The Lineup Card: Alive and Wells

Projected Startes – A look at Tuesday's matchups:

Braves (Jair Jurrjens - R) at Phillies (Cole Hamels - L), 7:05
Orioles (Jake Arrieta - R) at Tigers (Armando Galarraga - R), 7:05
Padres (Clayton Richard - L) at Nationals (Livan Hernandez - R), 7:05
Twins (Carl Pavano - R) at Blue Jays (Jesse Litsch - R), 7:07
Reds (Undecided) at Mets (Johan Santana - L), 7:10
Red Sox (Felix Doubront - L) at Rays (Jeff Niemann - R), 7:10
Pirates (Brad Lincoln - R) at Astros (Wandy Rodriguez - L), 8:05
Indians (Justin Masterson - R) at Rangers (C.J. Wilson - L), 8:05
Giants (Madison Bumgarner - L) at Brewers (Randy Wolf - L), 8:10
Angels (Jered Weaver - R) at White Sox (Jake Peavy - R), 8:10
Cardinals (Blake Hawksworth - R) at Rockies (Jeff Francis - L), 8:40
Cubs (Carlos Silva - R) at Diamondbacks (Barry Enright - R), 9:40
Yankees (CC Sabathia - L) at Athletics (Trevor Cahill - R), 10:05
Royals (Zack Greinke - R) at Mariners (Ryan Rowland-Smith - L), 10:10
Marlins (Chris Volstad - R) at Dodgers (Vicente Padilla - R), 10:10

Day game following a night game: none

Injuries - A brief look at players who have been missing time due to injury and their expected returns

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)
Aaron Harang, P, CIN - (Back) Scratched from Monday's start
Troy Glaus, 3B, ATL - (Knee) Hopes to play Tuesday
Jose Reyes, SS, NY-N - (Oblique) Hopes to play Tuesday
Yovani Gallardo, P, MIL - (Oblique) Could be out until after ASB, but won't go on DL yet
Ramon Hernandez, C, CIN - (Knee) Sat Monday
Brian Schneider, C, PHI - (Thumb) Feels better, but he's still day-to-day
Ian Stewart, 3B, COL - (Elbow) DNP Sunday because of a back issue
Doug Davis, P, MIL - (Chest) Set to return Friday
Omar Vizquel, SS, CHI-A - (Knee) DNP Monday
Alberto Callaspo, 2B, KC - (Hand) Out Monday, second-straight miss
Juan Rivera, OF, ANA - (Eye) Miss Sunday was his fifth straight
Mike Cameron, OF, BOS - (Abdomen) Returned to the lineup Monday

Players on the DL
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI - (Thumb) Hopes to beat the eight-week timeline
Edinson Volquez, P, CIN - (Elbow) Needs another rehab outing after some wildness Sunday
Fernando Tatis, OF, NY-N - (Shoulder) Placed on the DL
Carlos Monasterios, P, LA - (Finger) Could return by end of the week
Rich Harden, P, TEX - (Lower Body) Should throw BP Tuesday
Derek Holland, P, TEX - (Shoulder) Will throw to hitters Tuesday
Scott Olsen, P, WAS - (Shoulder) July 20 return?
Geoff Blum, 3B, HOU - (Elbow) Could get scoped
Zach Duke, P, PIT - (Elbow) First rehab start on tap for Monday
Steven Pearce, 1B, PIT - (Knee) Surgery is possible
J.A. Happ, P, PHI - (Forearm) May not return to the majors right away?
Ryan Madson, P, PHI - (Toe) Two rehab appearances away from Philly
Conor Jackson, OF, OAK - (Hamstring) Lands on DL Monday
Clay Buchholz, P, BOS - (Hamstring) Lands on DL Monday
Jeremy Hermida, OF, BOS - (Ribs) Took swings off a tee Monday, rehab assignment soon?

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

Placed on the DL (15-Day unless otherwise noted)
Conor Jackson, OF, OAK
Clay Buchholz, P, BOS
Fernando Tatis, OF, NY-N
Travis Buck (transferred to the 60-day DL)

Called Up
Raul Valdes, P, NY-N
Justin Berg, P, CHI-N
Matt Watson, OF, OAK
Matt Carson, OF, OAK

Sent Down
Jeff Stevens, P, CHI-N
Clayton Mortensen, P, OAK

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

White Sox - Bobby Jenks returned to the team Friday after spending a week with his wife, but he didn't see any action in the weekend's three games, including two save situations. Manager Ozzie Guillen appears to want to ease Jenks back into save situations gently, so Matt Thornton/J.J. Putz could continue to nibble on those opportunities in the coming days.

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
Brian McCann v Cole Hamels - 11-for-33 (.333/.421/.576), 5 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 6:5 K:BB
Chipper Jones v Cole Hamels - 9-for-22 (.409/.519/.864), 4 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2:5 K:BB
Omar Infante v Cole Hamels - 8-for-22 (.364/.364/.455), 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 K:BB
Adrian Gonzalez v Livan Hernandez - 8-for-30 (.267/.351/.700), 1 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 5:5 K:BB
Tony Gwynn v Livan Hernandez - 5-for-14 (.357/.357/.357), 0 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2:0 K:BB
Vernon Wells v Carl Pavano - 8-for-20 (.400/.382/1.000), 0 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2:0 K:BB
Delmon Young v Jesse Litsch - 5-for-14 (.357/.357/.357), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:0 K:BB
Juan Pierre v Jered Weaver - 6-for-16 (.375/.444/.375), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:2 K:BB
Aaron Miles v Jeff Francis - 6-for-12 (.500/.571/.667), 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:2 K:BB
Jack Cust v CC Sabathia - 5-for-17 (.294/.409/.588), 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 8:3 K:BB
Kurt Suzuki v CC Sabathia - 5-for-18 (.278/.316/.833), 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2:1 K:BB
Ichiro Suzuki v Zack Greinke - 7-for-19 (.368/.400/.368), 0 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:1 K:BB

Zack Greinke vs Seattle - Compare the length of the "cold" batters section to the "hot" batters list and you can guess several pitchers have a pretty good chance of rolling against their opponents. But only Greinke has held his slated opponents to sub-.200 slugging and on-base percentages (.167 and .157 respectively). Look at some of the M's bats' lines against Greinke, and you'll see a whole lot of zeroes. The hitters collectively have zero doubles and zero triples. Chone Figgins has zero hits in 17 at-bats, as do Jack Wilson (in six at-bats) Casey Kotchman (in five at-bats) and Michael Saunders (in three at-bats). Jose Lopez has the squad's lone home run off Greinke, and that came in 2004 (he's 0-for-14 since). Greinke also gets boosted by the game's Safeco location (2.40 ERA, 0.900 WHIP and 2-0 record in four career starts).

Cold
Jimmy Rollins v Jair Jurrjens - 4-for-24 (.167), 2 2B, 1 3B, 0HR, 0 RBI, 0:2 K:BB
Shane Victorino v Jair Jurrjens - 5-for-22 (.227), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:3 K:BB
Yunel Escobar v Cole Hamels - 1-for-16 (.063), 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:5 K:BB
David Eckstein v Livan Hernandez - 3-for-13 (.231), 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2:2 K:BB
Lyle Overbay v Carl Pavano - 2-for-13 (.154), 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2:4 K:BB
John Buck v Carl Pavano - 3-for-14 (.214), 0 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 K:BB
Dewayne Wise v Carl Pavano - 1-for-10 (.100), 0 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2:1 K:BB
Ramon Hernandez v Johan Santana - 4-for-19 (.211), 0 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4:1 K:BB
Marco Scutaro v Jeff Niemann - 2-for-14 (.143), 0 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3:1 K:BB
Ronny Cedeno v Wandy Rodriguez - 2-for-13 (.154), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:0 K:BB
Vladimir Guerrero v Justin Masterson - 1-for-10 (.100), 0 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:2 K:BB
Jhonny Peralta v C.J. Wilson - 1-for-10 (.100), 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 7:0 K:BB
Aaron Rowand v Randy Wolf - 4-for-20 (.200), 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4:1 K:BB
Freddy Sanchez v Randy Wolf - 3-for-13 (.231), 1 2B, 0 HR, 4:1 K:BB
Alex Rios v Jered Weaver - 3-for-14 (.214), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 6:2 K:BB
A.J. Pierzynski v Jered Weaver - 3-for-13 (.231), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:1 K:BB
Paul Konerko v Jered Weaver - 1-for-11 (.091), 0 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3:0 K:BB
Kevin Frandsen v Jake Peavy - 2-for-13 (.154), 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:0 K:BB
Yadier Molina v Jeff Francis - 2-for-14 (.143), 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:0 K:BB
Jason LaRue v Jeff Francis - 2-for-12 (.167), 1 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:1 K:BB
Rajai Davis v CC Sabathia - 1-for-15 (.067), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:1 K:BB
Kevin Kouzmanoff v CC Sabathia - 3-for-14 (.214), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5:0 K:BB
Coco Crisp v CC Sabathia - 2-for-10 (.200), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5:0 K:BB
Franklin Gutierrez v Zack Greinke - 2-for-18 (.111), 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:1 K:BB
Chone Figgins v Zack Greinke - 0-for-17 (.000), 1 RBI, 6:0 K:BB
Jose Lopez v Zack Greinke - 1-for-17 (.059), 0 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2:0 K:BB
James Loney v Chris Volstad - 2-for-12 (.167), 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 K:BB
Russell Martin v Chris Volstad - 2-for-12 (.167), 0 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3:0 K:BB

Cole Hamels v Braves - Hamels really hasn't been that bad against the Braves (they hit a collective 294/.369/.474), but the rest of Saturday's starters have been better against their likely opponents or don't have enough of a sample size to make a determination one way or the other. He has split his two 2010 decisions against the Braves, but his June 1 loss only lasted two-thirds of an inning thanks to a rain delay. Troy Glaus was the Hamels slayer that night, so the latter's chances might brighten if the former's knee injury persists.

Recommended Pickup

Wandy Rodriguez, P, HOU - He's almost certainly owned in all NL-only leagues and most leagues of decent depth, but he was only owned in 62 percent of Yahoo! Public Leagues at the time of this article's writing. He's coming off two straight strong starts in which he picked up two wins while putting up a .229 BAA, 9:2 K:BB and 0.69 ERA in 13 innings. He said he made some mechanical adjustments to his delivery prior to this mini-run, so the success could be real. He's a two-start pitcher this week (Pirates and Cardinals at home), and could be a good buy-low candidate for the future given his 10 losses and 5.30 ERA.

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