Baseball is back! Check back here throughout the day for updated blurbs as teams confirm their lineup. We’ll keep you updated on some of the day’s highest-impact trends by utilizing our Models and Vegas dashboard. Projected and confirmed lineups for every game can be found on our MLB Daily Lineups page.
Rays (+185) at Yankees (-202) — 7:05 PM EST
Rays out: C.J. Cron, Carlos Gomez
Rays in: Carlos Arroyo, John Field
C.J. Cron and Carlos Gomez will receive a normal rest day on Friday against the Yankees and righty Jonathan Loaisiga, who will make his MLB debut. Matt Duffy will absorb Cron’s designated hitter responsibilities, and Christian Arroyo will take over at third base while John Field replaces Gomez in the outfield. Although the Rays are facing an unknown quantity, they are presently implied to score 3.7 runs — tied for the fourth-lowest mark in the main slate. Loaisiga conducted his last six starts in Double-A, and he’s only up as a spot starter in Masahiro Tanaka‘s absence. It’s possible he has an unspecified pitch count, which makes him a questionable punt option at $6,400 on DraftKings. Nonetheless, he crafted an 11.6 SO/9 rate at the lower levels this season, and the Rays have the 12th highest road strikeout rate this season.
Twins (+190) at Indians (-207) — 7:10 PM EST
Twins in: Joe Mauer (cervical strain, concussion-like symptoms)
Joe Mauer missed the previous 25 games with a cervical strain and concussion-like symptoms, but he’s been activated from the disabled list and will bat leadoff. Logan Morrison will shift from first base to designated hitter with Miguel Sano demoted. Nonetheless, the Twins face righty Corey Kluber, who hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any start this season. The last time he faced the Twins, he limited them to one run in 6.2 innings. It is then curious why the Twins are presently implied to score 3.3 runs and their total has increased by 0.3 runs since the line opened. In the 18 times a team has been implied to score at least 3.3 runs against the Indians when Kluber was on the mound over the past two seasons, Kluber has averaged 27.75 DraftKings points with a 40% tournament ownership mark.
Cubs (-113) at Cardinals (+104) — 8:15 PM EST
Cardinals out: Jose Martinez (paternity)
Cardinals in: Luke Voit
Jose Martinez has officially been placed on paternity leave and will miss the entire weekend series against the Cubs. In his absence, the team has recalled Luke Voit from the minors to fill in at first base. Tommy Pham will hit third for the eighth time this season and the Cardinals are currently implied to score 4.2 runs. Matt Carpenter, the only left-handed hitter in the lineup, is the highest-rated Cardinals hitter in the Bales Model on both DraftKings and FanDuel at $3700. However, Carpenter has displayed negative splits against left-handed pitchers over the last year and opposing pitcher Jon Lester has fared better against lefties than righties throughout his career. Jedd Gyorko leads the team with a .325 ISO against lefties and him and fellow righty Marcell Ozuna make for intriguing tournament options with exceptional batted-ball statistics over the last 15 days.
