Friday Lineup Card: Going Back to Great Britton

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Friday's Starters
Cubs (Travis Wood – L) at Pirates (A.J. Burnett – R), 7:05
Yankees (Phil Hughes – R) at Orioles (Wei-Yin Chen – L), 7:05
Rockies (Jeff Francis – R) at Phillies (Cliff Lee – L), 7:05
Marlins (Jacob Turner – R) at Nationals (Stephen Strasburg – R), 7:05
Rangers (Derek Holland – L) at Rays (Jeremy Hellickson – R), 7:10
Blue Jays (Henderson Alvarez – R) at Red Sox (Felix Doubront – L), 7:10
Astros (Lucas Harrell – R) at Reds (Homer Bailey – R), 7:10
Braves (Paul Maholm – L) at Mets (Jon Niese – L), 7:10
Indians (Jeanmar Gomez – R) at Twins (Liam Hendriks – R), 8:10
Royals (Luis Mendoza – R) at White Sox (Francisco Liriano – L), 8:10
Brewers (Yovani Gallardo – R) at Cardinals (Kyle Lohse – R), 8:15
Tigers (Max Scherzer – R) at Angels (Ervin Santana – R), 10:05
Diamondbacks (Tyler Skaggs – L) at Padres (Andrew Cashner – R), 10:05
Athletics (A.J. Griffin – R) at Mariners (Felix Hernandez – R), 10:10
Dodgers (Josh Beckett – R) at Giants (Tim Lincecum – R), 10:15

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Jered Weaver, SP, LAA (shoulder) – Has tendinitis; will be skipped this weekend
Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY (calf) – Ran without issue Thursday; hopes to return this weekend
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, MIL (back) – Team taking a wait-and-see approach
Travis Snider, OF, PIT (hamstring) – Expected to be out the next few games
Neil Walker, 2B, PIT (back) – Unlikely to be back this weekend
Chris Tillman, SP, BAL (elbow) – Examined Thursday; could be back soon (or maybe TJ? Hm? Hm?)
Jose Tabata, OF, PIT (foot) – Scratched late Wednesday
Michael Saunders, OF, SEA (groin) – Expected back in Friday
Ryan Raburn, 2B, DET (quad) – "Probably ready" if needed off the bench
David Lough, OF, KC (hamstring) – Hurt himself Wednesday; out Thursday, but not serious
Sean Burnett, RP, WAS (illness) – Won't pitch this weekend
Xavier Nady, OF, SF (hamstring) – Left Wednesday with a strain

Disabled List
Jed Lowrie, SS, HOU (ankle) – Going to Double-A for rehab games; likely back next week
Mike Napoli, C, TEX (quad) – Seems to be getting closer
Brandon McCarthy, SP, OAK (head) – Had surgery Wednesday after being line-drived in the head
J.P. Arencibia, C, TOR (hand) – Will rejoin the Jays on Friday
Brandon Inge, 3B, OAK (shoulder) – Surgery next week; done for the year
Jim Thome, DH, BAL (neck) – Examined again Thursday; "proceeding positively"
Starling Marte, OF, PIT (oblique) – Getting close to returning
Justin Christian, OF, SF (wrist) – Expected to be activated Friday
Alex Gonzalez, SS, MIL (knee) – Ahead of schedule in his rehab; could return at some point
Troy Patton, RP, BAL (ankle) – Throwing off mounds Friday and Monday
Tim Byrdak, RP, NYM (shoulder) – Surgery successful and full recovery expected

Transactions

Placed on DL
Brandon Inge, 3B, OAK

Activated from DL
Jason Hammel, SP, BAL

Called Up
Rob Scahill, RP, COL

Closer Watch

Brewers – Jon Axford has been reestablishing himself as the closer in Milwaukee, and I'd go so far as to say that he's again at the stage of rolling with confidence.

Padres – Tom Layne collected his second save on Wednesday, but Luke Gregerson remains the fill-in closer of choice. Huston Street has already missed his target return date and we're not sure quite when he'll be back.

KEY MATCHUPS: HOT
Hot Batter Matchups			At-Bats	AVG	HR	XBH	RBI	BB	K	SLG	OBP	OPS
Nick Markakis - OF	BAL vs NYY 9/7 7:05 PM	Phil Hughes	10-29	.345	1	4	6	1	5	.552	.367	.918
Jason Giambi - 1B	COL @ PHI 9/7 7:05 PM	Cliff Lee	3-10	.300	1	2	5	1	3	.700	.333	1.033
Juan Pierre - OF	PHI vs COL 9/7 7:05 PM	Jeff Francis	17-39	.436	0	2	1	1	3	.487	.450	.937
Jimmy Rollins - SS	PHI vs COL 9/7 7:05 PM	Jeff Francis	6-12	.500	0	1	0	0	0	.583	.500	1.083
Chase Utley - 2B	PHI vs COL 9/7 7:05 PM	Jeff Francis	3-12	.250	1	2	5	0	3	.583	.308	.891
Chipper Jones - 3B	ATL @ NYM 9/7 7:10 PM	Jon Niese	4-14	.286	1	3	4	0	2	.643	.267	.910
David Ross - C	ATL @ NYM 9/7 7:10 PM	Jon Niese	6-13	.462	1	3	8	1	3	.923	.500	1.423
Evan Longoria - 3B	TB vs TEX 9/7 7:10 PM	Derek Holland	6-13	.462	1	5	4	2	2	1.000	.533	1.533
B.J. Upton - OF	TB vs TEX 9/7 7:10 PM	Derek Holland	5-12	.417	1	2	1	3	6	.750	.533	1.283
Ben Zobrist - 2B	TB vs TEX 9/7 7:10 PM	Derek Holland	3-12	.250	1	2	4	1	2	.583	.308	.891
A.J. Pierzynski - C	CWS vs KC 9/7 8:10 PM	Luis Mendoza	3-10	.300	1	2	5	0	3	.700	.300	1.000
Ryan Braun - OF	MIL @ STL 9/7 8:15 PM	Kyle Lohse	9-29	.310	2	5	7	2	3	.621	.355	.976
Aramis Ramirez - 3B	MIL @ STL 9/7 8:15 PM	Kyle Lohse	7-17	.412	1	4	5	1	0	.765	.474	1.238
Matt Holliday - OF	STL vs MIL 9/7 8:15 PM	Yovani Gallardo	4-18	.222	2	3	5	2	7	.667	.300	.967
Yadier Molina - C	STL vs MIL 9/7 8:15 PM	Yovani Gallardo	5-21	.238	1	4	5	5	2	.524	.407	.931
Miguel Cabrera - 3B	DET @ LAA 9/7 10:05 PM	Ervin Santana	4-11	.364	1	1	3	1	2	.636	.417	1.053
Gerald Laird - C	DET @ LAA 9/7 10:05 PM	Ervin Santana	6-18	.333	0	3	1	0	4	.556	.316	.871
Andre Ethier - OF	LAD @ SF 9/7 10:15 PM	Tim Lincecum	10-35	.286	2	4	6	4	9	.514	.359	.873
Juan Rivera - OF	LAD @ SF 9/7 10:15 PM	Tim Lincecum	6-14	.429	0	1	3	1	2	.500	.467	.967
Marco Scutaro - SS	SF vs LAD 9/7 10:15 PM	Josh Beckett	4-11	.364	0	1	0	1	2	.545	.462	1.007
Hot Pitcher Matchups			At-Bats	Opp AVG	HR Allow	XBH Allow	RBI Allow	BB	K	Opp SLG	Opp OBP	Opp OPS
Phil Hughes	NYY @ BAL 9/7 7:05 PM	Orioles Batters	23-92	.250	4	11	15	3	25	.453	.272	.724
Felix Hernandez	SEA vs OAK 9/7 10:10 PM	Athletics Batters	17-86	.198	0	2	3	4	29	.220	.230	.451

 

KEY MATCHUPS: COLD
Cold Batter Matchups			At-Bats	AVG	HR	XBH	RBI	BB	K	SLG	OBP	OPS
Adam Jones - OF	BAL vs NYY 9/7 7:05 PM	Phil Hughes	4-22	.182	1	3	3	0	5	.409	.182	.591
David DeJesus - OF	CHC @ PIT 9/7 7:05 PM	A.J. Burnett	3-17	.176	0	1	1	2	3	.235	.263	.498
Alfonso Soriano - OF	CHC @ PIT 9/7 7:05 PM	A.J. Burnett	2-12	.167	0	0	0	0	5	.167	.167	.333
Clint Barmes - SS	PIT vs CHC 9/7 7:05 PM	Travis Wood	1-11	.091	0	0	0	0	2	.091	.091	.182
Andres Torres - OF	NYM vs ATL 9/7 7:10 PM	Paul Maholm	2-10	.200	0	2	2	1	1	.500	.273	.773
Billy Butler - DH	KC @ CWS 9/7 8:10 PM	Francisco Liriano	4-24	.167	1	1	4	2	6	.292	.231	.522
Corey Hart - OF	MIL @ STL 9/7 8:15 PM	Kyle Lohse	2-17	.118	0	1	1	0	3	.176	.118	.294
Skip Schumaker - 2B	STL vs MIL 9/7 8:15 PM	Yovani Gallardo	4-20	.200	0	2	0	1	2	.300	.238	.538
Jhonny Peralta - SS	DET @ LAA 9/7 10:05 PM	Ervin Santana	2-14	.143	0	0	2	1	3	.143	.188	.330
Delmon Young - OF	DET @ LAA 9/7 10:05 PM	Ervin Santana	3-16	.188	0	0	1	1	6	.188	.235	.423
Alberto Callaspo - 3B	LAA vs DET 9/7 10:05 PM	Max Scherzer	1-10	.100	0	0	0	2	2	.100	.250	.350
Coco Crisp - OF	OAK @ SEA 9/7 10:10 PM	Felix Hernandez	5-31	.161	0	0	1	2	7	.161	.212	.373
Cliff Pennington - SS	OAK @ SEA 9/7 10:10 PM	Felix Hernandez	6-24	.250	0	1	0	1	7	.292	.280	.572
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B	LAD @ SF 9/7 10:15 PM	Tim Lincecum	8-39	.205	0	0	1	2	16	.205	.244	.449
Shane Victorino - OF	LAD @ SF 9/7 10:15 PM	Tim Lincecum	5-27	.185	1	2	2	2	6	.333	.241	.575
Cold Pitcher Matchups			At-Bats	Opp AVG	HR Allow	XBH Allow	RBI Allow	BB	K	Opp SLG	Opp OBP	Opp OPS
Jeff Francis	COL @ Phi 9/7 7:05 PM	Phillies Batters	37-98	.378	1	6	8	2	11	.457	.397	.854
Jon Niese	NYM vs Atl 9/7 7:10 PM	Braves Batters	40-113	.354	3	16	24	6	21	.572	.384	.957
Derek Holland	TEX @ TB 9/7 7:10 PM	Rays Batters	20-63	.317	4	11	11	7	15	.626	.386	1.012

Recommended Pickup
Zach Britton, SP, BAL – Britton carried a 2.35 ERA over the first 10 starts of his big-league career last year, then collapsed in a blaze of ingloriousness, giving up four-plus runs nine times in his remaining 18 starts. This year started off little better, as Britton was stuck in the minors until mid-July, then was inconsistent in his first few starts back in a Baltimore uniform. Lately, though, a switch has flipped – Britton's turned in four straight sparkling outings, allowing a grand total of three runs in 28.2 innings in that span. And here's the kicker: He's struck out 29 and walked just seven, a massive improvement on his historically awful K:BB ratio in the majors. It's no secret that Britton's got all kinds of upside, so when you see him starting to miss bats like this, take notice.

Other Recent Recommendations: Mark Reynolds, Adam Eaton, Luke Gregerson, A.J. Griffin, Xavier Nady

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DraftStreet Lineup
C: Salvador Perez, KC ($7,256)
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