Saturday Lineup Card: An Opening For Ichiro

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Updated on May 16, 2014 10:21PM EST

Projected Starters - A look at Saturday's matchups (all times Eastern)

Braves (Aaron Harang - R) at Cardinals (Shelby Miller - R), 2:15
Brewers (Matt Garza - R) at Cubs (Edwin Jackson - R), 2:20
Mets (Bartolo Colon - R) at Nationals (Gio Gonzalez - L), 4:05
Pirates (Edinson Volquez - R) at Yankees (David Phelps - R), 4;05
White Sox (Hector Noesi - R) at Astros (Jarred Cosart - R), 4:10
Athletics (Scott Kazmir - L) at Indians (Josh Tomlin - R), 7:05
Reds (Homer Bailey - R) at Phillies (Cole Hamels - L), 7:05
Tigers (Rick Porcello - R) at Red Sox (John Lackey - R), 7:10
Orioles (Bud Norris - R) at Royals (Danny Duffy - L), 7:10
Mariners (Roenis Elias - L) at Twins (Samuel Deduno - R), 7:10
Blue Jays (Mark Buehrle - L) at Rangers (Robbie Ross - L), 8:05
Padres (Robbie Erlin - L) at Rockies (Jordan Lyles - R), 8:10
Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw - L) at Diamondbacks (Chase Anderson - R), 8:10
Rangers (Cesar Ramos - L) at Angels (C.J. Wilson - L), 9:05
Marlins (Tom Koehler - R) at Giants (Tim Lincecum - R), 9:05

Day Game After Night Game: ATL/STL, NYM/WAS, CWS/HOU

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN - (Quadriceps) Diagnosed with a strain after an MRI revealed no structural damage to his left knee.
Shane Victorino, OF, BOS - (Knee) Missed another start Friday and was sent for an MRI.
Ben Revere, OF, PHI - (Illness) Held out of Friday's lineup with a stomach virus.
Ichiro Suzuki, OF, NYY - (Back) Was available off the bench Thursday.

Players on the DL
Josh Hamilton, OF, LAA - (Thumb) Took live batting practice Thursday and is on track to begin a rehab assignment in 7-to-10 days.
Carlos Beltran, OF, NYY - (Elbow) Facing the possibility of a 12-week absence should he elect to undergo surgery.
Jose Fernandez, P, MIA - (Elbow) Underwent successful Tommy John surgery Friday.
Tony Cingrani, P, CIN - (Shoulder) Penciled in to start Sunday against the Phillies.
Wilin Rosario, C, COL - (Illness) Playing in rehab games Friday and Saturday and could come off the DL as soon as Sunday.
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P, LAD - (Shoulder) Tossed 75 pitches in a simulated game Friday and could return to the Dodgers' rotation next week.
Jason Kipnis, 2B, CLE - (Oblique) Could head out on a minor league rehab assignment sometime next week.
Bryce Harper, OF, WAS - (Thumb) Set to visit a specialist next week for a follow-up exam.
David Freese, 3B, LAA - (Finger) Begins a minor league rehab assignment Saturday.
Nyjer Morgan, OF, CLE - (Knee) Surgery won't be necessary but there is no timetable for his return.
Matt Harrison, P, TEX - (Back) Intends to try to pitch again even if he needs spinal surgery.
Adam Eaton, OF, CWS - (Hamstring) Not expected back until Monday after Thursday's minor league rehab game was rained out.
Michael Pineda, P, NYY - (Ribs) Completed a 20-pitch bullpen session Friday and reported no pain.
Tyler Chatwood, P, COL - (Elbow) Treated with a PRP injection and could resume throwing late next week.
Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, P, PHI - (Shoulder) Gave up three runs on six hits over five innings in his first rehab start for High-A Clearwater on Thursday.
Luke Putkonen, P, DET - (Elbow) Taken off his rehab assignment and will be examined by Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday.
Zach Rosscup, P, CHC - (Shoulder) Cleared of any structural damage by an MRI.
Bruce Chen, P, KC - (Back) Threw 16 pitches from a mound Wednesday.
Eury Perez, OF, WAS - (Toe) Recalled and placed on the 60-day DL with a fracture.

Out
Dioner Navarro, C, TOR - (Personal) Expected to return to the team Saturday.

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

Activated from the DL
Devin Mesoraco, C, CIN

Placed on the DL (15-day, unless otherwise noted)
Eury Perez, OF, WAS (60-day DL)

Called Up (from Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Brad Brach, P, BAL
Greg Dobbs, 1B, WAS
Eury Perez, OF, WAS
Kyle Crockett, P, CLE (from Double-A)
Casey Coleman, P, KC

Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Danny Salazar, P, CLE
Sandy Leon, C, WAS
Nick Christiani, P, CIN
Kevin Quackenbush, P, SD

Designated for Assignment
Justin Maxwell, OF, KC
Evan Meek, P, BAL
Jeff Francis, P, CIN

Closer Watch

Los Angeles Angels - After Ernesto Frieri picked up his fifth save of the season with a clean frame against the Phillies on Tuesday, manager Mike Scoscia turned to Joe Smith to nail down Wednesday's victory. Smith responded by retiring the side in order, in the process lowering his ERA and WHIP down to 2.65 and 1.00, respectively. It appears the duo will continue to share ninth-inning duties for the time being, but Frieri still seems like the slightly better bet for save chances, given he's averaged close to five more strikeouts per nine innings in his career than Smith has (12.2 K/9 against 7.4). Frieri has, however, had trouble keeping the ball in the yard this season (six homers in 17.1 innings) and if those issues persist, Smith could claim the role for himself.

Hot Batter Matchups – May 17, 2014

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
P. Bourjos	OF	STL vs ATL 2:15PM	A. Harang	13	6	3	1	4	0	3	.462	.462	.923	1.385
J. Peralta	SS	STL vs ATL 2:15PM	A. Harang	28	10	5	2	3	1	7	.357	.379	.679	1.058
R. Braun	OF	MIL @ CHC 2:20PM	E. Jackson	25	8	5	0	1	2	5	.320	.370	.520	.890
J. Lucroy	C	MIL @ CHC 2:20PM	E. Jackson	26	9	4	2	6	1	3	.346	.370	.654	1.024
D. Wright	3B	NYM @ WAS 4:05PM	G. Gonzalez	14	4	3	1	3	5	1	.286	.450	.714	1.164
K. Johnson	2B	NYY vs PIT 4:05PM	E. Volquez	12	4	1	0	2	3	5	.333	.467	.417	.883
R. Ludwick	OF	CIN @ PHI 7:05PM	C. Hamels	20	6	2	2	2	4	3	.300	.417	.600	1.017
M. Byrd	OF	PHI vs CIN 7:05PM	H. Bailey	16	6	3	2	7	0	2	.375	.353	.813	1.165
M. Napoli	1B	BOS vs DET 7:10PM	R. Porcello	12	4	3	0	0	1	4	.333	.385	.667	1.051
M. Cabrera	3B	DET @ BOS 7:10PM	J. Lackey	12	4	2	1	2	1	3	.333	.385	.667	1.051
R. Davis	OF	DET @ BOS 7:10PM	J. Lackey	28	11	3	0	3	0	9	.393	.393	.536	.929
I. Kinsler	2B	DET @ BOS 7:10PM	J. Lackey	35	15	6	4	9	4	1	.429	.488	.857	1.345
V. Martinez	DH	DET @ BOS 7:10PM	J. Lackey	27	11	1	0	0	3	3	.407	.484	.444	.928
A. Beltre	3B	TEX vs TOR 8:05PM	M. Buehrle	33	12	3	1	4	0	6	.364	.364	.515	.879
S. Choo	OF	TEX vs TOR 8:05PM	M. Buehrle	33	14	3	1	2	2	5	.424	.472	.606	1.078
G. Parra	OF	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	C. Kershaw	21	7	3	0	0	2	7	.333	.417	.476	.893
C. Ross	OF	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	C. Kershaw	23	8	3	0	0	2	6	.348	.400	.478	.878
A. Ethier	OF	LAD @ ARI 8:10PM	J. Collmenter	11	5	2	0	1	1	0	.455	.538	.636	1.175
G. Jones	1B	MIA @ SF 9:05PM	T. Lincecum	17	4	3	2	4	0	8	.235	.235	.647	.882
S. Rodriguez	SS	TB @ LAA 9:05PM	C. Wilson	18	6	1	1	2	3	2	.333	.455	.500	.955

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Hot Pitcher Matchups – May 17, 2014

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Gio Gonzalez	WAS vs NYM 4:05PM	99	16	8	2	8	13	31	.162	.255	.318	.573
Scott Kazmir	OAK @ CLE 7:05PM	104	13	4	1	3	7	27	.125	.187	.190	.376
Cole Hamels	PHI vs CIN 7:05PM	79	16	7	2	8	8	17	.203	.284	.381	.664
Clayton Kershaw	LAD @ ARI 8:10PM	167	35	12	1	7	12	47	.210	.266	.296	.562
Tim Lincecum	SF vs MIA 9:05PM	63	13	5	3	7	3	26	.206	.275	.371	.646
C.J. Wilson	LAA vs TB 9:05PM	117	25	7	3	12	19	31	.214	.333	.332	.666

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Batter Matchups – May 17, 2014

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
M. Holliday	OF	STL vs ATL 2:15PM	A. Harang	26	3	0	0	2	1	8	.115	.179	.115	.294
E. Bonifacio	2B	CHC vs MIL 2:20PM	M. Garza	14	5	0	0	1	0	3	.357	.357	.357	.714
L. Overbay	1B	MIL @ CHC 2:20PM	E. Jackson	30	4	2	1	3	4	4	.133	.235	.267	.502
B. Abreu	OF	NYM @ WAS 4:05PM	G. Gonzalez	16	1	1	0	1	1	8	.063	.118	.125	.243
C. Granderson	OF	NYM @ WAS 4:05PM	G. Gonzalez	19	2	1	1	2	1	7	.105	.150	.263	.413
D. Murphy	2B	NYM @ WAS 4:05PM	G. Gonzalez	10	2	0	0	1	1	3	.200	.273	.200	.473
B. Phillips	2B	CIN @ PHI 7:05PM	C. Hamels	28	4	2	0	1	1	8	.143	.172	.286	.458
J. Votto	1B	CIN @ PHI 7:05PM	C. Hamels	14	2	1	0	1	2	1	.143	.250	.214	.464
A. Cabrera	SS	CLE vs OAK 7:05PM	S. Kazmir	12	0	0	0	0	2	4	.000	.143	.000	.143
D. Murphy	OF	CLE vs OAK 7:05PM	S. Kazmir	14	2	0	0	0	1	3	.143	.200	.143	.343
R. Raburn	OF	CLE vs OAK 7:05PM	S. Kazmir	17	3	2	0	1	0	7	.176	.176	.353	.529
N. Swisher	1B	CLE vs OAK 7:05PM	S. Kazmir	35	5	1	1	2	3	7	.143	.211	.229	.439
D. Brown	OF	PHI vs CIN 7:05PM	H. Bailey	11	1	1	0	0	0	2	.091	.091	.182	.273
J. Rollins	SS	PHI vs CIN 7:05PM	H. Bailey	16	3	0	0	0	0	3	.188	.188	.188	.375
D. Pedroia	2B	BOS vs DET 7:10PM	R. Porcello	10	2	1	0	1	1	1	.200	.250	.300	.550
G. Sizemore	OF	BOS vs DET 7:10PM	R. Porcello	15	3	0	0	1	1	3	.200	.250	.200	.450
E. Andrus	SS	TEX vs TOR 8:05PM	M. Buehrle	16	2	1	0	0	2	2	.125	.222	.250	.472
A. Rios	OF	TEX vs TOR 8:05PM	M. Buehrle	25	4	1	1	3	2	4	.160	.222	.280	.502
P. Goldschmidt	1B	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	C. Kershaw	23	4	2	1	2	2	9	.174	.240	.348	.588
M. Montero	C	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	C. Kershaw	29	6	3	0	4	0	11	.207	.207	.310	.517
A. Pollock	OF	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	C. Kershaw	17	3	1	0	0	0	3	.176	.176	.235	.412
M. Prado	3B	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	C. Kershaw	26	3	0	0	0	1	3	.115	.148	.115	.264
J. Uribe	3B	LAD @ ARI 8:10PM	J. Collmenter	10	2	1	0	1	1	2	.200	.273	.300	.573
R. Johnson	OF	MIA @ SF 9:05PM	T. Lincecum	11	1	1	0	0	0	5	.091	.167	.182	.348
C. McGehee	3B	MIA @ SF 9:05PM	T. Lincecum	11	2	0	0	0	0	3	.182	.182	.182	.364
D. DeJesus	OF	TB @ LAA 9:05PM	C. Wilson	17	2	0	0	1	1	3	.118	.211	.118	.328
D. Jennings	OF	TB @ LAA 9:05PM	C. Wilson	18	2	1	0	1	3	5	.111	.238	.167	.405
E. Longoria	3B	TB @ LAA 9:05PM	C. Wilson	19	3	1	1	2	6	8	.158	.360	.316	.676
J. Molina	C	TB @ LAA 9:05PM	C. Wilson	16	3	2	0	4	0	4	.188	.188	.313	.500

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Pitcher Matchups – May 17, 2014

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
John Lackey	BOS vs DET 7:10PM	179	60	17	7	21	13	34	.335	.390	.519	.909
Josh Collmenter	ARI vs LAD 8:10PM	69	24	12	6	17	6	12	.348	.406	.715	1.121

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Recommended Pickup
Ichiro Suzuki, OF, NYY - Relegated to bench duty to open 2014, Suzuki quietly went 20-for-55 (.364 average) with nine runs scored and two steals in his first 30 games of the season. Carlos Beltran (elbow) is expected to miss at least six-to-eight weeks and could be out up to three months if surgery is ultimately deemed necessary, so the door is open for Suzuki to slot back in as an everyday player. The now 40-year-old Suzuki has been dealing with an injury of his own of late, a back issue that sprung up after a diving attempt last weekend, but he was available off the bench Thursday and is seemingly close to turning the page on the ailment. Zoilo Almonte isn't much of a threat to steal playing time, and as long as Suzuki can stay healthy, he should prove to be a buoy in batting average and runs.

Other Recent Recommendations:Anthony Gose, Darren O'Day, Johnny Giavotella and Rafael Montero

DraftStreet Value Picks
SP - Homer Bailey, CIN ($14,529)
C - Josmil Pinto, MIN ($5,218)
1B - Eric Hosmer, KC ($5,481)
2B - Jedd Gyorko, SD ($5,355)
SS - Ian Desmond, WAS ($5,466)
3B - Matt Carpenter, STL ($5,144)
OF - Ichiro Suzuki, NYY ($5,233)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.