April 4 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Best Pitching/Hitting Performances | MJ Melendez, Jake Burger, Matt Manning, Ivan Herrera, Jose Butto and More

There were only six MLB games played on Thursday, April 4. There’s plenty of performances to discuss, but instead of splitting things up between pitchers and hitters, we’ll cover everything in one story here.

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Mets 2, Tigers 1

It was a pitchers’ duel in the first game of a doubleheader between New York and Detroit. The Mets prevailed with a pair of ninth-inning runs.

Pete Alonso led off the ninth with a home run. After a walk to Brett Baty (owned in 14% of leagues), Starling Marte (58%) bunted Baty to second base. Tyrone Taylor, barely rostered in any leagues, delivered the walk-off hit, plating Baty with a single.

New York finished with just three hits in the contest, but did draw five walks. Brandon Nimmo (88%) walked three times, and Taylor also walked once to reach base twice in the contest.

Reed Garrett earned the win for the Mets after tossing three scoreless innings. He struck out four batters along the way. Jose Butto (1%) started and struck out six batters over six innings. Butto allowed one run on three hits and three walks.

Colt Keith (32%) had two of Detroit’s five hits. Keith also walked once, stole a base and scored a run. Riley Greene (77%) drew two walks.

Matt Manning (7%) was called up for the doubleheader and started game one for Detroit. He walked four but didn’t allow a hit over 5 2/3 innings. Manning struck out three batters along the way.

Alex Faedo took the loss after allowing both ninth-inning runs, and he also was tagged with a blown save.

Tigers 6, Mets 3 (11 inn.)

Detroit scored three times in the top of the 11th inning in game two to split the doubleheader.

Greene homered among his two hits, walked once and scored two runs. Gio Urshela (5%) drove in two runs on three hits and also scored once. Zach McKinstry (2%) had two hits and a walk. Keith doubled, drove in a run and scored once.

Shelby Miller got his second win of the season after striking out four over two scoreless innings. Casey Mize (33%) started and struck out four over 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on five hits and two walks.

Francisco Alvarez doubled among his two hits and drove in two runs. Alonso had two hits and walked once, while also scoring two runs. Baty had a hit and walked twice, while driving in a run. Jeff McNeil (51%) and Nimmo walked two times each.

Adrian Houser (5%) started for the Mets, allowing one run on three hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three along the way. Adam Ottavino blew a save, and Michael Tonkin took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in an inning of work.

Pirates 7, Nationals 4

Connor Joe (25%) homered, drove in two runs, walked twice and scored twice for Pittsburgh. Rowdy Tellez (2%) got on base three times and drove in a pair.

Bryan Reynolds doubled among his two hits, walked twice, drove in a run and scored once. Michael A. Taylor (16%) had three hits and scored once for the Pirates.

Martin Perez (15%) started and struck out six over 6 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks. David Bednar picked up his first save of the season, striking out two over a scoreless inning.

CJ Abrams homered among his two hits for Washington. Joey Gallo (3%) got on base twice and scored twice. Jesse Winker (2%) got on base twice, drove in a run and scored once.

Josiah Gray (17%) took the loss on the mound after allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three along the way.

Guardians 4, Twins 2

Steven Kwan doubled among his three hits and scored a run for Cleveland. Will Brennan (2%) and Jose Ramirez each drove in a run on a hit and scored once.

Tanner Bibee started and allowed one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out nine batters while walking none. Emmanuel Clase earned his third save after tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

Carlos Correa (80%) doubled among his three hits for Minnesota. Willi Castro (7%) got on base twice and scored a run, while Edouard Julien (51%) drove in a run on a hit and scored once.

Pablo Lopez surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters along the way.

Cardinals 8, Marlins 5

Ivan Herrera, owned in barely any leagues, homered among his two hits, drove in a pair and scored two runs for St. Louis. Nolan Gorman (71%) doubled, walked once, drove in two runs and scored once.

Nolan Arenado doubled among his three hits, drove in a run and scored once. Alec Burleson, also barely owned in any leagues, got on base twice, drove in a run and scored once.

Giovanny Gallegos earned the win out of the bullpen after getting just one out. Ryan Helsley earned his second save of the season. Lance Lynn (55%) started and allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings, while striking out seven.

Jake Burger (87%) homered twice and walked twice to lead Miami at the plate. Josh Bell (44%) hit a two-run homer, while Tim Anderson (18%) had two knocks and a run scored.

Sixto Sanchez took the loss, while Andrew Nardi blew the save. Ryan Weathers (5%) started and allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks over five innings. Weathers struck out six batters.

Royals 10, White Sox 1

Kansas City eased to a win on Thursday. Nelson Velazquez (10%) and MJ Melendez (57%) each homered for the Royals. Velazquez finished with two hits, one walk, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Melendez had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored total.

Kyle Isbel (1%) drove in two runs on a hit and scored once for Kansas City. Bobby Witt Jr. got on base three times and scored once. Adam Frazier (1%) got on base twice after coming on as a pinch-hitter, and also scored a run.

Seth Lugo (40%) earned his first win of the season after allowing one run on eight hits and two walks over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters along the way. He’ll carry a 0.71 earned run average into his next start.

Gavin Sheets (barely owned in any leagues), Andrew Vaughn (37%) and Korey Lee (also barely owned in any leagues) all tallied two hits for Kansas City - Lee and Sheets each doubled once. Sheets also drew two walks in the contest. Yoan Moncada got on base twice and scored a run.

Michael Soroka (12%) started and took the loss, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone. The White Sox bullpen allowed the final eight runs, with just three being earned.