Friday Lineup Card: Another Twins Injury

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Projected Starters - A look at Friday's matchups (all times Eastern):

Pirates (Charlie Morton - R) at Phillies (Roy Halladay - R), 7:05
Royals (Jeff Francis - L) at Indians (Carlos Carrasco - R), 7:05
Mets (Dillon Gee - R) at Nationals (Chien-Ming Wang - R), 7:05
Angels (Tyler Chatwood - R) at Tigers (Rick Porcello - R), 7:05
Orioles (Jeremy Guthrie - R) at Yankees (A.J. Burnett - R), 7:05
Rangers (Alexi Ogando - R) at Blue Jays (Brett Cecil - L), 7:07
Giants (Ryan Vogelsong - R) at Reds (Dontrelle Willis - L), 7:10
Marlins (Clay Hensley - R) at Braves (Brandon Beachy - R), 7:35
Astros (Jordan Lyles - R) at Brewers (Randy Wolf - L), 8:10
Red Sox (Tim Wakefield - R) at White Sox (Gavin Floyd - R), 8:10
Cubs (Matt Garza - R) at Cardinals (Edwin Jackson - R), 8:15
Twins (Francisco Liriano - L) at Athletics (Gio Gonzalez - L), 10:05
Rockies (Jason Hammel - R) at Padres (Tim Stauffer - R), 10:05
Rays (Jeff Niemann - R) at Mariners (Erik Bedard - L), 10:10
Diamondbacks (Josh Collmenter - R) at Dodgers (Ted Lilly - L), 10:10

Day Game After a Night Game: None

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)

AL
Carl Crawford, OF, BOS (elbow) - Dealing with a strain and had an injection Tuesday
Rafael Soriano, RP, NYY (elbow) - Will be activated from DL on Friday

NL
Lance Berkman, OF, STL (shoulder) - Out of Thursday's lineup; had cortisone shot
Gaby Sanchez, 1B, FLA (hamstring) - Out for third straight Thursday
Laynce Nix, OF, WAS (Achilles) - Out Thursday
Dustin Moseley, SP, SD (shoulder) - Dislocated non-throwing shoulder; iffy for Sunday start
Kenley Jansen, RP, LAD (chest) - Hospitalized with irregular heartbeat; expected back Friday

Players on the DL

AL
Alexi Casilla, SS, MIN (hamstring) - Placed on DL with hamstring pull
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS (back) - Sox seem concerned about ability to contribute this year
Andres Blanco, SS, TEX (back) - Rehab assignment starts Thursday, expected back Tuesday
Jed Lowrie, SS, BOS (shoulder) - Took BP on the field for first time since injury Wednesday
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL (concussion) - Still having migraines
Brian Tallet, RP, TOR (upper body) - Headed back to Jays via trade, but still on DL
Bobby Jenks, RP, BOS (back) - Not making much progress
Alex White, SP, CLE (finger) - Getting close to rehab assignment

NL
Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL (ankle) - Has severe sprain; out 3-6 weeks
Roy Oswalt, SP, PHI (back) - Felt good in rehab outing Wednesday; one more on tap

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

Called Up
Brad Hand, SP, FLA
Eric Farris, 2B, MIL
Tyler Colvin, OF, CHC
Mike Nickeas, C, NYM
Matt Tolbert, 2B, MIN
Mike Ekstrom, RP, TB
Anthony Varvaro, RP, ATL

Sent Down
Jose Ceda, RP, FLA
Chuck James, RP, MIN
Rob Delaney, RP, TB
Bill Hall, 2B, SF (DFA)
Travis Buck, OF, CLE (DFA)
Wilkin Ramirez, OF, ATL
Mike McCoy, SS, TOR
Emmanuel Burris, 2B, SF

Placed on DL
Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL
Alexi Casilla, SS, MIN

Traded
Carlos Beltran, OF (to SF from NYM)
Kosuke Fukudome, OF (to CLE from CHC)
Wil Nieves, C (from MIL to ATL)
Colby Rasmus, OF (from STL to TOR)
Brian Tallet, RP (from STL to TOR)
Trever Miller, RP (from STL to TOR)
P.J. Walters, RP (from STL to TOR)
Edwin Jackson, SP (from TOR to STL)
Octavio Dotel, RP (from TOR to STL)
Marc Rzepczynski, RP (from TOR to STL)
Corey Patterson, OF(from TOR to STL)

Closer Watch - A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out our Closer Grid with the link to the left).

New York Mets - Jason Isringhausen gave up a leadoff homer to Joey Votto on Thursday, but got the next three batters consecutively for his fourth save. There's been little speculation on a possible deal and no indication that Bobby Parnell or Pedro Beato (who each collected a hold Thursday) are in line to see save opportunities any time in the near future unless Izzy works a couple days in a row.

Florida - Leo Nunez owners got punked by the save rule Thursday, as Nunez entered with one out in the ninth and a three-run lead - not a save situation. There's been speculation that he'll be dealt by the deadline, but nothing concrete. If he is dealt, Edward Mujica is my favorite to take over as the Marlins' closer.

Milwaukee - John Axford picked up his 30th save Thursday. Francisco Rodriguez pitched in a setup role, as he has exclusively since being dealt to the Brew Crew, and it seems there is really no threat to Axford here.

White Sox - Odd situation in Wednesday's game, as Chris Sale pitched 2.2 perfect innings with three strikeouts, then was replaced by Sergio Santos for the game's final out and the save. That's an Ozzie Guillen Special, right there.

Toronto - Jon Rauch got the call Wednesday for a two-out save, his first since May 27, a nice bounceback after a blown save a few nights before in Texas. It seems like he's the man of the moment with Frank Francisco highly ineffective and Octavio Dotel traded away.

Key Matchups

Hideki Matsui, DH, OAK - Look out, it's Godzilla! Aaaah! Stone cold all year long and seemingly just done for, Matsui has exploded this month, hitting .338 with three homers, 21 RBI and even a stolen base in 20 July games. He's been especially hot over his last eight games, going 17-for- 34 (.500!) with all three of those homers and four doubles. As a bonus, he's struck out just once in his last nine games. Matsui's too old and slumped too long for a mixed-league stamp of approval (except in very deep formats), but AL-only players would do well to take notice.

Other recent recommendations:Conor Jackson, Josh Reddick, Eric Thames, Lonnie Chisenhall, Dexter Fowler

Draft Street Competition

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Be sure to come back to RotoWire's Daily Lineup Card every day for all the analysis you need to dominate the competition and take home cash on DraftStreet.

Draft Street Lineup

C - Carlos Santana, CLE ($4,032)
1B - Prince Fielder, MIL ($6,893)
2B - Robinson Cano, NYY ($7,151)
3B - David Wright, NYM ($8,945)
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE ($6,948)
OF - Matt Kemp, LAD ($7,473)
OF - Chris Young, ARI ($5,653)
OF - Matt Holliday, STL ($7,001)
UT - Nick Swisher, NYY ($6,931)
UT - Desmond Jennings, TB ($5,504)
SP - Brandon Beachy, ATL ($9,153)
SP - Jeff Niemann, TB ($11,614)
RP - Brian Wilson, SF ($3,452)
P - Tim Stauffer, SD ($8,697)

Total: $99,717

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