We made it to Friday and, as a reward, we get some exciting divisional matchups to carry us through the weekend. We’re also treated to the extremely rare city vs. city doubleheader (even rarer that it’s at the same time and that they share the same parking lot) as the Celtics play the 76ers right next door to the Red Sox playing the Phillies. In what MLB network is calling “Rivalry Week,” we get the start of Dodgers-Padres, Yankees-Rays and Rangers-Angels. I’m particularly looking forward to the AL West showdown, as these 2 teams haven’t played each other in a meaningful series for years. Whoever wins this series will be sitting alone atop the AL West. 

We’ve already had some pitching changes that will impact today. Joe Musgrove was pushed back from today to Sunday, due to a blister on his foot. Yu Darvish will now be the first starter against his former club. Max Fried was initially slated to pitch Thursday, but was moved to today, which lines him up for a home start. 

This is for the 5/5 4:05 PM PST slate on DraftKings. As always, make sure to check lineups before first pitch.  

Thrive Fantasy Picks

Bryce Harper Over .5 Hits

Brandon Nimmo Over .5 Runs

Max Fried Over 5.5 Total Ks

Shohei Ohtani Over .5 RBI

Writer’s record

7-6-1

Blue Jays @ Pirates o9 (-105)

The Blue Jays’ last 5 games have gone over their total. The Pirates are returning home after a 7-game road trip. Rich Hill and Chris Bassitt take the mound in a matchup of the 2 slowest curveballs in the league. The temperature at PNC will be in the high 60s-low 70s, which is about the velocity you’ll be seeing on those hanging curves.

Minnesota Twins -1.5 Run Line vs Cleveland Guardians (+125)

The Guardians have been disappointing of late. They really should have won their series vs. the flailing Yankees, but blew a Bieber gem by not being able to score more than 2 runs. They just sent Zach Plesac down, who started 24 games for them last year. In his place will be rookie Peyton Battenfield, who finds himself in a tough spot against the Twins’ veteran-laden lineup.  

DFS Pillar Plays

Corbin Burnes

Position: P

Salary: $9,300

The 2021 NL Cy Young winner had a shaky start to the year but has begun to look like himself again in his last few starts. The St Mary’s product is returning to the Bay Area as a starter for the third time in his career. He collected 9 strikeouts in his start there in 2021 and 10 strikeouts in 2022. He only let in 1 ER both times. The Giants lead the league in strikeouts with 317 in 30 games played.  

Bryce Harper

Position: OF

Salary: $5,600

This is somewhat of a risky play, but it looked like the 2-time MVP was able to shake off some cobwebs in his last game vs. the Dodgers. He got on base all 5 times he went to the plate, with 2 walks and 3 hits. This will be his first game back in Philly and I expect he and the Phanatics will be hyped for his homecoming. Chris Sale takes the mound for the Red Sox and he’s been inconsistent this year. His velocity and spin rate are down and, except for 2 starts this year, he’s been downright bad. The Phillies could afford to build some momentum and who better than their star man to provide the spark they’ve been looking for.  

Byron Buxton

Position: OF

Salary: $5,300

I’ve been playing Byron Buxton a lot recently and he’s yet to burn me. He’s scored 12+ FPPG in 7 out of the last 8 games with a 16.8 average through that stretch. I’m also a big fan of the matchup as the Guardians are throwing out rookie Peyton Battenfield. He has struggled this year and could only make it through 2 innings in his last start. The Guardians are coming off a terrible series loss to the YAAAnkees and the Twins will most likely be extending their lead atop the AL Central, starting tonight.

Jonah Heim

Position: C

Salary: $3,900

Jonah Heim is having the best year of his career and he has been one of the best offensive catchers in the league to this point. The switch-hitting catcher is second in OPS, RBI and runs scored at the position. Only Sean Murphy sits ahead of him in those categories. The Rangers come up against Tyler Anderson, who was good in his last start, but terrible in his 3 preceding ones. Every catcher averaging more than 7 FPPG is $4,000+, while Heim averages 9.4 FPPG and is under that threshold.

DFS Value Plays (<$3200 Salary)

Zach Neto

Position: SS

Salary: $3,200

Neto has carved out a real role for himself in a position of need for this Angels team. He’s been hitting leadoff and has had some decent games. He hasn’t blown the roof off just yet, but he’s made an impact on offense and defense and being ahead of Trout and Ohtani in the lineup doesn’t hurt. He’s cheap and he has a hit in 5 out of his last 6 games. 

Miguel Vargas

Position: 2B

Salary: $2,700

We continue our young Southern California infielders series with Miguel Vargas, who has been heating up as of late. Playing in San Diego in front of a raucous crowd might present a challenge for the young Vargas, but he’s shown he’s not really afraid of the big moments. He hit a home run last game out and was 4-5 the game before that. He’s averaging 13.6 FPPG over his last 6 contests and is starting to look like a threat every time he comes up to bat. 

Marcell Ozuna

Position: OF

Salary: $2,600

In an unfortunate development for the rest of the league, it looks like Marcell Ozuna may be returning to form. He hit an absolute blast yesterday that went 447 feet. In the last 3 games, he’s scored 6 runs with 3 HR and 6 RBI. The Braves welcome the Orioles, who have Dean Kremer on the bump. Kremer has allowed 4+ earned runs in 5 out of his 6 starts this year.