Playoffs: Semifinals, Second Tuesday Roundup

Coming off being named August's NL pitcher of the month, Jack Flaherty tossed another gem Tuesday.
In his past 7 starts, he's 5-1 with a 0.59 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 47 innings. Opponents are slugging .199 against him.

STUDS: Pete Alonso (HG) homered, singled twice, scored twice and drove in 2. Nicholas Castellanos (HG) homered, singled and drove in 4. Kyle Schwarber (AL) was a triple shy of a cycle, walked and scored twice. Jeff McNeil (CB) homered, singled, scored twice and drove in 3. Juan Soto (WLB) was a triple shy of a cycle, scored 3 runs and drove in 3. Jack Flaherty (M) struck out 8 in 8 shutout, 1-hit innings for the win. Jon Lester (LCL) struck out 9 in 6 shutout innings for the win.

DUDS: Colin Moran (LCL) erred. Felipe "Vazquez" allowed a run and struck out 1 in 1 inning to blow a save. At least it wasn't on a 2-out homer by Miguel Rojas! (is handed bulletin) Oh wait, I'm now being told that's exactly how it happened. Well, that's embarrassing for all of us. Edwin Diaz (M) brought up the extreme rear in the horse's ass that is the Mets bullpen, allowing the final 2 runs, blowing the save, taking the loss and bringing all of us a great amount of joy. When the Mets bullpen gives up 7 runs in 1/3 of an inning to lose horribly, that means not everything is wrong in the world.

Playoffs: Semifinals, Second Monday Roundup

Chris Taylor is one of 11 Dodgers with a double-digit home run total this season. 

STUDS: Charlie Blackmon (CB) hit 3 doubles, drove in a run and scored twice. J.D. Davis (FF) doubled, singled twice, drove in 2 and scored twice. Chris Taylor (YA) hit a pair of solo homers and singled. Noah Syndergaard (M) bounced back from a rough outing, striking out 10 and keeping the Nats off the board in a 7-inning win. Rhys Hoskins (LCL) hit a pair of homers and drove in 3.

DUDS: Joey Votto (AL) walked and erred. Juan Soto (WLB) went 0-fer with an error.

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Sunday Roundup

Suddenly the 2 errors make a lot more sense. 

STUDS: Eric Hosmer (CB) was a homer short of a cycle, walked, drove in a run and scored. Patrick Corbin (R) and Luis Castillo (FF) each struck out 8 and allowed 3 runs in a 6-inning win. Juan Soto (WLB) homered, doubled twice, drove in 3 and scored twice. Hector Neris (WLB) blew a save and struck out 2 in 1.2 innings — but he got a vulture wins because he was facing the Mets. Freddie Freeman (LCL) homered twice, singled and drove in 5.

DUDS: Ryan "Ed" McMahon (HG) singled, scored and committed 2 errors. Dustin May (HG) struck out 1 and allowed 3 runs in 0.1 inning; he also got hit in the head by a line drive. That's a bad day. Craig Kimbrel (HG) struck out 1 and allowed 3 runs in 0.2 inning. Jeff Samardzija (AL) struck out 2 and allowed 6 runs in a 5.1-inning loss.

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Saturday Roundup

Shouldn't the Nationals be shutting this guy down so he's fresh for their next few World Series runs? 

STUDS: Anthony Rendon (YA) homered twice and scored 3 runs. Juan Soto (WLB) homered, doubled, drove in 2 and scored twice. Stephen Strasburg (CB) struck out 14 and didn't allow a run in an 8-inning win. Wilson Ramos (HG) doubled, singled 3 times, drove in a run and scored twice. Kevin Newman (HG) homered, singled twice, drove in 2 and scored 3 runs. Eugenio Suarez (AL) homered, doubled, walked, drove in 2 and scored twice. Bryan Reynolds (AL) doubled twice, singled, drove in 3 and scored a run.

DUDS: Marcell Ozuna (FF) walked and erred.

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Friday Roundup

Brandon Belt was one of about a dozen guys who finished a triple shy of a cycle. Rich was extremely happy for him.

STUDS: Nicholas Castellanos (HG) homered twice and drove in 4. Brandon Belt (AL) was a triple short of a cycle, drove in 3 and scored 3 runs. Madison Bumgarner (AL) struck out 9 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Starling Marte (CB) doubled, singled twice and scored 4 runs. Ozzie Albies (R) doubled twice, singled twice, scored twice and drove in a run. Eduardo Escobar (R) was a triple short of a cycle and drove in 2. Max Fried (R) struck out 11 and allowed 3 runs in a 6-inning win. Michael Conforto (WLB) was a triple short of a cycle, scored twice and drove in 2. Archie Bradley (YA) struck out 3 in a 1.2-inning win. Anthony Rendon (YA) doubled, singled twice, walked, drove in 3 and scored a run. Ian Desmond (YA) was a triple short of a cycle and scored twice.

DUD: Chase Anderson (M) allowed 5 runs and struck out 2 in a 4-inning loss.

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Thursday Roundup

If it were up to us, there'd be a picture of Aristides Aquino up here every day. Oh wait, it IS up to us. Hmm....

STUDS: Kevin Newman (HG) homered twice, doubled, singled, scored twice and drove in 4. Eduardo Escobar (R) homerd, singled, scored twice and drove in 3. Aristides Aquino (R) homered, singled twice and drove in 3. Chris Paddack (FF) struck out 8 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Justin Turner (M) homered, doubled and drove in 3.

DUDS: Hyun-Jin Ryu (HG) allowed 7 runs and struck out 4 in a 4.2-inning loss as his skid continued. Chris Taylor (YA) erred. Isan Diaz (PM) walked and was caught stealing BUT DIDN'T MAKE AN ERROR WAY TO GO ISAN!

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Wednesday Roundup

Hunky Tony DeSclafani totally gnarled up the Marlins, dude.

STUDS: Anthony DeSclafani (HG) struck out 8 in 7 shutout innings for the win. Aristides Aquino (R) homered, doubled, scored twice and drove in 3. Keston Hiura (FF) homered, doubled and drove in 3. Juan Soto (WLB) tripled, singled, scored twice and drove in 2. JT Realmuto  (PM) was a double shy of a cycle and scored twice. Cesar Hernandez (M) doubled, singled twice, scored twice and drove in 3. Freddie Freeman (LCL) homered, doubled, scored twice and drove in 2. Rhys Hoskins (LCL) tripled, doubled, drove in 1, walked and scored twice.

DUDS: Javier Baez (AL) scored and erred (sounds like a fun night at the club, you ask me). Kirby Yates (AL) struck out 1 and allowed 2 unearned runs to take the loss in a 0.2-inning outing. Thanks, Padres defense! Noah Syndergaard (M) gave up 9 earned runs and struck out 5 in a 3-innin gloss.

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Tuesday Roundup

It's nice that Mets fans occasionally get to see successful, undamaged players.

STUDS: Nick Senzel (HG) had a homer, a single, a walk, 2 runs, 3 RBIs and a steal. Javier Baez (AL) homered, doubled twice, drove in 3, walked and was caught stealing. Eugenio Suarez (AL) was a triple shy of a cycle, scored twice and drove in 2. Yu Darvish (AL) struck out 7 and allowed 1 run in an 8-inning win. Miles Mikolas (CB) struck out 10 and allowed 1 run in a 6-inning win. Nolan Arenado (R) was a triple shy of a cycle and drove in 3. Luis Castillo (FF) allowed 5 runs and struck out 11 in a 6-inning win. Felipe "Vazquez" (FF) struck out 2 in 1.1 innings to earn the vulture win. Walker Buehler (PM) struck out 11 in 6 shutout innings for the win.

DUDS: Ryan McMahon (HG) and Josh Donaldson (CB) erred. Rhys Hoskins (LCL) singled and erred.

Playoffs: Semifinals, First Monday Roundup

Don't worry, it's not just you. Freddy Galvis ALSO can't believe that he has 22 homers this year.

STUDS: Sonny Gray (AL) struck out 6 and allowed 2 runs in a 6-inning win. Marcell Ozuna (FF) singled, doubled, scored twice and drove in 3. Freddy Galvis (YA) homered, singled twice and drove in 4. Paul DeJong (PM) homered, walked twice, scored twice and drove in 3. Justin Turner (M) was a triple shy of a cycle and drove in 2.

DUDS: Mike Moustakas (WLB) erred and got hurt. Hector Neris (WLB) allowed a run in a 1-inning blown save, striking out 1. Ketel Marte (PM) singled, walked and erred. AJ Pollock (M) erred, as did Nick Ahmed (LCL).

Playoffs: First Round, The Check Swing

There was a lot to smile about if you played for the Nationals, or even if you just had some in your lineup.

The top seeds all advanced in our first-round playoff matchups, setting up some juicy 1 vs. 2 semifinals. Another two-week matchup, with the same week-to-week pitching rules. Use those moves, people! You don't get to roll them into 2020.

First-round playoff finals

(2) Hassey's Girl 372.7, (3) Fresh Fish 359.8
(1) The Rookies 383.2, (4) Yari's Autonomics 369.2
(2) Clemente's Bucs 465.5, (3) When the Ledee Breaks 411.3
(1) Arbitration Losers 337, (4) Project Mayhem 297.7
Consolation: The Misfits 323.5, Lumber Co Lumber 310

Semifinal matchups

(1) Arbitration Losers vs. (2) Hassey's Girl
(1) The Rookies vs. (2) Clemente's Bucs

The week in review

Who let that homeless man into the park?

1. Clemente's Bucs (4084.5, last week 2): An offensive explosion for the ages propelled Ray's team to a first-round win and back to the top of the overall standings. His offense alone scored 348.5 points, which was more than 4 other entire teams in the first round. Trea Turner led the way at 57 - 14 singles, 4 doubles, 3 homers, 14 RBIs, 14 runs, 3 steals - but plenty of others had huge weeks too. Victor Robles (47) was also part of the Nationals' offensive exhibition, and Charlie Blackmon (39), Starling Marte (44.5), Max Muncy (43) and Josh Donaldson (45.5) crushed everything too. All told: 24 homers, 28 doubles, 65 RBIs, 79 runs, 16 steals for this crew. Yikes. For Henry's sake - and that of the rest of us poor saps - hopefully the offense wore itself out a bit. Elsewhere, Stephen Strasburg (37.7) and Dallas Keuchel (36) anchored the staff, which overcame Mike Leake (5) and Alex Wood (6.3) pitching exactly like Mike Leake and Alex Wood.

2. The Rookies (4025.4 points, last week 1): Pretty sure if we'd told you before the season that Max Fried (29) and Dakota Hudson (31.7) would play huge roles in The Rookies' trip to the semifinals, you might not have believed us. But there they were, going 3-0 with 26 strikeouts in Henry's narrow win against YA. Actual ace Patrick Corbin (30) was also great, making up for a lack of much from Zack Wheeler (3) and Adam Wainwright (13.7). As it has been all season, The Rookies' offense was immense, with new addition Aristides Aquino's 42 points only coming in third among hitting points behind Nolan Arenado (45.5) and Cody Bellinger (43.5). Goodness. Eduardo Escobar (33) and Scott Kingery (31) also pitched in in a major way.

The league needs more left-handed Italians.

3. When the Ledee Breaks (3944.6, last week 3): Matt was our tough-luck loser in the first round, putting up the second-most points but getting toppled by Ray's powerhouse. The hitting numbers are pretty staggering: Juan Soto (58), Trevor Story (43), Mike Moustakas (39), Ronald Acuna Jr. (34.5), Michael Conforto (32), etc., etc. More of the same for the WLB offense. The pitching staff, as usual, was all over the place. Jose Quintana (38) was terrific, Joey Lucchesi (29.7) had a pair of wins, and Steven Matz (25.3) was solid.  Zach Davies (4), Drew Smyly (6) and Chase Anderson (-3.7), though, showed the other side of prioritizing offense above all else. Matt was ahead of the curve with his all-offense gambit, and looking at the fantasy numbers this year, more of us may be following his lead in the coming years.

4. Yari's Autonomics (3901, last week 4): Adam's offense went berserk but his pitching was largely a no-show in a narrow loss to The Rookies. Anthony Rendon (56.5) tried to singlehandedly carry the team to victory, and Kevin Pillar (44) was obnoxiously good as well. Josh Bell (29) warmed back up a bit and Jean Segura (31) was his usual self. But the pitching, well, it wasn't great, outside of ace Zack Greinke (42.7), who went 3-0. Max Scherzer (6) left his lone start with an injury, Sean Doolittle (2.3) got roughed up and then went on the IL, and Cole Hamels (12) gave up 13 runs in 13 innings. Mikes Soroka (17.7) and Foltnewicz (7.7) weren't able to make up for the lack of top-end success. But hey, at least Archie Bradley (11.3) has a home now!

If his name were longer, there'd be letters on his butt.

5. Hassey's Girl (3896.4, last week 5): A shoddy draft and ample injuries have forced the commssioners to cobble together a team, and that collection of mostly randos managed to top the Fish to move into the semis. Ace Aaron Nola (43) was awesome, making up for Hyun-Jin Ryu (5) hitting the wall and German Marquez (6) struggling and, shocker, getting hurt. Closer Craig Kimbrel (13) came back from the IL to notch a couple saves and Zac Gallen (26) was solid in a trio of short starts. But it was the offense that pulled HG through to the semis. Pete Alonso (43.5), newcomer Nicholas Castellanos (42), Christian Yelich (37) and Ryan McMahon (35) led the way - we told you this was an odd team. Shoutout to Jon Berti (28.5), who filled in admirably after Fernando Tatis Jr. (2), shocker, got hurt.

6. Arbitration Losers (3764.7, last week 6): Tim used the "I have a National in my lineup and you don't" strategy to beat Bill in the first round, riding Adam Eaton's mind-boggling 61.5 points to a narrow victory. Bryan Reynolds (40) was studly as well... and no one else on the offense topped 18 points. Hmm. An interesting method, to be sure. Eaton had 13 RBIs, 16 runs, 5 homers, just like every other Nat, basically. The rest of Tim's squad combined for 22 RBIs, 28 runs and 7 homers. The pitching staff was very good, led by Sonny Gray (40) and Madison Bumgarner (36). Yu Darvish (24.3) had no decisions, and Kirby Yates (23.3) picked up 4 saves. And so it's on to the semifinals for one of the Giants fans in the league, at least.

At UC Irvine, they called this the Anteater Dance.

7. Fresh Fish (3734.3, last week 7): The Fish fell in the first round to Hassey's Girl because only part of the vaunted pitching staff showed up. Clayton Kershaw (49) and Jacob deGrom (35) were stellar, but Luis Castillo (10.3) and Chris Paddack (-3) weren't. Closer Felipe "Vazquez" notched 2 wins, while Castillo and Paddack combined to go 1-3. Ugh. Offensively, Marcell Ozuna (47.5) exploed for 16 hits, 10 runs and 9 RBIs. Keston Hiura (42.5) and Amed Rosario (41) formed a powerful (and unlikely) double play combo. But catchers Brian McCann (6.5) and Francsico Mejia (3.5) didn't do much and Kris Bryant (18.5) struggled.

8. Project Mayhem (3633.7, last week 8): Bill's team fell in a low-scoring first-round matchup to Tim's Losers. JT Realmuto (42), Ketel Marte (37.5) and Paul DeJong (29.5) were the top hitters, but Isan Diaz (5), Lorenzo Cain (5.5), Ian Happ (8.5), Joc Pederson (13.5) and Franmil Reyes (14.5) didn't do much, with Diaz committing an Amed Rosario-esque 6 of PM's 11 errors. Six! In two weeks, as a second baseman. Even Jose Offerman's eyes widened at that. Bill's pitching was similarly fine but not great: Kyle Hendricks (26) and Elieser Hernandez (22) led the way. Ace Walker Buehler (17) wasn't as good as hoped and had a win fumbled away by the Dodgers bullpen.

All this, and home runs too.

9. Lumber Co Lumber (3548, last week 9): If I told you that Nick Ahmed had 5 homers, 14 RBIs and a 42-point outing in the first round, what would you think? Well, he did, and John still lost to Reid in the consolation round. The pitching was just OK, and Josh Hader was 0-2 in save opps. Aside from Ahmed, Bryce Harper (37.5) and Freddie Freeman (36.5) had monster rounds too.

10. The Misfits (3229.8, last week 10): Jack Flaherty (53) went 3-0 with 21 strikeouts and just 1 run allowed in 18 innings to lead Reid to the consolation win. Offensively, Paul Goldschmidt (37.5) looked something like a first-round pick, Will Smith (34) got jiggy with 5 homers, and Justin Tuner (32) and Ryan Braun (31.5) chipped in nicely.

Batting leaders after Week 20

1. Cody Bellinger (R) 457

2. Freddie Freeman (LCL) 455

3. Ronald Acuña Jr. (WLB) 454.5

4. Christian Yelich (HG) 452
5. Anthony Rendon (YA) 426

Pitching leaders after Week 20

1. Stephen Strasburg (CB) 363
2. Jacob deGrom (FF) 342
3. Aaron Nola (HG) 337.3
4. Trevor Bauer (M) 327.7
4. Luis Castillo (FF) 325