This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
The late-afternoon and evening state for MLB comes in at five games this Sunday. That's one or two more games than usual! You have a couple extra options for your lineup as well, with the first pitch at 4:07 p.m. ET. Here are my recommendations.
Pitching
Luis Castillo, SEA vs. COL ($49): Castillo is slacking! He allowed a whole two runs in his last start, his first earned runs of the season. The Rockies' runs scored are always boosted by their home ballpark, and on the road they always perform significantly worse. Well, they are in the bottom half in runs scored as is, even with seven of their 15 games coming at Coors Field.
Jose Butto, NYM at OAK ($25): Max Scherzer has been pushed back on the schedule due to soreness, giving Butto a start after being called up from Triple-A. He's unproven, but he has a 1.86 ERA in Triple-A this year and recorded a 2.45 ERA there last year. The Athletics seem poised to have one of the worst offenses in MLB again, and they have a pitcher-friendly ballpark.
Top Target
It speaks to his resume that Mookie Betts ($18) is sitting here with a .368 on-base percentage and it feels like he's off to a slow start. He has a career .888 OPS and hit 35 homers with 12 stolen bases last year, so eventually he's going to be putting up some big numbers. Drew Smyly is a lefty, which plays to Betts' strengths, and he's struggled through his first two starts, allowing seven earned runs in 9.2 innings.
Bargain Bat
He may not always hit for a very good average, but Eugenio Suarez ($15) has the power to make up for it, at least to DFS players. He's hit 31 home runs in each of his last two seasons, and he's batting .295 to start this campaign for good measure. We have Noah Davis in line to make the start for the Rockies on Sunday, who has a 5.89 FIP through three starts in Triple-A this year.
Stacks to Consider
Mets at Athletics (JP Sears): Pete Alonso ($24), Starling Marte ($17), Mark Canha ($11)
After getting dealt to the Athletics last year, Sears posted a 4.69 FIP and allowed 1.3 home runs per nine innings. Through two starts in 2023 he has a 6.48 FIP, and he's allowed three home runs across 9.2 frames. Even if Oakland has a pitcher-friendly ballpark, it hasn't really helped Sears in his career, so I'll still stack three Mets righties against the southpaw.
Alonso has a career .537 slugging percentage, and he's shown excellent power already this year, hitting six home runs. He also has a .914 OPS versus left-handed pitchers dating back to 2021. Marte's game is built for a spacious ballpark given his speed. He had 16 homers last year, but also five triples and 18 stolen bases. The veteran has five swiped bags already in 2023. Canha, a former Athletic, has a .373 OBP over the last five seasons. Over the last three years, he has an .811 OPS on the road.
Padres vs. Brewers (Wade Miley): Xander Bogaerts ($19), Manny Machado ($14), Nelson Cruz ($14)
The 36-year-old Miley has a 2.45 ERA but a 4.55 FIP. He hasn't had a FIP below 3.94 in any of his previous four campaigns. He allows his fair share of base hits, as righties have hit .266 against the southpaw since 2021. Miley strikes out a low number of batters, and about the only thing he does with any notable acumen is get lefties out. These are three right-handed batters, so this stack works for me.
Bogaerts has taken to his new home with gusto. He's working to justify his big contract early, slashing .361/.437/.607 with four home runs. It's been a slow start for Machado, though oddly mostly against righties, so his issues are both either a fluke or not relevant to this matchup. Since joining the Padres he has an .850 OPS, so I imagine Machado will be just fine. With a lefty on the mound, I expect Cruz to be DHing Sunday. The journeyman with the career .515 slugging percentage is known for his power. Maybe he's lost a step as he's gotten into his forties, but he's still posted an .836 OPS against southpaws since 2021.
