Wednesday Lineup Card: Santana Bounce Back

Projected Starters – A look at Tuesday's Matchups

White Sox (Freddy Garcia – R) at Pirates (Brad Lincoln – R), 7:05
Mets (Johan Santana – L) at Indians (Justin Masterson – R), 7:05
Nationals (John Lannan – L) at Tigers (Max Scherzer - R), 7:05
Phillies (Roy Halladay – R) at Yankees (CC Sabathia - L), 7:05
Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda - R) at Reds (Aaron Harang - R), 7:10
Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy - R) at Red Sox (Clay Buchholz - R), 7:10
Rays (David Price - L) at Braves (Kenshin Kawakami - R), 7:10
Rangers (C.J. Wilson - L) at Marlins (Josh Johnson - R), 7:10
Athletics (Trevor Cahill - R) at Cubs (Carlos Zambrano - R), 8:05
Rockies (Aaron Cook – R) at Twins (Carl Pavano – R), 8:10
Astros (Felipe Paulino – R) at Royals (Kyle Davies – R), 8:10
Mariners (Ryan Rowland-Smith - L) at Cardinals (Jeff Suppan – R), 8:15
Brewers (David Bush – R) at Angels (Ervin Santana – R), 10:05
Blue Jays (Brett Cecil – R) at Padres (Mat Latos – R), 10:05
Orioles (Jake Arrieta – R) at Giants (Joseph Martinez – R), 10:15

Day Game After Night Game: None

AL Teams Playing without a DH: White Sox, Rays, Rangers, Athletics, Mariners, Blue Jays, Orioles

Injuries – A brief look at players that have been missing time with minor ailments and their expected return

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)

Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN – (Hamstring) Had MRI Monday, will probably avoid DL
Dontrelle Willis, P, AZ – (Finger) Fingernail infected
Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL – (Finger) Out Tuesday; MRI on tap
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL – (Groin) Should return to lineup Tuesday after three days of rest
Renyel Pinto, P, FLA – (Hip) Should come off DL and return to Marlins' bullpen Tuesday
Omar Infante, 2B, ATL – (Foot) Could be available Tuesday
Austin Jackson, OF, DET – (Back spasms) Questionable for Tuesday
Magglio Ordonez, OF, DET – (Oblique) Plans to return Tuesday after six straight misses
Kevin Youkilis, 1B, BOS – (Elbow) Will play Tuesday after sitting Sunday
Jorge Posada, C, NY-A – (Foot) Left Sunday's game early
Orlando Hudson, 2B, MIN – (Wrist) Activation a day-to-day issue

Players on the DL

Carlos Beltran, OF, NY-N – (Knee) Closing in on a minor league rehab stint; back after All-Star break?
John Baker, C, FLA – (Forearm) Will avoid surgery; out for at least four weeks
John Maine, P, NY-N – (Shoulder) Threw four scoreless in a rehab start, but velocity a concern
Ross Detwilder, P, WAS – (Hip) Six K's in 3.2 rehab innings Sunday
Charlie Morton, P, PIT – (Shoulder) Gave up three runs and seven hits in six IP for Triple-A Indy Sunday
Bud Norris, P, HOU – (Biceps) Four scoreless frames for Triple-A Round Rock Saturday
J.A. Happ, P, PHI – (Forearm) Traveling with the team, a batting practice session on tap
Vicente Padilla, P, LA – (Forearm) Hit hard in a rehab start Sunday but should get the ball for the Dodgers Saturday
Homer Bailey, P, CIN – (Shoulder) Shut down for a couple of weeks; no timetable
Coco Crisp, OF, OAK – (Chest, Flu) Should start an assignment with Triple-A Sacramento Tuesday
Jeff Mathis, C, ANA – (Wrist) A sore thumb kept him from a Sunday rehab game
Daisuke Matsuzaka, P, BOS – (Forearm) Will try to throw Tuesday
Nick Johnson, 1B, NY-A – (Wrist) Outlook appears marginally better
JJ Hardy, SS, MIN – (Wrist) Feeling better but still can't swing
Jeremy Hermida, OF, BOS – (Ribs) Swelling diminishing a bit
Rich Harden, P, TEX – (Glutes) Probably won't miss more than 15 days

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

Sent Down
Adam Ottavino, P, STL (Triple-A)
Bradley Bergesen, P, BAL (Triple-A)

Activated from the DL
Alfredo Simon, P, BAL

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

Arizona – Chad Qualls allowed two earned runs and three hits in one-third of an inning Sunday (another runner scored on a Esmil Vasquez wild pitch after Qualls exited), yet he ironically wound up with a hold. After the game, manager A.J. Hinch said he would keep his options open when it came to the next save opportunity. Aaron Heilman could poach a save or two while Hinch remains ambiguous.

Key Matchups – Spotlight on hitters and pitchers with favorable matchups against their opponent on a particular day (Note: Thanks to a schedule high on unfamiliar interleague matchups and low on starters with extensive MLB experience, there are a lack of sample size-worthy matchups).

Hot

Curtis Granderson v Roy Halladay – 5-for-12 (.417/.500/.833), 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1:1 K:BB
Placido Polanco v CC Sabathia – 14-for-43 (.326/.341/.535), 6 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4:1 K:BB
Ronnie Belliard v Aaron Harang – 9-for-22 (.409/.458/.591), 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1:1 K:BB
Rafael Furcal v Aaron Harang – 7-for-15 (.467/.500/.600), 2 2B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2:2 K:BB
Russell Martin v Aaron Harang – 6-for-11 (.545/.583/.636), 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0:1 K:BB
Manny Ramirez v Aaron Harang – 6-for-11 (.545/.583/.818), 0 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3:1 K:BB
Marlon Byrd v Trevor Cahill – 4-for-10 (.400/.417/.600), 2 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2:1 K:BB
Todd Helton v Carl Pavano – 10-for-27 (.370/.370/.630), 4 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2:0 K:BB (Note: Helton and Pavano last faced off in 2004)

Johan Santana v Indians – Santana's history against the Indians largely comes from his time with the Twins. He held Tribe batters to a collective .138/.221/.309 line with 38 strikeouts in 104 plate-appearances. Jhonny Peralta's swing-first, ask-questions-last approach resulted in 22 strikeouts in 28 at-bats, and Travis Hafner's five walks account for more than half of the team's total (nine). Hafner has also hit all four of the Indians' home runs against Santana, but the last one of those came July 28, 2007. Santana has struggled with a career-low 6.1 K/9 this season (he only struck out one Padre in his last outing), but this looks to be a good matchup.

Cold

Travis Hafner vs Johan Santana– 6-for-40 (.150), 0 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 10:5 K:BB
Jhonny Peralta vs Johan Santana – 3-for-28 (.107), 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 22:2 K:BB
Austin Kearns v Johan Santana – 2-for-12 (.167), 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:0 K:BB
Derek Jeter v Roy Halladay – 22-for-91 (.242), 4 2B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 24:7 K:BB
Robinson Cano v Roy Halladay – 10-for-48 (.208), 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5:1 K:BB
Brett Gardner v Roy Halladay – 4-for-17 (.235), 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:0 K:BB
Nick Swisher v Roy Halladay – 4-for-17 (.235), 4 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 8:1 K:BB
Casey Blake v Aaron Harang – 4-for-20 (.200), 4 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4:2 K:BB
Miguel Olivo v Carl Pavano – 1-for-10 (.100), 0 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4:0 K:BB
Milton Bradley v Jeff Suppan – 2-for-13 (.154), 0 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 K:BB
Ichiro Suzuki v Jeff Suppan – 2-for-11 (.182), 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:1 K:BB
Torii Hunter v David Bush – 1-for-11 (.091), 0 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3:0 K:BB
Carlos Gomez v Ervin Santana – 2-for-11 (.182), 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5:0 K:BB

Aaron Harang v Dodgers – The Dodgers' batters have hit for a collective .913 OPS off Harang; need I say more? I'll say more anyway. Ronnie Belliard's line against Harang is featured in the "Hot" Section above, and he could spell the slumping Casey Blake at third (featured in the "Cold" Section). Harang has a 22:10 K:BB ratio in the Dodgers' 148 plate-appearances against him, but that ratio slinks to 17:10 when you subtract pitchers and reserve Garret Anderson. Harang allowed seven runs on 10 hits in a 5.2-inning outing against the Dodgers in April, and he has a 5.40 ERA in seven career starts against them.

Recommended Pickup

Aaron Heilman, P, AZ - As mentioned in the "Closer Watch" section above, manager A.J. Hinch wouldn't give closer Chad Qualls a vote of confidence after Sunday's botched save, and Heilman appears to be the next-likeliest candidate. Hinch called Heilman the most consistent guy in the 'pen. The stats back up Hinch's statement. Heilman's 2.6 BB/9 is his lowest average in three years, as are his 1.256 WHIP and 0.9 HR/9. He has only allowed three runs since the beginning of May (19 innings), and he has a 17:4 K:BB in that span. He has yet to receive a save opp in 2010, but he has picked up 10 in his career as a part-time closer. You won't mistake him for Mariano Rivera or Jonathan Broxton, but Heilman looks to be the man for the moment in Arizona and a save is a save.

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