This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Thursday's matchups (all times Eastern):
Colorado (Juan Nicasio - R) at Atlanta (Tim Hudson - R), 1:05
Toronto (Carlos Villanueva - R) at Cleveland (Zach McAllister - R), 7:05
Chicago (Matt Garza - R) at Washington (Livan Hernandez - R), 7:05
Tampa Bay (Jeff Niemann - R) at New York (Bartolo Colon - R), 7:05
Houston (J.A. Happ - L) at Florida (Brad Hand - L), 7:10
Baltimore (Jake Arrieta - R) at Boston (Andrew Miller - L), 7:10
Oakland (Rich Harden - R) at Texas (Derek Holland - L), 8:05
Cincinnati (Homer Bailey - R) at Milwaukee (Chris Narveson - L), 8:10
Detroit (Max Scherzer - R) at Kansas City (Danny Duffy - L), 8:10
Minnesota (Carl Pavano - R) at Chicago (Phil Humber - R), 8:10
Arizona (Joe Saunders - L) at St. Louis (Kyle McClellan - R), 8:15
Seattle (Doug Fister - R) at Anaheim (Jered Weaver - R), 10:05
New York (Dillon Gee - R) at Los Angeles (Clayton Kershaw - L), 10:10
San Diego (Cory Luebke - L) at San Francisco (Barry Zito - L), 10:15
Day Game After Night Game: COL/ATL
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)
Jose Reyes, SS, NYM - (Hamstring) Not in Wednesday's lineup; status unclear leading into break.
Ryan Braun, OF, MIL - (Calf) Did not play Wednesday; MRI revealed only inflammation. Could play Friday.
Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY - (Triceps) Still feeling some pain, likely to rest Wednesday.
Scott Baker, SP, MIN - (Elbow) Will miss Sunday's start against the White Sox.
Ryan Dempster, SP, CHC - (Back) May start against the Pirates on Saturday after throwing Wednesday.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, COL - (Wrist) Planned on hitting from a tee Wednesday.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL - (Leg) Received treatment Wednesday, still no timetable for a return.
Evan Longoria, 3B, TAM - (Foot) Playing through a nerve issue.
J.J. Putz, RP, ARI - (Elbow) Felt good after second straight day playing catch Tuesday; bullpen Sunday?
Johnny Damon, OF, TAM - (Hand) X-rays revealed no break; could be back in a few days.
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, CLE - (Ankle) Rejoined the Indians' lineup Wednesday.
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI - (Back) May return Friday, visiting with spine specialist Thursday.
Brennan Boesch, OF, DET - (Knee) Late scratch from Wednesday's lineup.
Erick Aybar, SS, ANA - (Quad) Resting Wednesday with tightness.
Josh Harrison, 3B, PIT - (Head) Cleared to play, but not in the starting lineup Wednesday.
Jeremy Affeldt, RP, SFG - (Calf) Suffered an undisclosed injury late in Tuesday's game.
Players on the DL
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS - (Elbow) Nats discussing plans for minor league rehab starts.
Carl Crawford, OF, BOS - (Hamstring) Targeting July 18 return against Baltimore.
Roy Oswalt, SP, PHI - (Back) Will have a series of injections this week; hoping to return in late July.
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS - (Back) Sent to a specialist in North Carolina on Wednesday.
John Danks, SP, CHW - (Oblique) Scheduled to make first rehab start Sunday.
Erik Bedard, SP, SEA - (Knee) Expected to be activated from the DL following the All-Star break.
Josh Willingham, OF, OAK - (Achilles) Manager Bob Melvin is cautiously optimistic he'll return after the break.
Delmon Young, OF, MIN - (Ankle) Went 2-for-7 with a homer in doubleheader with Triple-A Rochester.
Kevin Slowey, SP, MIN - (Abdomen) Making a rehab start Sunday at Rochester.
Fausto Carmona, SP, CLE - (Quad) Should be back in the Indians' rotation after missing one start.
Jed Lowrie, SS, BOS - (Shoulder) Took grounders before Tuesday's game, but not ready for BP.
Jason Kubel, OF, MIN - (Foot) No ligament damage, but a late July return is best-case scenario.
Grant Balfour, RP, OAK - (Oblique) Will be activated for Thursday's game.
Jesse Litsch, SP, TOR - (Shoulder) Allowed seven runs on 12 hits over three innings at Triple-A on Monday.
Tyson Ross, SP, OAK - (Oblique) Struggled in his second rehab start with Sacramento.
Carlos Guillen, 2B, DET - (Knee) Went 1-for-4 with a homer in rehab game with Toledo on Tuesday.
Brandon Webb, SP, TEX - (Shoulder) Rotator cuff damage has been discovered, surgery is an option.
Pedro Feliciano, RP, NYY - (Shoulder) Shut down again, season in jeopardy?
Damaso Marte, RP, NYY - (Shoulder) Threw a bullpen Wednesday, could return this season.
Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Called Up
Scott Atchison, RP, BOS
Sent Down
Jose Ceda, RP, FLA
Josh Judy, RP, CLE
Lance Pendleton, RP, NYY
Placed on DL
Jon Lester, SP, BOS
Activated from DL
Matt LaPorta, 1B, CLE
Phil Hughes, SP, NYY
Closer Watch
Seattle - Jamey Wright earned his first save of the season Tuesday night after Brandon League failed to convert the opportunity. It wasn't an implosion for League, however, as he's been very good since scuffling in May, so it's unlikely that manager Eric Wedge is going to make an adjustment. It's worth noting, however, that Wright seems to be the next in line for save opportunities as long as David Aardsma is on the disabled list.
Boston - No danger here of a job change, but Jonathan Papelbon gave up a two-run homer to Jose Bautista in Tuesday's win before closing the door for his 18th win of the season.
KEY MATCHUPS: HOT | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hot Batter Matchups | At-Bats | AVG | HR | XBH | RBI | BB | K | SLG | OBP | OPS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Giambi - 1B | COL @ ATL 7/7 1:05 PM | Tim Hudson | 8-19 | .421 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 | .947 | .500 | 1.447 | |||||||
| Todd Helton - 1B | COL @ ATL 7/7 1:05 PM | Tim Hudson | 9-13 | .692 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | .733 | 1.733 | |||||||
| Aramis Ramirez - 3B | CHC @ WAS 7/7 7:05 PM | Livan Hernandez | 9-30 | .300 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 | .767 | .344 | 1.111 | |||||||
| Johnny Damon - OF | TB @ NYY 7/7 7:05 PM | Bartolo Colon | 12-29 | .414 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | .586 | .485 | 1.071 | |||||||
| Hideki Matsui - DH | OAK @ TEX 7/7 8:05 PM | Derek Holland | 4-13 | .308 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .769 | .308 | 1.077 | |||||||
| Kurt Suzuki - C | OAK @ TEX 7/7 8:05 PM | Derek Holland | 3-12 | .250 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .833 | .250 | 1.083 | |||||||
| Paul Konerko - 1B | CWS vs MIN 7/7 8:10 PM | Carl Pavano | 11-29 | .379 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | .690 | .400 | 1.090 | |||||||
| A.J. Pierzynski - C | CWS vs MIN 7/7 8:10 PM | Carl Pavano | 10-25 | .400 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .720 | .400 | 1.120 | |||||||
| Jeff Francoeur - OF | KC vs DET 7/7 8:10 PM | Max Scherzer | 3-11 | .273 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .727 | .273 | 1.000 | |||||||
| Prince Fielder - 1B | MIL vs CIN 7/7 8:10 PM | Homer Bailey | 5-14 | .357 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | .714 | .550 | 1.264 | |||||||
| Rickie Weeks - 2B | MIL vs CIN 7/7 8:10 PM | Homer Bailey | 8-15 | .533 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .600 | .611 | 1.211 | |||||||
| Erick Aybar - SS | LAA vs SEA 7/7 10:05 PM | Doug Fister | 5-11 | .455 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .545 | .455 | 1.000 | |||||||
| Scott Hairston - OF | NYM @ LAD 7/7 10:10 PM | Clayton Kershaw | 7-16 | .438 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .500 | .438 | .938 | |||||||
| Nick Hundley - C | SD @ SF 7/7 10:15 PM | Barry Zito | 3-11 | .273 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .545 | .333 | .878 | |||||||
| Will Venable - OF | SD @ SF 7/7 10:15 PM | Barry Zito | 4-10 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .400 | .400 | .800 | |||||||
| Hot Pitcher Matchups | At-Bats | Opp AVG | HR Allow | XBH Allow | RBI Allow | BB | K | Opp SLG | Opp OBP | Opp OPS | |||||||||
| None | |||||||||||||||||||
KEY MATCHUPS: COLD | |||||||||||||||||||
| Cold Batter Matchups | At-Bats | AVG | HR | XBH | RBI | BB | K | SLG | OBP | OPS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robinson Cano - 2B | NYY vs TB 7/7 7:05 PM | Jeff Niemann | 2-10 | .200 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .300 | .200 | .500 | |||||||
| Curtis Granderson - OF | NYY vs TB 7/7 7:05 PM | Jeff Niemann | 1-10 | .100 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .100 | .182 | .282 | |||||||
| Nick Swisher - OF | NYY vs TB 7/7 7:05 PM | Jeff Niemann | 2-12 | .167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .167 | .286 | .453 | |||||||
| Mark Teixeira - 1B | NYY vs TB 7/7 7:05 PM | Jeff Niemann | 2-11 | .182 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .455 | .250 | .705 | |||||||
| B.J. Upton - OF | TB @ NYY 7/7 7:05 PM | Bartolo Colon | 2-11 | .182 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | .182 | .308 | .490 | |||||||
| Matt Stairs - OF | WAS vs CHC 7/7 7:05 PM | Matt Garza | 2-13 | .154 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .154 | .267 | .421 | |||||||
| Omar Infante - 2B | FLA vs HOU 7/7 7:10 PM | J.A. Happ | 2-14 | .143 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .214 | .294 | .508 | |||||||
| Adrian Beltre - 3B | TEX vs OAK 7/7 8:05 PM | Rich Harden | 2-13 | .154 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .385 | .313 | .698 | |||||||
| Carlos Quentin - OF | CWS vs MIN 7/7 8:10 PM | Carl Pavano | 0-13 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |||||||
| Corey Hart - OF | MIL vs CIN 7/7 8:10 PM | Homer Bailey | 3-17 | .176 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .176 | .222 | .398 | |||||||
| Chone Figgins - 2B | SEA @ LAA 7/7 10:05 PM | Jered Weaver | 2-12 | .167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .167 | .231 | .398 | |||||||
| Ichiro Suzuki - OF | SEA @ LAA 7/7 10:05 PM | Jered Weaver | 13-54 | .241 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .315 | .255 | .570 | |||||||
| Cold Pitcher Matchups | At-Bats | Opp AVG | HR Allow | XBH Allow | RBI Allow | BB | K | Opp SLG | Opp OBP | Opp OPS | |||||||||
| Livan Hernandez | WAS vs ChC 7/7 7:05 PM | Cubs Batters | 41-122 | .336 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 18 | .556 | .391 | .947 | |||||||
| Chris Narveson | MIL vs Cin 7/7 8:10 PM | Reds Batters | 19-62 | .307 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 15 | .462 | .352 | .814 | |||||||
Recommended Pickup
Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL - With Luke Scott headed to an examination for the torn labrum in his shoulder Friday, Reimold and Felix Pie will share playing time in left field for the Orioles. Since getting called up in May, he's hitting .271/.362/.492 with four homers and 12 RBI, numbers that are right in line with his 2009 performance when he delivered a .279/.365/.466 line with 15 homers and 45 RBI over 358 at-bats. The timeshare/platoon arrangement may keep him from racking up enough playing time for those in 10-12 team mixed leagues, but there's more upside here in the former second-round pick than last season's .610 OPS might lead you to believe.
Other recent recommendations: David Hernandez, Bartolo Colon, Phil Hughes, Charlie Furbush and Joe Nathan
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C - Joe Mauer $6,333
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