steal put runners on second and third, and after an infield single from Holly Franklin to load the bases, Wendy Parsons popped up to the shallow outfield. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the ball was mishandled, and the error led to two runs scoring and the Athletics taking a prorated 12-9 lead. Another double steal occurred, and a Butch Sherrod single drove in yet another run. After Butch stole second, Todd Xavier grounded out for the first out of the inning, but Courtney Valentino then hit a 1-run double and Nan Porter got on base with an infield single. Ray Tran then approached the plate with the bases loaded and the Athletics up 14-9, and pitcher Albert Pujols (the third one for the Dodgers, taking the mound after Leah Wayne and Jose Meisenheimer) walked him to put the Athletics up 15-9. Courtney Valentino then scored on a fielder’s choice from Dawn Cozart (out at first), and this was followed up with Sally Dobbs’s 2-run single to left-center, putting the Athletics up by a prorated score of 19-9.

Another pitcher swap occurred then, and although it wasn’t evident at the time, this would prove to be a turning point in the game. When Ronny Dobbs took the mound, Holly Franklin ended up hitting a grounder to the third-base side of the field that Ronny snatched up and threw almost all the way across the diamond to first to get her out and end the inning. Offensively, the Dodgers narrowed the gap in the top of the third, managing a solo home run from Bobby Bulgrien that was technically still retrievable by virtue of going over the hose next to the shed in right field rather than over part of the fence proper (but that he still scored on by running the bases, a 2-run line drive homer into left from Debby Nagasawa scored her and Leah Wayne, and Albert Pujols hit a 2-run homer to right field that scored him and Ernie Steele before Gretchen Hasselhoff grounded out to end the two-out rally and leave the score at 19-14 in favor of the Athletics. However, in the bottom of the third, the Athletics offense saw its first hiccups, as Ronny Dobbs once again snagged a grounder to the right of the mound and made the long throw in time against Wendy Parsons and then caught a Butch Sherrod pop-up. At that point, the offense briefly came alive, with Todd Xavier getting an infield single and eventually stealing third followed by an infield single from Courtney Valentino getting an infield single and stealing second. An infield single from Nan Porter loaded the bases, and Ray Tran then hit a two-run double to right field that put the Athletics up 21-14, but the inning ended shortly after that when Dawn Cozart lined out to the shortstop.

The fourth inning passed fairly uneventfully, as the Dodgers offense slowed for the first time by only getting one hit in the top of the inning (a single from Murray Goldman) and not scoring at all and the Athletics offense similarly was halted when Sally Dobbs, Holly Franklin, and Wendy Parsons all went down in a row, with the latter two being gunned down at first by Ronny’s arm and Sally striking out against her little brother. However, the Dodgers bounced back in the top of the fifth as an error by the shortstop put Leah Wayne on first. A single to right field put runners on first and second, and the speed at the top of the Dodgers lineup came into play the very next at-bat, as a dribbler from Ernie Steele somehow managed not to be picked up in time to get anybody out. Albert Pujols then came up to bat with the bases loaded, and after fouling a few pitches off, he hit into a fielder’s choice that scored a run (Pujols was out at first). Gretchen Hasselhoff then made it to first with an infield single, and the bases were once again loaded, this time for Ronny Dobbs. After taking a pitch, Ronny liked the next one he saw and blasted it over his sister’s head in centerfield for a grand slam that cut the Athletics lead to 21-19.

After a Meisenheimer hit that was just barely short of being a home run, Murray Goldman struck out to put two outs on the board and Bobby Bulgrien popped up to end the inning, but the pressure was now on for the Athletics to reinforce their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Unfortunately for the Athletics, the first two batters they had up were both weak and slow hitters, who grounded out. Courtney Valentino then came up as their last home to score more runs, and when she got on first and stole third followed by Nan Porter also making it to first on an infield grounder, the Athletics had hope that they could increase their lead. Unfortunately for them, Ronny Dobbs was taken off the mound for a fresh arm, and Bobby Bulgrien struck out the only batter he faced.

Los Angeles entered the top of the sixth down by two in an offense-heavy game, needing to score at least three in order to take the win since the home team wins all ties. Once again, Leah Wayne led off the order, and hit a towering pop fly to deep right center that turned into a ground rule double when neither the right fielder nor the center fielder made a call for the ball, allowing it to drop to the ground and bounce over the fence. Debby Nagasawa then fouled out to left field, but Ernie Steele managed to get on base with an infield single that advanced Leah to third. Albert Pujols then came to the plate as the possible winning run, and after Ernie Steele stole second he hit a fly ball to deep center that was dropped, allowing two runs to score and putting the winning run on first with two outs available for the Dodgers. One of those outs would occur immediately, however, as Gretchen Hasselhoff would hit a grounder that would put her on first but get Pujols out at second on a fielder’s choice.

It was then that insanity happened, as in the Athletics’ version of the game the AI version of Leah Wayne smashed an 0-1 pitch from reliever Sally Dobbs into the pigpen for a home run. This dropped the Athletics score by a run, and suddenly put the Dodgers up 21-20, giving them the lead for the first time since the second inning. The Dodgers were unable to score any more runs, as Ronny Dobbs grounded out, and the Athletics did prevent the AI Dodgers from scoring any more runs, but the game would evidently come down to the bottom of the sixth and the defense of the Dodgers.

There, the defense bent heavily, leaving Gretchen Hasselhoff’s 0.00 ERA in jeopardy as Sally Dobbs came up to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third. She started off shakily, missing the strike zone twice to set Sally up with a 2-0 count, but regained control, getting Sally to swing and miss on two inside pitches that would’ve been strikes anyway. She then proceeded to throw a special slo-mo pitch that missed the strike zone for ball three, bringing the game to a vital full count, but doubled down and threw another slo-mo. This time, the pitch would’ve hit the strike zone, but Sally swung early and missed completely, striking out and ending the game.

Los Angeles Dodgers 21, Junior Athletics 20

Next week’s game: Super-Duper Wombats vs. Boston Cubs

A matchup for Backyard supremacy ensues, as two of the top three teams in the conference face off. The Wombats boast the best offense in the conference, as they’ve put up the most runs of any Backyard team, while the Cubs have one of the worst Backyard offenses but make up for it with their tenacious defense that has shut down most of their opponents. These two are going to fight to the finish to try and prove themselves as the best team in the Backyard and slip into pole position as the playoffs near. Don’t miss it; it’s happening August 28th at 8:30 P.M. MDT, only on Sisu’s Twitch!

Player of the game: On the broadcast, the Los Angeles AI’s version of Ronny Dobbs was named the player of the game because the Athletics’ offense was absolutely shut down from the moment he came on the mound…but since that award doesn’t go to the AI, it’s gonna have to be someone else. Dodgers pitcher Gretchen Hasselhoff was fantastic, going the full game while striking out 10 (including the vital final strikeout with two runners in scoring position) and allowing only five hits, and was named the Frontyard Conference’s PITCHER OF THE WEEK, but because of the huge scores posted by both teams I’m afraid that this award has to go to the Frontyard Conference’s BATTER OF THE WEEK instead: Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went 3-for-5 with a single and a pair of homers, bringing in 9 runs and scoring twice.

FRONTYARD CONFERENCE

Humongous Hornets 2, Little Giants -1

In a game between two teams near the bottom of the conference, someone had to win. In this instance, it was the Hornets–on both sides. For the Humongous Hornets, the story was the implacability of Amanda Hellerman when she pitched for the Giants AI, as they were mostly held in check with a 7-hit day where their only runs came off of a two-run homer from Cliff Floyd. For the Litte Giants, however, it was the same old story as it’s been all season: defense okay, offense 404 not found. The Giants average exactly one run given up per game, and that was the case here; unfortunately for them, that was one run too many, as despite producing one more hit than the Hornets, they were unable to produce any runs. As both teams are already eliminated from the playoffs, this outcome has no impact on the playoff picture, but it does give Hornets fans a bit of hope that they might see a strong finish at the end of the season.

Player of the game: If you expected to see a pitcher here, you’re absolutely right. Annie Frazier and Angelique Harding split duties on the mound for the Hornets, but Annie was the one who shouldered more of the load, pitching 3 1/3 innings, striking out three, and allowing three hits on her way to shutting out the Giants AI offense. She wasn’t a slouch on offense, either, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and a strikeout; it’s just a shame that she couldn’t find anyone to bat her across the plate.

Minnesota Twins 10, Florida Marlins 2

After a deflating loss to the Athletics that pushed the Twins out of being immediately in line for a playoff spot, Minnesota rebounded against the Marlins, putting up 9 runs on 18 hits while shutting them out defensively. As has been the case for the past few weeks, Florida had no response, as they found themselves able to gain traction against the Twins defense, only managing 11 hits and a walk as they scored 4 runs while giving up 9 hits and 2 runs of their own. In the end, the Twins gained on the Athletics and are now tied with them and the Devil Rays for second place in the division, while the Marlins have once again faltered and are all but eliminated from playoff contention.

Player of the game: Julie Dunkel was a one-woman show for the Minnesota Twins. At the plate, she went 3-for-3 with a single and two home runs (both solo shots). On the mound, she pitched a complete-game shutout with six strikeouts while allowing only 6 hits. And in the dugout, she brought enough gum to share with everybody.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays 12, New York Yankees 6

The Yankees and Devil Rays had equal records coming into this game, but they were trending in two different directions. While Tampa Bay had been solid all season, they’d picked up the pace after a humiliating loss to the Athletics’ AI and had just put up their second-best game of the season against the Humongous Hornets (incidentally, the best game they had was also against the Hornets, in Week 4). Meanwhile, New York had cooled off from their hot 3-1 start, having dropped a few games against strong competition. In this instance, momentum won out, as while the Yankees were able to score 5 runs off of 12 hits and 2 walks, the Devil Rays did far better, scoring 15 runs on 23 hits and convincingly winning the match despite giving up three runs on defense. Tampa Bay now finds itself tied for second place with the Twins and Athletics, while New York is suddenly starting to flag in the top-heavy Frontyard Conference.

Player of the game: Robert Young of the Devil Rays went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, and a home run. He scored twice and had 5 RBIs. I guess unlike Jesse Dylan, the Devil Rays will be…forever Young.

INDOOR CONFERENCE

Texas Rangers 17, Boston Reds 10

The Boston Reds finally had a good day, putting up 13 runs on 26 hits at Dirt Yards. Unfortunately, their score was lowered slightly by giving up 3 runs on defense, and it ended up not being enough for them to get the win anyway as the Texas Rangers once again did enough to win by scoring 17 runs on 18 hits and a pair of walks. Even the Rangers’ subpar defensive performance where they allowed 3 runs on 12 hits wasn’t enough to impair them, and the Rangers ran away with the win to stay undefeated and atop the Indoor Conference. The Reds, of course, are still eliminated.

Player of the game: Even though they lost, this was the Reds best game to date, and a big part of that was Mike Piazza having a good day. The drummer went 4-for-5 with a pair of singles and a pair of doubles that brought in 4 runs while scoring thrice himself. He was also blasting Anthrax in the clubhouse before the game, so maybe the coach should play more thrash.

Milwaukee Braves 17, Super-Duper Melonheads 3

Another team that’s typically struggled to put runs across the plate absolutely exploded in this one, as the Braves had their best game all season. Offensively, they were fantastic, getting 17 runs on 23 hits and a trio of walks in a game where they managed an impressive 8 home runs (more than a third of all the homers they’ve had this season). Defensively, they were just as solid as ever, as Shohei Ohtani pitched a 2-hit shutout complete game where he mowed down 8 batters at the plate. And overall, this should give them hope for next season, as like their opponents they’re still eliminated from playoff contention. Speaking of their opponents, this was just a disaster, as the Super-Duper Melonheads left 11 runners stranded (4 runs on 15 hits) and gave up 7 hits and a run. Although both these teams are going to write off this season as a lost year, this result should at least bolster the Braves confidence heading into the final stretch of the season.

Player of the game: On a day when Milwaukee shone brightly, Libby Futterman had the strongest performance (or should I say the Bravest performance? Heh). She went 4-for-4 with a pair of singles and a pair of home runs that got her 6 RBIs and saw her score 3 times. After the game, she claimed that pigeons can communicate with tigers and giraffes but they don’t do it much because they don’t have much to talk about.

BACKYARD CONFERENCE

Wizard Wombats 27, Junior Brewers 27 (HOME DECISION)

The Wizard Wombats may be one of the top teams in the league, but the famously mercurial Junior Brewers made this game the closest one of the season, with the separation in score being exactly nothing once the home multiplier was factored in. Once again, the Wombats put up a great offensive performance, smashing 10 homers as they scored 25 runs off of 33 hits and a walk. Unfortunately, their powerhouse offense was tempered by their defense, which let up 10 hits and three runs, which was almost enough to push the Brewers over the finish line. The Junior Brewers were no slouches, scoring 28 runs off of 41 hits, and they would’ve taken the win were it not for them giving up a single inopportune run. In the end, the game was an exact tie, and since the Wombats were the home team, they were given the win by decision.

Player of the game: Jenny Jenny, who can I turn to? Jennifer Goodfellow was, as she often is, a monster at the plate for the Wizard Wombats, going 4-for-5 with a double and 3–count ’em, 3–home runs. She always seemed to come up with runners on base, too, as she had 10 RBIs (double digits, Paul!) and ended up scoring every time she got a hit. Also, she doesn’t have a favorite Scorsese movie; apparently her parents don’t think she’s “old enough to handle them.” Honestly, they’re not wrong.

Baltimore Orioles 16, Montana Floss 13

The Baltimore Orioles had their best game of the season at Sandy Flats, felling the Montana Floss in another close game for them. For the Floss, it was a tough, gritty affair as all their hitters stopped at first (final reckoning: 24 hits for 24 singles. Also, three walks) and they were only able to score 12 runs while giving up one of their own (only their second of the year. Meanwhile, the Orioles were able to actually hit the ball deep, as of their 25 hits 7 of them went for extra bases (2 doubles, 5 home runs). Despite Sandy Flats’ reputation as a defensive field, it favored the Orioles heavily, and they took the win. The Floss and Orioles are now tied at the bottom of the conference, both 3-6–and also both only a game out of the final playoff spot.

Player of the game: Marky Dubois was okay on offense; he went 4-for-5, all singles, with one RBI and two scores. But on the mound, he was murderous, pitching a 1-hit shutout that saw him get 8 strikeouts and throw only 41 pitches (all strikes). This was good enough to make him the Backyard Conference’s PITCHER OF THE WEEK!

Purple Sox 27, Boston Cubs 8

After a tough Week 8 loss to the Wizard Wombats, the Purple Sox bounced back against the tough defense of the Boston Cubs. For the Cubs, it was a poor day offensively (as most of their losses have been), as they were only able to get on base 16 times (14 hits, 2 walks) and only scored half of their runners. Meanwhile, the Purple Sox had an unprecedented offensive performance, shattering the Cubs seemingly impenetrable defense (which had never given up more than 15 runs, even when including any home team proration) to the tune of 34 hits, 2 walks, and 27 runs. This performance gave the Purple Sox a blowout win and leaves them tied with the Cubs for second place in the Backyard Conference.

Player of the game: Kay O’Toole continues to be the best part of the Purple Sox, this time going 6-for-6 with two doubles, two triples, and two home runs. She had 8 RBIs and scored every time she came up to bat. Always taciturn, she had nothing to say when asked to comment on her performance.

Green Monsters 32, Red Phillies 22

The Brewers may be the most unpredictable team in the Backyard Conference, posting run differentials that range from +5 to +38, but the Monsters are no slouches in that department either. Here, they put up their best score yet while on the road at Playground Commons, leaning on their power-heavy lineup to put up 34 runs on 46 hits (with eight of those hits being homers) while giving up two runs of their own. The Phillies would have been hard pressed to match this score, but they gave it a valiant effort as they swatted an incredible 12 dingers. Unfortunately, these homers frequently came with the bases empty, and the Phillies ended up only scoring 20 runs while also allowing two Monsters across the plate. The Monsters and Phillies are now tied for the 4th Backyard slot in the playoffs as they’re now both 4-5.

Player of the game: The Monsters had some great hitting, but the undisputed best was Raquel Cullen, who was named the Backyard Conference’s BATTER OF THE WEEK! How, you might ask? She went 7-for-7 with two singles, a double, and an impressive 4 home runs. She scored six times on the day. She stole a base. And most importantly, she hit double digit RBIs, with 10. It’s a well-deserved win for the Monsters this week, and a well-deserved award for Yvonne. (Let’s not talk about her pitching performance.)

RETURN OF THE SCABS

Once again, two coaches in the Indoor Conference needed substitute coaches. They were the same two teams as last time (the Angels and the Bombers), but this time they wouldn’t face each other. Instead, there would be two teams who still had their regular coaches facing off against substitutes.

Arizona Diamondbacks 20, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pink Angles Association 1

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pink Angles Association was the second team to acquire a substitute. In this case, the problem was that Jomar was travelling but didn’t realize he’d need someone to sit in for him until very late in the week. The lucky dog who got to coach the team after the horrid performance JorgesBankAccount put up last week? That would happen to be the one and only BootyHunter.

BootyHunter is an interesting coach, to say the least. He coached the Minnesota Monsters for 7 games in Season 6, coming in as a midseason replacement for Aesnop in one of the toughest divisions possible. Under him, the Monsters struggled, in large part because of his inexperience and in larger part because they were built for a specific and unusual playstyle. The one bright spot for the Monsters after their first coach left was that their pitching improved immensely, with pitcher Ramona Bennett actually setting the single-game record for strikeouts in the last game of the season (20 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings, tying a record set that same week of 20 strikeouts in 16 innings and outpacing it by being much more efficient).

It was expected that as a pitching guru with Mr. Clanky on his team, BootyHunter would put up a pitching performance for the ages. While he didn’t quite do that, he had a great day with the robot arm on the mound, throwing a 1-hit shutout complete with 11 strikeouts that got Mr. Clanky the Indoor Conference’s PITCHER OF THE WEEK award. Unfortunately, Jomar’s similarly unorthodox lineup combined with BootyHunter’s uncertain offensive abilities kept the Angels down, as they only scored one run (off of a Mr. Clanky solo shot). It was easy for the Diamondbacks to exceed this, as they took 29 hits and a walk and turned them into 20 runs and a win. The Diamondbacks remain in second place in the Indoor Conference, at 8-1, while the Angels are now 3 games out of the playoff race despite being the third-best team in the conference.

Player of the game: I’d love to give the award to Mr. Clanky for his great performance, but as is almost always the case when it comes to the Diamondbacks, the award goes to Jay Green. Jay Green actually had a better-than-usual day by the standards Sisu’s set for him this season (and isn’t that terrifying), as he went 5-for-5 with a single, a double, a triple, and a home run. And another home run, because of course he did. He had 8 RBIs, scored every time he came up to bat, and was the only Arizona player to commit an error. (Wait. That’s not good. Ha! He’s not perfect!) He’s also now leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs, and sits 3 runs behind the current leader for runs scored (Kay O’Toole of the Purple Sox).

Seattle Fishes 15, Baltimore Bombers 5

In contrast to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pink Angels Association, the Bombers have enlisted the services of a semi-permanent substitute coach while their normal coach is otherwise occupied. This coach is Repub92, who joined the league a bit too late to take on a team in Season 6 and didn’t opt to coach full-time in this season but was willing to step in for the Bombers on a trial basis. He won his first game against the Angels, but as they had a substitute who performed rather poorly (it was me), this game was viewed as the Bombers first true test.

Unfortunately for Repub, the Fishes are coached by someone who seems to usually start out slow before settling in and going on a tear later in the season. That was the case last season with elchrisblanco’s Seattle Mariners, and has been the case this season with the surging Seattle Fishes. While the Bombers did have a respectable enough performance, scoring 5 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks and shutting out their opponent’s AI, the Fishes steamrolled them, scoring 14 runs on 25 hits and a walk while allowing only one run. This leaves the Fishes still barely alive in the playoff race, while the Bombers stay still technically ahead of the Fishes but still falling behind in the race as Texas and Arizona continue to soar.

Player of the game: There were plenty of strong hitters for Seattle, but the best one of them all was Jane Davis. She went 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a home run, drove in 3 RBIs, and scored every time she came up to bat. After the game, she was curious as to whether a robot snake cyborg would be able to obey Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, or whether the snake’s instincts would render it noncompliant.

STANDINGS

Backyard Conference
Wizard Wombats [Wizard] (7-2)
Boston Cubs [KiiiiiiiiiiiiiS] (6-3)
Purple Sox [aesnop] (6-3)
Red Phillies [crazyei8hts] (4-5)
Green Monsters [Yurya] (4-5)
Junior Brewers [jibbodahibbo] (3-6)
Montana Floss [JorgesBankAccount] (3-6)
Baltimore Orioles [Mavfatha] (3-6)

Indoor Conference
Texas Rangers [Jyknight] (9-0)
Arizona Diamondbacks [Sisu] (8-1)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pink Angles Association [JOMAR] (5-4)
Baltimore Bombers [jlund] (5-4)
Seattle Fishes [elchrisblanco] (4-5)
Milwaukee Braves [Natetastic] (3-6)
Boston Reds [shrewsbury] (1-8)
Super-Duper Melonheads [Eauxps I. Fourgott] (1-8)

Frontyard Conference
Los Angeles Dodgers [hitace] (7-2)
Junior Athletics [MelloMathTeacher] (6-3)
Minnesota Twins [Toast] (6-3)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays [T-Boz] (6-3)
New York Yankees [Marco] (5-4)
Florida Marlins [skolgamingnetwork] (3-6)
Humongous Hornets [Vissery] (2-7)
Little Giants [SilverBullet102] (1-8)

PLAYOFF PICTURE

BACKYARD
#1 Wizard Wombats [Wizard] (7-2)
#2 Boston Cubs [KiiiiiiiiiiiiiS] (6-3)
#3 Purple Sox [aesnop] (6-3)
#4 Green Monsters [Yurya] (4-5)

IN THE HUNT
#5 Red Phillies [crazyei8hts] (4-5)
#6 Junior Brewers [jibbodahibbo] (3-6)
#7 Baltimore Orioles [Mavfatha] (3-6)
#8 Montana Floss [JorgesBankAccount] (3-6)

INDOOR
#1 Texas Rangers [Jyknight] (9-0)
#2 Arizona Diamondbacks [Sisu] (8-1)

IN THE HUNT
#3 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pink Angles Association [JOMAR] (5-4)
#4 Baltimore Bombers [jlund] (5-4)

FRONTYARD
#1 Los Angeles Dodgers [hitace] (7-2)
#2 Junior Athletics [MelloMathTeacher] (6-3)

IN THE HUNT
#3 Tampa Bay Devil Rays [T-Boz] (6-3)
#4 Minnesota Twins [Toast] (6-3)
#5 New York Yankees [Marco] (5-4)

CURRENTLY ELIMINATED*
Little Giants [SilverBullet102] (Frontyard Conference)
Humongous Hornets [Vissery] (Frontyard Conference)
Milwaukee Braves [Natetastic] (Indoor Conference)
Super-Duper Melonheads [Eauxps I. Fourgott] (Indoor Conference)
Boston Reds [shrewsbury] (Indoor Conference)
*elimination calculations by Sports Club Stats

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I feel like JBA’s gotten really unlucky this season.” – KiiiiiiiiiiiiiS, Boston Cubs head coach, on JorgesBankAccount, Montana Floss head coach

“Prepare yourself for shenanigans.” – Toast, Minnesota Twins head coach, on his team’s performance

“I work, study, and practice a LOT to get where I am so I seem to be overachieving… mostly because its summer and I can, and a FY title is actually reachable for a dedicated rookie.” – MelloMathTeacher, Junior Athletics head coach, on how he prepares for games

“I get free state fair tickets.” – JOMAR, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Pink Angles Association head coach, flexing on all of us

“‘Ooooooohhhhh, Kay.’ No. Kay O.” – MelloMathTeacher, Junior Athletics head coach, watching Kay O’Toole’s performance in the Week 2 Matchup Of The Week and creating a joke that just won’t die

“Birthdays are meaningless.” – Todd Xavier, Junior Athletics pitcher

“Texas likes sports.” – jibbodahibbo, Junior Brewers head coach, on the Rangers success this season

“I prepped all these primates three days ago.” Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, on phone calls

“God, I need hugs.” – MelloMathTeacher, Junior Athletics head coach, on disappointment

“Too bad we can’t both win.” – hitace, Los Angeles Dodgers head coach, missing the point of competition