Clan-Members » ozier led off with a

Friday gives us a balanced slate, tempered a bit with an afternoon affair in Wrigley Field making the attractive matchup between Jake Arrieta and Adam Wainwright mostly just for viewing pleasure as its off the board in the main DFS contests. Chances to qualify for the big DFS tournaments and live events are waning while its crunch time in head-to-head leagues as clubs battle to make the playoff or improve seeding. Theres something for everyone in Fridays Daily Notes.PitchingEliteStephen Strasburg is in a great spot to add to his potential Cy Young resume as the Atlanta Braves visit Nationals Park. The right-hander will no doubt rank up goodly whiffs because thats what he does, just keep in mind the Braves may tote a weak offense but they dont fan excessively. This renders the Washington Nationals co-ace much better for DFS cash play than tournament action.As mentioned in the introduction, the Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals in the standard Friday matinee. Its worth noting the Redbirds are uncharacteristically striking out at an elevated pace versus fright-handers the past month.Chris Archer has rewarded his patient seasonal owners as hes picked up the pace significantly the past month or so. The final numbers will still be disappointing, but if you cut bait on Archer, you missed out on a second half stretch of seven starts, spanning 45 1/3 innings with a respectable 3.18 ERA and sparkling 1.01 WHIP plus 51 punch puts to boot. Archer will be on the hill for Alex Rodriguezs last game in pinstripes as the Tampa Bay Rays head to the Bronx for a weekend set. Despite some veteran lefty swingers with a solid track record, the New York Yankees have not fared well versus righties while Archers offense has smacked southpaws around. With CC Sabathia on the hill for the home team, Archer is in great shape for a solid game with decent run support, making him a GPP option even on the road in a hitters park.David Price continues to be one of the more frustrating pitchers to analyze, let alone own in all of fantasy baseball. His whiff and walk rates are nearly identical to last season where he boasted a 2.45 ERA, albeit artificially low as suggested by a 2.78 FIP and 3.24 xFIP. This season, in part buoyed by a bloated 0.333 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) in tandem with a 14 percent home run per fly ball rate (HR/FB), the Boston Red Sox southpaw checks in with a 4.34 ERA, a bit higher than his 3.41 FIP and 3.28 xFIP. Its interesting to note via xFIP, Price is essentially the same guy as last season. Keep in mind the key to xFIP is normalizing HR/FB, ostensibly tying home run rate to luck. This is where improvements in data collection and analysis will help flesh out the bad luck from bad pitching. Its safe to say Price has been a victim of both. Next up is an interleague tilt as the Arizona Diamondbacks slither into Fenway Park for a weekend visit. The Snakes pound lefties and get to use an extra hitter, but they also fan at an elevated clip versus lefties. Price makes for an intriguing GPP option, with one of the higher ceilings on the Friday card.SolidWhen a Colorado Rockies hurler draws a soft road matchup, the narrative usually involves mentioning their home and away splits. A slightly higher Coors Field ERA side, from a skills-basis, Jon Gray has been just as good, if not better a mile high than when traveling. The 24-year old right-hander will take the hill in Citizens Bank Park to challenge a middling Philadelphia Phillies squad that offers strikeout upside on top of his already impressive 9.4 K/9. Gray is one of the better DFS options in all formats.With the note this start point conveniently begins right after a six-run outing to begin July, Sean Manaea gas spun off six starts featuring a 2.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 38 1/3 innings with 34 punch outs. Unfortunately for his seasonal league owners, the Oakland Athletics have not blessed the southpaw with any run support so hes gone winless during this stretch. With the Seattle Mariners sending Ariel Miranda to the O. Co Coliseum hill, Manaea has a decent chance of securing his first victory since June 29.Itll be the classic matchup of strength versus strength as the Texas Rangers host the Detroit Tigers with Yu Darvish taking the ball for the home team. Since returning from the disabled list on July 16, the righty has fanned an impressive 43 in just 29 1/3 frames. Theres some risk but if youre looking to take down a DFS tournament, Darvish could easily register the top points total on the card.Theres only seven hurlers that fall in the solid range with the others not as intriguing for DFS play. As such, well move onto the heavily-populated streaming section where some additional DFS options will be identified. If you want some additional analysis on a pitcher that was left out, or anything pertaining to Fridays schedule, please let me know in the comments or through Twitter to @ToddZola.Streamers There are 18 hurlers, most of which are well below the threshold of 50 percent ownership of ESPN leagues. If youre looking to make up some ground, Fridays a great slate to get a head start before needing to scramble over the weekend.Despite not possessing all that much mustard on his heater, Joe Musgrove has maintained a high strikeout rate. This will be put to the test as the Houston Astros head north of the border to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. The hosts will be without the disabled Jose Bautista but are still dangerous. If youre in a tight ratio battle, its best to look elsewhere but if you need some punch outs, Musgrove is in play for a spot start as well as DFS play.As is often the case when returning from Tommy John surgery, Homer Baileys control and command is rusty. The Cincinnati Reds rightys debut against the San Diego Padres went much better than his follow-up against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bailey draws another weak opponent in the Milwaukee Brewers for his third straight road effort. This is another instance where a buffer in ratios would aid your effort to chase whiffs as the home team fans at a generous 26 percent clip versus righties.Ross Stripling is taking the spot originally intended for Rich Hills debut in blue but the newly acquired Los Angeles Dodgers lefty remains on the shelf with blister issues. Stripling has held the fort when called upon and will face a Pittsburgh Pirates club thats been in a rut, sporting the second worst wOBA versus righties for the past month.A Coors Field affair interrupted a string of solid efforts by Andrew Casher. The July acquisition for the Miami Marlins Is set up to regain some momentum as the offensively challenged Chicago White Sox head to South Beach for an interleague tilt.Logan Verrett has been hit hard, but with a date in Citi Field against the San Diego Padres in tow, the New York Mets right-handers is in play.On paper, Kyle Gibsons pitch-to-contact style plays right into the Kansas City Royals offense but the defending World Series champs are a different unit, one that the Minnesota Twins righty can frustrate. Gibson still wont rack up many whiffs but he should keep run scoring in check and be in play for a win.Well continue a recurring theme as Francisco Liriano will face a Houston Astros club prone to the strikeout, but also capable of sending the Toronto Blue Jays new lefty to an early shower. Lirianos strikeout potential puts him in play for DFS deployment.Well send with Ivan Nova, whose projected Game Score is still being penalized from his time in the Bronx. Nova will almost always be in play at home; Friday hes in play as the Los Angeles Dodger welcome the Bucs to southern California for a weekend set.AvoidAs tempting as it is to add Matt Cain to the avoid list for his encounter with the Baltimore Orioles, the game is on AT&T Park and the San Francisco Giants veteran right-hander has shown ample flashes of mediocrity to still be in play. That leaves Patrick Corbin and his automatic avoid Game Score of 45 as the sole arm too risky to use regardless of the scenario. And even that could change depending on the health of his opponents lead off and clean-up hitter as the Diamondbacks visit Beantown where Mookie Betts and David Ortiz are battling injuries.HittingThe Boston Red Sox and their scuffling but dangerous lineup are in a good spot even if Betts is unable to return as hes nursing a sore calf. Big Papi fouled a ball off his shin Wednesday night and had to be helped off the field but was in the lineup last night. With a southpaw on the hill, he may get the night off so monitor lineups. Dustin Pedroia has assumed the leadoff spot and is likely to stay there even if Betts is back. Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez and Aaron Hill also enjoy the platoon edge over Patrick Corbin.The Miami Marlins righties are lined up for a big game with Chicago White Sox southpaw Carlos Rodon taking the hill in Marlins Park. Giancarlo Stanton (if active) leads the way with Marcel Ozuna, Martin Prado and Chris Johnson also in play. Stanton missed Wednesdays game with a sore hip but is expected to play after Thursdays off-day.Mike Foltynewicz has big issues with lefty swingers. However, the Washington Nationals top left-hander, Bryce Harper, has missed three straight games so he Atlanta Braves righty ay catch a break. If Harper is back, hes obviously in play, joining Daniel Murphy, Ben Revere and switch hitter Danny Espinosa.The Texas Rangers will square off with Anibal Sanchez. The Detroit Tigers veteran righty has pitched better since returning to the rotation but in Globe Life Park, hes a risk. Platoon splits arent as actionable with Sanchez but the Rangers like to play matchups so their lefties Rougned Odor, Nomar Mazara, Shin-Soo Choo and Mitch Moreland are the prime beneficiaries along with switch hitter Carlos Beltran.Without Jay Bruce, the Cincinnati Reds left-handed brethren lost a chief cog when facing a vulnerable like Jimmy Nelson. However, joey Votto and Scott Schebler remain to take advantage along with Billy Hamilton. The speedster is in an especially great spot since the Milwaukee Brewers starter has been on the bump for 18 successful stolen base tries and is likely to surpass last seasons total of 24.Most likely to hit a home run: Giancarlo Stanton/Marcell OzunaThe culprit will be Rodon. If Stanton is playing, hes the call but if not, his teammate Ozuna will be betrothed with the task.Most likely to steal a base: Billy HamiltonThe question isnt if, but how many bags Hamilton swipes with Nelson on the hill. Ill say three. Cheap Authentic Vapormax . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Cheap Vapormax Womens .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. http://www.cheapvapormaxtrainers.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Nike Vapormax Outlet . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Cheap Nike Vapormax Black . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. DETROIT -- Matt Boyd has quietly been one of the Detroit Tigers most consistent starters in the second half of the season.Coming into Tuesday night, he was 5-1 since July 1 with a 2.56 ERA in 11 appearances, 10 of them as a starter. He hasnt gotten the same attention as Justin Verlander or Michael Fulmer, but hes been a big reason the Tigers have been able to stay in the wild-card race.Thats why it was surprising when everything blew up in his face against the Minnesota Twins.Boyd gave up seven runs, eight hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings as the Tigers lost 8-1.I was just out of sync, Boyd said. I wasnt right physically. I feel great, but my mechanics were off. I couldnt repeat my delivery, and thats a recipe for disaster.That cant happen at this time of year.The Tigers lost for the third time in 14 games against Minnesota, costing them precious ground in a crowded race for the AL wild-card spots. They are now two games behind the Blue Jays and the Orioles and tied with the Yankees.Kyle Gibson went eight innings for the Twins and didnt allow a run after Miguel Cabreras first-inning single. He did have to navigate one major jam. In the fourth, with the Twins up 7-1, he walked Tyler Collins and Erick Aybar to load the bases with two out.After a conference with pitching coach Neil Allen and catcher John Ryan Murphy, he threw three straight changeups to Jarrod Saltalamacchia. After two swinging strikes, Gibson got a routine pop fly to end the inning.Thats an offense that can put up runs in a hurry, he said. I wanted to limit them to zero or, at worst one. I had missed on seven straight heaters, so when Murph suggested the changeup, it sounded good to me.Gibson (6-9) threw a perfect fifth inning and never looked back. The win ended a four-start winless streak, including when Gibson allowed five runs in five innings to Detroit on Aug. 23.Jorge Polanco homered and drove in four runs and Brian Dozier added three more hits to his torrid second half.Dozier entered hitting .318 with 26 homers since the All-Star break. Hes hit safely in 17 consecutive games.Buck Farmer saved Detroits bullpen by pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings, but nnow the Tigers long reliever will be unavailable for starts by Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey on Wednesday and Thursday.dddddddddddd. Sanchez has struggled all year, while Pelfrey will be pitching for the first time since July and is expected to be on a low pitch count.He was outstanding, and it helped us a ton, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. That frees up the rest of the bullpen for the next couple days.Boyd got into trouble quickly, allowing two runs before recording an out. Dozier led off with a base hit and Polanco blooped a double down the right-field line. Robbie Grossman lined Boyds 11th pitch of the night into center for a two-run single, but the Tigers defense prevented further damage.Kennys Vargas hit a hard grounder up the middle, but Jose Iglesias fielded it behind second and got off a backhanded flip toward the bag. Ian Kinsler caught it in his bare hand and threw in one motion to turn the double play.After Cabrera got the Tigers on the board, Polancos two-run homer gave the Twins a three-run lead in the third. Grossman followed with a double, giving the top three in Minnesotas order six hits in six plate appearances, including three doubles and a homer.Polanco had two shots at the triple he needed for the cycle but popped out and walked.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: Justin Upton didnt play after aggravating a calf injury on Monday. Upton, one of Detroits hottest hitters over the last three weeks, hopes to return within a day or two.OLYMPIAN IN THE HOUSEFor the second day in a row, a medalist from the 2016 Summer Olympics threw out the first pitch. After boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields did the honors on Monday, it was Canadian Shelina Zadorsky, who won bronze as a member of the womens soccer team after a college career at the University of Michigan.UP NEXTThe teams play the third of a four-game series Wednesday night, with Sanchez (7-13, 5.69) facing Minnesotas Tyler Duffey (8-11, 6.13). Sanchez has shown some signs of improvement, going 1-1 with a 3.34 ERA in his last five starts. ' ' '