Devil Rays -5, Giants -5
In a contest between two teams whose AI counterparts had both beaten human players in Opening Week, it was a slaughterfest – by those AI teams. Both teams got comparable numbers of hits to their opposition, but couldn’t convert them into enough runs to keep up. Both Marilyn McDonnell and Maya Woodruff on the Giants went 3-for-3, but were stranded by their teammates time and again and couldn’t score, while Luanne Lui gave up 5 runs on the mound. The Devil Rays were doing all right until the AI Giants turned a double play, and then mercilessly barraged them with Crazy Bunt after Crazy Bunt to build a commanding lead. In the end, the Giants lost by only four runs to the Devil Rays’ 5 – but for the first time in league history, the home team modifier made a difference by being applied to an AI team! The AI Devil Rays never got to bat in the sixth inning and so got an extra run tacked on to their 5, sending the contest into a dead tie, and the Devil Rays won this incredibly close matchup thanks to their home team advantage in a wacky ending. They now sit atop the NL West with a 2-0 record.
Player of the game: Ronny Dobbs went 2-for-3 with a single and a triple, batting in two of the Devil Rays’ four runs, then sealed the deal with a 1.3 inning relief stint that gave up no runs and only a single hit, saving the game for his team.
Orioles 12, Wombats 4
After a strong Opening Week performance, the Wombats ran up against a wall while facing the Orioles, getting stymied in a matchup where their runs and hits combined tallied less than their run total in the previous game. Ichiro and Vladimir Guerrero had good days at the plate, but nobody else did, and a total of five strikeouts contributed to the Wombats stranding 9 runners while only scoring 4. On the flip side, the Orioles were able to bounce back quite nicely from their Opening Week loss, nearly doubling their number of hits and drawing an impressive six walks from the Wombats’ pitching staff. Everybody got on base at least twice, and all except Jim Thome scored as well. The O’s proved that they can be competitive, while the Wombats’ future in the division is in much more doubt than it was before this game. Now both 1-1, the teams await the second result from their division to see if there will be a clear leader or if all four teams will be tied after this week.
Player of the game: Isabelle Marelli gets the nod here, going three-for-four with two singles and a grand slam.
A’s 25, D’Backs 9
The Diamondbacks saw a marked improvement from their Opening Week contest, racking up nine more hits and eight more runs in a solid effort. Fred Benson headlined for the team with two singles, two doubles, and three RBI, while everybody on the team got on base at least twice. But their effort was dampened when Chris Milton gave up three runs on the mound, and the A’s went on a second romp almost as effective as their first to annihilate their score. Last week’s star Nomar Garciaparra actually didn’t do so well, hitting just one home run and going 1-for-5, but he was the least successful hitter on the A’s. The A’s improve to 2-0 and are again one of the toughest teams in the league, while the D’Backs are a struggling 0-2 to being the season.
Player of the game: Fellow shortstop Derek Jeter was there to fill Nomar’s shoes, going 5-for-5 with 4 singles, a home run, and 4 each of runs scored and runs batted in.
Bombers 4, Tapirs 3
After a strong start to the season, the Tapirs fizzled in their second game. They only got on base nine times total, less than half of last week’s total, and while Gwen Sears went 3-for-3 including a home run, four other players failed to get on base at all, resulting in a low score on the whole. Meanwhile, the Bombers so far haven’t been the powerhouse that some expected preseason, but they’ve been getting the job done. They scored one less run in this contest, but it came on one more hit and before extra innings, signalling an improvement over last week. Only Jillian Paine failed to get on base, and the resulting team effort was just enough to hand them a narrow victory. The Bombers now sit alone at the top of the NL Central with a 2-0 record.
Player of the game: Peggy Heffernan went 2-for-3 with a single and a double; she really merits this distinction by virtue of having batted in 3 of the Bombers’ 4 runs.
Yankees 9, Mariners -1
The Mariners struggled to score in their second game, only getting one run and then having victory stolen from them by a series of Screaming Linedrives by the AI Yankees. Meanwhile, the player-controlled Yankees stayed consistent, putting forth an effort nearly identical to last week’s – but while 15 hits and 9 runs might not have stood up to the Tapirs’ strong first game, it was enough to win this week’s game with a comfortable margin. Everybody except Arlene Perez contributed at least one hit to give the Yankees their first win of the season.
Player of the game: Yankees holdover Gary Allen gets the nod this week, going 3-for-3 with a single and two doubles and scoring after each of those hits.
Cardinals 2, Marlins -2
Still not in the groove yet, the Cardinals had a quiet day on their end, with a mere six hits resulting in two runs. When, led by Deschenes and his insane speed, the Marlins were up by four after two innings in their livestreamed end of the matchup on Saturday, it looked like the game was already a wrap. But the AI Cardinals struck back, stalling out the Marlins’ hitters and going on their own hitting spree as the game went on. Two runs put the Cards back in contention, a third gave them some insurance, and then, after the Marlins failed to pull off a rally to save the matchup, the AI Cards sealed the deal with a two-run shot by Hillary Vargas to defeat the player-controlled Marlins. That result leaves the Cardinals as the only undefeated team in the NL East despite scoring the least runs of the four, showing that being in the right place at the right time – and avoiding giving up runs to the AI – can matter just as much in some games.
Player of the game: In addition to being the only Cardinal with two hits (a single and a double) and scoring one of their two runs, Mr. Clanky pitched a second consecutive shutout with 10 strikeouts, ensuring no disasters happened on that end and establishing himself as the leading candidate early on for the Ace Wilson.
Braves 7, Angels 6
The Angels may have been a bit demoralized after their close loss to the Marlins. Each player still got on base at least once for them in a solid effort but this time nobody got more than two hits and the team collectively got eight players less on base, even though their final score was only one run worse. On the flip side, the Braves put up a nearly identical effort to their first game: in both games, they recorded 30 at-bats, 14 hits, 8 singles, 3 doubles, 7 runs, 8 strikeouts, and 3 errors! This time, though, they were able to keep the AI Angels down on defense as Randy Johnson pitched an 8-K shutout and turned last week’s +1 into this week’s much better +7. That gives them their first win of the season, while despite their promise the Angels have started the season off with two narrow defeats.
Player of the game: Lance Lambert once again stuck out for the Braves, this time batting 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, a home run, three runs scored, and five RBI.
Melonheads 17, Blue Jays 6
Full stats aren’t available for the Blue Jays, but it is known that they had trouble hitting the ball to places where the Melonheads’ fielders weren’t, giving them trouble and resulting in a weaker showing than they had in Opening Week. Meanwhile, the Melonheads followed up a good effort last week with a better one this time, racking up an extra 7 hits and 4 runs. Everybody except perennial struggle Rosanna Phelps got at least two hits, the team as a whole hit six home runs to boost their effort, and reigning MVP Jane Davis had an appropriate high-caliber game with four extra-base hits – all of this without the aid of powerups this time. This result puts all four teams in the AL West tied with a 1-1 record after two games – it’s the only division with this distinction, and leaves it very much appearing to be anybody’s for the taking. The competition in here could be fierce all season long.
Player of the game: Despite Davis’s strong game, the distinction goes to Maria Luna. She was a bit less impressive at the plate but still strong, 3-for-5 with a single, two home runs, three runs scored, and 4 RBI. To secure the PoTG distinction, she supplemented that with an excellent one-hit shutout on the mound.
Monsters 27, Red Sox 13
Despite getting two more players on base this week than last week, the Red Sox still managed to score five less runs. Only two home runs instead of five no doubt was a contributing factor, as the Monsters’ tough defense ensured that the Sox could only get extra bases on three of their 26 hits. It was still a good showing by the Sox, especially Pete Wheeler, who went 5-for-5 with both of the team’s home runs. But while the Monsters failed to score 50 again, they still scored plenty enough to blow their opposition out of the water. After a game where multiple hitters got 9 hits, one with a high hit count of 5 seemed pathetic by comparison, but it was still enough to easily give the Monsters the highest-scoring game of the week – 28 hits supplemented by 33 stolen bases does tend to be tough to beat. Now 2-0, the Monsters will face fellow division leaders the A’s in a blockbuster matchup for Week 3.
Player of the game: Ramona Bennett led the team with 5 hits – four singles and a double, with four runs scored and 2 RBI.
Indians 15, Tigers 5
The Tigers had a rough game, not helped by a home run by AI Cheryl Reynolds, leading to their second showing producing a much lower score than their first one. The Indians looked a bit worse too thanks to playing at a less hitter-friendly park, but they still did plenty enough to get the job done. Everybody got on base at least once, and a strong 6 home runs kept the offense up even though nobody got more than three hits this week. The Indians now lead the AL Central and are looking to give Crazyei8hts another successful season, while after two very different games, the Tigers’ future is much more in doubt.
Player of the game: Petra Chekov went 3-for-4 – all three of those hits home runs! Those also batted in a total of 7 runs, for nearly half of the Indians’ total.
Cubs 4, Expos -2
After suffering a devastating loss to the Devil Rays in Opening Week, the Expos tightened up on defense and saw a payoff, only giving up two runs to the AI Cubs. Unfortunately, they continued to struggle on offense, only able to achieve three hits and no runs. On the flip side, the Cubs also tightened up on defense, giving up just three runs as opposed to last week’s 6, and their output on offense also went up, getting a few more hitters on base and using their runners more efficiently this game to squeeze in a couple more runs. Everybody on the team except Kenny Kawaguchi contributed at the plate to give the Cubs their first win.
Player of the game: Alicia Blakely went 2-for-4 with a single and a double, but nabs this distinction thanks to having batted in 4 of the Cubs’ 7 runs.
Rockies 10, Pirates 6
The Pirates put forth a similar effort to their Week 1 performance in terms of run scored, but looked weaker on the whole as they got 8 less hits on the game, a pair of home runs helping them to use the hits they did get efficiently. On the other hand, after a rough opening week, the Rockies bounced back for their next game to capture their first win. The team got five more hits on the game, but more impressively were able to draw 6 walks from the Pirates to really get the edge and surge forward in a solid showing where everybody got on base at some point during the game, and prove that they will be able to play competitively this season. Now 0-2 and due to face their division leaders next week, the Pirates’ prospects aren’t looking so good.
Player of the game: Cindy Chang went 2-for-2 with two singles, and later displayed her patience with three walks on the game, getting on base five times total to earn this distinction.
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