As the season inches closer towards the end, some of these series are more meaningful than others. The Rangers and Astros continue their battle for top spot in the AL West while the Mariners take on a feisty Reds team that may be too young to be afraid of the moment. Today’s slate is light on aces as only AL Cy Young favorite, Gerrit Cole, looks a sure thing to have a good game. Nathan Eovaldi will return after his month-long layoff in tonight’s Texas-sized division matchup opposite Framber Valdez.

This is for the 9/5 4:05 PM PST classic slate on Draftkings.

Writer’s Record

46-23-1

Miami Marlins ML (+131) vs Los Angeles Dodgers

This is a decent price for the home team who has one of their best pitchers going in Jesus Luzardo. The Dodgers are coming off a big series against the Braves in which they lost three out of four and now they have to go all the way across the country. All this while one of their top starters faces the prospect of criminal charges. It’s possible the Dodgers clubhouse is not focused on this game with everything going on and the Marlins are fighting for a wild card spot.

DFS Pillar Plays

Dean Kremer

Position: P

Salary: $8,600

Dean Kremer will face the Angels a day after Shohei Ohtani was removed from the lineup during Monday’s pre-game warmups. The Angels said it was an oblique strain and there is video going around where it appears Ohtani overextended himself taking a swing in batting practice. Coincidentally (or not), Ohtani’s agent came out on Monday and said surgery on his torn UCL is inevitable. Without Ohtani on Monday, the Angels scored three runs with two of them coming via solo shots. Grayson Rodriguez had a good night, going six innings and striking out seven. Dean Kremer will face off against this team missing its two best players after an August in which he had a 2.37 ERA.

Matt Olson

Position: 1B

Salary: $6,400 

The Braves will be making their way back to Truist Park with a really easy matchup against the Cardinals and Miles Mikolas. Mikolas pitched against the Braves early in the season and in that game, Matt Olson hit two doubles and a home run off the veteran right-hander. Olson struggled in the first three games of the series in Los Angeles, but homered off Bobby Miller for Atlanta’s only run in the series finale. With Shohei Ohtani injured, the runway is clear for Olson to take the home run crown for the 2023 season.

Francisco Lindor

Position: SS

Salary: $4,900

Francisco Lindor has actually put together a respectable season on paper. His August numbers were really good with 20 runs scored, 14 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a .305 batting average. Patrick Corbin will be starting for the Nationals on Tuesday and Corbin ranks in the bottom-10 in ERA among all qualified starters. His WHIP is second worst behind only Rich Hill at 1.50. Corbin has allowed 14 hits to the Mets over two starts this season.

DFS Value Plays (<$3500 Salary)

Ronny Mauricio

Position: 2B/SS

Salary: $3,000

You can comfortably slot Mauricio into a Mets stack against Patrick Corbin. The young prospect has played three games so far and has registered five total hits with two stolen bases already. We have seen some call-ups make the most of their opportunity right out of the gate and Mauricio is no exception. In his first major league appearance, he hit the eighth hardest hit ball this year at 117.3 MPH.  

Jasson Dominguez

Position: OF

Salary: $3,000

Dominguez is another young prospect who got the call-up for a New York team and came out swinging. In his first at-bat, Dominguez homered off Justin Verlander and he finished the series in Houston with another long ball in the finale. Yankee fans have been waiting for Dominguez for a long time and if there is any consolation for this disastrous Yankee season, it’s that they finally are giving some young guys a chance. This will be his first game at Yankee Stadium and the switch-hitting outfielder will be facing a right-hander, which puts the short porch in play.

Seiya Suzuki

Position: OF

Salary: $3,500

Since the start of September, Seiya Suzuki has registered a hit in all five games. This is coming off a scorching August where Suzuki had a 1.006 OPS. The Cubs will be facing the Giants bullpen after Sean Manaea gets the initial few innings. Suzuki homered in Monday’s matchup against Logan Webb in this battle between two teams fighting for wild card positions.