The Lineup Card: The Machine

Projected Starters - A look at Wednesday's matchups:

Mets (R.A. Dickey – R) at Nationals (Livan Hernandez – R), 12:35 ET
Orioles (Bradley Bergesen – R) at Yankees (Ivan Nova – R), 1:05 ET
Braves (Derek Lowe – R) at Pirates (Zach Duke – L), 7:05 ET
Marlins (Andrew Miller – L) at Phillies (Cole Hamels – L), 7:05 ET
Indians (Josh Tomlin – R) at Angels (Scott Kazmir – L), 7:05 ET
White Sox (John Danks – L) at Tigers (Jeremy Bonderman – R), 7:05 ET
Rangers (Derek Holland – L) at Blue Jays (Marc Rzepczynski – L), 7:07 ET
Rays (Matt Garza – R) at Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – R), 7:10 ET
Astros (Brett Myers – R) at Cubs (Randy Wells – R), 8:05 ET
Cardinals (Jaime Garcia – L) at Brewers (Chris Capuano – L), 8:10 ET
Reds (Bronson Arroyo – R) at Rockies (Aaron Cook – R), 8:40 ET
Giants (Barry Zito – L) at Diamondbacks (Dan Hudson – R), 9:40 ET
Dodgers (Chad Billingsley – R) at Padres (Cory Luebke – L), 10:05 ET
Mariners (Luke French – L) at Athletics (Gio Gonzalez – L), 10:05 ET

Day game after a night game: NYM, WAS, BAL, NYY

Injuries - A brief look at players who have been missing time with injuries and their expected returns

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)
Elvis Andrus, SS, Rangers (hamstrings) – Looks like he will be out through Thursday.
Cliff Lee, P, Rangers (back) – Won't start until this weekend, possibly out longer.
Armando Galarraga, P, Tigers (elbow) – Might be skipped from Friday's start.
Gerald Laird, C, Tigers (back) – Feeling better, targeting return for today (Wednesday)
Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox (back) – Not in Tuesday's lineup, still day-to-day.
Gordon Beckham, 3B, White Sox (hand) – Out of lineup Tuesday.
Ryan Raburn, OF, Tigers (illness) – Says he is 100%, but out of Tuesday's lineup.
Fred Lewis, OF, Blue Jays (elbow) – Out of lineup Tuesday, has sat for almost a week.
Brian Fuentes, P, Twins (back) – Threw in bullpen Tuesday but still out for a few more days.
Danny Valencia, 3B, Twins (hamstring) – Out on Tuesday, could easily miss more games.
Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks (shoulder) – Was available to pinch hit Monday, timetable for return to lineup still uncertain.
Mark Reynolds, 3B, Diamondbacks (hand) – Wasn't in Tuesday's lineup.
Willie Harris, OF, Nationals (concussion) – Not surprisingly, out of Tuesday's lineup after leaving Monday's game.
Domonic Brown, OF, Phillies (quad) – Scratched from Tuesday's lineup.
Jose Reyes, SS, Mets (oblique) – Not in Tuesday's lineup, but targeting Wednesday return.
David Wright, 3B, Mets (finger) – Scratched from Tuesday's lineup, day-to-day.
Jay Bruce, OF, Reds (abdomen) – Out Tuesday, has missed a week.
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Cubs (quad) – Not in lineup Tuesday, missed two days in a row now.

Players on the DL
Scott Feldman, P, Rangers (knee) – Activated in time to start yesterday's (Tuesday) game.
Carlos Guillen, OF, Tigers (knee) – Probably not returning this season.
Guillermo Mota, P, Giants (leg) – Should have been activated before Tuesday's game.
Felipe Paulino, P, Astros (shoulder) – Weather postponed simulated game he was supposed to throw.

Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up
Pedro Ciriaco, SS, Pirates
Justin Thomas, P, Pirates
Steven Jackson, P, Pirates
Brandon Moss, P, Pirates
Brad Lincoln, P, Pirates
Brian Bass, P, Pirates
Jason Jaramillo, C, Pirates
Pat Neshek, P, Twins
Glen Perkins, P, Twins
Pedro Viola, P, Orioles
Bobby Cassevah, P, Angels
Kevin Frandsen, 3B, Angels
Matt Palmer, P, Angels
Mark Trumbo, 1B, Angels
Mike Ekstrom, P, Rays
Yunesky Maya, P, Nationals
Craig Kimbrel, P, Braves
Cristhian Martinez, P, Braves
Emmanuel Burriss, 2B, Giants
Eugenio Velez, OF, Giants
Edgmer Escalona, P, Rockies
Jay Payton, OF, Rockies
Shawn Hill, P, Blue Jays
Robert Ray, P, Blue Jays
Dayan Viciedo, 3B, White Sox
Joe Bisenius, P, Nationals
Michael Bowden, P, Red Sox
Troy Patton, P, Orioles
Justin Berg, P, Cubs
Sam Fuld, OF, Cubs
Bobby Scales, OF, Cubs
Brad Snyder, OF, Cubs
John Mayberry, OF, Phillies
Luis Durango, OF, Padres
Cole Gillespie, OF, Diamondbacks
Tyler Greene, SS, Cardinals
Jeremy Hermida, OF, Athletics

Sent Down
Akinori Iwamura, 2B, Pirates (designated for assignment)
Erik Kratz, C, Pirates (designated for assignment)
Brian Stokes, P, Angels (released)
Carlos Maldonado, C, Nationals (designated for assignment)

Activated from DL
David Hernandez, P, Orioles
Ross Detwiler, P, Nationals
Carlos Silva, P, Cubs
Scott Feldman, P, Rangers

Closer Watch - A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out Dave Regan's Closer Grid with the link to the left)

None today

Key Matchups - Spotlight on hitters and pitchers with favorable matchups against their opponent on a particular day (generally, individual matchups with fewer than 10 at-bats are not included) *Check status

Hot
David Wright v. Livan Hernandez – 12-for-39 (.308), 4 HR, 10 RBI, 3:4 BB:K, .372 OBP
Henry Blanco v. Livan Hernandez – 11-for-27 (.407), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2:3 BB:K, .448 OBP
Martin Prado v. Zach Duke – 9-for-19 (.474), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .500 OBP
Matt Diaz v. Zach Duke – 6-for-14 (.429), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .429 OBP
David Ross v. Zach Duke – 6-for-13 (.462), 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0:4 BB:K, .462 OBP – four doubles
Michael Bourn v. Randy Wells – 5-for-13 (.385), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:2 BB:K, .500 OBP
Hunter Pence v. Randy Wells – 5-for-11 (.455), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3:0 BB:K, .571 OBP
Albert Pujols v. Chris Capuano – 15-for-27 (.556), 3 HR, 10 RBI, 5:3 BB:K, .636 OBP – should just walk him
Matt Holliday v. Chris Capuano – 8-for-20 (.400), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2:5 BB:K, .478 OBP
Felipe Lopez v. Chris Capuano – 6-for-13 (.462), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2:3 BB:K, .563 OBP
Todd Helton v. Bronson Arroyo – 7-for-17 (.412), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3:1 BB:K, .500 OBP
Orlando Cabrera v. Aaron Cook – 7-for-16 (.438), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .471 OBP
Jonny Gomes v. Aaron Cook – 5-for-9 (.556), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .556 OBP
Stephen Drew v. Barry Zito – 10-for-29 (.345), 0 HR, 8 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .355 OBP
Mark Reynolds v. Barry Zito – 8-for-17 (.471), 3 HR, 8 RBI, 8:5 BB:K, .640 OBP
Yorvit Torrealba v. Chad Billingsley – 8-for-20 (.400), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .455 OBP
Miguel Tejada v. Chad Billingsley – 5-for-13 (.385), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .429 OBP
Paul Konerko v. Jeremy Bonderman – 11-for-38 (.289), 5 HR, 9 RBI, 6:7 BB:K, .391 OBP
A.J. Pierzynski v. Jeremy Bonderman – 12-for-34 (.353), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0:5 BB:K, .353 OBP
Mark Teahen v. Jeremy Bonderman – 11-for-27 (.407), 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2:4 BB:K, .448 OBP
Adrian Beltre v. Matt Garza – 9-for-23 (.391), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0:2 BB:K, .375 OBP
Jose Lopez v. Gio Gonzalez – 8-for-15 (.533), 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3:1 BB:K, .611 OBP

Clay Buchholz v. Rays – It is a good thing to see a line against of .218/.293/.319 for one of these pitchers. Even better, it seems that almost each and every Rays hitter consistently struggles against Buchholz. B.J. Upton is 4-for-10 in his career, but no other Ray regular hits better than .278.

Cold
Luis Castillo v. Livan Hernandez – 11-for-61 (.180), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:5 BB:K, .206 OBP
Chris Snyder v. Derek Lowe – 3-for-17 (.176), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3:5 BB:K, .300 OBP
Alfonso Soriano v. Brett Myers – 5-for-27 (.185), 3 HR, 3 RBI, 1:13 BB:K, .214 OBP – take the Ks over the HRs here
Miguel Olivo v. Bronson Arroyo – 2-for-11 (.182), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0:5 BB:K, .250 OBP
Everth Cabrera v. Chad Billingsley – 0-for-11 (.000), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .083 OBP
Mike Lowell v. Matt Garza – 3-for-23 (.130), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0:4 BB:K, .130 OBP
Carlos Pena v. Clay Buchholz – 2-for-15 (.133), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2:4 BB:K, .235 OBP

Zach Duke v. Braves – It doesn't look good for Duke in this game. In fact it is so bad that even the opposing starter Derek Lowe is 1-for-2 with a double and a walk off Duke. While Prado, Diaz and Ross are featured in the hot section above, Derrek Lee, Brian McCann and Jason Heyward have had success off Duke as well. It adds up to a .341/.379/.497 line against Duke.

Chris Capuano v. Cardinals – Capuano's line is skewed by a lengthy history with Albert Pujols (see above) and a briefer history with most of the rest of the team. But that history against Pujols helps push the OPS against the Cardinals to 1.038 and there's just no way you want to mess with that even if you are streaming starters in the playoffs.

Recommended Pickup

Ian Kennedy, P, Diamondbacks – Kennedy threw eight shutout innings Monday, so he will get a second start this week on the road against the Rockies. Of streaming options, he is about the best option out there. Kennedy has allowed three runs in 22 innings over his last three starts while racking up 23 strikeouts.

Other recent recommendations:Yunesky Maya, David Murphy, Jordan Zimmermann, Matt Thornton