Friday Lineup Card: Belt Down, Lawrie Up

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):

Reds (Mike Leake - R) at Cubs (Ryan Dempster - R), 2:20
Blue Jays (Brad Mills - L) at Orioles (Tommy Hunter - R), 7:05
Padres (Aaron Harang - R) at Pirates (Jeff Karstens - R), 7:05
Athletics (Guillermo Moscoso - R) at Rays (Jeff Niemann - R), 7:10
Cardinals (Jake Westbrook - R) at Marlins (Anibal Sanchez - R), 7:10
Yankees (Bartolo Colon - R) at Red Sox (Jon lester - L), 7:10
Braves (Tim Hudson - R) at Mets (R.A. Dickey - R), 7:10
Indians (Ubaldo Jimenez - R) at Rangers (Derek Holland - L), 8:05
Brewers (Yovani Gallardo - R) at Astros (J.A. Happ - L), 8:05
White Sox (Mark Buehrle - L) at Twins (Nick Blackburn - R), 8:10
Tigers (Rick Porcello - R) at Royals (Felipe Paulino - R), 8:10
Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann - R) at Rockies (Juan Nicasio - R), 8:40
Dodgers (Chad Billingsley - R) at Diamondbacks (Josh Collmenter - R), 9:40
Mariners (Jason Vargas - L) at Angels (Jered Weaver - R), 10:05
Phillies (Vance Worley - R) at Giants (Jonathan Sanchez - L), 10:15

Day Game After a Night Game: CHC

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)

Derrek Lee, 1B, PIT (hand) - Scratched Thursday with a bruise
Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA (shoulder) - Out Thursday, but could be back by weekend
Ryan Madson, RP, PHI (personal) - Could be back Friday
Kyle McClellan, RP, STL (ankle) - Was unavailable Wednesday, but not considered serious
Roy Oswalt, SP, PHI (back) - Will come off the DL and start Sunday at Giants
Paul Konerko, 1B, CHW (calf) - Back in on Thursday
Michael Brantley, OF, CLE (wrist) - Out Thursday
Justin Smoak, 1B, SEA (thumb) - Out a couple more days
Aaron Cook, SP, COL (neck) - Felt better Wednesday after leaving Tuesday start

Players on the DL

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM (ankle) - En route to NY to be evaluated - surgery still possible
Dustin Moseley, SP, SD (shoulder) - Successful surgery on non-throwing shoulder - back in time for spring
Adrian Beltre, 3B, TEX (hamstring) - Hitting and running; close to rehab
Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN (neck/wrist) - Could start rehab assignment this weekend
Carlos Villanueva, SP, TOR (arm) - Placed on DL with nonspecific arm injury after being trounced Wednesday
Bobby Jenks, RP, BOS (back) - Seems to be making very gradual progress
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY (knee) - Could be suspended over illegal poker games
Jake Arrieta, SP, BAL (elbow) - Likely out for the year
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, CLE (thumb) - Expected back in next couple weeks
Scott Rolen, 3B, CIN (shoulder) - Out 4-6 weeks
Ivan Rodriguez, C, WAS (oblique) - Starting rehab assignment this weekend
Josh Johnson, SP, FLA (shoulder) - Throwing, but still likely out for the year
Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL (ankle) - Out of walking boot, but still far away
Brian McCann, C, ATL (oblique) - Hoping to come off DL when eligible Aug. 12

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

Called Up
Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR
Luis Perez, RP, TOR

Sent Down
Brandon Belt, 1B, SF
Luis Durango, OF, HOU
Travis Snider, OF, TOR
Blake Tekotte, OF, SD
Greg Halman, OF, SEA

Placed on DL
Carlos Villanueva, SP, TOR

Activated from DL
Mark DeRosa, OF, SF
Joe Thatcher, RP, SD

Released
Jack Cust, DH, SEA

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

Toronto - Things didn't work out so well for the Jays' closer situation in Thursday's 12-inning affair, as Jon Rauch blew a 10th-inning save by allowing a homer to Desmond Jennings. He then allowed two more runs the next inning. Shawn Camp didn't fare a lot better when the Toronto offense gave the bullpen another shot, as he, too, blew the save in relief of Rauch and then lost the game. The Jays' bullpen is just a horror show.

Philadelphia - Surprise! Brad Lidge! With Ryan Madson gone for the birth of his child, Antonio Bastardo pitched the eighth and Lidge came on for the ninth and his first save of the year Wednesday at Colorado. Lidge has pitched well in limited action since returning from the DL, allowing just three baserunners and one run in 3.2 innings. When Madson returns, he'll be the guy again, but consider the door cracked open for the Phillies' former closer.

Cubs - Carlos Marmol kept it (mostly) clean for the second straight outing, striking out two and working around a hit batsman (hey, cut the guy a break). He seems to have started turning things around after being returned to the closer's role, converting three in a row.

Key Matchups

Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR - Stop what you're doing and go add Brett Lawrie in every league. Now. Then come back. If you're in any of my leagues, sorry, you're too late. Lawrie is second base-eligible in some formats and will likely soon be eligible at third as well. All he's done in Triple-A this year is hit .353 with 18 homers, 13 steals, 61 RBI, 64 runs and an OPS north of 1.000… in only 69 games. Lawrie has as good a chance as anyone to be an impact bat over the remainder of this season. I'm officially giving you permission to break the bank for him.

Other recent recommendations:Jesus Guzman, Marlon Byrd, Jason Bourgeois, Dee Gordon, Charlie Furbush

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C - Victor Martinez, DET ($6428)
1B - Michael Morse, WAS ($6,361)
2B - Howie Kendrick, LAA ($6,222)
3B - Ryan Zimmerman, WAS ($6,265)
SS - Erick Aybar, LAA ($6,323)
OF - Carlos Quentin, CWS ($6,402)
OF - Ichiro Suzuki, SEA ($6,109)
OF - Eric Thames, TOR ($5,161)
UT - Paul Goldschmidt, AZ ($6,637)
UT - Colby Rasmus, TOR ($5,671)
SP - Yovani Gallardo, MIL ($13,302)
SP - Jeff Niemann, TB ($13,302)
RP - Sergio Santos, CWS ($2,512)
P - Mark Buehrle, CWS ($9,069)

Total: $99,805

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