You may have heard that teams that have won Game 1 of these modern best-of-three series are currently undefeated in the first round. That might change Thursday. There are three Game 3s taking place, which means there are three teams that could end that streak. Only the Dodgers managed to win a first-round series in just two games, though it's not at all surprising that was the result of the series. First pitch is at 3:08 p.m. ET. Onto my DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Jack Flaherty, DET at CLE ($7,700): As a Tigers fan, I have seen a lot of the Guardians lineup as of late, including in the first two games of this season. Cleveland's lineup is not imposing. Yes, it scored six runs in Game 2, but that was almost entirely on the bullpen. I could see the Tigers' bullpen blowing Game 3 as well, but the Guardians finished the regular season 28th in runs scored and 29th in team OBP. Flaherty was all over the place this season, but he had a 3.84 FIP and 10.51 K/9 rate. Five innings of Flaherty against this Guardians lineup offers intrigue and upside.
Top Target
In addition to hitting 25 homers, Fernando Tatis ($5,300) stole 32 bases this season, a personal best. He's also been decidedly better against his fellow righties the last couple years. Tatis had an .845 OPS versus right-handed pitchers in 2025. Jameson Taillon had a 3.68 ERA, but a 4.65 FIP, and he allowed 1.67 home runs per nine innings. He also allowed his fellow righties to his .258 against him.
Bargain Bat
In the regular-season finale for the Tigers, Javier Baez ($2,600) hit a home run. Now, he has also had four hits over two games to start the playoffs. If he is suddenly in form, there is certainly plenty of upside at this salary. Slade Cecconi had a 4.78 ERA at home this season, and he has a career 5.07 ERA overall. Additionally, righties have hit .290 against him.
Stack to Consider
Cubs vs. Padres (Yu Darvish): Michael Busch ($4,800), Pete Crow-Armstrong ($4,500), Carson Kelly ($3,300)
Darvish is not the ideal option for the Padres for a pivotal game of this series. He was a disaster on the road this year. Darvish had a 7.26 ERA and 2.0 HR/9 rate away from Petco Park. Lefties hit .265 against him as well, so I have two lefties in this stack.
Were you aware that Busch slashed .261/.343/.523 with 34 home runs this season? It's true! He really can't hit lefties, which is more of a concern in the playoffs where bullpen usage tends to ramp up, but he had a .910 OPS against righties. Crow-Armstrong hasn't excelled through two postseason games, but with Kyle Tucker seemingly still not 100 percent, he's the outfield southpaw from the Cubs I want. He had a 30/30 season in his sophomore campaign, and PCA also slugged .520 at home. You need a catcher, so why not Kelly? He hit 17 homers this season and added one in Game 1 of this series. Kelly was better against lefties, but he still slugged .415 against righties. Hey, you only have six options at catcher, and only one is facing a guy with a 7.26 road ERA.
