DCR – VAULT 81 DWELLERS (10-11) AT EGRET SCRAPPERS (12-9)
WHAT TO KNOW
This battle in the Railroad League features two teams currently going in the same direction: down. The Dwellers entered last week with a realistic chance to be in first place when they hosted Oberland. Unfortunately for the Dwellers, they were swept at home, driving them to fourth place in the RL and falling four games behind the first-place T-51s.
The Egret Scrappers looked like they were on the way to a huge division lead, much like the Minutemen League’s Warwick Mirelurks. Unfortunately for the Scrappers, the last two weekends resulted in a 2-4 record, dropping them from first place to two games behind the T-51s despite being 4-2 against them on the season.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM VAULT 81
The Dwellers are going to need its offense to be more effective against Egret than most teams have been able to accomplish. Currently, the Dwellers are second in the RL in runs scored (147), which will give them an advantage on offense, but the pitching, especially the bullpen where four players have a 13.50 ERA or higher. Basically, Vault 81 needs runs in excess.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM EGRET
The Scrappers have shown the best starting pitching so far in the season, leading the league in runs allowed and Starters ERA, as well as FIP and Pitching WAR. Starters Phlip Wallace, Nick Poppa, and Danny Cautious are a combined 9-4, giving them a good chance to win if they can last late into the game.
KEY PLAYERS IN THE SERIES
V81: Pot ‘o Gold—The Commonwealth loves St. Patrick’s Day, and we celebrated hard this past Sunday. Who better to continue that luck for the Dwellers than Erns Gold, the first baseman? On the season, Gold is batting .349 with eight home runs (1st in RL) and 29 runs batted in (2nd).
EGR: Lord of the Danse – He may be famous in the Commonwealth for something other than baseball, but former Brotherhood paladin, Danse looks to be on the MVP track in the RL. Danse is currently batting .459 on the season with seven home runs and 17 RBI. He leads the league and CBO in several advanced categories, which puts him in a powerful position as the Scrappers’ cleanup man. Those CBO-leading categories include OBP (.520), extra-base hits (20), OPS+ (205), and WOBA (.567).
PREDICTION: It’s hard to go against Egret in all three, but we think they win two.