The Lineup Card: Pujols in Pain

Projected Starters - A look at Wednesday's matchups:

Nationals (John Lannan – L) at Braves (Mike Minor – L), 12:10 ET
Brewers (David Bush – R) at Astros (J.A. Happ – L), 2:05 ET
Padres (Clayton Richard – L) at Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa – L), 3:10 ET
Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – R) at Mariners (David Pauley – R), 6:40 ET
Blue Jays (Kyle Drabek – R) at Orioles (Brad Bergesen – R), 7:05 ET
Angels (Jered Weaver – R) at Indians (Jeanmar Gomez – R), 7:05 ET
Phillies (Roy Halladay – R) at Marlins (Alex Sanabia – R), 7:10 ET
Pirates (Paul Maholm – L) at Mets (Jenrry Mejia – R), 7:10 ET
Diamondbacks (Joe Saunders – L) at Reds (Homer Bailey – R), 7:10 ET
Yankees (Philip Hughes – R) at Rays (James Shields – R), 7:10 ET
Tigers (Armando Galarraga – R) at Rangers (Colby Lewis – R), 8:05 ET
Athletics (Trevor Cahill – R) at Royals (Bruce Chen – L), 8:10 ET
White Sox (Brian Duensing – L) at Twins (Gavin Floyd – R), 8:10 ET
Cubs (Carlos Zambrano – R) at Cardinals (Chris Carpenter – R), 8:15 ET
Dodgers (Chad Billingsley – R) at Giants (Matt Cain – R), 10:05 ET

Day game after a night game: WAS, ATL, MIL, HOU, SDG, COL, BOS, SEA

Injuries - A brief look at players who have been missing time with injuries and their expected returns

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)
Brian Matusz, P, Orioles (triceps) – Left Monday's start as a precaution, may not miss a start. If he does miss, look for Rick VandenHurk who filled in nicely in 5.1 relief innings.
Felix Doubront, P, Red Sox (chest) – Could be out for season.
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B, Athletics (back) – Out until weekend at earliest.
Freddy Garcia, P, White Sox (back) – Could return Saturday.
Rick Porcello, P, Tigers (finger) – Scratched from Wednesday's start, Armando Galarraga to take the spot.
Armando Galarraga, P, Tigers (elbow) – Won't be skipped as expected, will start for Rick Porcello.
Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees (wrist) – Available off bench but can't swing bat as of Tuesday.
Brian Roberts, 2B, Orioles (knee) – Out of Tuesday's lineup after being removed from Monday's game.
Nick Swisher, OF, Yankees (knee) – Out until at least Friday.
Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers (ribs) – Swing a bat Tuesday, but still no timetable.
Bobby Jenks, P, White Sox (forearm) – Not available Tuesday, stream saves to Putz, Thornton or Sale.
J.D. Drew, OF, Red Sox (ankle) – Out of Tuesday's lineup.
Rommie Lewis, P, Blue Jays (shoulder) – Left team to have shoulder examined in Florida.
Jason Donald, SS, Indians (finger) – Out at least a week.
Domonic Brown, OF, Phillies (quadriceps) – Says he is ready to return but out of Monday's and Tuesday's lineup.
Cameron Maybin, OF, Marlins (illness) – Out of Tuesday's lineup after Monday's scratch.
Trever Miller, P, Cardinals (forearm) – Won't need Tommy John, out for at least several days though.
Starlin Castro, SS, Cubs (hip) – Out of Tuesday's lineup, likely a precaution.
Tom Gorzelanny, P, Cubs (finger) – Looking to return to rotation before end of season.
Scott Hairston, OF, Padres (shoulder) – Out of lineup Tuesday after aggravating shoulder in BP Monday.
Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals (elbow) – Hopes to return to lineup Wednesday after missing Tuesday.
Prince Fielder, 1B, Brewers (illness) – Started Tuesday.
Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies (hamstring) – Hoping to return to lineup before end of season.
Scott Podsednik, OF, Dodgers (foot) – Will miss a few weeks.

Players on the DL
Joel Pineiro, P, Angels (oblique) – Targeting return on Saturday.
Jayson Nix, OF, Reds (ankle) – Took batting practice Monday, out at least a few more days.
Adam Ottovino, P, Cardinals (shoulder) – Threw in bullpen Monday, may get back before end of season.

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

Called Up
Jake McGee, P, Rays
Brett Sinkbeil, P, Marlins
Drew Sutton, 2B, Indians
Chris Carter, 1B, Athletics
Josh Donaldson, C, Athletics
Vin Mazzaro, P, Athletics
Eric Sogard, C, Athletics
Guillermo Quiroz, C, Mariners

Sent Down
Mike Ekstrom, P, Rays
Jeff Lyman, P, Athletics (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)

CHW: Bobby Jenks was unavailable Tuesday, leaving a possibility for rogue saves from J.J. Putz, Matt Thornton, or Chris Sale.

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
Matt Diaz v. John Lannan – 8-for-19 (.421), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3:1 BB:K, .500 OBP
Derrek Lee v. John Lannan – 4-for-11 (.364), 2 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .417 OBP
Hunter Pence v. David Bush – 10-for-26 (.385), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0:4 BB:K, .407 OBP
Geoff Blum v. David Bush – 9-for-22 (.409), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1:5 BB:K, .458 OBP
Chris Johnson v. David Bush – 7-for-9 (.778), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .778 OBP
Clint Barmes v. Clayton Richard – 7-for-17 (.412), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2:4 BB:K, .474 OBP
Troy Tulowitzki v. Clayton Richard – 5-for-10 (.500), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4:0 BB:K, .643 OBP
Miguel Tejada v. Jorge De La Rosa – 4-for-9 (.444), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .444 OBP
Dan Uggla v. Roy Halladay – 6-for-16 (.375), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .375 OBP
Jose Reyes v. Paul Maholm – 7-for-16 (.438), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .438 OBP
Orlando Cabrera v. Joe Saunders – 9-for-18 (.500), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .550 OBP
Felipe Lopez v. Carlos Zambrano – 14-for-42 (.333), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 10:9 BB:K, .462 OBP
Skip Schumaker v. Carlos Zambrano – 11-for-32 (.344), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2:1 BB:K, .382 OBP
Randy Winn v. Carlos Zambrano – 7-for-15 (.467), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3:1 BB:K, .556 OBP
Alfonso Soriano v. Chris Carpenter – 13-for-39 (.333), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1:7 BB:K, .350 OBP
Marlon Byrd v. Chris Carpenter – 7-for-19 (.368), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:3 BB:K, .400 OBP
Andre Ethier v. Matt Cain – 19-for-28 (.500), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 4:5 BB:K, .523 OBP
James Loney v. Matt Cain – 13-for-34 (.382), 0 HR, 10 RBI, 4:2 BB:K, .447 OBP
Adam Lind v. Brad Bergesen – 6-for-12 (.500), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3:0 BB:K, .600 OBP
Vernon Wells v. Brad Bergesen – 6-for-14 (.429), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .400 OBP
Jose Bautista v. Brad Bergesen – 5-for-11 (.455), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1:2 BB:K, .500 OBP
Aaron Hill v. Brad Bergesen – 4-for-12 (.333), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .333 OBP
Shin-Soo Choo v. Jered Weaver – 9-for-19 (.474), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:2 BB:K, .524 OBP
Robinson Cano v. James Shields – 14-for-35 (.400), 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1:7 BB:K, .417 OBP
Alexei Ramirez v. Brian Duensing – 5-for-12 (.417), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .462 OBP
Carlos Quentin v. Brian Duensing – 5-for-9 (.556), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .600 OBP
Joe Mauer v. Gavin Floyd – 12-for-34 (.353), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5:2 BB:K, .436 OBP
Jason Jubel v. Gavin Floyd – 12-for-35 (.343), 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1:7 BB:K, .351 OBP
Denard Span v. Gavin Floyd – 12-for-24 (.500), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .520 OBP

Cold
Ryan Braun v. David Bush – 0-for-6 (.000), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .143 OBP
Dexter Fowler v. Clayton Richard – 2-for-19 (.105), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:6 BB:K, .227 OBP
Melvin Mora v. Clayton Richard – 0-for-9 (.000), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3:3 BB:K, .250 OBP
David Eckstein v. Jorge De La Rosa – 3-for-24 (.125), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:1 BB:K, .222 OBP
Chase Headley v. Jorge De La Rosa – 6-for-25 (.240), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:9 BB:K, .240 OBP
Willie Bloomquist v. Joe Saunders – 0-for-11 (.000), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .083 OBP
Colby Rasmus v. Carlos Zambrano – 1-for-10 (.100), 0 HR, 1:6 BB:K, .100 OBP
Pablo Sandoval v. Chad Billingsley – 4-for-24 (.167), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2:3 BB:K, .231 OBP
Edgar Renteria v. Chad Billingsley – 1-for-12 (.083), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:3 BB:K, .143 OBP
Travis Hafner v. Jered Weaver – 1-for-18 (.056), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:5 BB:K, .190 OBP
Mark Teixeira v. James Shields – 4-for-28 (.143), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:13 BB:K, .200 OBP
Curtis Granderson v. James Shields – 2-for-26 (.077), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:6 BB:K, .111 OBP
Nick Punto v. Gavin Floyd – 1-for-13 (.077), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3:3 BB:K, .250 OBP

Matt Cain v. Dodgers – A .299/.349/.429 line for Cain isn't all that great, but several Dodgers have proven they can hit him over the long haul. See Andre Ethier and James Loney above. Meanwhile, Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake also hit over .300 and Matt Kemp has a serviceable .267 clip. Still, Cain keeps the ball in the park, having only allowed three home runs in 231 at-bats to current Dodgers.

Brad Bergesen v. Blue Jays - .333/.376/.596 in 99 AB

Gavin Floyd v. Twins - .325/.376/.513 in 197 AB

Recommended Pickup

Kyle Drabek, P, Blue Jays – Drabek is perhaps the last premium pitching prospect to debut this season. You might remember him as the Blue Jays' top target in the Roy Halladay deal. He had a fine season in Double-A, allowing 126 hits in 162 innings, but he walked 68 batters and struck out 132. Drabek accumulated a 2.94 ERA and 1.20 ERA, but he never made a Triple-A start. His control issues could plague him early, but it may not hurt to take a chance on Drabek against a sputtering offense like the Orioles.

Other recent recommendations:Brayan Pena, Eric Young Jr., Logan Morrison, Chris Narveson, Danny Espinosa