March 28 Fantasy Baseball Takeaways: Top Performing Hitters | Anthony Santander, Nick Martini, Royce Lewis, Freddie Freeman, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and More

Discussing some of the top hitting performances from Thursday, March 28.

The MLB regular season is underway! Opening Day provided plenty to talk about from a fantasy perspective, so it’s time to break it all down.

Here, we’ll break down how several hitters performed. We already covered the top pitching performances in another story.

Eventually, we’ll probably combine the stories and focus on waiver wire options, but we’ll go this route until the dust has settled a bit on the start of the regular season. Let’s dive in!

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Orioles 11, Angels 3

It was a good start to the season for Baltimore’s hitters. Anthony Santander homered and drove in four runs, Adley Rutschman drove in two runs on two hits and scored three times and Cedric Mullins clubbed a three-run homer. Jorge Mateo, owned in just 2% of leagues, scored twice and stole a base.

Los Angeles mustered just two hits. Mike Trout homered in the first inning, but the next and last knock was by pinch-hitter Luis Rengifo. The Angels struck out 14 times in the contest.

Tigers 1, White Sox 0

A sacrifice fly by leadoff hitter Andy Ibanez, owned in barely any leagues, plated Javier Baez for the game’s lone run. Spencer Torkelson had two of the Tigers’ six hits.

Chicago only had three singles in the contest. The White Sox didn’t draw a walk, and struck out 11 times.

Reds 8, Nationals 2

The bottom of the Reds’ order led the way on Opening Day.

Nick Martini, owned in 2% of leagues, homered twice and drove in five runs on the day. Spencer Steer drove in two runs on two hits and also scored twice. Elly De La Cruz and Jake Fraley each scored two runs each.

Washington had just six hits, with Joey Meneses posting two of them. Eddie Rosario clubbed a two-run homer to provide the team’s only two runs.

Yankees 5, Astros 4

Anthony Volpe had a nice start to his season, getting on base four times (including three walks) - he also drove in a run. Oswaldo Cabrera was the only Yankee with multiple hits, and Cabrera hit the team’s lone home run.

Juan Soto got on base three times and drove in a run for New York. Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo also drove in a run each.

Jake Meyers homered for Houston. Chas McCormick drove in two runs, while Yainer Diaz had three hits and an RBI. Yordan Alvarez had a pair of hits and scored once.

Twins 4, Royals 1

Carlos Correa doubled among his three hits and drove in a pair to lead Minnesota. He also walked in the contest.

Royce Lewis homered among his two hits. Edouard Julien and Carlos Santana also reached base two times each.

Kansas City finished with just five hits in the game. Maikel Garcia led off the first inning with a home run for the team’s only run. Bobby Witt Jr. reached base twice for the Royals.

Dodgers 7, Cardinals 1

Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman each homered for Los Angeles. Betts reached base three times and also scored three runs. Freeman had two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Max Muncy drove in two runs for the Dodgers. James Outman posted two hits, while Shohei Ohtani got on base three times.

Paul Goldschmidt was the only St. Louis player with a hit. He had three knocks in the game, including a home run. 

Pirates 6, Marlins 5 (12 inn.)

Bryan Reynolds homered among his two hits and drove in two runs for Pittsburgh - he got on base three times. Ke'Bryan Hayes reached base four times and scored once.

Edward Olivares and Oneil Cruz also homered for Pittsburgh.

Jake Burger led Miami with three hits, three RBIs and a run scored. Jazz Chisholm Jr. got on base three times and scored twice, while Josh Bell got on base three times and scored once.

Padres 6, Giants 4

Jake Cronenworth continued his hot start to the season with a double and two RBIs. Xander Bogaerts drove in a run on two hits and scored once. 

Luis Campusano also had two hits and scored a run. Ha-Seong Kim got on base twice, stole a base and scored a run.

Michael Conforto homered among his three hits for San Francisco - he also scored three runs. Nick Ahmed drove in two runs on two hits, while Jung Hoo Lee drove in a run in his MLB debut.

Blue Jays 8, Rays 2

George Springer, Cavan Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all homered for Toronto in the winning effort. 

Bo Bichette led the Blue Jays with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored while getting on base three times in total. Alejandro Kirk, owned in 17% of leagues, had two RBIs and got on base twice. Biggio got on base three times in total and scored twice, while Springer reached base and scored twice.

Yandy Diaz homered among his three hits and drove in two runs for the Rays. Brandon Lowe got on base twice.

Rangers 4, Cubs 3 (10 inn.)

Adolis Garcia and Travis Jankowski each clubbed a home run for Texas. Garcia finished with two hits.

Josh Jung got on base three times for Texas, while scoring twice. Wyatt Langford got on base twice and drove in a run in his MLB debut.

Christopher Morel had two hits and scored a run for Chicago. Cody Bellinger and Dansby Swanson each drove in a run. Michael Busch reached base three times in the contest.

Guardians 8, Athletics 0

Brayan Rocchio got on base twice and drove in two runs for Cleveland. David Fry, rostered in 1% of leagues, had three hits and scored twice.

Fry, Jose Ramirez, Tyler Freeman, Andres Gimenez and Austin Hedges all finished with one RBI.

JJ Bleday had half of Oakland’s four hits. The team struck out 13 times, and walked just one time.

Diamondbacks 16, Rockies 1

It was a monster game for Arizona’s offense in the opener. The D-Backs had 18 hits and drew three walks.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered among his three hits, drove in five runs and scored three times to lead Arizona. Gabriel Moreno had three RBIs and two hits and runs scored, Christian Walker drove in two runs, got on base three times and scored twice and Eugenio Suarez drove in a pair on two hits.

Ketel Marte scored three times after posting three hits. Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo each scored twice after reaching base twice. Blaze Alexander chipped in two hits.

Ryan McMahon got on base four times and drove in Colorado’s only run, plating Brendan Rodgers.

Red Sox 6, Mariners 4

Rafael Devers and Tyler O'Neill each homered for Boston in the team’s Opening Day win. Devers finished with two hits and two RBIs, while O'Neill scored twice and got on base three times total.

Connor Wong and Trevor Story each reached base twice for the Red Sox.

Mitch Haniger and Dylan Moore each hit a home run for Seattle. Haniger had a pair of hits, two RBIs and two runs scored in the game. Moore drove in two runs.

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