Saturday Lineup Card: O's Have Their Own "Crash" Davis

Sponsored by DraftStreet

Saturday's Starters

Cardinals (Joe Kelly -- R) at Cubs (Jeff Samardzija -- R), 1:05
Tigers (Anibal Sanchez -- R) at Blue Jays (Henderson Alvarez -- R), 1:07
Red Sox (Jon Lester -- L) at Yankees (CC Sabathia -- L), 4:05
Dodgers (Chad Billingsley -- R) at Giants (Barry Zito -- L), 4:05
Royals (Bruce Chen -- L) at Mariners (Kevin Millwood -- R), 4:10
Athletics (Bartolo Colon -- R) at Orioles (Tommy Hunter -- R), 7:05
Pirates (Erik Bedard -- L) at Astros (Armando Galarraga -- R), 7:05
Indians (Justin Masterson -- R) at Twins (Sam Deduno -- R), 7:10
Phillies (Joe Blanton -- R) at Braves (Mike Minor -- L), 7:10
Padres (Ross Ohlendorf -- R) at Marlins (Nathan Eovaldi -- R), 7:10
Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann -- R) at Brewers (Randy Wolf -- L), 7:10
White Sox (Phil Humber -- R) at Rangers (Matt Harrison -- L), 8:05
Reds (Johnny Cueto -- R) at Rockies (Christian Friedrich -- L), 8:10
Mets (Chris Young -- R) at Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy -- R), 8:10
Rays (Matt Moore -- L) at Angels (C.J. Wilson -- L), 9:05

Day Game After A Night Game: DET/TOR, BOS/NYY, LAD/SF, KC/SEA

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Carlos Beltran, OF, STL (knee) -- Out of the lineup for the second consecutive game Friday but expected back Saturday.
Lance Berkman, 1B, STL (knee) -- Returned to lineup Friday after missing three straight starts.
Francisco Cordero, RP, HOU (toe) -- Unavailable for Friday's game.
Yunel Escobar, SS, TOR (back) -- Scratched from Friday's lineup with tightness.
David Freese, 3B, STL (calf) -- Held out of the starting lineup Friday, but was available for pinch-hitting duties.
Matt Garza, SP, CHC (triceps) -- MRI on Friday revealed fluid in triceps. Not expected to pitch until after July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
J.J. Hardy, SS, BAL (ribs) -- In the lineup Friday and should be considered healthy going forward.
Adam Lind, 1B, TOR (back) -- Scratched from Friday's lineup with tightness.
Cameron Maybin, OF, SD (wrist) -- Returned to starting lineup Friday for the first time in eight games.
Roy Oswalt, SP, TEX (back) -- Threw 50 pitches without issue Friday but will have start moved to Monday.
A.J. Pierzynski, C, CWS (shoulder) -- Not in lineup Friday but hopes to play Saturday.
Albert Pujols, 1B, LAA (elbow) -- Returned to lineup Friday against the Rays.
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SF (hamstring) -- Not in starting lineup Friday but injury is reportedly improving.
Nick Swisher, OF, NYY (hip) -- Out of the lineup Friday.
Matt Wieters, C, BAL (biceps) -- Out of Friday's lineup due to soreness.

Disabled List
Jason Castro, C, HOU (knee) -- Eyeing a return to the lineup in a week or two.
Jaime Garcia, SP, STL (shoulder) -- Threw two sets of 20 pitches to live hitters Friday.
Colby Lewis, SP, TEX (forearm) -- Had successful surgery Friday and will begin rehabbing next week.
Evan Longoria, 3B, TB (hamstring) -- Went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first rehab game with Triple-A Durham on Thursday.
Jeff Niemann, SP, TB (ankle) -- Threw 50-pitch bullpen session Friday and said ankle "felt great."
David Ortiz, DH, BOS (Achilles) -- No longer wearing a boot on injured foot and expected to be activated when eligible next week.
Drew Smyly, SP, DET (rib strain) -- Threw a 50-pitch bullpen session Thursday.

Transactions

Called Up
Nathan Eovaldi, SP, MIA
Stephen Fife, SP, LAD
Donnie Murphy, 3B, MIA
Luis Perdomo, RP, MIN
Andrew Romine, C, LAA
Miguel Socolovich, RP, BAL

Sent Down (Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Edwar Cabrera, SP, COL
Enerio Del Rosario, RP, HOU
Jean Segura, SS, MIL (assigned to Double-A Huntsville)
Ariel Pena, SP, MIL (assigned to Double-A Huntsville)
John Hellweg, SP, MIL (assigned to Double-A Huntsville)

Activated from the DL(15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Scott Elbert, P, LAD
Todd Helton, 1B, COL
Vernon Wells, OF, LAA (60-day DL)

Placed on the DL (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Erick, Aybar, SS, LAA
Carl Pavano, SP, MIN (Transferred to 60-day DL)
Trevor Plouffe, OF, MIN

Traded
Zack Greinke, SP, from MIL to LAA
Jean Segura, SS, from LAA to MIL
Ariel Pena, SP, from LAA to MIL
John Hellweg, SP, from LAA to MIL

Designated for Assignment
Dana Eveland, P, BAL
Brock Kjeldgaard, OF, MIL
Edwin Maysonet, SS, MIL

Claimed off Waivers
Chuckie Fick, RP, HOU

Signed
Brian Broderick, P, WAS
Rusty Ryal, 2B, ATL

Released
Rick Ankiel, OF, WAS

Closer Watch

New York (NL) -- Bobby Parnell was superb in Thursday's save opportunity against the free-swinging Diamondbacks, striking out the side in a 3-1 victory. Though it was Parnell's best performance to date since being handed the ninth inning role after Frank Francisco hit the DL, he's blown two of his five save opportunities and gave up a run in another non-save situation. With Francisco (oblique) on the mend and expected to return next week, if not before the weekend ends, it doesn't look like Parnell has done enough to justify keeping him on as closer.

Pittsburgh -- Joel Hanrahan recorded his NL-leading 30th save of the season in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Astros. While he did surrender a run in the outing, he's still been one of the most dependable closers in baseball for a surprising Pirates squad.

Seattle -- Not enough can be said about how excellent Tom Wilhelmsen has been since overtaking the closer's role from Brandon League in early June. Since earning the role, he's 12 for 13 in save opportunities with the only blown save coming off an unearned run, lowering his ERA from 3.81 to 2.26 in the process. With 62 strikeouts in 51.2 innings this season, he's got the requisite K/9 rate that could make him a long-term answer at closer for the Mariners.

KEY MATCHUPS: HOT
Hot Batter Matchups			At-Bats	AVG	HR	XBH	RBI	BB	K	SLG	OBP	OPS
Kelly Johnson - 2B	TOR vs DET 7/28 1:07 PM	Anibal Sanchez	4-13	.308	0	2	4	1	0	.538	.357	.895
Mike Aviles - 2B	BOS @ NYY 7/28 4:05 PM	CC Sabathia	5-10	.500	0	1	1	0	0	.600	.500	1.100
Jerry Hairston Jr. - 3B	LAD @ SF 7/28 4:05 PM	Barry Zito	4-12	.333	1	2	1	5	1	.667	.529	1.196
Matt Kemp - OF	LAD @ SF 7/28 4:05 PM	Barry Zito	19-46	.413	1	3	5	7	9	.543	.491	1.034
Buster Posey - C	SF vs LAD 7/28 4:05 PM	Chad Billingsley	8-19	.421	0	1	4	0	1	.474	.421	.895
Nate Schierholtz - OF	SF vs LAD 7/28 4:05 PM	Chad Billingsley	6-14	.429	0	3	0	1	4	.714	.467	1.181
Alex Gordon - OF	KC @ SEA 7/28 4:10 PM	Kevin Millwood	5-18	.278	2	2	2	1	5	.611	.316	.927
Kurt Suzuki - C	OAK @ BAL 7/28 7:05 PM	Tommy Hunter	5-13	.385	0	2	0	0	0	.538	.385	.923
Chipper Jones - 3B	ATL vs PHI 7/28 7:10 PM	Joe Blanton	6-17	.353	1	1	3	2	3	.529	.421	.950
Brian McCann - C	ATL vs PHI 7/28 7:10 PM	Joe Blanton	8-20	.400	2	2	6	3	0	.700	.500	1.200
Martin Prado - OF	ATL vs PHI 7/28 7:10 PM	Joe Blanton	6-16	.375	2	2	3	0	1	.750	.375	1.125
Justin Morneau - 1B	MIN vs CLE 7/28 7:10 PM	Justin Masterson	5-12	.417	1	2	4	1	1	.750	.462	1.212
Denard Span - OF	MIN vs CLE 7/28 7:10 PM	Justin Masterson	5-14	.357	1	2	1	5	1	.643	.526	1.169
Adam LaRoche - 1B	WAS @ MIL 7/28 7:10 PM	Randy Wolf	7-22	.318	1	2	3	3	5	.500	.400	.900
Ryan Zimmerman - 3B	WAS @ MIL 7/28 7:10 PM	Randy Wolf	4-11	.364	0	1	1	1	2	.455	.417	.872
Stephen Drew - SS	ARI vs NYM 7/28 8:10 PM	Chris Young	4-13	.308	0	2	1	4	3	.462	.471	.933
Justin Upton - OF	ARI vs NYM 7/28 8:10 PM	Chris Young	4-10	.400	0	1	0	2	3	.500	.500	1.000
Hot Pitcher Matchups			At-Bats	Opp AVG	HR Allow	XBH Allow	RBI Allow	BB	K	Opp SLG	Opp OBP	Opp OPS
Barry Zito	SF vs LAD 7/28 4:05 PM	Dodgers Batters	45-205	.219	3	10	15	25	41	.310	.308	.619
CC Sabathia	NYY vs BOS 7/28 4:05 PM	Red Sox Batters	42-186	.226	0	8	9	14	45	.270	.290	.560
Kevin Millwood	SEA vs KC 7/28 4:10 PM	Royals Batters	23-99	.232	2	5	8	4	16	.323	.273	.596

 

KEY MATCHUPS: COLD
Cold Batter Matchups			At-Bats	AVG	HR	XBH	RBI	BB	K	SLG	OBP	OPS
Carl Crawford - OF	BOS @ NYY 7/28 4:05 PM	CC Sabathia	16-58	.276	0	4	3	1	13	.362	.288	.650
Jacoby Ellsbury - OF	BOS @ NYY 7/28 4:05 PM	CC Sabathia	1-13	.077	0	0	0	0	6	.077	.077	.154
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B	BOS @ NYY 7/28 4:05 PM	CC Sabathia	2-10	.200	0	0	1	3	4	.200	.429	.629
Dustin Pedroia - 2B	BOS @ NYY 7/28 4:05 PM	CC Sabathia	4-26	.154	0	0	0	2	8	.154	.241	.395
Nick Punto - 2B	BOS @ NYY 7/28 4:05 PM	CC Sabathia	6-36	.167	0	1	2	2	6	.194	.211	.405
Andre Ethier - OF	LAD @ SF 7/28 4:05 PM	Barry Zito	5-31	.161	0	1	2	6	6	.194	.325	.519
James Loney - 1B	LAD @ SF 7/28 4:05 PM	Barry Zito	2-28	.071	0	0	0	0	7	.071	.071	.142
Hanley Ramirez - SS	LAD @ SF 7/28 4:05 PM	Barry Zito	1-16	.063	0	1	1	2	2	.125	.167	.292
Juan Uribe - 3B	LAD @ SF 7/28 4:05 PM	Barry Zito	2-19	.105	0	0	0	1	6	.105	.150	.255
Nick Swisher - OF	NYY vs BOS 7/28 4:05 PM	Jon Lester	4-25	.160	2	4	4	4	8	.480	.290	.770
Mark Teixeira - 1B	NYY vs BOS 7/28 4:05 PM	Jon Lester	4-24	.167	1	1	2	2	9	.292	.231	.523
Manny Burriss - SS	SF vs LAD 7/28 4:05 PM	Chad Billingsley	2-10	.200	0	0	0	1	4	.200	.273	.473
Pablo Sandoval - 3B	SF vs LAD 7/28 4:05 PM	Chad Billingsley	6-33	.182	0	2	3	2	7	.242	.229	.471
Yuniesky Betancourt - SS	KC @ SEA 7/28 4:10 PM	Kevin Millwood	8-49	.163	0	0	2	2	6	.163	.208	.371
Chone Figgins - 3B	SEA vs KC 7/28 4:10 PM	Bruce Chen	2-12	.167	0	1	1	0	2	.250	.154	.404
Chris Snyder - C	HOU vs PIT 7/28 7:05 PM	Wandy Rodriguez	2-12	.167	0	0	2	1	6	.167	.231	.398
Dan Uggla - 2B	ATL vs PHI 7/28 7:10 PM	Joe Blanton	3-19	.158	0	1	2	3	6	.211	.273	.484
Mark DeRosa - 3B	WAS @ MIL 7/28 7:10 PM	Randy Wolf	4-24	.167	0	0	0	2	5	.167	.259	.426
Chris Young - OF	ARI vs NYM 7/28 8:10 PM	Chris Young	0-16	.000	0	0	0	3	8	.000	.158	.158
Andres Torres - OF	NYM @ ARI 7/28 8:10 PM	Ian Kennedy	3-17	.176	0	1	0	0	4	.235	.176	.411
Cold Pitcher Matchups			At-Bats	Opp AVG	HR Allow	XBH Allow	RBI Allow	BB	K	Opp SLG	Opp OBP	Opp OPS
Joe Blanton	PHI @ Atl 7/28 7:10 PM	Braves Batters	33-109	.303	6	10	19	8	14	.502	.355	.857

Recommended Pickup

Chris Davis, 1B/3B/OF, BAL -- A much-hyped sleeper pick going into 2009 after mashing 17 homers in 295 at-bats during his rookie season with the Rangers in 2008, Davis' propensity for striking out never allowed the lofty praise to be realized during his tenure with Texas. The team finally cut bait by trading him to the Orioles last season, giving the team a much-needed power bat. Although his strikeouts (97 in 310 at-bats) do damage to his batting average (.258), Davis still has 16 homers and 47 RBI on the season as of this writing. Those numbers essentially make Davis a poor man's Adam Dunn, albeit with a slightly higher batting average, a lower walk rate, but best of all, multi-position eligibility. Though he hasn't logged a game at third base this season, he is likely eligible at the position after suiting up at the hot corner in 26 contests last season. In addition, he has started enough games in the outfield and at first base this season that he should have three-position eligibility in most leagues. Davis' versatility and power numbers should make him a more sought after commodity in fantasy leagues, but as of now, he is owned in just 61 percent of CBS leagues, 48 percent of ESPN, and 44 percent of Yahoo! leagues, respectively.

Other recent recommendations: Starling Marte, Matt Harvey, Travis Snider, Casper Wells and Lorenzo Cain

DraftStreet Competition

If you missed out on our recent free roll with DraftStreet, don't worry - we have another chance for you to take home some serious cash.

Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com today and start practicing. Remember to use bonus code Rotowire on your first deposit to get some extra cash released into your account as you play.

As a reminder, the competition will be an MLB Salary Cap league where values for each player are set based on projected fantasy value each day and your mission is to find the bargains and make the best 14-player team possible within the $100,000 budget.

Be sure to come back to RotoWire's Daily Lineup Card every day for all the analysis you need to dominate the competition and take home cash on DraftStreet.

DraftStreet Lineup
C -- John Jaso, SEA ($6,221)
1B -- Prince Fielder, DET ($8,629)
2B -- Dustin Pedroia, BOS ($6,260)
3B -- Mike Moustakas, KC ($6,540)
SS -- Jhonny Peralta, DET ($5,960)
OF -- Yoenis Cespedes, OAK ($9,673)
OF -- Andrew McCutchen, PIT ($9,517)
OF -- Michael Bourn, ATL ($7,340)
UT -- Anthony Gose, TOR ($3,712)
UT -- Logan Morrison, MIA ($4,798)
SP -- Nathan Eovaldi, MIA ($8,600)
SP -- Chad Billingsley, LAD ($11,291)
RP -- Joe Nathan, TEX ($2,692)
P -- Randy Wolf, MIL ($8,518)

Total:$99,751

Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com and start playing daily fantasy sports games today!