DCR – STARLIGHT LADY KILLERS (13-11) AT LEXINGTON SYNTHS (8-16)
WHAT TO KNOW
Abernathy looks to be the class of the Institute League, but Starlight has a good shot of being in the playoff run throughout the season. However, last weekend's series loss to the 11-13 Forth Hagen Silver Shroud did not help their cause. The Lady Killers will look to bounce back this week and avenge an earlier series loss to the Synths.
Lexington has been among one of the top struggling teams within the CBO. The IL's sixth-place team, has only won two series all season. The first of those two series wins was in Week 3 at this Starlight team. The Synths will look to match that performance where they held the Lady Killers to 4 and 2 runs in their wins. The Synths cannot climb out of last place, but they can start their path up this weekend.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM STARLIGHT
The Lady Killers are going to score a lot of runs and give up a lot at the same time. Their starting pitching staff hold a league-worst 9.03 ERA and give up the fifth-most runs (187) in the league. On the flip side, they are 3rd in the IL in scoring (167 runs). While they are -20 in run differential, it is a sign of winning close games (5-2 in one-run games) and occasionally getting blown out. In close games, expect Starlight to win.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM LEXINGTON
The Synths have not been adept at scoring runs, but the pitching staff has helped to keep the Synths in games. Their numbers are not great, but a solid performance by the pitching staff to keep scores low can only help keep them in the game. Therefore, for the Synths to win this series, they need low-scoring games.
KEY PLAYERS IN THE SERIES
STAR: Man of the People—Lady Killers' shortstop Justin People bats eighth in the lineup, but he is a boost to the batting order when he is hot. At .358/2/18, his bat can help determine if the Lady Killers will blow up the opponent's pitching staff or not.
LEX: Obey the Rules – 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: Starlight may be the better team, but this series may be all about the Synths. We predict Lexington to take two.