Thursday Lineup Card: Afternoon Baseball, Anyone?

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Thursday's Starters
Marlins (Josh Johnson - R) at Mets (R.A. Dickey - R), 12:10
Yankees (Hiroki Kuroda - R) at Tigers (Doug Fister - R), 1:05
Blue Jays (Henderson Alvarez - R) at Rays (Matt Moore - L), 1:10
Giants (Madison Bumgarner - L) at Cardinals (Adam Wainwright - R), 1:45
Diamondbacks (Joe Saunders - L) at Pirates (Wandy Rodriguez - L), 4:05
Royals (Will Smith - L) at Orioles (Wei-Yin Chen - L), 7:05
Red Sox (Felix Doubront - L) at Indians (Ubaldo Jimenez - R), 7:05
Reds (Mike Leake - R) at Cubs (Chris Volstad - R), 8:05
Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann - R) at Astros (Lucas Harrell - R), 8:05

Day Game After Night Game: MIA, NYM, NYY, DET, TOR, TAM, SF, STL

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Jose Reyes, SS, MIA (hand) - Back in the lineup Wednesday and homered
Hanley Ramirez, SS/3B, LAD (foot) - X-ray negative; won't miss time
Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR (ribs) - Feeling better Wednesday, but not in the lineup
Mike Napoli, C, TEX (quad) - Out Wednesday, but could be back in Friday
Allen Craig, OF, STL (ribs) - Out Wednesday, but could be back in Thursday
Alex Rios, OF, CHW (back) - Out with back stiffness Wednesday
Joaquin Benoit, RP, DET (shoulder) - Night off Tuesday; available Wednesday
Santiago Casilla, RP, SF (finger) - Has a blister on his pitching hand
Skip Schumaker, 2B, STL (wrist) - Out Wednesday, but available to pinch-hit
Travis Hafner, DH, CLE (back) - MRI Wednesday; DL possible
Brendan Ryan, SS, SEA (elbow) - Expected back in there Friday
Manny Parra, RP, MIL (shoulder) - Threw Tuesday; seems he'll avoid DL

Disabled List
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN (knee) - Still "a ways to go"; no timetable
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SF (hamstring) - Could return after short rehab trip as soon as Sunday
David Ortiz, DH, BOS (Achilles) - Targeting Sunday return
Trevor Plouffe, SS, MIN (thumb) - Coming along; could be back as soon as Friday
Lance Berkman, 1B, STL (knee) - Having pain while rehabbing knee; not good
Tommy Hanson, SP, ATL (back) - Will be ready to come off DL when eligible Aug. 15
Brandon Morrow, SP, TOR (oblique) - Threw five innings Wednesday in Double-A
Brandon McCarthy, SP, OAK (shoulder) - Will return Friday and start in Chicago
Jeff Niemann, SP, TB (leg) - Threw 2.2 innings (one run) in first rehab start Wednesday
Tim Stauffer, SP, SD (elbow) - Threw 1.2 innings on rehab assignment Tuesday
Logan Morrison, OF, MIA (knee) - Got a second opinion Tuesday; supposed to return this year
Ted Lilly, SP, LAD (shoulder) - Feeling good after Monday bullpen; hopes to return this year
Andrew Cashner, SP, SD (elbow/back) - 30-pitch bullpen good; maybe rehab trip soon
Jordan Walden, RP, LAA (biceps) - Threw a bullpen Wednesday; could go on rehab trip soon
Luke Scott, DH, TB (oblique) - May take another day to hit in the cage before rehab trip
Jason Hammel, SP, BAL (knee) - Will start throwing from a mound soon
Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, BOS (neck) - Pitching in Triple-A Friday
Rich Hill, RP, BOS (elbow) - Heading to Florida to throw BP, then rehab trip
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI (back) - Expects to start hitting Thursday or Friday
Yasmani Grandal, C, SD (oblique) - Working his way back, but no timetable
Todd Helton, 1B, COL (hip) - Having surgery Friday; out for the year
Anthony Bass, SP, SD (shoulder) - Same as Cashner
Jhoulys Chacin, SP, COL (chest) - Solid penultimate rehab start Monday; back middle of next week
Jorge De La Rosa, SP, COL (elbow) - Threw 35-pitch bullpen before Tuesday's game
Carl Pavano, SP, MIN (shoulder) - Pitched two innings in rehab outing Tuesday
Pedro Feliciano, RP, NYY (shoulder) - Expected to go on rehab trip soon (finally)
Charlie Furbush, RP, SEA (triceps) - At least one more rehab outing before returning
Francisco Cordero, RP, HOU (toe) - In a walking boot
Chien-Ming Wang, SP, WAS (hip) - Back on DL with more hip soreness
Justin Sellers, SS, LAD (back) - Taking a couple days off before continuing rehab; a ways away
Henry Blanco, C, AZ (thumb) - Had surgery Wednesday to replace thumb UCL

Transactions

Placed on DL
Shane Loux, RP, SF (neck)
Ryan Flaherty, SS, BAL (illness)
Vicente Padilla, RP, BOS (biceps)

Optioned to Triple-A
Zach Britton, SP, BAL
Alex Presley, OF, PIT

Called Up
Clayton Mortensen, RP, BOS
Jeff Locke, RP, PIT
Steve Johnson, SP, BAL
Miguel Socolovich, RP, BAL

Released
Yorvit Torrealba, C, TEX

Closer Watch

Brewers - Say hello to your newest Brewers closer (maybe?), Jim Henderson. He collected saves Tuesday and Wednesday, though it's worth noting that John Axford pitched the eighth Wednesday with the Brew Crew behind, and so he was unavailable to close after they rallied to take the lead, Ron Roenicke might not want to argue with Henderson's results. The 29-year-old has never pitched in the majors before this year, but for what it's worth, he'd put up terrific numbers in the minors, saving 15 games with a 1.69 ERA and a 56:22 K:BB in 48 innings. You might as well add him, as Axford really hasn't quite righted the ship yet.

Athletics - The suddenly shaky Ryan Cook almost blew one Wednesday, giving up two runs with a three-run lead before holding on for his 12th save. Cook has now given up runs in five of his last seven outings, including blowing four of his last six save opportunities. And yet his ERA still sits at a comfortable 2.79 -- that's how good he had been before hitting the skids here. The A's will probably stick with him, and you should, too.

Recommended Pickup
Mike McKenry, C, PIT - Though he's still splitting starts with Rod Barajas, who can't hit his way out of a paper bag, McKenry has been a big part of what the Pirates have done on offense lately, and the results have been stunning. Not on anyone's fantasy radar entering the year, McKenry has hit .387 with eight homers and 22 RBI in his last 24 games (20 starts), and he's currently got an eight-game hitting streak going. But because he's a catcher (and because Barajas still inexplicably vamps starts from him), he's still widely available. Change that if you're in need behind the dish.

Other Recent Recommendations:

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DraftStreet Lineup
C: Michael McKenry, PIT ($5,725)
1B: Anthony Rizzo, CHC ($7,369)
2B: Jason Kipnis, CLE ($6,448)
3B: Mark Reynolds, BAL ($6,160)
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE ($6,542)
OF: Andrew McCutchen, PIT ($9,939)
OF: Jayson Werth, WAS ($6,663)
OF: Travis Snider, PIT ($5,753)
UT: Michael Morse, WAS ($6,222)
UT: Chris Young, ARI ($4,900)
SP: Jordan Zimmermann, WAS ($14,216)
SP: Wei-Yin Chen, BAL ($14,390)
RP: Tyler Clippard, WAS ($3,159)
P: Jim Johnson, BAL ($2,390)

Total: 99,876

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