Teoscar Hernandez (OF-SEA) helped lift the Mariners to a 5-0 win over the Tigers on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Hernandez extended Seattle's lead to 3-0 with his fourth-inning solo shot off Alex Faedo and tacked on an RBI single in the ninth for good measure. The dinger was his first since April 30, ending a 10-game homerless streak to begin the month. Hernandez had been ice-cold in May coming into Saturday's game, batting just .231/.286/.282 with one RBI and 17 strikeouts over his last 10 contests. It's been an underwhelming first season in Seattle so far for the former Toronto Blue Jay after he was acquired in an offseason trade, so perhaps the move from a hitter-friendly park to a pitcher-friendly one is negatively affecting him more than anticipated. He also has the most strikeouts (56) in the American League and his 5:56 BB/K ratio is absolutely brutal, so he'll need to fix that ASAP if he wants to get back on track to his former All-Star and Silver Slugger self.
Joe Ryan (SP-MIN) cruised to an easy victory on Saturday, tossing six scoreless innings against the Cubs as the Twins rolled to an 11-1 victory. Ryan yielded just four hits and one walk while racking up 10 strikeouts, matching his season-high in whiffs for the third time this year. Ryan threw 76 of his 102 pitches for strikes and was able to pound the strike zone as Minnesota's bats built up a big lead for him. Ryan improved to 6-1 on the season with his first win since April and lowered his ERA to 2.16. He now owns a spectacular 57:7 K/BB ratio in 50 innings this season and hasn't allowed a homer in four straight starts, so his peripherals match his stellar surface stats. After enjoying a strong rookie campaign last year (13-8, 3.55 ERA), Ryan has quickly emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball and is taking his game to new heights this year, making him a must-start in all formats every time he takes the hill.
Jake Fraley (OF-CIN) had another big game on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs, four RBIs and a stolen base against the Marlins. Fraley turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead with his fifth-inning three-run shot off Sandy Alcantara. He later tacked on an RBI single and picked up his fourth stolen base of the season as well. Saturday's performance comes on the heels of a two-homer game on Friday, and he now has multiple hits in three straight games -- his longest streak of the season so far. The four steals already match his season total from last year, while his .269 average and .826 OPS both represent career-highs. Fraley emerged as a solid fantasy option for Cincinnati last year after struggling during his first three MLB seasons with the Mariners, but he's become a sneaky-good player when healthy with his power, steals and strong rate stats. He's also been on an RBI binge with 18 ribbies over his last 14 games, so he's been driving in plenty of runs as well by hitting in the middle of the order.
Sandy Alcantara (SP-MIA) took the loss against the Reds on Saturday after allowing six runs on seven hits (two homers) and two walks with nine strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. Saturday was a weird start for Alcantara, who surrendered two separate Miami leads. First he gave up a three-run homer to Jake Fraley in the fifth, and then he gave up three more runs in the eighth and was unable to finish the inning. On the bright side, he threw 72 of his 106 pitches for strikes and tied his season-high with nine punchouts. The loss dropped his record to 1-4 and bumped his ERA up to 4.91, although that's mostly because he's given up 15 earned runs in just two starts. He's allowed three earned runs or less in his other six outings, so he's been more good than bad this season. Still, the overall numbers have been disappointing for the reigning NL Cy Young winner, even if some regression was to be expected following his career year.
Joey Gallo (OF-MIN) paced the Twins' 11-1 rout of the Cubs on Saturday, going 2-for-5 with a double, a homer, two runs and four RBIs from the leadoff spot. Gallo helped Minnesota build up its early lead with his three-run shot in the bottom of the third for his eighth homer of the season and his first of May. The long ball ended a run of 14 straight games without a homer for Gallo, who was mired in a massive slump during that stretch (.128/.292/.231 with 18 strikeouts). Gallo is prone to big swings in his performance due to the volatility of his three-true-outcomes profile, so fantasy GMs have to take the good with the bad when it comes to him. While his average is only .209 after his recent slump, his OPS is still a healthy .903. He also got bumped up to the leadoff spot on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see if he remains there after immediately responding with a big game. If so, it could be beneficial to his fantasy stats going forward.
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