PHARAOHS (4-14) vs SANDVIPERS (15-3) – This tilt will be on Thursday night, and on paper does not look like it will be much of a battle. The Pharaohs arguably played their best series as a team last week against the Lightning and were only able to walk away with 1 win in that series. And this week’s lineup does not look as formidable. On the other hand, the Sandvipers are bludgeoning teams in the early part of the season and are riding a 13-game winning streak after dismantling the Legends last week, allowing only 1 run. Pharaohs have added Chris Gearing in a trade with the Cajuns as they look for some more roster depth. Don’t think it will matter, the Sandvipers have power throughout the lineup (Team OPS of 1.105, leads the league) and the pitching staff (2.22 ERA as a team also, leads the league) has been one of the best in the PLW so far.
SANDVIPERS (2-1) *Potential Sweep
ONES (5-13) vs SNAPPERS (6-11) – Yes, these two teams are only separated by 1 in wins column. The Ones lineup can steal a game or two when the attendance does not feature emergency free agents, as proven last week when they took a game from the Bombers. The Snappers are looking for answers, the lineup has remained consistent, and the defense is still thought of as a top PLW defensive unit, but the pitching must prove that they can get people out and their team ERA of 6.20 speaks volumes as to the struggles on that side of the ball. Both teams are looking for a series win here as the top and the bottom of the PLW standings are getting crowded and the gap between the top and bottom is seemingly growing weekly. Snappers should be too much for the Ones in the series, but I could see this series going either way.
SNAPPERS (2-1)
LIGHTNING (12-6) vs BOMBERS (9-8) – The nightcap Saturday night is another series where it could go either way based on league history, but this season has been anything but typical. The Lightning played a great series last week against the Pharaohs and battled back multiple times to secure the series win and are keeping pace with the rest of the top of the PLW. With a PLW Top 5 pitching staff (2.50 Team ERA) and a lineup getting on base at a .411 clip, the Lightning have the league’s second-best run differential (+55). The Bombers are winners of 5 of their last 6 games and it has been at the expense of the PLW’s bottom feeders. But that just means the Bombers have taken care of their business, the pitching staff has allowed only 6 runs in the last 6 games and the offense is getting contributions from everyone 1 through 6. I am going with the Lightning here; Bombers have been successful in recent weeks against lesser competition. The Lightning are not lesser competition, but instead a playoff team.
LIGHTNING (2-1)
CAJUNS (11-7) vs NIGHT OWLS (5-13) – Cajuns have overcome their slow start (1-5) and have gone 10-2 in the last 4 weeks and are part of the top of the PLW standings that are trying to run away from the rest of the league. The Cajuns currently have a Top 5 offense (.309 Avg) and a Top 5 pitching staff (2.46 ERA), and it has been a team effort that has contributed to this team’s turnaround. The Night Owls are struggling to find their footing in the first half of the season, losers of 8 in a row. The Owls are really struggling on the mound this season and have not been able to get those critical outs to stave off those big innings that have plagued them all season. The team has too much talent on the roster to only have 5 wins. Unfortunately, I do not see them adding greatly to their win total this week. The Cajuns are just too deep on both the mound and with the bats.
CAJUNS (2-1)
VADERZ (15-3) vs LEGENDS (7-11) – The Vaderz lead the PLW in HRs with 45, have a top 5 pitching staff with a 3.26 ERA and gold glove candidates all over the diamond. Winners of 13 straight games, they have been dominating their opponents over the last 5 weeks going 14-1 over that span. Manager Sesai Alarcon has pulled all the right strings keeping this young team all pulling in the same direction. The Legends, well it has been a struggle. Only scoring 39 runs in their 18 league games, the offense has been the worst in the league. And if not for the Legends pitching staff being one of the top 5 in the league, it could be the Legends looking at a relegation tournament in their future. With no certainty that the offense will come around this week and the Vaderz are just playing some of the best wiffle ball in the league, I must go against my beloved Legends.
VADERZ (2-1)
