+65 Run Diff, 17-33 in 1 Run Games, Help!

I went for Perez after my only R2 pitcher, Reyes Moronta 4.10M, had a 6.50 ERA and 1.86 WHIP after 36 innings. I felt a need to overcompensate after my bullpen's horrific start to the season.

The 0 Complete Game theory and the Only R1 theories seem to make sense to me. Maybe I will tweak my Starter and Reliever settings next time I see this trend.

I agree with the above comment. With those starters you didn't need to set your relied at aggressive. Set it at normal and check "slow" on pulling Verlander and Corbin. Instead of Perez. Go with a 4-5 million set up pitcher who is a 2 and a 1-2 million range middle man who is a 2.

I always resist dumping a player. Try to trade instead. Some players will just do poorly for a stretch. Be a little patient with your strategy.
Here is my current team that got off to a slow start and is now doing well.
https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1527990

poor defense and poor outfield arms affect extra innings as an extra base here and there add up to extra runs .....

run differential can be a bit misleading....
I have observed that some teams are really built for their home park and have a lot of lopsided wins at home and a lot of tight games on the road.

I agree with doing pitching differently. 6.25 mill for an R1 that does not close seems excessive. Only good two relief pitchers with a bad defense and pretty good starters but for whatever reason not pitching that many innings means the other team is facing tired good relief or bad other ones too much (I am guessing it's mostly a settings problem-the really good ones I am putting do not relieve before F8--but bad defense probably also contributes)The defense is a problem with the one-run losses. 68% X chance is not a good enough D in my IMHO (of course people will win with really bad defense, I am just saying that there are maybe better strategies on average) I had a team that had an overall record of 82-80 with a plus 73 differential but went 16-30 in one-run games, with a 68% on X chances. So to sum up:

(1) bad defense leads to more likelihood of a cheap run late
(2) A bullpen that does not have enough good relief late in games (given that there are only two R1s and the bad defense and starter settings)
(3) I kind of wonder about having lefties in high-leverage situations late. There are guys with huge power against lefties so Perez has great numbers but you get on a guy like Valenzueala's card and that doesn't matter. He gave up 26 hrs in 169 games when he gives up nothing on his card. And a solo hr can decide things.

Here is my team--which is very different than the one being examined--but does have a similar bad defense and lefties pitching in a lot of high-leverage situations:

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/fielding/1517918