3 weeks agoNew York Yankees closer
Luke Weaver finally had a bad showing this postseason, taking his first blown save in a 7-5 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the ALCS. Weaver had been terrific before this game, allowing just one run in seven frames and converting all four of his save chances. Unfortunately, he threw one bad pitch to
Jhonkensy Noel in this one, and Big Christmas took him deep. It was actually the first blown save of Weaver's entire 2024 campaign, and even though he only took over the full-time closer role in September, that is still impressive. He will continue to work as the Yankees closer and should have the team's full trust despite the tough outing.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoNew York Mets third baseman
Mark Vientos continued his strong postseason on Friday, going 2-for-5 with a solo homer in a 10-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Unfortunately, Vientos couldn't do much about the non-stop attack from the Dodgers lineup. The 24-year-old has had an excellent postseason so far, hitting .370 with a 1.070 OPS to go with four homers and 12 RBI in 41 at-bats. What's more impressive is that he is doing this as a rookie. Big things could be coming for Vientos.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers outfielder
Mookie Betts was all over the score sheet on Friday, going 4-for-6 with a homer, a double, three runs scored, and four RBI. Betts led the way for the Dodgers to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 10-2 win over the New York Mets in Game 4 of the NLCS. Betts has been solid since shedding his postseason hitless streak that dated back to last year. He is now hitting .278 with a .964 OPS to go along with three homers and 10 RBI in 36 at-bats in these playoffs. Betts and the Dodgers will look to close out the series on Friday when they send
Jack Flaherty to the bump.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers designated hitter
Shohei Ohtani set the table nicely in Game 4 of the NLCS, going 1-for-3 with a homer, three walks, and four runs scored in a 10-2 win over the New York Mets. Ohtani started the game off by taking
Jose Quintana deep and then drew three walks over the remainder of the game. He scored every time he got on base thanks to a big game from
Mookie Betts. With the Dodgers lineup being so deep, it is hard to see them being shut down for three straight games. Still, they will hope to close things out as soon as they can, which is Friday with
Jack Flaherty on the mound.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoNew York Yankees designated hitter
Giancarlo Stanton stayed hot on Friday, swatting a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning of Game 3 of the ALCS. Stanton's homer appeared to put the Yanks in the win column until
Jhonkensy Noel and
David Fry had other ideas. Still, Stanton has been performing at an extremely high level this playoffs, something that Yankee fans love to see. He is now 8-for-26 (.308) with three homers and six RBI in 26 postseason at-bats. If the veteran slugger keeps it up, it will be hard to stop this Yankees lineup from scoring at will.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoCleveland Guardians first baseman/outfielder
Jhonkensy Noel came up with one of the signature moments of the postseason on Friday, blasting a two-out, two-run homer off New York Yankees closer
Luke Weaver in the bottom of the ninth to tie Game 3 of the ALCS. Noel was down to his final strike before he got a hold of a pitch and sent Progressive Field into a frenzy. The 23-year-old may very well have saved the Guardians season, as they would have gone down 3-0 in the series if it wasn't for his heroics. He may not be in the lineup every day for Cleveland, but when he is at the dish there is always the possibility of a long ball.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoCleveland Guardians utility man
David Fry came up huge once again, hitting a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to give the Guardians a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees. After some dramatics in the late innings, Fry gave Cleveland their first win of the ALCS with a moonshot off
Clay Holmes. This is the second time the 28-year-old has hit a clutch homer in these playoffs, with the first coming in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. Fry will remain an integral part of the Guardians' offense for as long as they stay in the postseason, something that not many people would have guessed before this season.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoNew York Mets starting pitcher
David Peterson will start Game 5 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. Peterson has pitched four times this postseason and has been limited to three or fewer innings in each of those outings, meaning he will likely be on a very short leash again in a do-or-die game for the Mets. Despite the low innings total, Peterson has been solid in his outings, allowing just two earned runs over 8 ⅔ IP. He will need to be sharp again on Friday, as he will go up against
Jack Flaherty in a must-win situation.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: Pat Ragazzo
3
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Harrison
Bader
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J.D.
Martinez
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starting
against
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right-hander
Yoshinobu
Yamamoto
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Championship
Series
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3 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers second baseman
Gavin Lux will not start in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday at Citi Field with New York Mets left-hander
Jose Quintana on the mound.
Chris Taylor will start at the keystone and bat ninth for the Dodgers instead. Lux left Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday with hip-flexor tightness, sat out of Game 2 on Monday and returned to Game 3 on Wednesday to go 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He'll get another day off on Thursday with a southpaw on the mound in favor of Taylor, who has good numbers against Quintana in his career. In 24 career at-bats, Taylor has hit .333 (8-for-24) with three doubles, three RBI, two walks and eight strikeouts. However, he'll be looking for his first hit this postseason after going hitless in six plate appearances with a walk and four K's in six games (one start) this year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Times - Mike DiGiovanna
3 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers first baseman
Freddie Freeman (ankle) is not in the starting lineup for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday at Citi Field against the New York Mets. Max Muncy will shift over to first base and bat sixth, while
Enrique Hernandez will start at the hot corner and bat fifth against Mets left-hander
Jose Quintana. Rookie
Andy Pages is in center field and is hitting eighth. Freeman has been battling a right-ankle injury since the final week of the regular season and also was held out of one game during the NL Division Series against the Padres. Despite being less than 100%, Freeman has gone 7-for-27 (.259) with an RBI, a walk and a steal in seven playoff starts. Hernandez has homered twice while hitting .333 (7-for-21) this postseason, and he also has a homer and three RBI in 16 career at-bats against Quintana.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Times - Mike DiGiovanna
3 weeks agoCleveland Guardians right-hander
Gavin Williams will make the start in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Friday at Progressive Field against the New York Yankees. Williams made only 16 starts due to an elbow injury for the Guardians during the regular season and went 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA (3.67 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 79 strikeouts and 32 walks in 76 innings in his second big-league season, so he'll be a true wild card and a risky DFS option on Thursday against the Bombers in what will be his first start since Sept. 22. In his lone start against the Yankees in the Bronx on Aug. 22, Williams took the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits (one homer) while walking four and striking out five in 4 1/3 innings of work. The 25-year-old was also worse at Progressive Field in 2024, sporting a 6.55 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in his seven starts.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Mandy Bell
3 weeks agoCleveland Guardians catcher
Bo Naylor is not in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field against the New York Yankees. Instead,
Austin Hedges will do the catching for left-hander
Matthew Boyd and will hit eighth against Yankees right-hander
Clarke Schmidt. Naylor has gone hitless in his first 14 plate appearances in the postseason this year with four strikeouts, so the Guardians will go in another direction as they look for an offensive spark while down two games to none in the series. Hedges hit just .152 (20-for-132) with two homers, 15 RBI and 12 runs scored in a backup role during the regular season, so he's unlikely to do much offensively. Like Naylor, he's hitless this postseason in nine plate appearances with five strikeouts. Cleveland's catching situation is looking bleak.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoCleveland Guardians rookie outfielder
Daniel Schneemann will make the start in right field and will hit sixth against New York Yankees right-hander
Clarke Schmidt in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field as the Guardians look to climb out of 2-0 hole in the series. The Guardians will try Schneeman over both
Will Brennan and
Jhonkensy Noel with a right-hander on the mound to try and jump-start their offense. The 27-year-old Schneeman struck out in his only postseason at-bat in Game 1 of the ALCS earlier this week. In 193 at-bats in his first big-league season, he slashed .218/.303/.368 with a below-average .671 OPS, five home runs, 22 RBI and 17 runs scored in 73 games played. He won't be a popular option in DFS formats for Thursday's slate.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 weeks agoNew York Yankees catcher
Austin Wells will retreat to the bench for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians with left-hander
Matthew Boyd on the bump.
Jose Trevino will do the catching instead and will be in the nine-hole in the batting order. Wells has hits in his first two career playoff games in the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals, but since then he's gone hitless in 17 plate appearances with eight strikeouts. He also hit under .200 with none of his 13 home runs and 21 strikeouts in 66 trips to the plate against lefties in 2024. This will be Trevino's first postseason appearance this year. In 23 plate appearances in the playoffs in 2022, he went just 1-for-22 with an RBI and six strikeouts. Trevino has gone 1-for-2 with an RBI and three walks in his career against Boyd.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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