Saturday, September 5, 2026 | Week 24 · Day 5 | 2 Days To Go
● SATURDAY EDITION - WEEK 24 DAY 5 - PLAYOFFS ●
BREAKING:DOUGIE DROPS 79 AND FLIPS SMELL, 224.5-190.5
·
BANTONS HIT SIX RP APPEARANCES, O'BRIEN'S LATE 14-POINT SAVE IS OUT
·
BMT HOLDS A CAP-ADJUSTED 57-POINT LEAD
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TWO DAYS LEFT, AND THE START BANKS FINALLY MATTER
★ DOUGIE: 79.0 DAY 5, THREE STARTS, 55 PITCHING FP, NOW LEADS SMELL BY 34 ★ CHRIS SALE 25 + CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ 14 + LOGAN GILBERT 1 = 40 FP FROM THREE DOUGIE STARTS ★ RAFAEL DEVERS: 14.5 FP, 3 H, HR, 5 RBI ★ BANTONS RAW DAY: 73.0, BUT SIXTH RP APPEARANCE TRIGGERS THE CAP ★ FRIDAY RP ORDER BY MLB FIRST PITCH: MEGILL 6:10 ET, BAKER 8:05 ET, O'BRIEN 8:40 ET ★ O'BRIEN'S 14 IS THE THIRD FRIDAY RP AND DOES NOT COUNT ★ BANTONS CAP-ADJUSTED DAY: 59.0, WEEK TOTAL 212.5 ★ BMT: 55.5, NICK MARTINEZ 23, NOW 5/6 SP USED ★ SMELL: 33.0 WITH ZERO PITCHING, LEAD GONE ★ WAATZOO SCORES 80.5 ON THE BYE, BLAKE SNELL 28 ★ NESBOMB STILL LEADS ALL PLAYOFF TEAMS AT 286.5 ★
DOUGIE CASHES THE START BANK AND TAKES THE LEAD
The long-awaited pitching avalanche finally arrived, just not from the Bantons. Dougie fired three starters, got 55 total pitching points, and turned a 12-point deficit into a 34-point lead over Smell The Glove. Across the bracket, the Bantons finally started pitching too, but their bullpen created a rules problem: six relief appearances through Friday means Riley O'Brien's 14-point save came too late to count. The raw scoreboard says BMT leads by 43. The league rules say the real gap is 57.
DOUGIE +34.0 · BMT +57.0 ADJUSTED · BANTONS 5 SP LEFT · BMT 1 SP LEFT · SMELL AND DOUGIE EACH 2 SP LEFT
3 vs 6 · First Round · Cap Adjusted
(3) Buy Me Toys269.5
(6) BDB Bantons212.5
4 vs 5 · First Round
(5) Dougie224.5
(4) Smell The Glove190.5
Top Seeds · Bye Week
(1) NesBombBYE · 286.5
(2) WaatzooBYE · 206.5
+46
Dougie one-day matchup swing
14
Bantons points removed by RP cap
5 vs 1
Bantons vs BMT starts remaining
2 vs 2
Dougie vs Smell starts remaining
🔥 Day 5 Heroes
DOUGIE FIRES THREE STARTERS AND FINALLY CASHES THE AMMUNITION
Chris Sale delivered the best of the three: 6 IP, 7 K, 2 ER, W, QS for 25.0 FP. Cristopher Sanchez added 14.0, and Logan Gilbert survived seven earned runs because 10 strikeouts kept him barely above water at 1.0. The three starts produced 40 points. Add Raisel Iglesias' 15-point save, and Dougie got 55 pitching FP on Friday.
DEVERS ADDS THE BAT THAT MAKES THE FLIP STICK
Rafael Devers went for 14.5 FP with three hits, a home run, five RBI, a run and a walk. Dougie finished at 79.0, while Smell scored 33.0. That is a 46-point one-day swing, moving the matchup from Smell +12 to Dougie +34.
BMT SPENDS ITS FIFTH START AND GETS 23 FROM NICK MARTINEZ
Nick Martinez gave Buy Me Toys 6.1 IP, 4 K, 3 ER, W, QS for 23.0 FP. Bobby Witt Jr. and Kevin McGonigle each added 6.5. BMT scored 55.5 and now sits at 269.5 for the week. The price: only one starting-pitcher appearance remains.
SMELL SCORES 33 WITH NO PITCHING, BUT THE LEAD DISAPPEARS
Smell's bats were not terrible. Cam Carrigg scored 8.5, Ben Rice 8.0, and Juan Soto 5.0. But Friday was the exact day Dougie had been saving for. Smell's 33 points were buried under Dougie's three-start wave, and the series changed sides.
📡 Playing The Wire
Friday's best unrostered lines
Cristian Javier 21.0 · Ryan Johnson 19.0 · Aaron Civale 19.0 · Michael Lorenzen 17.0 · Josh Hader 16.0.
There was usable pitching everywhere Friday. That matters more now than it did in June. With two days left, every remaining start is either a weapon, a trap, or somebody else's weapon.
WAATZOO CLAIMS THURSDAY'S HERO AFTER THE FACT
Waatzoo claimed Cal Quantrill Friday morning and dropped Matthew Boyd. Quantrill's 32-point Thursday gem was already in the books, which makes this the fantasy equivalent of buying a stock after the headline hits. He is still a potentially useful next-round piece.
💀 The RP Cap Trap
Bantons: Raw 226.5 · Cap Adjusted 212.5
O'BRIEN'S 14 IS OUT
The Bantons entered Friday with three RP appearances already used and therefore had two remaining. Three relievers appeared Friday. League rules settle an RP overage by MLB game first-pitch time.
THE WORST POSSIBLE ORDER: +16, -3, THEN +14
Trevor Megill pitched in Milwaukee-Cincinnati, a 6:10 PM ET first pitch, and scored 16. Bryan Baker pitched in Tampa Bay-Texas, an 8:05 PM ET first pitch, and scored -3. Riley O'Brien pitched in St. Louis-Colorado, an 8:40 PM ET first pitch, and scored 14. The first two fill the remaining RP slots. O'Brien is the sixth weekly relief appearance and his 14 does not count.
THE CAP ADJUSTMENT COSTS 14. THE ORDER COSTS 17.
Subtracting the ineligible O'Brien appearance takes the Bantons from a raw 226.5 to 212.5. But the emotional damage is worse: if a manager could simply choose the best two Friday relievers, Baker's -3 would disappear and O'Brien's +14 would stay. The first-pitch rule forces the exact opposite. That is a 17-point difference between the ideal pair and the legal pair.
📊 Round 1 Scoreboard
3 Buy Me Toys vs 6 BDB Bantons
Buy Me Toys269.5
BDB Bantons212.5
BMT +57.0 adjusted · Fantrax raw Bantons 226.5 · O'Brien 14 removed
4 Smell The Glove vs 5 Dougie
Dougie224.5
Smell The Glove190.5
Dougie +34.0 · Both clubs have two SP starts left
Team
H GP
SP
RP
FP
BMT
46 / 63
5 / 6
4 / 5
269.5
Bantons
47 / 63
1 / 6
5 / 5
212.5*
Dougie
42 / 63
4 / 6
4 / 5
224.5
Smell
46 / 63
4 / 6
2 / 5
190.5
* Cap-adjusted score. Raw Fantrax total is 226.5 before the sixth-RP correction.
🧮 Playoff Strategy Desk
Buy Me Toys vs Bantons
Buy Me ToysBDB Bantons
Bantons made progress Friday, but the RP adjustment turns a raw 43-point deficit into an official 57-point deficit.
Smell The Glove vs Dougie
DougieSmell The Glove
The start-bank story is over here. Dougie converted three starts into a 46-point swing, and both teams now have two starts left.
The Weekend Math
BANTONS: 14.25 PER EXTRA START
BMT has one start left. The Bantons have five. If the one paired start roughly cancels, the Bantons' four extra starts need to erase a 57-point deficit, about 14.25 net points per extra start. Very possible. Not remotely comfortable.
Team
SP Left
RP Left
Margin
BMT
1
1
+57.0
Bantons
5
0
-57.0
Dougie
2
1
+34.0
Smell
2
3
-34.0
🛋️ Bye Week Lounge
Waatzoo: 80.5 on Day 5, 206.5 for the week. Blake Snell delivered 28, Mason Miller 12, and Francisco Lindor and Ivan Herrera each scored 8.5. A useful reminder that the No. 2 seed has plenty of life despite the quiet first half of the bye.
NesBomb: 31.5 on Day 5, 286.5 for the week. Brice Turang led the active card with 9.5. The No. 1 seed did not need pitching Friday and still owns the best five-day total among the playoff field.
🔭 What Matters on Day 6
1. THE BANTONS HAVE FIVE STARTS AND NO MORE BULLPEN ROOM
The path is now brutally simple. The Bantons must win with starters and bats. Relief pitching is done for the week.
2. DOUGIE AND SMELL ARE NOW PLAYING A STRAIGHT TWO-START GAME
Dougie used the advantage. Now the remaining SP count is even, 2-2. Smell's bullpen depth is better, but the scoreboard belongs to Dougie by 34.
3. BMT'S 57-POINT LEAD IS BIG, BUT FIVE OPPOSING STARTS IS FIVE OPPOSING STARTS
This matchup is not safe. It is simply well-positioned. One big Bantons double-start day can erase half the gap before dinner.
🕰️ This Day in Round 1 Playoff History
2024 · The Bantons Did This Before
DOWN 61.5 ENTERING DAY 5. THEN 156 POINTS.
Two years ago, Joe Scartz's SchlitzGMTP Bantons entered Round 1 Day 5 trailing No Talent Ass Clowns 184.5-123.0. Then came one of the wildest Friday cards in league playoff history: 156.0 points, including four starters worth 31, 30, 28 and 27. The Bantons flipped the matchup all the way to a 6-point lead in one day. They ultimately lost the series 347.5-321.0, which is the useful part of the story for both sides today.
2025 · A Big Lead Can Melt Without Dying
BOOMSTICKS +64 ENTERING DAY 5, +10.5 LEAVING IT, STILL WON.
The Boomsticks carried a 64-point lead into Round 1 Friday last year, then got outscored 77.5-24.0 by Bake McBride & The Jamaican Skunk. The cushion collapsed to 10.5, but the Boomsticks survived the weekend and advanced 335.5-317.5. BMT would gladly accept that ending.
Round 1 Day 5
Four-Team FP
2022
201.0
2023
257.5
2024
285.5
2025
228.0
2022-25 Average
243.0
2026 Raw Friday
240.5
2026 After RP Adjustment
226.5
The raw 2026 Friday total landed almost exactly on the 2022-25 Round 1 Day 5 average before the Bantons' RP correction.
⚾ Around MLB Yesterday
CLEVELAND WINS TWICE, WALKS OFF DETROIT TWICE
The Guardians swept a split doubleheader from Detroit with two walk-off wins. Brayan Rocchio hit a grand slam and then a walk-off homer in the opener. In the nightcap, Travis Bazzana tied the game with a late homer and then delivered the walk-off single in the 10th. Cleveland kept its grip on the final AL Wild Card spot. Rocchio's real-life chaos translated to 22.5 fantasy points on Blow Yourself's bench.
METS SCORE 10, DEVERS DOES HIS DAMAGE IN A LOSS
New York beat San Francisco 10-6 behind a three-run Mark Vientos homer, two Francisco Alvarez homers, and two-run shots from Bo Bichette and Francisco Lindor. The fantasy wrinkle belonged to the losing side: Rafael Devers went 3-for-4 with five RBI, producing the 14.5 points that helped Dougie flip Smell.
SNELL SHUTS DOWN WASHINGTON, OHTANI SITS AGAIN
Blake Snell threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in the Dodgers' 5-3 win over Washington, good for 28 Waatzoo points on the bye. Shohei Ohtani missed a second straight game with right-biceps and left-knee issues and remains day-to-day, something Waatzoo will be watching closely before Round 2.
SALE WINS FOR ATLANTA, JARED JONES THROWS A 1-0 GEM
Chris Sale helped Atlanta beat Philadelphia 5-2, giving Dougie his 25-point anchor. In Pittsburgh, Jared Jones struck out nine over six shutout innings in a 1-0 win over the Angels. Jones scored 33 fantasy points, all of them sitting on the No Talent Ass Clowns bench.