Wednesday Lineup Card: The Venerable Venable

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Wednesday's Starters (All times Eastern)

Twins (Vance Worley – R) at Braves (Paul Maholm – L), 12:10
Reds (Mat Latos – R) at Mets (Matt Harvey – R), 1:10
Dodgers (Hyun-Jin Ryu – L) at Brewers (Wily Peralta – R), 1:10
Athletics (Jarrod Parker – R) at Rangers (Ross Wolf – R), 2:05
Diamondbacks (Trevor Cahill – R) at Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa – L), 3:10
Nationals (Gio Gonzalez – L) at Giants (Madison Bumgarner – L), 3:45
Rays (Jeremy Hellickson – R) at Blue Jays (Mark Buehrle – L), 4:37
Cubs (Jeff Samardzija – R) at Pirates (Francisco Liriano – L), 7:05
Tigers (Justin Verlander – R) at Indians (Ubaldo Jimenez – R), 7:05
Yankees (Hiroki Kuroda – R) at Orioles (Jason Hammel – R), 7:05
Mariners (Brandon Maurer – R) at Angels (C.J. Wilson – L), 7:05
Phillies (Cliff Lee – L) at Marlins (Kevin Slowey – R), 7:10
Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – R) at White Sox (Hector Santiago – L), 8:10
Royals (James Shields – R) at Astros (Jordan Lyles – R), 8:10
Cardinals (Tyler Lyons – L) at Padres (Burch Smith – R), 10:10

Day Game After Night Game: MIN/ATL, CIN/NYM, LAD/MIL, OAK/TEX, ARI/COL, WAS/SF

Injuries

Day-To-Day
Zack Cozart, SS, CIN (illness) – Initially held out of lineup before being a late addition Tuesday.
Ross Detwiler, SP, WAS (oblique) – Felt good during workout Tuesday.
David Freese, 3B, STL (thumb) – Remained sidelined Tuesday with injury.
Aaron Harang, SP, SEA (back) – Threw a bullpen session Sunday.
Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI (knee) – Returned to lineup Tuesday.
John Jaso, C, OAK (leg) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.
Adam Jones, OF, BAL (leg) – Will be forced to play DH on Tuesday as a result of soreness in right leg.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT (knee) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.
Bud Norris, SP, HOU (back) – Returned to the mound to start Tuesday.
Salvador Perez, C, KC (hip) – Will not start Tuesday but will be available off the bench.
Chris Sale, SP, CWS (shoulder) – Scratched from Wednesday's start with mild tendinitis in posterior shoulder muscle.
Nick Tepesch, SP, TEX (finger) – Blister on finger will prevent him from starting Wednesday but is already healing and could be in line to start Sunday.
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI (oblique) – Experienced discomfort in his side and was scratched Tuesday.
Shane Victorino, OF, BOS (hamstring) – Held out of lineup Tuesday.

Disabled List
Brandon Beachy, SP, ATL (elbow) – Will make next rehab start Friday at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Gordon Beckham, 2B, CWS (wrist) – Started at shortstop during a rehab appearance at Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.
John Danks, SP, CWS (shoulder) – Team will decide on whether he will start Friday following Tuesday's game.
Yasmani Grandal, C, SD (suspension) – May not be able to play upon the conclusion of his suspension May 28 as a result of recovery from two inflamed tendons on his left side.
Dan Hudson, SP, ARI (elbow) – Could initially join the bullpen upon being activated from the DL.
Josh Johnson, SP, TOR (triceps) – Gave up one run on three hits over three innings Monday in first rehab start at High-A Dunedin.
Colby Lewis, SP, TEX (forearm) – Pitched into the third inning of rehab appearance at Double-A Frisco on Tuesday but admitted concern about velocity in mid-80s.
Ryan Madson, RP, LAA (elbow) – Will report to Triple-A Salt Lake later this week to resume rehab assignment.
Logan Morrison, 1B, MIA (knee) – Made first rehab appearance at Single-A Jupiter, going 2-for-5.
Chris Narveson, SP, MIL (finger) – Threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday.
Hanley Ramirez, SS, LAD (hamstring) – Did running drills Tuesday.
Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL (hamstring) – May be able to take part in batting practice Thursday.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, MIA (hamstring) – Will begin running and hitting Wednesday.
Ryan Vogelsong, SP, SF (hand) – Underwent successful surgery on broken right hand Tuesday and is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks.
Jered Weaver, SP, LAA (elbow) – Could be ready to rejoin Angels after an extended spring training outing Wednesday.

Transactions

Called Up (from Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Fernando Abad, RP, WAS
Tyler Cloyd, SP, PHI
Neal Cotts, RP, TEX
Yunesky Maya, RP, WAS
Cord Phelps, 2B, CLE
Brett Pill, 1B, SF
Sandy Rosario, RP, SF

Sent Down (to Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Daric Barton, 1B, OAK
Ryan Brasier, RP, LAA
Robinson Chirinos, C, TEX
Scott Cousins, OF, LAA
Alberto Gonzalez, SS, NYY
Jared Hughes, RP, PIT
Jair Jurrjens, SP, BAL
Eury Perez, OF, WAS
Eduardo Sanchez, RP, CHC

Activated from DL (15-day unless otherwise noted)
Sean Burnett, RP, LAA
Jose Contreras, RP, PIT (bereavement list)
Matt Garza, SP, CHC
Miguel Gonzalez, SP, BAL
A.J. Pierzynski, C, TEX

Placed on DL (15-day unless otherwise noted)
Santiago Casilla, RP, SF
Ryan Mattheus, RP, WAS
Carlos Ruiz, C, PHI
Nick Swisher, OF, CLE (placed on paternity list)
Ryan Vogelsong, SP, SF

Claimed off Waivers
Eduardo Sanchez, RP, CHC

Closer Watch

Marlins: Manager Mike Redmond told reporters following Monday's game, in which Mike Dunn was granted the save opportunity over Steve Cishek, Redmond stated that he would use all his relievers for save situations going forward. Cishek, who had been serving as the team's full-time closer, has delivered an underwhelming 4.91 ERA through 18 outings and will lose the most fantasy value with the most arrangement. That being said, the 13-32 Marlins aren't going to produce a ton of save opportunities, and given Redmond's new approach, it's probably best to wait and see how the situation shakes out rather than picking up all the prospective closing candidates. Along with Cishek and Dunn, Ryan Webb, Chad Qualls and A.J. Ramos are candidates to see save opportunities until Redmond settles on somebody.

Orioles: After Jim Johnson blew his third consecutive save opportunity Monday night, manager Buck Showalter stepped in to give the dreaded vote of confidence in the postgame press conference. Johnson was a popular candidate for regression heading into this season after an underwhelming 3.63 xFIP and middling 5.37 K/9 seemed to suggest he pitched over his head in saving 51-of-54 games. While he got off to a hot start this season by converting 14-of-14 opportunities, his high contact rate may have finally caught up to him, as he's been tagged for eight runs in the three blown saves. He should eventually benefit from a more normalized HR/FB rate sooner or later, but with Darren O'Day, Brian Matusz and Tommy Hunter all possessing the sort of strikeout rates that are typically make for a good closer, don't be surprised if Johnson is eventually lifted from the ninth-inning role if the struggles persist.

Will Venable, OF, SD – A long-time liability against left-handed pitching that resulted in him being pushed into a platoon role to start this season, Venable has assumed everyday duty through most of May while Cameron Maybin has been out, piling up enough counting stats to remain a fixture in the Padres lineup. He's been particularly sizzling over the last two weeks, amassing four home runs, eight RBI, seven runs and four stolen bases during that time. While the power numbers should dissipate and his batting average could remain a risk due to a lofty 24.3 percent strikeout rate, that figure should nonetheless climb upward from its .238 mark if Venable can experience a little more luck on batted balls in play (.313 career BABIP, .268 this season). Even so, Venable is well on his way to another 25-steal season, and since the Padres typically struggle to manufacture runs, he could be given the green light more regularly on the bases. Now firmly settled into the No. 2 hole, he's an under-the-radar source of steals and runs for as long as Maybin remains on the DL.

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DraftStreet Lineup
C: Yadier Molina, STL ($7,267)
1B: Mike Napoli, BOS ($5,918)
2B: Omar Infante, DET ($6,512)
3B: Michael Young, PHI ($5,433)
SS: Starlin Castro, CHC ($6,285)
OF: Allen Craig, STL ($8,266)
OF: Alejandro De Aza, CWS ($6,049)
OF: Mike Trout, LAA ($12,176)
U: Chris Davis, BAL ($9,519)
SP: Jeff Samardzija, CHC ($15,644)
SP: C.J. Wilson, LAA ($13,880)
P: Edward Mujica, STL ($2,687)

Total: $99,636

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