

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani continued his MVP-type season during Sunday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. Ohtani took Tanner Bibee deep for his 46th home run of the season during Sunday's 4-0 victory. He finished the day 2-for-4 and has been a force at the top of the lineup for this offense. There's still a few weeks left, so Ohtani does have a chance to get to 50 home runs before the regular season ends. Fantasy managers should continue to ride with Ohtani into the postseason.


Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty was excellent on the mound for Sunday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. The right-hander walked no one and only allowed four hits over 7 1/3 innings of work. The Guardians had no answers for Flaherty as he continued his fantastic second half of the season. Flaherty is now 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA over sevens starts with Los Angeles. He'll look to keep the good times rolling against the Atlanta Braves during his next time out.


Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Porter Hodge was called upon to hold a one-run lead during Sunday's game against the New York Yankees. The right-hander has been outstanding in a high-leverage role for the Cubs this season. He tossed a scoreless ninth inning on Sunday to earn his fourth save of the season. Hodge currently has a 14-inning scoreless streak where he's allowed only four hits and struck out 20 batters during that time. He figures to be the primary closing option for the Cubs down the stretch of the season with Jorge Lopez (groin) on the injured list. Fantasy managers who are seeking saves should check the waiver wire to see if Hodge is available.



Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Osvaldo Bido will rejoin the starting rotation on Tuesday against the Houston Astros. Bido was skipped on Saturday, potentially to reduce his workload as he is nearing his total from last year. This is an important move for fantasy, as Bido becomes a two-start pitcher this week (as long as the A's don't skip his next start as well) with the second matchup being against the lowly White Sox. He is a solid option in standard-size leagues, especially points leagues. Also noteworthy is that JP Sears is no longer a two-start pitcher and will lose the juicy White Sox matchup.


Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder/first baseman Pavin Smith had a game to remember on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with three homers and eight RBI in a 12-6 win over the Houston Astros. Smith did all of his damage in the first five innings, hitting a three-run homer in the 2nd, a grand slam in the third, and a solo shot in the fifth. The monster game brings the 28-year-old up to a .270 AVG and .905 OPS in 89 at-bats this season. Those numbers aren't too shabby, but the lefty hasn't been able to get into the starting lineup consistently and has spent most of his time in the minors. With a game like this, maybe the D-Backs will get him in the lineup more often. Still, it's hard to trust that one game will change things, so he isn't of much value in fantasy.
