Betting

Enjoying one of the best all-around games of his young career, Merrill, who turns 23 this weekend, robbed Julio Rodríguez of a two-run homer in the third, long before he ended the game with his two-run double in the ninth. His .261/.320/.464 line isn’t all that eye-catching, but that he’s 4-for-4 on the basepaths after going 1-for-3 last year has taken his stock up a couple of notches.

This was just unfair. With a night off from hitting, Ohtani was able to tear apart the Mets’ lineup. His 22 swings-and-misses were his most since joining the Dodgers and was just the sixth time a pitcher reached that mark so far this season. Coincidentally, his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto did so last night against these same Mets. Nevertheless, it’s easy to forget how advanced Ohtani’s feel for pitching is considering how much praise he gets for his offense. He led with his fastball that sat around 97 mph and mixed in plenty of sweepers, splitters, and curveballs whenever he needed to. Possibly his most impressive sequence of the night, he threw his four hardest fastballs in his second-to-last inning after the Mets put runners on second and third with one out in a one-run game. All four of those fastballs were harder than 100 mph. Now through 18 innings this season, he’s struck out 18 batters and allowed just one earned run. Sometimes you just have to sit back and appreciate greatness. He’s expected to be back in the lineup on Friday night in Colorado and is scheduled to make his next start in San Francisco against the Giants.

Like Trevor Megill, Uribe has been something of a mess this season with his velocity down about 1.5 mph. However, getting a chance in the ninth seemed to have helped there; he averaged 99.0 mph with his sinker and 88.1 mph with his slider tonight, up from 97.5 mph and 85.7 mph, respectively, in his first seven appearances. There’s a chance he takes this opportunity and runs away with the closer’s role, especially if the increased velocity is back to stay.

This was an all-time series for Trout in the Bronx. With another home run here, it gave him four in the three-game series along with nine RBI. He went from a .777 OPS to a .945 OPS in that span, just to remind us all how small everyone’s sample sizes still are. Nevertheless, Trout looks the best he has in years. The raw power never left him, but his swing-and-miss rose sharply over the past few seasons. Now, his whiff rate is back in line with where it was when he was still in his 20s! It’s wheels up for Trout as long as he can stay healthy.

It’s happening. Cole looked sharp in a handful of abbreviated spring training outings and will make his first rehab start later this week in the upper minors, according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace is working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and figures to be ready to make his season debut at some point in mid-to-late May.

It may be a serious understatement to say Hoerner is on fire at the dish, with five multi-hit performances in his last eight games since April 7. The 28-year-old second baseman took Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo deep into the left-center field seats for his first round-tripper of the season in the fifth inning to give the Cubs a commanding 5-1 lead at the time. He also added two more hits and a stolen base, just for good measure, raising his batting average to .324 through 18 games this season.

Imanaga got plenty of support from Chicago’s offense and put together a masterclass, generating an eye-popping 26 swinging strikes to finish with a surreal 39 percent CSW on 97 pitches (67 strikes). He limited Philadelphia to just three hits and one walk with a first-inning solo shot by Trea Turner representing the lone tally against him in this one. The 32-year-old’s fastball velocity remains up nearly two miles per-hour from last year as he’s been consistently in the 92 mph range this season, which has increased the effectiveness of his entire arsenal. He’ll carry a sparkling 2.45 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 31/5 K/BB ratio across 22 innings over four starts into a rematch with the Phillies at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

Not good. Luzardo was torched for 12 hits, his highest in a single start since last May he was clearly tipping pitches against the Brewers, including a two-run homer by speedster Nico Hoerner in the fifth inning. He finished with only four strikeouts and issued one walk. The unexpected meltdown raises Luzardo’s ERA from 6.23 to an unsightly 7.93 through four starts. The 28-year-old southpaw will attempt to turn things around in a rematch with the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday. At this point it’s getting challenging for fantasy managers to keep throwing him out there.

Stewart launched a pair of three-run opposite-field homers against Giants veteran starter Tyler Mahle in the first two innings of the contest to record the first multi-homer performance of his young career. He finished 2-for-4 at the dish in the one-sided affair. The 22-year-old burgeoning slugger leads all rookies with seven round-trippers across 18 games while hitting .323 (20-for-62) with 17 RBI and three steals this season. To say he’s been a revelation would be an understatement. It’s too early to make any definitive predictions, but Stewart looks like he’s going to be an impactful fantasy contributor for years to come.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Soto won’t return until at least the club’s next homestand, which begins next Tuesday against the Brewers. The 27-year-old fantasy superstar is working his way back from a calf strain that put him on the shelf back on April 3. It’s possible he’ll skip a minor league rehab assignment altogether and jump right back into New York’s lineup next week.