The Lineup Card: Strasburg Scratched, Street Hit by a Liner

Projected Starters - A look at Wednesday's matchups:

Cubs (Randy Wells – R) at Astros (Bud Norris – R), 2:05 ET
Reds (Travis Wood – L) at Brewers (Chris Narveson – L), 2:10 ET
Twins (Brian Duensing – L) at Royals (Brian Bannister – R), 2:10 ET
Red Sox (Josh Beckett – R) at Angels (Joel Pineiro – R), 3:35 ET
Marlins (Alex Sanabia – R) at Giants (Jonathan Sanchez – L), 7:05 ET
Diamondbacks (Edwin Jackson – R) at Phillies (Roy Halladay – R), 7:05 ET
Braves (Tim Hudson – R) at Nationals (Livan Hernandez – R), 7:05 ET
Yankees (A.J. Burnett – R) at Indians (Fausto Carmona – R), 7:05 ET
Orioles (Jeremy Guthrie – R) at Blue Jays (Brad Mills – L), 7:07 ET
Cardinals (Jaime Garcia – L) at Mets (Hisanori Takahashi – L), 7:10 ET
Tigers (Eddie Bonine – R) at Rays (Jeff Niemann – R), 7:10 ET
Athletics (Trevor Cahill – R) at Rangers (Colby Lewis – R), 8:05 ET
Mariners (Jason Vargas – R) at White Sox (Mark Buehrle – L), 8:10 ET
Pirates (Ross Ohlendorf – R) at Rockies (Aaron Cook – R), 8:40 ET
Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda – R) at Padres (Clayton Richard – L), 10:05 ET

Day Game After Night Game: BAL, SF, TOR, SD, MIL, LAA

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)
Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Mariners (personal) – Scratched Tuesday for "family matter"
Jorge Posada, C, Yankees (knee) – Day-to-day after being scratched Tuesday
B.J. Upton, OF, Rays (ankle) – Left Tuesday's game with sprained ankle, don't count on Wednesday return
Dan Haren, P, Angels (forearm) – X-rays negative, on track for Saturday start
Jim Edmonds, OF, Brewers (Achilles') – Hit pinch-hit HR Monday but still didn't start Tuesday
Jason Bay, OF, Mets (concussion) – Out of Tuesday's lineup and will be observed over the next few days
Geovany Soto, C, Cubs (foot) – Did not start Tuesday after fouling ball off his foot and leaving Monday's game
Huston Street, P, Rockies (lower right abdomen) – Hit by line drive in BP and left in ambulance
Corey Hart, OF, Brewers (wrist) – Targeting Friday return
Stephen Strasburg, P, Nationals (arm) – Scratched from Tuesday's start after he couldn't get loose in bullpen; will have MRI

Players on the DL

Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins (concussion) – Won't be back during current series, no timetable yet
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox (foot) – Visited Dr. Yocum on Tuesday, but did some light running on Monday
Mike Lowell, 3B, Red Sox (hip) – Will be activated Friday
Scott Kazmir, P, Angels (shoulder) – Is throwing and targeting August 7 return
Kerry Wood, P, Indians (finger) – Non-save situations when he returns, at least initially
Mark Teahen, 3B, White Sox (finger) – Could begin rehab next week
Rich Harden, P, Rangers (lower body) – Very good rehab start on Monday in Triple-A
Gil Meche, P, Royals (shoulder) – Will have surgery, out for rest of season
Brett Anderson, P, Athletics (elbow) – Will start Friday
Chris Dickerson, OF, Reds (wrist) – Solid in rehab, but no openings in Reds outfield
David Eckstein, 2B, Padres (calf) – Making progress, still targeting early August return
Homer Bailey, P, Reds (shoulder) – Mediocre in rehab in Low-A
Chris Coghlan, OF, Marlins (knee) – Torn meniscus, will be determined if he will miss season later this week; injury paves the way for Logan Morrison
Tyler Walker, P, Nationals (shoulder) – Out for season
LaTroy Hawkins, P, Brewers (shoulder) – Should be activated Friday
Jordan Zimmermann, P, Nationals (elbow) – Six runs in five innings in Low-A rehab
Mike Adams, P, Padres (oblique) – Felt good in bullpen session, could start rehab later this week

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

Placed on the DL (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Chris Coghlan, OF, Marlins

Activated from the DL
Brent Clevlin, OF, Braves
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies

Called Up
Logan Morrison, 1B, Marlins
Wilfredo Ledezma, P, Pirates
Steven Jackson, P, Pirates
Josh Tomlin, P, Indians

Sent Down
Michael Brantley, OF, Indians
Wes Hodges, 3B, Indians (designated for assignment)
Nate McLouth, OF, Braves
Brad Eldred, 1B, Rockies (designated for assignment)
Nate Robertson, P, Marlins (released)
Kris Harvey, P, Marlins (designated for assignment)

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

COL – Huston Street was hit by a batted ball in batting practice before Tuesday's game and left in an ambulance. It certainly sounds like he will miss significant time. Manny Corpas should take over in his absence.

PHI – Brad Lidge began the ninth on Monday with a three-run lead, but he encountered trouble as he finished off the Rockies. Seth Smith hit a two-run homer and Lidge let five batters reach for the inning. And that outing came just one day after he let the Rocks load the bases in a one run game before slamming the door.

TOR– David Purcey entered Monday's game in the eighth and got the save when the Jays took a four-run lead in the ninth inning. Purcey's numbers have been solid on the season and it looks like he has made a successful transition to the bullpen.

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
Ivan Rodriguez v. Tim Hudson – 13-for-29 (.448), 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2:2 BB:K, .484 OBP
Chipper Jones v. Livan Hernandez – 24-for-68 (.353), 1 HR, 15 RBI, 12:5 BB:K, .434 OBP
Adrian Gonzalez v. Hiroki Kuroda – 5-for-15 (.333), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5:0 BB:K, .500 OBP
Jim Thome v. Brian Bannister – 9-for-26 (.346), 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3:8 BB:K, .433 OBP
Michael Cuddyer v. Brian Bannister – 9-for-22 (.409), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .417 OBP
Howie Kendrick v. Josh Beckett – 8-for-19 (.421), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .450 OBP
David Ortiz v. Joel Pineiro – 11-for-25 (.440), 3 HR, 12 RBI, 6:3 BB:K, .531 OBP
Marco Scutaro v. Joel Pineiro – 6-for-20 (.300), 0 HR, 5 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .333 OBP
Michael Young v. Trevor Cahill – 5-for-10 (.500), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .583 OBP
Ichiro Suzuki v. Mark Buehrle – 18-for-42 (.429), 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .442 OBP
Franklin Gutierrez v. Mark Buehrle – 7-for-19 (.368), 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .400 OBP

SP – I'm not trying to skimp here, but lots of these pitchers are newbies that don't have a long history against their respective opponents. The few pitchers that do have a history stick pretty close to their career numbers with Wednesday's opponents.

Cold

Ryan Zimmerman v. Tim Hudson – 4-for-28 (.143), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:6 BB:K, .172 OBP
Christian Guzman v. Tim Hudson – 11-for-57 (.193), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:8 BB:K, .207 OBP
Josh Willingham v. Tim Hudson – 1-for-20 (.050), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:7 BB:K, .174 OBP
Alex Gonzalez v. Livan Hernandez – 4-for-41 (.098), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2:9 BB:K, .156 OBP
Juan Rivera v. Josh Beckett – 2-for-18 (.111), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2:2 BB:K, .200 OBP
Mike Cameron v. Joel Pineiro – 3-for-19 (.158), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0:4 BB:K, .200 OBP

Brian Bannister v. Twins – Bannister has not faired well against division rival Minnesota. He has allowed a line of .308/.347/.488 and eight home runs in 201 at-bats against current Twins. However, he gets a slight boost since he will miss Justin Morneau, who is on the DL. Morneau skews those numbers thanks to his line of 10-for-27 (.370) with three home runs, three doubles and just one strikeout.

Recommended Pickup:

Wade Davis, P, Rays – The word on Davis seemed to get out toward the end of May and there were rumors that he might be sent to the minor leagues leading up to the All-Star break. The Rays didn't get a win with Davis on the mound for the entire month of June. Instead of sending him down, the Rays gave him 10 days off between starts thanks to the break and he has responded with two very solid starts since. Keep in mind the two starts came against the Orioles and Indians, but both were on the road and Davis allowed three runs on 14 hits and two walks in 14.1 innings as he got the win in each turn.

Other Recent Recommendations:J.A. Happ, Madison Bumgarner, Brett Anderson, Alex Gordon, Gordon Beckham, Tommy Hunter