Week 10 Preview - Rivalry Week

For struggling teams, the fastest way to rekindle pennant hopes is a big victory over a division rival. For division leaders, beating a rival builds a cushion in the standings.

This week is a replay of the Week 6 rivalry games which saw a number of lopsided scores that impacted the league standings for a month. The teams on the losing end of those scores now have an opportunity for revenge and a ticket back into the pennant race.

The Menehunes ripped the Lower Haighters 9-2-1 in the first meeting as Josh Reddick and Nick Markakis combined to hit six home runs, drive in 15 RBI, and score 11 runs for the Menehunes. On the mound, Barry Zito struck out eight in two quality starts. It was only the second victory in league history for the Menehunes over the Lower Haighters. Momentum has changed. In the last two weeks, the Menehunes are 5-18-1 and are now seven games behind A-Rod's Mirrors in the West Division pennant race. The Lower Haighters have won three consecutive series and have lost just once in the last  six weeks - to the Menehunes. The hottest player for either team entering the series is outfielder Ryan Braun. He has seven home runs, seven stolen bases, and 19 RBI in his last 26 games for the Lower Haighters but he's nursing both an Achilles injury and a groin strain. Reddick continues to lead the Menehunes, belting 10 homers and driving in 20 runs over his last 26 games. Final Prediction: Lower Haighters 7-4-1.

Bomba finds itself in a pennant race after falling 3-6-3 last week to Scully's Slammers. The South Division leader now holds just a 3-game lead over the Cys. This week it faces rival High Cheese, a team that it has split six series with but dominated 8-3-1 in Week 6. Andrew McCutchen was the key to that win. He had three home runs, six RBI, five runs scored and a stolen base for Bomba. Reliever Jason Motte had two saves to win the category. The first meeting produced an ugly effort on the mound for High Cheese with the team ERA finishing at 8.60 and only two quality starts. Bomba enters this series losing just three times all year while High Cheese is coming off its first series victory in four weeks. Since their last meeting, McCutchen has stayed hot. He has nine home runs, five stolen bases, and 23 RBI in the last month. High Cheese could be without its best player, outfielder Adam Jones, who is nursing a wrist injury. Jones has 10 home runs, five stolen bases, and 22 RBI in his last 28 games. Final Prediction: Los Coche Bomba 8-4.

The Cys have lost just once over the past five weeks and moved to within three games of the South Division lead. The loss was a 5-6-1 meeting with HUMA in Week 6. Ironically, that was HUMA's only series win over the past five weeks. That victory was the result of an unbelievable week by Josh Hamilton. He had nine home runs, 18 RBI and 10 runs scored in the series. Joey Votto added another three long balls as HUMA hit 18 for the week. Closer Jim Johnson was also a big factor, earning three saves but he's no longer with HUMA, after being traded for second baseman Jose Altuve. Hamilton remains the hottest player in the league the past month, belting 12 home runs and driving in 32 RBI. For the Cys, Melky Cabrera has 49 hits over his past 28 games, scoring 25 runs and driving in 17 RBI. The Cys will add veteran slugger Adam Dunn to the lineup following a trade with the Lower Haighters that sent All-Start pitcher CC Sabathia to the Haighters. Final Prediction: HUMA 8-4.

After five consecutive series wins, the Machine has now lost two in a row. Twinkle Toes enters this week on the heels of its first series win since a Week 4 victory over Bomba. The Week 6 meeting between these teams was close, with the Machine earning a 6-5-1 victory thanks to a one point win in Quality Starts and Runs. The Machine has won four of the six meetings but all four have been very close. Matt Wieters and David Ortiz combined to score 12 runs for the Machine in the first meeting. Raul Ibañez was the star for Twinkle Toes, belting four home runs and driving in eight runs during the series. Michael Cuddyer enters the series on a roll for Twinkle Toes. In his last 89 at bats, Cuddyer has 26 hits, five homers, five stolen bases, and 24 RBI. Jose Bautista, who slammed three round-trippers in the first meeting between these teams, has nine home runs in his past 27 games for the Machine. He has driven in 23 runs and scored 19 more in that period. Final Prediction: The Machine 8-4.

The Jersey Boys not only won its first series of the season last week, but it also jumped out of the league cellar. The team's resounding 11-1 thumping of HUMA moved the team into 13th in the overall standings. At the same time, the Slammers were scoring an impressive 6-3-3 victory over Bomba, their fourth consecutive series win. That streak started with a 7-3-2 victory over the Jersey Boys in Week 6. That first meeting was ruled by Carlos Beltran, who had six home runs, 13 RBI, and eight runs scored for the Slammers. Justin Verlander had 14 strikeouts and two quality starts for the Jersey Boys but the team lost both categories to the Slammers. The Slammers have discovered a new star since the first meeting - starting pitcher James McDonald. McDonald has five quality starts in his last six games with a 1.54 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. He also has 47 strikeouts over his past 41 innings. While McDonald has been hot, he's not the hottest pitcher in the league over the last month. That's R.A. Dickey for the Jersey Boys, who has 42 strikeouts and six quality starts over the past month. Final Prediction: Scully's Slammers 5-5-2.

Bacon gutted out an impressive 6-5-1 series victory over the Machine last week thanks to five quality starts and three saves from closer Matt Capps. It was the team's second series win in the last three weeks after a four week losing streak. Home Run 101 enters this series on the heels of a tough 5-6-1 loss to Twinkle Toes, the team's third consecutive loss. The last series win for Home Run 101 came in Week 6, when it beat Bacon 9-2-1 behind a combined 15 RBI from John Buck, Aramis Rarmirez and Alexei Ramirez. On the mound, Cory Wade earned two holds which proved the difference in the category. Star outfielder Justin Upton had just one run scored and seven strikeouts for Bacon in the first meeting and closer J.J. Putz blew several saves and finished with a 54.00 ERA. Mike Trout wasn't in the lineup in that first meeting but he is now and he's Bacon's best player. He has five home runs, eight stolen bases, 22 runs scored and 20 RBI in the past month. Outfielder Dayan Viciedo is leading Home Run 101 with nine home runs in his last 29 games. Final Prediction: Bacon at Mile 11 8-3-1.

The Mirrors are coming off a 6-6 tie with Give it a Yankee but they hold a 7-game lead over the Marin Menehunes in the West Division pennant race. They face a Vicious Fishes team that hasn't had a series win since Week 4. The Mirrors beat the Fishes in Week 6 thanks to a a pair of 13 strikeout quality starts from Jeff Samardzija and Stephen Strasburg. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who will sit this series out with an injury, added two homers and eight runs on two homers. Carlos Zambrano was the star of the series for the Fishes, striking out 16 in two quality starts while outfielder Nelson Cruz was driving in seven runs and scoring nine more. Since that first meeting, Chris Sale has emerged as one of the league's best starting pitchers for the Fishes. He has three quality starts with 40 strikeouts in his last 34.2 innings. Cole Hamels has four quality starts in his last six appearances for the Mirrors, allowing 14 runs in 44.2 innings while striking out 44 batters. Final Prediction: Vicious Fishes 7-4-1.

The Bulls saw its four-week winning streak snapped at the hands of the Lower Haighters last week while Give it a Yankee was forging a hard-earned draw with the West Division leading Mirrors. The Bulls won the first meeting between these teams 7-4-1 in Week 6 thanks to 17 strikeouts and two quality starts from ace Roy Halladay, who will miss this series with a shoulder injury. Both teams struggled offensively in the first meeting, combining to hit just six home runs. David Wright had seven RBI for Give it a Yankee while Jonathan Lucroy had six for the Bulls. While the Bulls are struggling with injuries, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is carrying the load. Gonzalez has seven home runs and four stolen bases in the last month and has driven in 22 RBI and scored 23 times. David Wright is the cornerstone player for Give it a Yankee. He has three home runs, two stolen bases, 18 RBI and 18 runs scored in his last 98 at bats. Final Prediction: Give it a Yankee 9-3.