This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
Saturday is a pivot point for the playoffs. Four teams have a chance to move on to the next round while the other four will be trying to force a Game 3. That'll impact us on the DFS front, to be sure. For now, we have four games Saturday with first pitch is at 12:07 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Triston McKenzie, CLE vs. TAM ($52): Matchup wise, this is as good as you're going to get in the playoffs. The Rays ranked 21st in runs scored, fewest of any postseason club. McKenzie got off to a bit of a slow start, but has posted a 2.27 ERA over his last 11 starts.
Aaron Nola, PHI at STL ($47): Nola is known as an above-average pitcher, but he's secretly quite elite with a 3.25 ERA and a sparkling 2.58 FIP. He's also produced a 3.00 ERA on the road this year. The Cardinals ranked top-five in offers, but easy matchups aren't necessarily easy to come by in the playoffs.
Top Target
On Friday, Jose Ramirez ($18) was the Cleveland offense, but what else is new? This is a hitter who recorded an .869 OPS with 29 homers and 20 stolen bases, and that represented a drop in power for him. Tyler Glasnow is slated to start for the Rays, but he made two starts this year and didn't even go four innings in either one. Also, these are the Rays so they're going to go to the bullpen early. Ramirez has an .892 OPS versus lefties and an .897 facing righties since 2020, which means he can literally handle whatever's thrown at him.
Bargain Bat
What if Kevin Gausman can't go because of his finger issue? Do you fear Jose Berrios or Ross Stripling? I don't. Or what if Gausman starts, but he's off his game? Whoever's taking the mound for the Jays, it will be a righty. Ty France ($13) is also right-handed, but produced a .794 OPS versus righties in 2022 and an .805 OPS in those matchups across the last two campaigns. He also hit 20 homers for the first time in his career, even though he only played in 140 games.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Mariners (Robbie Ray): Teoscar Hernandez ($18), Vladimir Guerrero ($17), Matt Chapman ($11)
Last season, Ray won the Cy Young with the Blue Jays. His move to the Mariners didn't go swimmingly. He still struck out a lot of batters, but he also posted a 4.16 FIP and a 4.69 road ERA. Allowing home runs has always been a problem for Ray, as the 1.52 he gave up per nine innings this season was his fewest since 2018. The Jays definitely have a lineup who can take advantage of that.
Facing a lefty is perfect for Hernandez with a 1.053 OPS against southpaws since 2020. Guerrero didn't match his 48 home runs from a year ago, but did hit 32. He also posted a .274 average and a .284 during his career. Chapman crushed 27 homers this season, the same number he hit in 2021 in his final season with the Athletics. The difference is now he prefers to be at his home ballpark. with an .826 OPS at the Rogers Centre.
Phillies at Cardinals (Miles Mikolas): Kyle Schwarber ($22), J.T. Realmuto ($18), Brandon Marsh ($11)
Originally, it looked like Mikolas would start Game 1. Then the Cardinals decided to move him to today to sandwich him between two lefties. The Phillies carry a few key lefty bats, so maybe St. Louis was trying to get a leg up to open the series. This matchup plays more into Philly's hands as Mikolas managed a 3.87 FIP in 2022, in line with his career 3.89 number. He also struck out a mere 6.81 batters per nine innings. There should be a decent amount of contact made against him, and lefties aren't going to be pulling the ball toward Nolan Arenado at third.
Schwarber will be swinging for the fences. Never a threat to win a batting title, the lefty managed 46 homers and that topped the National League. He also had a .900 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Yahoo requires a catcher for your lineup, and Realmuto is as good as any having hit .276 with 22 home runs and 21 steals with an .849 OPS the last three weeks. Marsh picked it up after being dealt to the Phillies with a .774 OPS since arriving to go with a .735 versus righties on the season.
