Sunday Lineup Card: Pray For A.J.

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Sponsored by DraftStreet

Projected Starters - A look at Sunday's matchups (all times Eastern)

Mariners (Felix Hernandez - R) at Indians (Justin Masterson - R), 1:05
Blue Jays (R.A. Dickey - R) at Yankees (CC Sabathia - L), 1:05
Diamondbacks (Wade Miley - L) at Marlins (Ricky Nolasco - R), 1:10
Reds (Homer Bailey - R) at Phillies (Jonathan Pettibone - R), 1:35
Astros (Lucas Harrell - R) at Pirates (Jeff Locke - L), 1:35
Dodgers (Matt Magill - R) at Braves (Mike Minor - L), 1:35
Rays (Matt Moore - L) at Orioles (Chris Tillman - R), 1:35
Red Sox (John Lackey - R) at Twins (Pedro Hernandez - L), 2:10
Brewers (Kyle Lohse - R) at Cardinals (John Gast - L), 2:15
Mets (Dillon Gee - R) at Cubs (Travis Wood - L), 2:20
White Sox (Jake Peavy - R) at Angels (Jason Vargas - L), 3:35
Royals (Luis Mendoza - R) at Athletics (A.J. Griffin - R), 4:05
Giants (Barry Zito - L) at Rockies (Juan Nicasio - R), 4:10
Nationals (Dan Haren - R) at Padres (Andrew Cashner - R), 4:10
Tigers (Doug Fister - R) at Rangers (Derek Holland - L), 8:05

Day Game After Night Game: HOU/PIT, ARZ/MIA, BOS/MIN, LAD/ATL, MIL/STL, SF/COL, WAS/SD, KC/OAK

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Adam Dunn, 1B, CWS - (Back) Left Saturday's game in the fifth with back spasms.
Jose Molina, C, TB - (Hamstring) Left Saturday's game with tightness, and is listed as day-to-day.
Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX - (Ribs) Remained out of the lineup Saturday, after pinch running Friday.
Shane Victorino, OF, BOS - (Back) Plans on playing Sunday.
Stephen Drew, SS, BOS - (Back) After leaving Friday's game early, he was not in starting lineup Saturday.
Jason Kubel, OF, ARZ - (Quadriceps) Got another day of rest Saturday.
Mike Adams, P, PHI - (Back) Will likely be placed on the disabled list.

Players on the DL

Mark Ellis, 2B, LAD - (Quadriceps) Played Saturday in rehab game, and is hopeful to return to MLB Sunday.
Eric O'Flaherty, P, ATL - (Elbow) Was diagnosed with a torn UCL and will see Dr. James Andrews.
Ted Lilly, P, LAD - (Ribs) Will be activated from 15-day disabled list Monday.
Austin Jackson, OF, DET - (Hamstring) Is expected to return from disabled list on May 27 when he is eligible.
A.J. Pierzynski, C, TEX - (Oblique) Begins two-game rehab assignment Monday.
Jaime Garcia, P, STL - (Shoulder) Was placed on disabled list with an injury similar to what made him miss time in 2012.
John Lannan, P, PHI - (Knee) Threw bullpen session Saturday, and is scheduled for another one Monday.
Kevin Jepsen, P, LAA - (Shoulder) Begins rehab assignment at Class-A on Sunday.
Justin Maxwell, OF, HOU - (Hand) Had first chance to hit after suffering injury in April.
Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL - (Hamstring) Has been placed on disabled list retroactive to May 12.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, MIA - (Hamstring) Could begin jogging this week.
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL - (Hamstring) Was moved to the 60-day disabled list.
Josh Johnson, P, TOR - (Triceps) Makes his first rehab start Monday.
John Danks, P, CWS - (Shouler) Next start will is expected to be in the bigs.
Matt Garza, P, CHC - (Arm) Rejoins the Cubs rotation Tuesday.
Adam Eaton, OF, ARZ - (Elbow) Needs about two week in rehab games before returning to Arizona.
Franklin Morales, P, BOS - (Chest) Started Saturday at Triple=A Pawtucket.

Placed on the DL

Eric O'Flaherty, P, ATL

Activated from the DL

Carlos Quentin, OF, SD (Paternity list)

Called Up

Duane Below, P, MIA

Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)

Jon Rauch, P, MIA
Deunte Heath, P, CWS
Brad Brach, P, SD
Ryan Flaherty, 2B, BAL
Brett Pill, 1B, SF
Jean Machi, P, SF

Signed

Mike Wilson, OF, SD

Closer Watch

Rays - With normal closer Fernando Rodney not available after pitching five out of the previous eight days, Joel Peralta earned his first save of the season Friday against Baltimore. Rodney had been impressive in those five games up until the last one where he gave up three runs over 35 pitches against Boston. Rodney should be Tampa Bay's definitive closer as he seems be the most experienced and reliable reliever that Joe Madden has, but another blown save in the next week will put his status as closer in the hot seat.

Red Sox - Koji Uehara struck out two Twins in the tenth inning Friday for his first save of the 2013 season. With both Andrew Bailey and Joel Hanrahan both on the disabled list for now Uehara stepped in, to get the job done. Presumably Bailey will step into the role of closer when he returned from the disabled list, which could be as soon as Monday, but if there is a delay in his return Uehara should garner serious consideration for a team in need of some saves in the short term.

Nationals - Rafael Soriano gave up two unearned runs Friday against San Diego in the ninth inning that tied up the game, and when Washington scored in the top of the ninth Drew Storen stepped in to finish off the game for his first save of the season. Soriano hasn't given up an earned run since he did it two appearances in a row on April 6 and 9, and since then has saved nine games. On the bright side of the blown save is that Soriano earned the win, which will come as nice boost for his fantasy owners.

Key Matchups

A.J. Griffin, SP, OAK - With a 3.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and seven wins Griffin was quite impressive as a rookie in his 15 starts last year. The Athletics 25-year-old starter has continued to show that he is indeed a major league caliber pitcher thus far this season with six quality starts out of his first eight. In Griffin's last three outings he has thrown 20.2 innings and has accumulated two wins, 16 strikeouts, a 1.74 ERA to go with a 1.02 WHIP, while only giving up three walks in the process. Sunday will be the first time that Griffin will face the Kansas City Royals, which doesn't necessarily give either side an advantage, but with the way the former 13th round draft pick has been pitching it is likely that he will have a favorable fantasy performance.

Other Recent Recommendations:Emilio Bonifacio, Adeiny Hechavarria, Mitch Moreland, Andrew Bailey, and Oswaldo Arcia

$300 Weekly Draftstreet Freerolls

Draftstreet will be running weekly freerolls for Rotowire fans throughout the entire MLB season. This free contest will be Pick 'em style drafting. The way Pick 'Em leagues work is you have 8 tiers of players and each tier will have players to choose from. All you have to do is select 1 player from each tier. There's absolutely nothing to lose and it takes 5 minutes to build a team.

CLICK HERE to sign up now!

Oh, and don't forget to take advantage of DraftStreet's 30% deposit bonus (up to $150). Simply enter the code ROTOWIRE in the Promo Code box when making your first deposit.

CLICK HERE to sign up for free and join the $300 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com.

DraftStreet Lineup

C - Carlos Santana, CLE ($6,808)
1B - Prince Fielder, DET ($7,547)
2B - Ben Zobrist, TB ($7,330)
3B - Chase Headley, SD ($7,187)
SS - Andrelton Simmons, ATL ($6,399)
OF - Carlos Beltran, STL ($8,752)
OF - Jose Bautista, TOR ($7,987)
OF - Michael Morse, SEA ($7,546)
UT - James Loney, LAD ($8,373)
SP - A.J. Griffin, OAK ($13,213)
SP - John Lackey, BOS ($10,991)
P - Barry Zito, SF ($7,637)

Total: $99,770
Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com and start playing daily fantasy sports games today!