This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters – A look at Thursday's matchups:
White Sox (Gavin Floyd – R) at Tigers (Rick Porcello – R), 1:05 ET
Reds (Travis Wood – L) at Rockies (Jason Hammel – R), 3:10 ET
Rangers (Colby Lewis – R) at Blue Jays (Shawn Hill – R), 7:07 ET
Cardinals (Adam Wainwright – R) at Braves (Jair Jurrjens – R), 7:10 ET
Dodgers (Ted Lilly – L) at Astros (Bud Norris – R), 8:05 ET
Giants (Matt Cain – R) at Padres (Jon Garland – R), 10:05 ET
Day Game After Night Game: CHW, DET, CIN, COL
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)
Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET (shoulder) – Scratched Wednesday and may sit Thursday as well
Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA (back) – Out of the lineup Wednesday
Josh Johnson, SP, FLA (back, shoulder) – Scratched from Friday start and may be shut down
David Wright, 3B, NYM (finger) – Back in Wednesday's lineup; 0-for-4
Jose Reyes, SS, NYM (oblique) – May not return until Friday
Justin Upton, OF, ARI (shoulder) – MRI revealed strain; still day-to-day
Paul Konerko, 1B, CHW (back) – Returned to the lineup Wednesday
Cliff Lee, SP, TEX (back) – Will return to rotation this weekend
Billy Butler, 1B, KAN (hand)
Projected Starters – A look at Thursday's matchups:
White Sox (Gavin Floyd – R) at Tigers (Rick Porcello – R), 1:05 ET
Reds (Travis Wood – L) at Rockies (Jason Hammel – R), 3:10 ET
Rangers (Colby Lewis – R) at Blue Jays (Shawn Hill – R), 7:07 ET
Cardinals (Adam Wainwright – R) at Braves (Jair Jurrjens – R), 7:10 ET
Dodgers (Ted Lilly – L) at Astros (Bud Norris – R), 8:05 ET
Giants (Matt Cain – R) at Padres (Jon Garland – R), 10:05 ET
Day Game After Night Game: CHW, DET, CIN, COL
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)
Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET (shoulder) – Scratched Wednesday and may sit Thursday as well
Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA (back) – Out of the lineup Wednesday
Josh Johnson, SP, FLA (back, shoulder) – Scratched from Friday start and may be shut down
David Wright, 3B, NYM (finger) – Back in Wednesday's lineup; 0-for-4
Jose Reyes, SS, NYM (oblique) – May not return until Friday
Justin Upton, OF, ARI (shoulder) – MRI revealed strain; still day-to-day
Paul Konerko, 1B, CHW (back) – Returned to the lineup Wednesday
Cliff Lee, SP, TEX (back) – Will return to rotation this weekend
Billy Butler, 1B, KAN (hand) – Left Tuesday's game with bruised hand; not likely to miss much time, but likely to sit Wednesday
Manny Ramirez, OF, CHW (undisclosed) – Pulled from Tuesday's game after getting hit with pitches twice; nothing major here
Jay Bruce, OF, CIN (abdomen) – Took swings off a tee Tuesday and felt fine
Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX (hamstring) – Ran the bases and took BP Tuesday, but won't return until Friday at the earliest
Marco Scutaro, SS, BOS (shoulder) – Sitting Wednesday, but slated to play more second base
Brad Lidge, RP, PHI (elbow) – Out until at least Friday with hyperextended elbow
Domonic Brown, OF, PHI (quad) – Doctor told him he's day-to-day; he'll sit until good to go
Danny Valencia, 3B, MIN (hamstring) – Unlikely to play until Friday
J.J. Putz, RP, CHW (knee) – Felt good after side session and will return Thursday
Armando Galarraga, SP, DET (elbow) – Still on track to start Friday
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B, OAK (back) – MRI showed nothing serious; weekend return possible
Felix Doubront, RP, BOS (chest) – Team not sure when he'll pitch next
Jeff Karstens, SP, PIT (shoulder) – May be shut down or pitch in relief the rest of the year
Players on the DL
Gordon Beckham, 3B, CHW (hand) – Will miss a couple days
Carlos Guillen, OF, DET (knee) – Shut down for the season
Chris Young, OF, ARI (shoulder) – Will throw 75 pitches in a rehab assignment Saturday
Fred Lewis, OF, TOR (elbow) – Apparently able to play Tuesday, but didn't; should return to lineup very soon
Tony Gwynn Jr., OF, SDP (hand) – Threw and bunted Tuesday, and may be totally fantasy useless the rest of the year
Josh Outman, SP, OAK (elbow) – Threw a simulated inning Tuesday and should pitch sometime in this last month of the season
Chien-Ming Wang, SP, WAS (shoulder) – Won't pitch this year
Freddy Garcia, SP, CHW (back) – Lasted just two innings Tuesday before leaving with back stiffness
Alfredo Aceves, RP, NYY (back) – Not expected to pitch again this season
Damaso Marte, RP, NYY (shoulder) – Not expected to pitch again this season
Danys Baez, RP, PHI (back) – Will come off the DL when eligible Friday
Transactions – Players that have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Activated from the DL
Guillermo Mota, RP, SFO
Sent Down
Chris Hatcher, C, FLA
Taylor Buchholz, RP, COL (designated for assignment)
Ronnie Belliard, 2B, LAD (designated for assignment)
Called Up
Paul Phillips, C, COL
Edinson Volquez, SP, CIN
Luis Cruz, SS, MIL
Brandon Kintzler, RP, MIL
Scott Sizemore, 2B, DET
Trent Oeltjen, OF, LAD
Closer Watch – A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out Dave Regan's Closer Grid with the link to the left).
Baltimore – Koji Uehara gave up a game-winning two-run home run to Nick Swisher Wednesday afternoon, possibly opening the door for a Michael Gonzalez comeback. Look out for word.
Milwaukee – Trevor Hoffman picked up save 600 on Tuesday. Tough to say what the situation here really is, as John Axford picked up the save before that, on Sunday, so if you're invested in the Brewers' closer situation, we hope you've hedged your bets.
San Francisco – Jeremy Affeldt picked up his fourth save with Brian Wilson unavailable after pitching in three straight. Nothing to see here.
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
Ryan Raburn v. Gavin Floyd – 10-for-25 (.400), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .423 OBP
Jhonny Peralta v. Gavin Floyd – 8-for-21 (.381), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2:6 BB:K, .435 OBP
Johnny Damon v. Gavin Floyd – 6-for-11 (.545), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4:0 BB:K, .667 OBP
Paul Konerko* v. Rick Porcello – 6-for-12 (.500), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2:1 BB:K, .571 OBP
Juan Pierre v. Rick Porcello – 5-for-11 (.455), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .538 OBP
Omar Vizquel v. Rick Porcello – 5-for-12 (.417), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .385 OBP
Carlos Quentin v. Rick Porcello – 5-for-12 (.417), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .417 OBP
Ramon Hernandez v. Jason Hammel – 7-for-14 (.500), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .500 OBP
Matt Holliday v. Jair Jurrjens – 7-for-13 (.538), 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .600 OBP
Yorvit Torrealba v. Matt Cain – 11-for-32 (.344), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6:7 BB:K, .447 OBP – Career cycle including two triples
David Eckstein v. Matt Cain – 6-for-13 (.462), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .500 OBP
Jose Guillen v. Jon Garland – 9-for-19 (.474), 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .474 OBP
Ted Lilly v. Astros – No Astro with more than seven plate appearances against Lilly has managed better numbers than Jeff Keppinger's .267 batting average and .733 OPS. Naturally, the numbers as a team are pitiful: .227.285/.314. Yikes. He's allowed one run over 13 innings against Houston this year; expect that trend to continue.
Cold
Miguel Cabrera* v. Gavin Floyd – 6-for-29 (.207), 0 HR, 5 RBI, 0:6 BB:K, .233 OBP
Alexis Rios v. Rick Porcello – 3-for-14 (.214), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0:2 BB:K, .214 OBP
A.J. Pierzynski v. Rick Porcello – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .182 OBP
Derrek Lee v. Adam Wainwright – 7-for-33 (.212), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 5:8 BB:K, .308 OBP
Brian McCann v. Adam Wainwright – 2-for-12 (.167), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .167 OBP
Pedro Feliz v. Jair Jurrjens – 4-for-18 (.222), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .300 OBP
Hunter Pence v. Ted Lilly – 5-for-29 (.172), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:9 BB:K, .172 OBP
Humberto Quintero v. Ted Lilly – 2-for-14 (.143), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:5 BB:K, .200 OBP
Michael Bourn v. Ted Lilly – 1-for-11 (.091), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:4 BB:K, .091 OBP
Edgar Renteria v. Jon Garland – 3-for-19 (.158), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .200 OBP
Gavin Floyd v. Tigers – If you can get Miguel Cabrera out four-fifths of the time, you'd figure you're good to go against the Tigers. Apparently it's not so for Floyd, who has allowed these Detroit hitters to rack up a combined .297/.362/.891 line against him despite holding Cabrera to a .544 OPS over 30 plate appearances. The silver lining is that Floyd held the Tigers to one run over six innings while striking out eight earlier this year, so unless you really can't afford the risk of a blowup, stick with him.
Rick Porcello v. White Sox – This game has the makings of a shootout, as Porcello has allowed an enormous .342/.379/.596 line to South Side hitters and surrendered eight homers over 114 AB with a terrible 10:8 K:BB rate. The White Sox torched him for 15 runs over his first two starts against them this year. He did limit them to two runs over seven innings most recently, on August 14, but allowed 11 baserunners in that game.
Recommended Pickup
Danny Espinosa, SS, WAS – Espinosa's massive game at the hands of Mets pitching on Monday may have gotten your attention, as he mashed two homers and drove in six runs. So far, in his 20-at-bat major league career, Espinosa has homered three times, driven in 10 runs, and walked as many times as he's struck out (two each). He's not likely to help you much in average, but Espinosa has legit power-speed potential (22 homers, 25 steals across two levels this year) and is likely to get a lot of run at second base and occasionally shortstop for the rest of this year.
Other recent recommendations:Ian Kennedy, Yunesky Maya, David Murphy, Jordan Zimmermann
