Tigers SP Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning on Wednesday, and settled for a one-hit shutout. Verlander's 3.45 ERA over 13 starts this season just looks OK, but he's been getting better since the All-Star break.
Verlander has posted a 1.38 ERA over his last seven starts, allowing more than one earned run just once. During that time, he's had a 0.79 WHIP with 49 strikeouts against just eight walks in 52 innings. At 32, Verlander doesn't have the shutdown stuff that he used to, but if you drafted him and waited out his early season triceps injury, your patience is paying off.
In other news ...
Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal, who got his 40th save on Wednesday, will return to St. Louis on Friday morning for the birth of his daughter and miss the weekend series against the Giants. Look for Kevin Siegrist and/or Seth Maness to cover the ninth inning during Rosenthal's absence.
The Yankees were without 1B Mark Teixeira (bruised leg) and Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) on Wednesday. It sounds like Teixeira is targeting a Friday return, but Ellsbury's status is up in the air.
Remember how angry everyone was about drafting Yasiel Puig in the second round? Those people are probably still mad, but Puig is batting .309 with three home runs over his last 11 games.
With closer Glen Perkins unavailable due to back spasms, Kevin Jepsen got Wednesday's save for the Twins. Perkins' return is TBD, but the Twins seem to think it's a short-term issue, and Perkins' owners shouldn't panic.
Mets lefty Steven Matz tossed six scoreless, one-hit innings in a rehab start on Wednesday. After one more minor-league outing, Matz is expected to return to Queens as part of a six-man Met rotation. This won't severely affect those of you who own Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, but it might cost those guys one start each in September. The team was already keeping a close eye on innings totals for Harvey and Syndergaard.
Cubs OF Dexter Fowler got Wednesday night off, and his status for today is TBD. Fowler got hit in the hand by a pitch on Monday, and fouled a ball off his shin on Tuesday. Ouch.
Five afternoon games are on today's schedule, starting with Dodgers-Reds at 12:35 p.m. ET. Set your lineups accordingly.
Dodgers C Yasmani Grandal, who has missed three games with a bruised shoulder, is expected to play today.
Rays C Curt Casali (hamstring) is on the DL.
Michael Pineda's return from the DL wasn't so good. Pineda figures to start again next week in Boston.
Brett Anderson was solid as our Wednesday streaming starter -- maybe the Dodgers cared about his three unearned runs, but we'll take 'em. Today's pick is the improving Carlos Rodon (owned in 29.1 percent of FOXSports.com leagues), who has allowed three earned runs over his last three starts while whiffing 24 batters and walking eight in 22 innings.
DFS advice (based on 50/50 games, night games only, salaries from DraftKings): Due to the six-game slate, even the so-so SPs are expensive. You can be somewhat budget-conscious with Rodon ($9,800) and Jon Niese ($8,800), who has averaged 20.1 DK points in his last four non-Coors starts ... BvP alert: Mets 3B David Wright ($4,900) is 13-for-30 with seven walks against Aaron Harang ... With Rubby De La Rosa allowing a .402 wOBA to righthanded hitters, Cardinal LH hitters make sense. 2B Kolten Wong ($3,700) carries the best price ... Phillies C Cameron Rupp ($3,000) has averaged 15.3 DK points over his last three games, and has a .443 wOBA vs. LHP in 48 plate appearances. If he plays against Niese, roll with him ... If you don't start Niese, you can also try Phillies SS/3B Andres Blanco ($2,500), who hits LHP well and has averaged 10.9 DK points over his last nine games ... Twins OF Byron Buxton ($2,500) has had two hits in four of his last five games, and bats leadoff.
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