Wednesday brings eight MLB games on the main slate, with a buyer’s beware vibe on pitching and several high-upside stacks. Jacob Misiorowski is the closest thing to an ace but carries clear IL-recovery risk in a Cubs matchup. Hurston Waldrep has flashed a plus strikeout rate in three big-league starts, and Shohei Ohtani is creeping into fantasy-pivot discussions despite Coors Field exposure. Nick Martinez is a budget swing option with tasty K%/. K-BB in a favorable Angels matchup. On offense, Heliot Ramos is a midrange trap with big-lefty splits, while Oakland’s trio of Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, and Brent Rooker offers a cheap stack against Bailey Ober. Top stacks focus on Dodgers at Coors (Betts, Smith, Freeman) and Rays vs Schlittler (Simpson, Diaz, Caminero). Michael Harris remains a discount-correlated hitter, and a few one-offs like Austin Martin and Trevor Larnach add upside. The slate invites balanced exposure to high-floor studs and bold, contrarian stacks built around Dodgers and Rays.

The Cincinnati Reds pushed their hot streak to six wins in nine games with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Cincinnati will hand the ball to Nick Martinez, who has been better at home this season but carries a road ERA around 4.50 and has shown volatility on extended layoffs. Los Angeles counters with Yusei Kikuchi, who in recent starts has been far steadier at Angel Stadium, especially against right-handed lineups, and has delivered a sharper home K-rate. The night features a clear betting tilt: Kikuchi’s 9.4 K/9 overall with a home-friendly 2.40 ERA in 75 innings points to another strong showing at home, while Cincinnati’s lefty trouble and Martinez’s road form provide a path for the Angels to lean on power and contact off the lefty. The betting line leans Angels, with Kikuchi aiming to continue his home success and the Reds trying to slow a lineup that has fared better versus right-handed pitching of late. In fantasy terms, Kikuchi carries DFS intrigue for strikeouts, while Martinez and the Reds’ lineup demand attention for potential run production fluctuations depending on how left-handed specialists and bullpen usage play out.

Kikuchi’s bounce-back potential is amplified by his home splits; he’s fanned five in five of his past seven starts and has leaned on a home-venue comfort that has yielded a respectable ERA. Cincinnati’s offense, meanwhile, has been more proficient against right-handed arms but has shown vulnerability to southpaws lately, underscoring a nuanced matchup around sequencing and the Halos’ depth. The Angels’ bullpen, poised to rely on Kikuchi to chase a win at home, may tilt toward aggressive contact against the Reds’ lefty-backing lineup, heightening the odds for a close but tilted contest in the late innings. Expect Kikuchi to lean on the breaking stuff early and attack the zone, while Martinez plays a high-variance road game that could swing on one or two costly innings.

Daniel Jones lands in Indianapolis as the Colts’ starting quarterback, shifting a high-leverage fantasy dynamic in a league watching a volatile QB carousel. Jones’ rushing upside brings back dual-threat appeal, potentially boosting early-season ceilings for Colts pass-catchers and opening streaming opportunities when matchups align.

Max Scherzer has re-timed his game plan in Toronto, turning back the clock with a series of six-inning, sub-two-run outings. His resilience—despite prior injuries—has transformed the Blue Jays’ rotation into a steadier fantasy asset core, as he limits hard contact and leans on soft contact to suppress big innings.

A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces claw back into form in SI’s WNBA power rankings, highlighting a stable anchor for fantasy rosters who rely on consistency in scoring, rebounding, and efficiency. Shohei Ohtani’s power surge remains a seasonal anchor in MLB, while Yankees’ nine-homer night is a reminder that explosive offense can swing weekly fantasy results in dramatic fashion.

Across sports, the article threads through a blend of breakout potential and proven-production anchors, underscoring how roster moves, aging stars, and targeted slates can shape decision-making for fantasy players and bettors alike.

Rangers fans crowned the 1996 AL West clincher as the franchise’s greatest regular-season moment after four rounds of voting by The Dallas Morning News. The No. 2 seed moment—Texas clinching its first division title on September 27, 1996—beat Kenny Rogers’ perfect game in 1994 by a wide margin, capturing 63.5% of the vote. The sequence: Rangers and Angels battled in a 15-inning affair as Seattle was eliminated by Oakland; the outfield scoreboard flashed Seattle’s defeat, sparking a Festival-like Arlington celebration as the Rangers finally secured the title.

Recaps and video from that day invite memory-lane storytelling for fans, while the bracket’s run provides a compact history lesson on the club’s ascent. The piece centers the moment as a turning point in Rangers lore, distinct from typical on-field stats and pure playoff talk, and it highlights the Ballpark in Arlington’s electric atmosphere as fireworks lit the night.