The big storyline of the day is, without question, the return of Mookie Betts to Boston, a place where he won the World Series in 2018. There are a ton of reunions in that matchup and it’ll be Lance Lynn on the mound for the visiting Dodgers. There is the possibility of rain in that one as there is in multiple games across the Eastern Seaboard. Not far away, the Phillies will look to continue their improved play against a Cardinals team in limbo. Hunter Greene will make his second start since returning from the IL in Arizona and we also get Spencer Strider taking on the Giants for the second time in a week. Strider looked dominant in that one, allowing only one hit while striking out 10 Giants batters.

This is for the 8/25 4:05 PM PST classic slate on Draftkings.

Writer’s Record

44-22-1

New York Yankees ML (+113) @ Tampa Bay Rays

Gerrit Cole gets the ball for the visiting Yankees and he is most likely going to win the Cy Young this year. Draftkings sportsbook has him at -170 currently. Aaron Judge is back and just as good as ever, so that sets things up nicely for the Yankees as underdogs at the Trop, a place they’re familiar at. The Rays are missing a key part of their team in Wander Franco. The less said about that, the better. The Rays have still been winning lately, but their schedule has been really easy. This will be a much more difficult matchup for them and any time Gerrit Cole starts, you have a good chance.

DFS Pillar Plays

Dane Dunning

Position: P

Salary: $7,400

The matchup against the Minnesota Twins makes Dunning an intriguing play at his price. The Twins have led the MLB in total strikeouts pretty much the entire year, which gives Dunning an opportunity to rack up points quickly. Bruce Bochy will let Dunning work as he’s averaged 100 pitches per start in August. The Twins have struck out 31% of the time in their at-bats against right-handed pitching this season.

Bryce Harper

Position: OF

Salary: $5,900 

Bryce Harper has homered in three straight games with seven RBIs over that stretch. The Phillies will continue their homestand against the St. Louis Cardinals who have nothing to play for. Miles Mikolas gets the start for the visiting team and Harper has homered twice off Mikolas in his career. This Phillies team is getting hot at just the right time and Harper looks like he’s rounding into postseason form, which is a scary proposition for all the surrounding teams in the NL Wild Card race. Harper has a .949 OPS at home this year.

Adam Duvall

Position: OF

Salary: $4,600

Duvall has nine hits in his last four games, which all came in Houston against a good Astros team. He went on a three game home run streak and averaged 20.5 FPPG in that stand. The big headline is Mookie coming to town, but the Red Sox have been playing really well and won’t be fazed. Even though he is a right-handed batter, most of his damage has come against right-handed pitching. He has 13 of his 14 home runs against righties this year. The revamped Lance Lynn gets the start for the Dodgers, but this will be one of his toughest tests yet in what should be an emotional evening at Fenway.

DFS Value Plays (<$3500 Salary)

Kike Hernandez

Position: 3B/OF

Salary: $3,200

Mookie isn’t the only one returning to Boston tonight. Kike Hernandez will be hitting sixth for the visiting team and has looked rejuvenated since rejoining the Dodgers. Red Sox fans might be wondering where this version of Kike was when he was in Boston. His OPS for the Dodgers is .842 compared to just .599 for the Red Sox. The utility man has four extra base hits in the past week and should have some extra motivation tonight.  

Shea Langeliers

Position: C

Salary: $3,100

The A’s have quietly put together a nice stretch over the past few games in which they’ve won three out of their last four. Langeliers has provided some big power for this Oakland team during that stretch, homering four times in the last four games with two bombs in Thursday’s victory against the White Sox. He is hovering just above that Mendoza line, but his power of late is too much to ignore. Dylan Cease starts for the White Sox tonight and Cease has had an inconsistent year. The A’s are going with an opener so they will need all the runs they can get.

Nolan Schanuel

Position: 1B

Salary: $3,000

The young rookie has gotten a hit in every game since his call-up. His OPS is currently at .907 and while that’s a small sample size, he’s shown he can produce at the big league level. This Angels team might be cursed, but at least they have some prospects they can focus on developing. Schanuel has walked seven times and only struck out twice in 19 at-bats in his young career. That’d be impressive for anybody, but is especially impressive for someone at his age.