Thursday Lineup Card: Ready to Buc the Trend?

Projected Starters - A look at Thursday's matchups:

Cardinals (Blake Hawksworth – R) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey – R), 12:10 ET
Tigers (Rick Porcello – R) at Rays (David Price – L), 12:10 ET
Braves (Derek Lowe – R) at Nationals (Craig Stammen – R), 12:35 ET
Pirates (Paul Maholm – R) at Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez – R), 3:10 ET
Marlins (Anibal Sanchez – R) at Giants (Madison Bumgarner – L), 3:45 ET
Dodgers (Vicente Padilla – L) at Padres (Mat Latos – R), 6:35 ET
Diamondbacks (Joe Saunders – L) at Phillies (Kyle Kendrick – R), 7:05 ET
Yankees (Dustin Moseley – R) at Indians (Mitch Talbot – R), 7:05 ET
Athletics (Vin Mazzaro – R) at Rangers (C.J. Wilson – L), 8:05 ET
Orioles (Brian Matusz – L) at Royals (Kyle Davies – R), 8:10 ET
Mariners (David Pauley – R) at White Sox (Freddy Garcia – R), 8:10 ET

Day Game After Night Game: STL, NYM, DET, TAM, ATL, WAS, PIT, COL, FLA, SFO

Injuries - A brief look at players that have been missing time with minor ailments and their expected returns.

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

Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS (arm) – Has right shoulder inflammation; status in doubt for Sunday's start
Torii Hunter, OF, LAA (head) – Hit head Monday, played Tuesday, out Wednesday
Manny Ramirez, OF, LAD (calf) – More than a week away from playing in rehab games
Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI (foot) – Out Wednesday for second straight
Justin Upton, OF, ARI (hip) – Left Tuesday's game; out Wednesday
Jorge Posada, C, NYY (knee) – Starting at DH Wednesday
Huston Street, RP, COL (abdomen) – Has a right abdominal contusion; may or may not miss time
Jason Bay, OF, NYM (concussion) – Out again Wednesday
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SFO (personal) – Expected back Wednesday
Geovany Soto, C, CHC (foot) – Missed second straight Wednesday
Jose Lopez, 2B, SEA (hamstring) – Left Tuesday's game with tightness
Jim Thome, DH, MIN (back) – Out for second straight day Wednesday
Gio Gonzalez, SP, OAK (leg) – Able to stretch after Tuesday start; leg likely a non-issue
Jeff Keppinger, 3B, HOU (back) – Left with tightness Tuesday
Scott Olsen, SP, WAS (shoulder) – Will come off the DL and start Thursday
J.D. Drew, OF, BOS (hamstring) – Out Wednesday
Kyle Farnsworth, RP, KAN (hamstring) – Cramped up Tuesday; likely not serious
Jim Edmonds, OF, MIL (Achilles) – Out Wednesday for second straight game

Players on the DL

Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS (ribs) – Played six rehab innings Tuesday and will play nine Thursday; probably still at least a week away
Shane Victorino, OF, PHI (oblique) – Placed on DL; Domonic Brown era begins
Rich Harden, SP, TEX (lower body) – Could return to the rotation by Saturday
Brandon Webb, SP, ARI (shoulder) – May be brought back as a reliever to speed up return
Mike Lowell, 3B, BOS (hip) – Hit three homers in Triple-A; feels ready to return
Kerry Wood, RP, CLE (finger) – Threw another bullpen Tuesday; close to returning
Ryan Rowland-Smith, SP, SEA (back) – Placed on DL after Tuesday thrashing
Joel Pineiro, SP, LAA (oblique) – Will miss six to eight weeks
Jamie Moyer, SP, PHI (elbow) – Seeing Dr. Yocum Wednesday for second opinion; hoping to avoid surgery
Nick Stavinoha, OF, STL (shoulder) – Began rehab Monday; playing time may be tough to come by upon return
Chris Resop, RP, ATL (oblique) – Threw five scoreless rehab innings Tuesday; expected to make another rehab start
Dan Runzler, RP, SFO (knee) – Recovery going quicker than expected
Brian Moehler, SP, HOU (groin) – Will throw a bullpen Friday and will miss at least one more start
Jeff Fulchino, RP, HOU (elbow) – Threw a scoreless rehab inning Monday; may be back next week
Leo Rosales, RP, ARI (foot) – Will throw a bullpen Friday; August return possible
Anthony Reyes, SP, CLE (elbow) – Threw three scoreless at Double-A; still needs several more rehab starts
Zach Miner, RP, DET (elbow) – Feels good; see you next year
Conor Jackson, OF, OAK (hamstring) – Doing baseball activities; won't have rehab assignment

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

Placed on the DL
Shane Victorino, OF, PHI
Ryan Rowland-Smith, SP, SEA

Activated from the DL
Scott Olsen, SP, WAS

Sent Down 
Mike McCoy, SS, TOR
Victor Marte, RP, KAN
Fernando Salas, RP, STL

Called Up
Domonic Brown, OF, PHI
Brad Mills, SP, TOR
Bryan Bullington, RP, KAN
Luke French, SP, SEA
Mike MacDougal, RP, STL
Luis Valbuena, 2B, CLE

Traded
Jhonny Peralta, 3B, DET

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

Cleveland – Chris Perez collected his 10th save Tuesday continued an impressive campaign in which he's taken advantage of the Kerry Wood's frequent absences. His K:BB rate leaves something to be desired, but he's hard to hit. Wood is getting close to returning, but could be traded, which would leave Perez without competition for the job.

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

Cristian Guzman v. Derek Lowe – 12-for-32 (.375), 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3:4 BB:K, .417 OBP
Adam Kennedy v. Derek Lowe – 12-for-32 (.406), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 4:5 BB:K, .472 OBP
Nyjer Morgan v. Derek Lowe – 9-for-16 (.563), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .563 OBP
Alberto Gonzalez v. Derek Lowe – 5-for-11 (.455), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .500 OBP
Clint Barmes v. Paul Maholm – 9-for-15 (.600), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .625 OBP
Troy Tulowitzki v. Paul Maholm – 6-for-11 (.545), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .583 OBP
Andy LaRoche v. Ubaldo Jimenez – 4-for-10 (.400), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:2 BB:K, .538 OBP
Milton Bradley v. Freddy Garcia – 4-for-11 (.364), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2:2 BB:K, .500 OBP

Ubaldo Jimenez v. Pirates – We usually want pitchers who have faced the opposing batters about 80 or more times, total, but in this case an exception needs to be made. The Pirates have just eight hits (half of which, as you may have noticed above, are Andy LaRoche singles) in 50 at-bats against Jimenez, resulting in this sick slash line: .160/.250/.160. Ubaldo has had a rough go of it lately, but there's nothing like facing the Pirates' offense to get you back on track.

Freddy Garcia v. Mariners – Garcia has, by and large, beaten up on his old team's current roster. The Mariners hitters have a pitiful .200/.296/.300 line against The Chief. Ichiro hits him, but Ichiro hits everyone, and Milton Bradley hits him, but who knows what you'll get out of Milton Bradley these days. Other than them, you won't find many Mariners who like facing Garcia. He held Seattle to two runs on two hits over seven innings earlier this year.

Cold

Randy Winn v. Mike Pelfrey – 2-for-12 (.167), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .231 OBP
Adam Dunn v. Derek Lowe – 5-for-28 (.179), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2:8 BB:K, .233 OBP
Ryan Spilborghs v. Paul Maholm – 2-for-14 (.143), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .143 OBP
Brad Hawpe v. Paul Maholm – 1-for-12 (.083), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:9 BB:K, .083 OBP
Cesar Izturis v. Kyle Davies – 2-for-10 (.200), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .273 OBP
Chone Figgins v. Freddy Garcia – 2-for-25 (.080), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 5:10 BB:K, .233 OBP
Jose Lopez v. Freddy Garcia – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .250 OBP
Josh Bard v. Freddy Garcia – 1-for-10 (.100), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .100 OBP

Paul Maholm v. Rockies – If you were planning to start Maholm in Coors Field, where he has a career 6.44 ERA, you have a stronger stomach than most. The current Rockies' numbers against him make it even worse. Colorado has compiled a .323/.344/.591 line against Maholm, and if you take out Brad Hawpe's 1-for-12 with 9 Ks, that average jumps to .358. Stay away. Far, far away.

Recommended Pickup

Domonic Brown, OF, Phillies – This one is too easy. In competitive leagues, by the time you read this Brown will already be gone. If he's available in any of your leagues, go grab him before you finish reading this. Got him? Alright, good. This is a guy who's hit .327 across two levels with 20 homers and 17 steals. With Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez ineffective, and now Shane Victorino hurt, the kid's gonna have a lot of opportunities to hit in a great hitters' park and a productive lineup.

Other Recent Recommendations:Wade Davis, J.A. Happ, Madison Bumgarner, Brett Anderson, Alex Gordon