The first ever MLB game played in London was a doozy and it takes home spotlight honors. It was an absolute slugfest from the get-go as the score was 6-6 after the first inning. The final score was a 17-13 win for the Yankees. To little surprise, the game was full of outstanding performances from hitters on both sides, so we will just take a look at a few from both sides, but keep in mind there were 19 different hitters to record at least one hit in this game. Michael Chavis had the highest DFS output with a double-dong performance, a walk, and he racked up SIX RBI. Jackie Bradley Jr. put on a show with four hits, including a home run and an additional run scored. Rafael Devers went 2-4 with a pair of doubles, a RBI, and a run scored. Moving over to the Yankees side, the biggest performance came from DJ LeMahieu , who went 4-6 with a double, two runs scored, and five RBI. Luke Voit went a perfect 4-4 with three doubles, a RBI, and two runs scored.  Didi Gregorius finished 2-5 with a double, three RBI, and scored three times. Lastly, Aaron Hicks finished 2-5 and hit the first ever home run in London.

Strong Outings

  • Brendan McKay made his MLB debut and he was lights out in a win over the Rangers. He tossed six innings of shutout baseball and only allowed one hit while striking out three. If you haven’t picked him up already, you should go ahead and do that now, but based on the large number of questions that have been asked in chat regarding him, I am assuming most of you have already scooped him up.
  • Michael Pineda provided the Twins with six innings of one-run ball in a win over the White Sox. He gave up four hits while matching his season high strikeout total of eight. Pineda has been pretty consistent lately, giving up more than three earned runs just once in his last 10 outings, but giving up three in six of them. He will carry a 5-4 record and 4.78 ERA into his next start.
  • José Quintana hurled six shutout innings in a win over the Reds. He gave up six hits while striking out four. It was a nice bounce back start for him after giving up eight earned runs in his previous outing. It was his fourth start of the year that he has gone at least six innings and given up zero earned runs. He will carry a 5-7 record and 4.21 ERA into his next outing.
  • Luis Castillo was a hard-luck loser on the other side of Quintana’s performance. Castillo tossed seven innings of one-run ball. He gave up three hits while striking out six. Just another strong outing in what has been a big time breakout season for the young righty. He hasn’t given up more than four earned runs in any start this season and he will carry a 7-3 record and 2.47 ERA into his next start.
  • Chris Paddack was dominant in a win over the Cardinals, hurling six innings of one-run ball. He gave up just two hits while striking out eight. He’s having a fantastic rookie campaign with a 5-4 record, 3.05 ERA, and 0.94 WHIP. Opposing hitters have managed just a .197 batting average against him this season.
  • Zack Greinke hurled seven shutout innings in a win over the Giants. He gave up five hits while striking out six. He took advantage of a bad offense in a pitcher’s park and that’s exactly what you want to see when your fantasy guys have a strong match-up on tap. He will carry a 9-3 record and 2.90 ERA into his next start.
  • Brandon Woodruff was strong in a win over the Pirates, firing 7.2 innings of one-run ball. He gave up six hits while striking out six. He is the first NL pitcher to reach 10 wins this year (10-2 record) and he has his ERA down to 3.79. Woodruff is also posting strong strikeout rates with 120 punch-outs across 102.0 innings of work.
  • Brett Anderson was lights-out in a win over the Angels, hurling 7.2 shutout innings and only allowing two hits. He only had three strikeouts, but that’s to be expected with Anderson as he only has a 4.5 K/9. He has been rock solid this year for the A’s with an 8-5 record and 3.92 ERA. His low strikeouts aren’t ideal for fantasy purposes though.
  • Andrew Cashner dominated the Indians with seven shutout innings in a win. He gave up just three hits while striking out six. He has a great month of June, posting a 1.44 ERA across four starts. He is now 8-3 on the season, despite a 4.03 ERA and pitching for one of the worst teams in baseball; sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Hitter Highlights

Nelson Cruz led all hitters in scoring on both DFS sites yesterday, finishing 4-5 with a pair of dingers, a double, two runs scored, and five RBI. Cruz has had a fantastic month of June, hitting .306 (26-85) with eight home runs and 22 RBI. He has 15 home runs and 44 RBI on the season now.

Max Kepler had double-dong game as well in the Twins 10-3 win over the White Sox. Both home runs were solo shots and they were his only two hits of the afternoon. He now has 21 home runs and 53 RBI on the year to go along with a .269 batting average. He’s having a nice breakout campaign.

Franmil Reyes had another double-dong game with solo home runs. He also walked once in the Padres 12-2 win over the Cardinals. It was his fifth multi-homer game of the year and he now has 24 home runs and 41 RBI on the year to go along with a .248 batting average.

Manny Machado also had a multi-homer game in the Padres win. They were his only two hits and he finished with five RBI. He now has 19 home runs, 54 RBI, 50 runs scored, and a .279 batting average on the year. This particular double-dong performance led to a bit of history for Machado:

Eric Hosmer collected four hits, two RBI, and a run scored en route to upping his average on the year to .297. Hosmer is enjoying a nice second season in San Diego with 13 home runs and 59 RBI to go along with that strong batting average. He has provided nice value to fantasy owners after being draft near pick 200 in draft this year.

Renato Núñez also smacked two home runs on a day chalk full of double-dong performances. He also walked twice and finished with four RBI and three runs scored. His .236 batting average isn’t great, but he does have 18 home runs and 44 RBI.

Eric Thames finished 2-4 with a home run, a triple, two RBI, and a run scored. Thames has played pretty well this season with a .270 batting average, 11 home runs, and 34 RBI across just 178 at-bats. It’s a shame that he has just about the same amount of at-bats as Aguilar, who has been awful all year.

What to Watch for Today

The second game between the Yankees and Red Sox is obviously worth a watch. They have already started and are currently in the second inning as I write this. Stephen Tarpley is in the midst of his first career start in the MLB, but is currently trailing 4-2.

Blake Snell will try to get back on track when he takes on the Rangers today. He has been getting hammered lately with 23 earned runs against in the month of June across just 17.1 innings pitched (good for a 11.94 ERA – Yikes). The rough patch has seen his ERA rise from 3.06 to his current 5.01 mark.

Noah Syndergaard will make his return off IL to take on Max Fried and the red-hot Braves. Syndergaard has been very up-and-down this season and his fantasy owners have to be hoping for more consistency out of him for the rest of the season.