This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters – A look at Thursday's matchups:
Diamondbacks (Rodrigo Lopez – R) at Reds (Edinson Volquez – R), 12:35 ET
Angels (Ervin Santana – R) at Indians (Fausto Carmona – R), 7:05 ET
Pirates (Charlie Morton – R) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey – R), 7:10 ET
Twins (Carl Pavano – R) at White Sox (Mark Buehrle – L), 8:10 ET
Padres (Tim Stauffer – R) at Cardinals (Jake Westbrook – R), 8:15 ET
Dodgers (Ted Lilly – L) at Giants (Jonathan Sanchez – L), 10:15 ET
Day Game After Night Game: ARI, CIN
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)
Albert Pujols, 1B, STL (elbow) – Back in Wednesday's lineup
Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI (hamstring) – Out again Wednesday
Nick Swisher, OF, NYY (knee) – MRI showed minor inflammation; will get cortisone shot and return this weekend
Brett Gardner, OF, NYY (wrist) – Out of the lineup again Wednesday, but probably close to returning
Starlin Castro, SS, CHC (hip) – Out again Wednesday
Scott Rolen, 3B, CIN (back, neck) – Out Wednesday with stiffness after tweaking something Tuesday
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL (knee) – Back in Wednesday's lineup
Andres Torres, OF, SFO (abdomen) – Not sure if he'll be ready for the playoffs, if the Giants
Projected Starters – A look at Thursday's matchups:
Diamondbacks (Rodrigo Lopez – R) at Reds (Edinson Volquez – R), 12:35 ET
Angels (Ervin Santana – R) at Indians (Fausto Carmona – R), 7:05 ET
Pirates (Charlie Morton – R) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey – R), 7:10 ET
Twins (Carl Pavano – R) at White Sox (Mark Buehrle – L), 8:10 ET
Padres (Tim Stauffer – R) at Cardinals (Jake Westbrook – R), 8:15 ET
Dodgers (Ted Lilly – L) at Giants (Jonathan Sanchez – L), 10:15 ET
Day Game After Night Game: ARI, CIN
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)
Albert Pujols, 1B, STL (elbow) – Back in Wednesday's lineup
Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI (hamstring) – Out again Wednesday
Nick Swisher, OF, NYY (knee) – MRI showed minor inflammation; will get cortisone shot and return this weekend
Brett Gardner, OF, NYY (wrist) – Out of the lineup again Wednesday, but probably close to returning
Starlin Castro, SS, CHC (hip) – Out again Wednesday
Scott Rolen, 3B, CIN (back, neck) – Out Wednesday with stiffness after tweaking something Tuesday
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL (knee) – Back in Wednesday's lineup
Andres Torres, OF, SFO (abdomen) – Not sure if he'll be ready for the playoffs, if the Giants make it
Scott Podsednik, OF, LAD (foot) – Out for a few weeks with plantar fasciitis
J.D. Drew, OF, BOS (ankle) – Getting another day off Wednesday
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B, OAK (back) – Making progress, but may not return until next week
Domonic Brown, OF, PHI (quad) – Unavailable for the sixth straight Tuesday; not in Wednesday's lineup and no word on availability
Freddy Garcia, SP, CHW (back) – Tuesday bullpen session cut short; may be skipped on Saturday
Chris Getz, 2B, KAN (concussion) – Being held out at least a couple more days as a precautionary measure
Tom Gorzelanny, SP, CHC (finger) – Will throw simulated game Friday to stretch out for another start or two before season's end
Mitch Talbot, SP, CLE (shoulder) – MRI showed no significant damage; could start Saturday
Scott Hairston, OF, SDP (shoulder) – Returned Wednesday and went 0-for-2 before being double switched out
Players on the DL
Andy Pettitte, SP, NYY (groin) – Went five innings in final rehab start Tuesday; hopes to return for Sunday start
Milton Bradley, OF, SEA (knee) – May be able to play in the last week of the season
Brandon Webb, SP, ARI (shoulder) – Tuesday side session went well; might see some bullpen work before the year ends
Jake Peavy, SP, CHW (back) – Rehab going well; still out for the year
Joel Pineiro, SP, LAA (oblique) – Will come off the DL and start on Saturday
Ross Ohlendorf, SP, PIT (shoulder) – Will resume throwing by end of September to heal up for spring training
Adam Ottavino, RP, STL (shoulder) – Hopes to return for some bullpen work before end of year
Transactions – Players that have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Called Up
Kyle Drabek, SP, TOR
Royce Ring, RP, NYY
Placed on the Disabled List
Rommie Lewis, RP, TOR
Closer Watch – A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out Dave Regan's Closer Grid with the link to the left).
Washington – Drew Storen picked up his fourth save (and first since August 29) in Wednesday's win over the Braves. Joel Hanrahan got the only Nationals save in that interim. Tough to say who's gonna get the opportunities going forward, but it's not like there are many of them for the Nationals.
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
Jonny Gomes v. Rodrigo Lopez – 8-for-20 (.400), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1:5 BB:K, .409 OBP
Bobby Abreu v. Fausto Carmona – 4-for-10 (.400), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .500 OBP
Michael Cuddyer v. Mark Buehrle – 31-for-92 (.337), 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3:17 BB:K, .365 OBP
Denard Span v. Mark Buehrle – 12-for-31 (.387), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .424 OBP
Delmon Young v. Mark Buehrle – 10-for-30 (.333), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2:3 BB:K, .375 OBP
Paul Konerko v. Carl Pavano – 10-for-27 (.370), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0:7 BB:K, .370 OBP
A.J. Pierzynski v. Carl Pavano – 9-for-22 (.409), 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .409 OBP
Gordon Beckham v. Carl Pavano – 5-for-14 (.357), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .357 OBP
Juan Pierre v. Carl Pavano – 5-for-14 (.357), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .357 OBP
Miguel Tejada v. Jake Westbrook – 12-for-33 (.364), 0 HR, 7 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .400 OBP
Freddy Sanchez v. Ted Lilly – 8-for-25 (.320), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .346 OBP
Aaron Rowand v. Ted Lilly – 8-for-22 (.364), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2:6 BB:K, .417 OBP
Matt Kemp v. Jonathan Sanchez – 9-for-23 (.391), 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3:5 BB:K, .462 OBP
Cold
Orlando Cabrera v. Rodrigo Lopez – 3-for-16 (.188), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:2 BB:K, .235 OBP
Ramon Hernandez v. Rodrigo Lopez – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .231 OBP
Travis Hafner v. Ervin Santana – 4-for-17 (.235), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1:7 BB:K, .316 OBP
Asdrubal Cabrera v. Ervin Santana – 1-for-10 (.100), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2:2 BB:K, .250 OBP
Torii Hunter v. Fausto Carmona – 5-for-25 (.200), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:8 BB:K, .250 OBP
Jason Kubel v. Mark Buehrle – 3-for-14 (.214), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .267 OBP
Alexei Ramirez v. Carl Pavano – 3-for-19 (.158), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .158 OBP
Andruw Jones v. Carl Pavano – 2-for-20 (.100), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3:3 BB:K, .208 OBP
Matt Stairs v. Jake Westbrook – 5-for-26 (.192), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1:5 BB:K, .222 OBP
David Eckstein v. Jake Westbrook – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:2 BB:K, .182 OBP
Aubrey Huff v. Ted Lilly – 3-for-27 (.111), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4:0 BB:K, .226 OBP
Jose Guillen v. Ted Lilly – 3-for-20 (.150), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2:3 BB:K, .190 OBP
Andre Ethier v. Jonathan Sanchez – 4-for-24 (.167), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0:8 BB:K, .200 OBP
Rafael Furcal v. Jonathan Sanchez – 3-for-17 (.176), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3:3 BB:K, .300 OBP
Recommended Pickup
Ike Davis, 1B, NYM – Davis appeared in this space back in April, but never truly got hot and suffered through some nasty slumps. So far in September, however, he's 17-for-44 (.386) with three homers and 10 RBI, not to mention a 9:9 BB:K, his best ratio in any month this year. He's struggled with plate discipline at times this year, so the improved BB:K is a great sign both down the stretch and for next year. Davis has a lot of talent, and he appears to be refining his approach, which should lead to more results.
Other recent recommendations:Kyle Drabek, Brayan Pena, Eric Young Jr., Logan Morrison, Chris Narveson
