Sunday Lineup Card: Subway Showdown

Projected Starters - A look at Sunday's matchups:

Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy – R) at Tigers (Max Scherzer – R), 1:05
Mets (Johan Santana – L) at Yankees (CC Sabathia – L), 1:05
Giants (Jonathan Sanchez – L) at Blue Jays (Shaun Marcum – R), 1:07
Rays (David Price – L) at Marlins (Josh Johnson – R), 1:10
Indians (Justin Masterson – R) at Pirates (Brad Lincoln – R), 1:35
Royals (Kyle Davies – R) at Braves (Kenshin Kawakami – R), 1:35
Twins (Carl Pavano – R) at Phillies (Roy Halladay – R), 1:35
White Sox (Freddy Garcia – R) at Nationals (John Lannan – L), 1:35
Rangers (C.J. Wilson – L) at Astros (Felipe Paulino – R), 2:05
Athletics (Trevor Cahill – R) at Cardinals (Jeff Suppan – R), 2:15
Angels (Joe Saunders – L) at Cubs (Carlos Zambrano – R), 2:20
Brewers (Randy Wolf – L) at Rockies (Aaron Cook – R), 3:10
Orioles (Jake Arrieta – R) at Padres (Jon Garland – R), 4:05
Reds (Aaron Harang – R) at Mariners (Ryan Rowland-Smith – L), 4:10
Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda – R) at Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – R), 8:05 E

Day Game After Night Game: MIL, COL, TEX, HOU, CLE, PIT, ARI, DET, KAN, ATL, TAM, FLA, OAK, STL, BAL, SDG, CIN, SEA

Injuries - A brief look at players that have been missing time with ailments and their expected returns.

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)
J.D. Drew, OF, BOS (hamstring) – Felt a pop in hamstring, but could return as early as Tuesday
Carlos Ruiz, C, PHI (head) – Taken to hospital Friday after taking a bat to the head; out a few days
Austin Jackson, OF, DET (back) – May not be back in the lineup until Tuesday
Dallas Braden, SP, OAK (forearm) – Was only able to throw one breaking pitch in his last start and won't throw in between; those in weekly leagues may want to look for a better option if he lacks his full repertoire
Tommy Hunter, SP, TEX (hip) – If he has a good bullpen session Saturday, will be a two-start pitcher next week
A.J. Burnett, SP, NYY (foot) – Skipped Friday bullpen session, but says he's still good to go for Monday
Derek Jeter, SS, NYY (heel) – Held out Saturday; questionable for Sunday

Players on the DL
Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI (calf) – Expected to return Tuesday
Josh Beckett, SP, BOS (back) – Expected to play long toss Saturday, and might even throw off a mound briefly
Brett Anderson, SP, OAK (elbow) – Has started throwing from flat ground
J.A. Happ, SP, PHI (forearm) – Allowed 4 R in 5 IP in third rehab outing; no word on return
Edinson Volquez, SP, CIN (elbow) – Expected to return to rotation July 7
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, CHC (thumb) – Will rehab over the weekend to test thumb in game situations
Jair Jurrjens, SP, ATL (hamstring) – Rehab starts Saturday and Thursday, then likely back to the rotation
Mike Gonzalez, RP, BAL (shoulder) – Simulated game Saturday, then maybe a rehab assignment; could regain the closer's role if he can regain his velocity during rehab
Brad Penny, SP, STL (back) – Played catch pain-free, but still not close
John Maine, SP, NYM (shoulder) – Allowed one hit over 4.1 IP in rehab outing; rumored that he will be DFA after rehab is complete
Ryan Madson, RP, PHI (toe) – Threw successful first bullpen session, 25 pitches
Takashi Saito, RP, ATL (hamstring) – Will have a final rehab appearance at Triple-A Sunday; if all goes well, back in the lineup Tuesday
Marcus Thames, OF, NYY (hamstring) – Started hitting off a tee already; could be back after the minimum time
Alfredo Aceves, RP, NYY (back) – Throwing off a mound for the first time since injury Saturday; likely still weeks away
Chris Young, SP, SDG (shoulder) – Played catch Friday; still far away
Rick Ankiel, OF, KAN (quad) – Suffered a setback in his rehab assignment and returned to Kansas City; status and return date unclear
Felix Pie, OF, BAL (shoulder) – Close to starting rehab assignment
Dustin McGowan, SP, TOR (shoulder) – MRI revealed nothing new; dreaded Dr. Andrews visit coming up Monday
Scott Olsen, SP, WAS (shoulder) – Plans to make return in 3-4 weeks
Steven Pearce, 1B, PIT (ankle) – Expected to advance to Triple-A in rehab assignment
Gregg Zaun, C, MIL (shoulder) – Surgery successful; out for the year

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

Activated from the DL
Mike Sweeney, DH, Mariners

Called Up
Jeff Manship, RP, Twins

Sent Down
Trevor Plouffe, RP, Twins
Luke French, RP, Mariners
Michael Ryan, OF, Angels (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).

Baltimore – David Hernandez blew the save for the first time Friday at San Diego, allowing four hits and a walk for two runs while only getting two outs. Alfredo Simon will now take over, but the Mike Gonzalez adventure is looming on the not-so-distant horizon.

Los Angeles Angels – Francisco Rodriguez v2.0 came in to mop things up with a five-run lead Friday at Wrigley and gave up a three-run homer to Tyler Colvin without getting an out. He then gave way to Fernando Rodney, who gave up a solo shot to Derek Lee, but nailed down his sixth save. It's worth noting that Brian Fuentes only has four more saves than Rodney does, though Fuentes has converted four straight.

Colorado – Manny Corpas picked up his ninth save Friday, but isn't likely to hold the closer's role for long after Huston Street's imminent return.

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
Derek Jeter* v. Johan Santana – 13-for-30 (.433), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2:4 BB:K, .469 OBP
Robinson Cano v. Johan Santana – 8-for-20 (.400), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .400 OBP
Rod Barajas v. CC Sabathia – 9-for-22 (.409), 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1:2 BB:K, .435 OBP
Jim Thome v. Roy Halladay – 12-for-28 (.429), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 7:10 BB:K, .543 OBP
Delmon Young v. Roy Halladay – 7-for-18 (.389), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .421 OBP – Four doubles among those seven hits give him a .611 SLG
Bobby Abreu v. Carlos Zambrano – 7-for-13 (.538), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4:2 BB:K, .647 OBP
Jim Edmonds v. Aaron Cook – 11-for-19 (.579), 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2:1 BB:K, .619 OBP
Ryan Braun v. Aaron Cook – 5-for-10 (.500), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2:1 BB:K, .583 OBP
Miguel Tejada v. Jon Garland – 13-for-32 (.406), 2 HR, 9 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .424 OBP
Nick Markakis v. Jon Garland – 6-for-14 (.429), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .467 OBP
Luke Scott v. Jon Garland – 6-for-11 (.545), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .583 OBP

Johan Santana v. Yankees – Okay, so it's not the same Santana these days. He's lost a few miles off the heater and his location has been off in several of his starts. Also, new Yankee Stadium is one heck of a bandbox. That said, the Mets are red-hot and Santana's numbers against the current Yankees are impressive, as he's held them to a .240/.295/.354 line with a 41:14 K:BB.

Cold
Alex Rodriguez v. Johan Santana – 5-for-26 (.192), 2 HR, 2 RBI, 5:3 BB:K, .323 OBP
Nick Swisher v. Johan Santana – 3-for-17 (.176), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3:5 BB:K, .300 OBP
Jorge Posada v. Johan Santana – 2-for-15 (.133), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1:6 BB:K, .176 OBP
Curtis Granderson v. Johan Santana – 0-for-12 (.000), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:6 BB:K, .077 OBP
Jason Kubel v. Roy Halladay – 1-for-16 (.063), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .063 OBP
Joe Mauer v. Roy Halladay – 2-for-14 (.143), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .143 OBP
Clint Barmes v. Randy Wolf – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .308 OBP
Melvin Mora v. Randy Wolf – 1-for-12 (.083), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1:5 BB:K, .154 OBP
Prince Fielder v. Aaron Cook – 3-for-17 (.176), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .211 OBP
Ichiro Suzuki v. Aaron Harang – 1-for-13 (.077), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:1 BB:K, .077 OBP

Randy Wolf v. Rockies – These Rockies may have just a .235 combined batting average against Wolf, but it's buoyed by a whole lot of power – nine homers, six doubles and a triple in 119 at-bats give them a .529 slugging percentage against him. It doesn't help that the game is at Coors Field, where Wolf has an uninspiring 4.58 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.

Jon Garland v. Orioles – Garland hasn't faced many of the Orioles hitters, but the ones he has faced have compiled a sick .330/.360/.538 line against him over 106 ABs. Still, the O's have had a lot of trouble hitting this year and will have to deal with Petco, where Garland has a 1.84 ERA this year, so he's worth starting anyway.

Recommended Pickup

Miguel Montero, C, ARI – Montero is back and raking, 7-for-21 with a homer since his return from the disabled list. Will he have an OPS over 1.000 all year? Probably not. But he was considered one of the top few fantasy catchers coming into this season, and he's done nothing to make us think he'll be anything less than that going forward. There's no reason for him to be owned in fewer leagues than guys like Mike Napoli, Ryan Doumit, Rod Barajas or any Molina.

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