4 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
4 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
4 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
4 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
4
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outfielder
Harrison
Bader
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designated
hitter
J.D.
Martinez
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starting
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right-hander
Yoshinobu
Yamamoto
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Championship
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4 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
4 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
4 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
4 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
4 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
4 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
4 weeks agoNew York Yankees first baseman
Anthony Rizzo is not in the starting lineup 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 mound.
Jon Berti will get the nod at first base and will bat sixth in the order. Rizzo fractured two fingers on his hand in the second-to-last game of the regular season and sat out of the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals. In the first two games of the ALCS, he went 3-for-7 with a double, a walk and a run scored. Berti will be appearing in the ALCS for the first time after going 2-for-7 with a walk and a strikeout in the ALDS. He has never faced Boyd in his career and went 7-for-27 (.259) with no homers or RBI in 30 plate appearances against southpaws in limited action during the regular season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers infielder
Max Muncy went 2-for-2 with a single and a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Mets. The 34-year-old also walked three times in the contest, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Muncy has now homered in back-to-back games and it was his third home run of this postseason. If the 2x All-Star plays versus the LHP
Jose Quintana on Thursday, he's had success against him in the past, going 2-for-9 with a home run and four walks against the veteran southpaw.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers designated hitter
Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk and a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS. It was his first postseason home run since Game 1 of the NLDS versus the Padres back on October 5. It was a 4-0 game when Ohtani hit the towering shot in the eighth inning of the contest, putting the game even further out of reach for New York at 7-0. After hitting .310 during the regular season, Ohtani has underwhelmed in that category during the postseason, hitting just .226 through eight games thus far, although the 4x All-Star still has maintained a rock solid .351 OBP. The Dodgers will face
Jose Quintana on Thursday who Ohtani has yet to face in his career, but the 2x MVP still had good numbers versus LHP this season, slashing .288/.349/.518 against them.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 weeks agoBoston Red Sox pitcher
Michael Fulmer (elbow) has begun to throw off of a mound and is on pace to be ready for spring training, barring any setbacks. Fulmer last pitched in the majors in 2023, missing all of the 2024 season after undergoing UCL surgery. The 31-year-old was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2016 but missed all of 2019 after having Tommy John surgery that year. While he came into the league as a starter, more recently he's worked as a reliever, and that is where he's expected to help Boston next season should he make the team in the spring. He's currently signed to a minor-league deal with the team.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Rob Bradford - WEEI.com
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