Saturday Lineup Card: Defying Murphy's Law

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Saturday's Starters

Yankees (Ivan Nova – R) at Blue Jays (Aaron Laffey – L), 1:07
Reds (Bronson Arroyo – R) at Cubs (Travis Wood – L), 4:05
Rockies (Drew Pomeranz – L) at Giants (Matt Cain – R), 4:05
Red Sox (Franklin Morales – L) at Indians (Zach McAllister – R), 6">, 6:05
Royals (Luis Mendoza - R) at Orioles (Chris Tillman - R), 7:05
Brewers (Marco Estrada - R) at Astros (Dallas Keuchel - L), 7:05
Padres (Jason Marquis - R) at Pirates (A.J. Burnett - R), 7:05
Cardinals (Jake Westbrook – R) at Phillies (Cliff Lee – L), 7:05
Braves (Kris Medlen – R) at Mets (Johan Santana – L), 7:10
Dodgers (Joe Blanton – R) at Marlins (Ricky Nolasco – R), 7:10
Athletics (Travis Blackley – L) at White Sox (Francisco Liriano – L), 7:10
Rays (David Price – L) at Twins (Nick Blackburn – R), 7:10
Tigers (Justin Verlander – R) at Rangers (Derek Holland – L), 8:05
Nationals (Edwin Jackson – R) at Diamondbacks (Wade Miley – L), 8:10
Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma – R) at Angels (Dan Haren – R), 9:05

Day Game After Night Game: NYY/TOR, CIN/CHC, COL/SF

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Willie Bloomquist, SS, ARI (back) – Received an MRI Friday revealing no structural damage. DL stint remains possible.
Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL (back) – Scratched from Friday's lineup with back soreness.
Jason Kipnis, 2B, CLE (neck) – Missed second straight game Friday.
Brian McCann, C, ATL (shoulder) – Received cortisone injection Tuesday and wasn't in Friday's lineup.
Alex Rios, OF, CWS (back) - Returned to lineup Friday.
Scott Rolen, 3B, CIN (back) – Remained out of the lineup Friday.
Brendan Ryan, SS, SEA (elbow) – Returned to lineup Friday after missing four games.

Disabled List
Dustin McGowan, SP, TOR (shoulder) – Underwent successful arthroscopic surgery but will be out for rest of the season.
David Ortiz, DH, BOS (Achilles) – Scheduled to run the bases Friday.
Andy Pettitte, SP, NYY (lower leg) – Expected to return to the Yankees next month.
Trevor Plouffe, 3B, MIN (thumb) – Will begin rehab assignment at Triple-A Rochester on Saturday and is expected to stay there for two games.
Jim Thome, DH, BAL (neck) – Ran in a pool Friday and will work on light upper body exercises.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL (left groin) – Took part in a workout that included fielding 75 ground balls prior to Tuesday's game.
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN (knee) – Felt a little sore doing sliding drills, but no timetable yet on return.

Transactions

Called Up
Brad Bergesen, RP, ARI
David Carpenter, RP, TOR
Ryan Jackson, SS, STL
Fernando Martinez, OF, HOU

Sent Down
Matt Downs, 3B, HOU
Ryan Kalish, OF, BOS
J.D. Martinez, OF, HOU

Activated from DL
Adam Kennedy, 2B, LAD
Mark Lowe, RP, TEX
Brandon McCarthy, SP, OAK

Placed on DL (15-day unless otherwise noted)
Paul Konerko, 1B, CWS (7-day DL)
Josh Collmenter, P, ARI
Ryan Sweeney, OF, BOS (Transferred to 60-day DL)
Eric Sogard, 3B, OAK

Claimed off Waivers
Juan Abreu, RP, TOR (sent to Triple-A)

Designated For Assignment
Alberto Gonzalez, 2B, TEX
Scott Richmond, P, TOR

Released
Derek Lowe, SP, CLE

Signed
Scott Podsednik, OF, BOS (reports to majors)

Closer Watch

Reds – With the game against the Cubs tied at 3-3 in the eighth inning Thursday, Logan Ondrusek gave up a two-run homer to Alfonso Soriano, catapulting the Cubs to a 5-3 win. Sean Marshall was officially tagged with the loss, having given up the baserunner upon Ondrusek's arrival from the bullpen. It was the second consecutive game in which the bullpen blew a lead, resulting in losses on both occasions. Aroldis Chapman's job wouldn't be in jeopardy even without the setup mishaps, but it's still disappointing that he didn't get a chance to shut the door on two potential Reds victories. He has not pitched at all during the team's five-game losing streak.

Yankees – Rafael Soriano had to silence an eighth inning rally Thursday afternoon as part of his 1.1 innings of work to earn his 27th save in 29 tries. He did allow two hits but held the Tigers at bay in a 4-3 Yankees win. His job security remains high even with the injured David Robertson back in the fold.

Recommended Pickup

David Murphy, OF, TEX – Admittedly, nothing about Murphy's profile is overwhelmingly exciting, as he isn't adept in any one category. However, he's the type of player that can help you across the board, bringing more to the table than he takes off of it. On the season, Murphy boasts a commendable .300/.385/.473 line, slugging nine homers and 41 RBI and chipping in eight stolen bases. Though he's normally batting in the bottom half of the Rangers lineup, it's still a lineup that's arguably the best top to bottom in all of baseball. Further bolstering his case, manager Ron Washington said that Murphy would see regular playing time against both right- and left-handed starters for the foreseeable future; he had previously been sharing time with Craig Gentry in the Rangers' third outfield spot. Washington was all but forced to ascend Murphy into an everyday role given his .333/.395/.444 line since the All-Star break. He's hitting a cool .357 in August thus far, so get him while the production continues. As of this post, his ownership sits at just 10.8 percent in ESPN leagues, 11 percent in Yahoo! leagues, and 29 percent of CBS leagues.

Other recent recommendations:Eric Chavez, Mike McKenry, Domonic Brown, Jean Segura and Brett Jackson/Josh Vitters

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DraftStreet Lineup
C: Carlos Santana, CLE ($7,601)
1B: Chris Carter, OAK ($8,026)
2B: Rickie Weeks, MIL ($6,421)
3B: Pedro Alvarez, PIT ($5,345)
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC ($6,113)
OF: Curtis Granderson, NYY ($8,628)
OF: Austin Jackson, DET ($7,572)
OF: Jayson Werth, WAS ($6,576)
U: Cameron Maybin, SD ($4,986)
U: Torii Hunter, LAA ($7,266)
SP: Ivan Nova, NYY ($8,472)
SP: Kris Medlen, ATL ($10,290)
RP: Joe Nathan, TEX ($2,145)
P: Marco Estrada, MIL ($10,437)

Total: $99,878

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