The playoff picture is almost set. The Gashouse Gorillas, Taka Drivers, and Bird Gang will be your number one, two, and three seeds respectively. While the Nighttime Ninjas have increased their odds on making it to the big dance by sweeping the Bird Gang. They have a make-up series against the Ducks on the Pond next week and only have to win one out of three games (third game will be played if Ducks win first two). Week Ten also broke the trend of six straight series' ending in a split. It wasn't one series this week, it was all of them that ended in teams bringing out the brooms. The day games saw the Gashouse Gorillas sweep the Ducks on the Pond convincingly. Gashouse won game one 6-2 behind the arm of Jim Tucker, who struck out six Ducks in three innings. Then in game two, it only took Gashouse three innings to finish off the Ducks by a score of 11-0. During the series, Gashouse struck out fifteen of sixteen possible outs and fooled the Ducks from beginning to end. Also, Jeremy Ratajczyk broke the single season RBI record bringing his total to 66 on the season (Congratulations Commissioner!). In the evening series, the Taka Drivers got back on track with a sweep of the Stallionaires. They won both games behind new manager Ryan Voges and their pitching staff came through once again. Taka won both games by 3-1 and yes, it was the exact same score in two different games. Even when their offense struggles, they can always count on their pitching staff to win games. In the final series of the day, the Nighttime Ninjas swept the Bird Gang to give them a huge edge heading into next week. They won game one 3-2 by scoring all three runs in the last inning behind the bat of Sammy Krucek. Then they scraped across two runs in the second game and shut down the Bird Gang bats to a final of 2-0. The fight for the final playoff spot will come down to one series between the Nighttime Ninjas and Ducks on the Pond. After the Ninjas and Ducks series concludes, Griffleball will have its annual All-Star game and Home Run Derby. Then, it will be time for the #GBLPlayoffs.
Scoreboard
7/31/16 - Gashouse Gorillas 6 Ducks on the Pond 2 (W - Tucker, L - Brilmyer, S - Ratajczyk)
Deciding Moment - Jim Tucker dominated the Ducks for three innings, striking out six and only allowing one hit.
7/31/16 - Gashouse Gorillas 11 Ducks on the Pond 0 F/3 (W - Tucker, L - Diehl)
Deciding Moment - Jeremy Ratajczyk hit a grand slam in the first putting Gashouse up 7-0. On the mound, Tucker shut down the Ducks and did not allow a single hit.
7/31/16 - Taka Drivers 3 Stallionaires 1 (W - Buzea, L - Smith, S - Voges)
Deciding Moment - With the score tied at one, the Taka Drivers scored two runs in the third on four hits.
7/31/16 - Taka Drivers 3 Stallionaires 1 (W - Bartley, L - Smith, S - Voges)
Deciding Moment - Chris Bartley threw a perfect game for three and a half innings until it was broken up in the fourth. Then, Ryan Voges shut the door for his second save of the day.
7/31/16 - Nighttime Ninjas 3 Bird Gang 2 (W - Kubacki, L - Zurawski )
Deciding Moment - Down 2-0 heading into the fifth, Sammy Krucek's bat caught fire and drove in three RBI's to take the lead.
7/31/16 - Nighttime Ninjas 2 Bird Gang 0 (W - Kubacki, L - A. Felde, S - Krucek)
Deciding Moment - Mike Kubacki Jr. shut down the Bird Gang bats by pitching a one-hitter. Krucek also added another home run in the second to bring his total to 19 on the season.
Standings
- Gashouse Gorillas 15 - 5 **
- Taka Drivers 12 - 8 *
- Bird Gang 11 - 9 *
- Nighttime Ninjas 8 - 10
- Ducks on the Pond 6 - 12
- Stallionaires 6 - 14 (E)
* - Clinched Playoffs
** - Clinched Homefield throughout Playoffs
(E) - Eliminated from Playoff Contention
Players of the Week
HITTER OF THE WEEK
Jeremy Ratajczyk
8 Hits, 17 At-Bats, 2 Home Runs, 12 RBI, 3 BB
(Broke single season RBI record with 66)
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jim Tucker
2-0, 6 Innings Pitched, 2 Hits Allowed, 11 Strikeouts, 0 Walks
Power Rankings
1. Gashouse Gorillas 15-5 (Last Week #1)
The Gashouse Gorillas finished the regular season at the top of the GBL once again. They have a tough lineup and one of the best pitchers in the GBL. Teams around Griffleball have to bring their "A" game every week or face the consequences. They will be heavy favorites to win the championship for a fifth consecutive time.
2. Taka Drivers 12-8 (Last Week #3)
After hitting a slump mid-season, the Taka Drivers finished strong and earned themselves homefield in the first round. They are in every game they play because of their pitching and will finish the regular season with the best ERA in Griffleball. It could get even better if Kyle Lidster and Mark Miecznikowski come back for the playoffs.
3. Bird Gang 11-9 (Last Week #2)
The Bird Gang are this year's surprise team especially after the season they had in 2015. They boast one of the league's top pitching staffs and keep finding a way to win games. The Bird Gang proved this season that they can play with anyone in the league. After a year absence they will a return trip to the playoffs and could make some noise.
4. Nighttime Ninjas 8-10 (Last Week #5)
The Nighttime Ninjas are one win away from sneaking into the playoffs as the four seed. They are putting together their best run of the season at the right time. The bat of Sammy Krucek and Mike Kubacki's arm have been a winning formula over the past few weeks. If they get in, they could give the Gashouse Gorillas some problems in round one.
5. Ducks on the Pond 6-10 (Last Week #4)
The Ducks on the Pond turned their season around after a horrendous start. They were playing better up until running into the Gashouse buzzsaw, but the Ducks still have a shot. If they win the next two games against the Ninjas, they will be in a one game playoff to decide who will make the post-season. Don't count them out.
6. Stallionaires 6-14 (Last Week #6)
After making two straight World Series appearances, the Stallionaires won't have a chance at redemption. They had some bright moments during the season, but their offense could never produce when needed. If they scored a few more runs at times their season could be completely different.
WIFFLE OUT!
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