The Tampa Bay Rays finished with the best American League record, 98 wins, 55 at home.
The Milwaukee Brewers led MLB with 103 wins, 55 at home.
Tampa Bay ranked 22nd in home runs, but second in stolen bases, while striking out at the lowest rate in MLB.
Milwaukee ranked T-28th in home runs but finished second in runs scored and RBIs. The Brewers stole the fifth-most bases and tied for the highest walk rate.
The teams were tied for the best batting average at .258 and were top six in OBP and wRC+.
Milwaukee was second in K/9 while Tampa Bay was only 19th, but the Rays had the lowest BB/9 while the Brewers were 11th. The pitching staffs ranked T-third and 12th in FIP, respectively.
These teams met in March in Milwaukee, with the Brewers winning two of three games while limiting the Rays to three or fewer runs in each matchup.
Nick Martinez will take the mound for Tampa Bay while Jacob Misiorowski gets the nod for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee is a 1.5-run home favorite with -198 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Tampa Bay is a +162 underdog, with the game total set at O/U 6.5 runs.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $150K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st] (TB @ MIL).
Captain’s Picks
Jacob Misiorowski ($19,500 CP) – Tampa Bay struck out at MLB’s lowest regular-season rate. But Misiorowski posted a whopping 37.9% strikeout rate, striking out seven over six innings against the Rays on April 1. The Brewers ace averaged triple digits on his fastball and posted a 2.17 FIP in 174.2 innings. He allowed an average exit velocity of 87.2 mph with a 3.6% barrel rate. At home, he posted a 2.20 FIP with an astounding 40.6% strikeout rate.
UTIL Plays
Sal Frelick ($3,400) – Frelick bats towards the bottom of the order and has very little power (.088 ISO). That said, he’s a pest who struck out only 9.9% of the time across 384 regular-season plate appearances. Frelick has produced fantasy goodies in all five of his postseason games so far, including two double-digit performances. Across the postseason, he’s racked up three hits, three runs, two RBIs, four walks, and two stolen bases.
David Hamilton ($4,800) – Like Frelick, Hamilton bats towards the bottom of the lineup. Though he’s only appeared in four playoff games, Hamilton was huge against the Dodgers — putting up 24 and 26 FPTS in Games 2 and 4 of the NLCS. In that span, he went 4-for-7 with a home run, five runs, two RBIs, three stolen bases, and only one strikeout.
Nick Martinez ($10,600) – I don’t expect many runs in this one, and I think both starters could go six innings. Martinez is the antithesis of Misiorowski: he doesn’t throw hard or strike out many batters. He limits hard contact, issues few walks and keeps the ball in the park. Facing the Brewers in March, Martinez threw six innings of two-run ball on six hits with three strikeouts and zero walks. Martinez was much better on the road this season, posting a 3.54 FIP away from Tropicana Field.
Fades
Yandy Diaz ($7,800) – Diaz is Mr. Consistent, as he could be penciled in for a .300 average, 20 home runs, 80 runs, and 80 RBIs while striking out only 15% of the time. And that’s pretty much what happened again this season. He’s had a power spike in October, hitting two home runs with a .256 ISO in 41 plate appearances. Diaz’s career ISO sits around .150, and his BABIP this postseason has been a towering .357. He now hits the road, where he posted a 96 wRC+ this season, down from 156 at home. Oh, and he’s up against Jacob Misiorowski.
