Week 6 of the German Bundesliga gets off to a bang Friday night, with the Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg (9-1, run differential +102) hosting the undefeated Heidenheim Heideköpfe (10-0, run differential +72). The match-up has grown in importance as the two teams secure their positions atop the standings of the Bundesliga South, and it highlights the best that German baseball has to offer, with the league’s top two offenses and top two pitching staffs going head-to-head.
In terms of offense, the two rosters include five of the league’s Top 10 home run hitters, including the league leader, Shawn Larry of Heidenheim, with eight home runs in just 48 plate appearances. Four of the five “Bundesliga Player of the Week” accolades awarded this season have been gone to players that will be on the field this weekend:
Week 1: Shawn Larry, Heidenheim
Week 2: David Grimes, Regensburg
Week 3: Simon Gühring, Heidenheim
Week 5; Eric Harms, Regensburg
In terms of pitching, the top three pitchers by ERA and five of the top six (minimum 13 IP) will toe the rubber this weekend. For Heidenheim, ace Mike Bolsenbroek has been his usual dominant self (1.59 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 13.0 K/9), while Regensburg’s pitching staff is led by Kaleb Bowman, who has been equally dominant (1.96 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 13.7 K/9) in his debut season in the Bundesliga.
First pitch tonight is at 19:00 (CEST), with Legionaere TV streaming live. Game Two is scheduled for Saturday at 14:00 (CEST), with Regensburg again streaming live via YouTube.