Wilson Ramos went 2-for-3 with a solo homer on Saturday against the Yankees. Ramos contributed the Mets' lone run in their 2-1 loss to their crosstown rivals, launching his second home run of the season in the 8th inning to tie the game at 1-1. Ramos has had a hard time getting untracked in his second season with the Mets, as the homer was his first since Aug. 3, which was also the date of his last multi-hit game. Ramos has just three multi-hit performances in 25 games this season, which explains his meager .229 batting average. That's a far cry from his strong production last year, when he slashed .288/.351/.416 with 14 homers and 73 RBIs. A clear step back in plate discipline seems to be one of the culprits, as he's struck out nearly three times for every walk this year (7:19 BB/K ratio) compared to last year's 44:69 BB/K ratio. While there's a good chance Ramos turns it around, fantasy owners may want to cut bait on the 33-year-old given how lifeless his bat has looked (.337 SLG), especially if there are better options on the waiver wire.
Yu Darvish continued his sensational start to the year with six shutout innings in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Reds, yielding seven hits and two walks while striking out eight. Darvish notched his sixth straight win with another dominant outing, as he's allowed one or zero runs while lasting at least six innings in each of those victories. His command was sharp as he threw 75 of his 104 pitches for strikes, improving his K/BB ratio to 52:8 and lowering his ERA to 1.47 in the process. He also managed to keep the ball in the park after surrendering seven homers in his first six starts of the year. After a rocky start to his Cubs tenure, Darvish is pitching some of the best baseball of his career at age 34 and needs to be started in fantasy every time he toes the rubber.
Rhys Hoskins powered the Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the Braves on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer. Hoskins kept up his recent hot streak by jacking his third homer in five games. Since going 14 games without a long ball to begin the year, Hoskins has displayed his usual pop with four dingers over his last 13 games. He's also been an elite run producer over that stretch, knocking in 12 runs during that 13-game span. He's also been hitting for average lately too, batting .292 over his last 18 games while tallying nine extra-base hits. After an ice-cold start to the season, Hoskins seems to have gotten his swing back and should be locked into fantasy lineups going forward.
Zach Eflin enjoyed his finest start of the season on Saturday with a gem against the Braves, whiffing eight over seven innings of one-run ball while yielding just four hits and no walks. After compiling a 6.46 ERA over his previous three starts, Eflin bounced back by keeping Atlanta off the board aside from a sixth-inning solo shot. Eflin was highly economical as well, needing just 83 pitches (59 strikes) to complete seven frames. Now in his sixth season, the 26-year-old is missing more bats than ever before. While his previous career high was 8.6 K/9, he's already racked up 37 strikeouts in just 26 1/3 innings of work. IF he keeps that up, Eflin should have more dominant outings in the near future.
Anthony Rizzo led the Cubs to a 3-0 victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader vs. the Reds, going 2-for-3 with a pair of solo homers. Both of Rizzo's blasts came against Trevor Bauer, first in the third inning and again in the sixth inning. That marked Rizzo's first multi-homer game since Aug. 20th of last year. It was also his second straight game with a homer and extended his hitting streak to six games, although it was his first multi-hit game since Aug. 15. While his average is a mere .229 -- 42 points below his career average -- his power hasn't been lacking with eight home runs in 109 at-bats. Rizzo's average should improve with better luck on balls in play (.221 entering Saturday), and his power alone makes him a worthy fantasy starter.
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