The holiday weekend gave us some noteworthy pitching returns. Mike Soroka came back, as did Tyler Glasnow and, most notably, Liam Hendriks returned after his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In less happy news, Cedric Mullins got put on the IL and the Orioles responded by signing the very recent former Yankee, Aaron Hicks. 

In today’s slate, we have some interesting pitching matchups to watch. Shane McClanahan, who is 8-0, will go for the Rays in Wrigley. Zac Gallen will also take the bump, as will two top-5 ERA guys in Joe Ryan for the Twins and Bryce Elder for the Braves. We also get the second game of a three game Yankees-Mariners series in some late night baseball. Last night, Judge hit two home runs and robbed Teoscar Hernandez of his own. 

This is for the 5/30 4:05 PM PST slate. As always, make sure to check lineups before first pitch. 

Writer’s record

21-15-1

Cincinnati Reds ML (+148) @ Boston Red Sox 

The Red Sox have been really bad as of late. Their lineup has struggled, as indicated by the fact that they’ve scored the lowest amount of runs by any team over the last week with 14. The Giants scored 14 in one game yesterday. The Reds have scored more than eight runs in four out of their last five games and are coming off a three game road sweep of the Cubs. 

Atlanta Braves (-1.5 (-145)) @ Oakland Athletics  

You have to lay a little juice here, but there’s a good reason why. The As are an incredible 21-35 against the spread this year. Oakland miraculously won last night in the first game of this series. I don’t expect the As to win another against Atlanta or even keep it close. Bryce Elder gets the start for the Braves and he has the third lowest ERA in the league this year with 2.01.

DFS Pillar Plays

Kodai Senga

Position: P

Salary: $9,700

Senga has been a completely different player at home vs. on the road this year. In four games at home, Senga has a 1.57 ERA and has given up only four earned runs. In five games on the road, he has amassed a 6.12 ERA and has given up a whopping 17 earned runs. His last home start was against the first place Rays, where he struck out 12 batters in six innings. The Mets welcome the under .500 Phillies to Citi Field tonight. 

Julio Rodriguez

Position: OF

Salary: $5,600

In this current Mariners homestand, which started eight games ago, Julio has gotten three home runs, 10 RBIs, and has hit .471. In seven of those eight games, he’s gone for multiple hits. He has a homer in two straight games and will face Nestor Cortes tonight, who has been inconsistent and underwhelming this year. 

Bo Bichette

Position: SS

Salary: $5,200

In the last 15 days, Bo Bichette has 24 hits. He leads the majors in hits this season. Four of his last five games have been multi-hit affairs. Those five games were against the Rays and Twins, who rank sixth and second in Team ERA this year. The Blue Jays start a homestand tonight against the Brewers, who are coming off a brutal series where they were outscored by the Giants 28-9 at home. 

DFS Value Plays (<$3200 Salary)

Francisco Alvarez

Position: C

Salary: $3,100

The runway is clear for Alvarez to take over as the franchise catcher. Buck Showalter has no choice but to play him everyday at this point. He’s on an eight game hit streak and in five of those eight games, he’s hit a home run. Alvarez has come through in a big way and is one of the few bright spots for the Mets this year. You can get him for NL ROTY at +750 in some spots. 

Casey Schmitt

Position: 3B/SS

Salary: $3,200

Over the last week the Giants have scored 47 runs. Their offense is red hot, and the rookie infielder has contributed to some of these giant run totals. Last night, at home, Schmitt went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He’s still sitting at a .342 batting average and while that will go down at some point, he’s not ready to slow down just yet. 

Eloy Jimenez

Position: OF

Salary: $3,200

In two games back since returning from the IL, Eloy has three hits with two of them being for extra bases. That’s led to four RBIs for the outfielder. Tyler Anderson takes the mound for the Angels tonight and he’s been just average this year.