- We have bonus baseball on Friday, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals playing the first of two, starting at 1:05 PM ET in the nation's capital. As always, targeting hitters and closers from doubleheaders increases the chances for fantasy production. With Corey Knebel at least temporarily relieved of the Phillies closing duties, Seranthony Dominguez (5% rostered in ESPN leagues) is expected to lead a committee. Tanner Rainey (12%) is the Nationals closer and is also in play.
- As for the batters to target in the twin bill, the Nationals are slated to start a pair of right-handers in Joan Adon and Paulo Espino. Meanwhile, the Phillies are scheduled to start a pair of southpaws in Ranger Suarez and Bailey Falter. Neither Lee nor Espino are daunting, so available Philadelphia hitters are in play. However, while it's not guaranteed they'll play both ends, Cesar Hernandez (12%), Lane Thomas(9%) and Maikel Franco (6%) all have the opportunity for extra at bats with the platoon edge.
- The slate's most intriguing pitching matchup is in Rogers Centre with Jordan Montgomery taking the ball for the New York Yankees, to be opposed by Ross Stripling for the host Toronto Blue Jays. Stripling has pitched well in two starts since replacing Hyun-Jin Ryu in the Blue Jays rotation, albeit against the lesser Tigers and Royals lineups. Even with good pitchers on the hill, both offenses can put up multiple innings of crooked numbers, so don't hesitate to deploy either lineup in a DFS stack in what could be a slugfest. Starting Montgomery in traditional fantasy is a risk, so consider benching him if you're ratios are vulnerable.
- Three pitchers who aren't as risky are Michael Lorenzen (39%), Devin Smeltzer(17%) and Hunter Greene (5%) as the trio are the slate's top streaming candidates. Jon Gray (55%) is barely over the 50% rostership cutoff so his availability merits a look. Lorenzen's road date in Seattle isn't ideal, but he's complied seven quality starts in ten outings, and the innings are an integral component of ESPN points league scoring. Smeltzer faces an Arizona Diamondbacks lineup with the third lowest wOBA against southpaws while Greene is home against a Milwaukee Brewers lineup with the ninth highest strikeout rate facing righthanders.
- Friday offers a Coors Field game to tandem with the doubleheader as targets for batters in favorable scenarios. Some standalone options include the Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas (12%) and Josh Rojas (39%) both enjoying the platoon edge on Dylan Bundy, the Braves Michael Harris II (19%) facing Keegan Thompson and the Rays' Ji-Man Choi (9%) stepping in against Dean Kremer.
What you need to know for Friday's MLB Games
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