The Lineup Card: Let's Try This Again

Projected Starters - A look at Saturday's matchups:

Royals (Kyle Davies - R) at Yankees (Sergio Mitre - R), 1:05
Cardinals (Blake Hawksworth - R) at Cubs (Tom Gorzelanny - L), 1:05
White Sox (Freddy Garcia - R) at Athletics (Vincent Mazzaro - R), 4:10
Mets (Mike Pelfrey - R) at Dodgers (Carlos Monasterios - R), 4:10
Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez - R) at Phillies (Kyle Kendrick - R), 4:10
Twins (Scott Baker - R) at Orioles (Brian Matusz - L), 7:05
Rays (David Price - L) at Indians (Mitch Talbot - R), 7:05
Blue Jays (Brett Cecil* - L) at Tigers (Jeremy Bonderman* - R), 7:05
*Altered by Friday's rainout. See comments section below for the latest
Reds (Johnny Cueto - R) at Astros (Roy Oswalt - R), 7:05
Padres (Mat Latos - R) at Pirates (Jeffrey Karstens - R), 7:05
Nationals (J.D. Martin - R) at Brewers (Manny Parra - L), 7:10
Braves (Kris Medlen - R) at Marlins (Anibal Sanchez - R), 7:10
Angels (Ervin Santana - R) at Rangers (Scott Feldman - R), 8:05
Giants (Madison Bumgarner - L) at Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy - R), 8:10
Red Sox (Jon Lester - L) at Mariners (David Pauley - R), 10:10

Day game after a night game: KC, NYY, CHW, OAK, NYM, LAD, COL, PHI

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)

Jonathan Broxton, P, LAD – (Illness) Sent home Thursday; uncertain for Friday/Saturday
Jamie Moyer, P, PHI – (Elbow) Could miss significant time; Tommy John surgery possible
Zach Braddock, P, MIL – (Arm) Won't pitch for several days
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT – (Shoulder) Expected to return Saturday or Sunday
Russell Branyan, 1B, SEA – (Back) Hasn't played since Monday, still day-to-day
Austin Kearns, OF, CLE – (Knee) Out of the lineup again Friday
Fred Lewis, OF, TOR – (Ankle) Out of Friday's lineup
Scott Rolen, 3B, CIN – (Hamstring) Making progress, still not planning to go on DL

Players on the DL

Brent Clevlen, OF, ATL – (Toe) Began rehab assignment Wednesday, could stay on assignment for close to the maximum
LaTroy Hawkins, P, MIL – (Shoulder) Threw a scoreless rehab inning Thursday, but no clear spot for him in Brewers' bullpen
Ryan Ludwick, OF, STL – (Calf) Expected to return Sunday
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS – (Foot) Scheduled to meet with Dr. Lewis Yocum on Monday
Victor Martinez, C, BOS – (Thumb) Caught Tim Wakefield's side session Thursday
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS – (Ribs) Could be ready for rehab assignment in 4-5 days
Rich Harden, P, TEX – (Lower Body) Might make another rehab start
Derek Holland, P, TEX – (Shoulder) Will pitch three innings in Arizona League before beginning rehab assignment
David DeJesus, OF, KC – (Thumb) Will miss the rest of the regular season

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

Called Up
Manny Acosta, P, NYM
Alex Gordon, OF, KC

Sent Down
Jeff Stevens, P, CHC
Scott Moore, 3B, BAL (designated for assignment)
Fernando Nieve, P, NYM (designated for assignment)

Placed on DL (15-day unless otherwise indicated)
Aaron Laffey, P, CLE
David DeJesus, OF, KC

Activated from DL
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, CLE
Brian Schlitter, P, CHC
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL

Closer Watch - A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out Dave Regan's Closer Grid with the link to the left)

Boston – Jonathan Papelbon blew another save Thursday and now has three blown saves in his last eight chances. He's allowed just one run in his last 8.1 innings so he's not in danger of losing the job, but it's been a bit of a roller coaster for Papelbon over the last month.

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

Curtis Granderson v. Kyle Davies – 5-for-16 (.313), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 7:5 BB:K (.522 OBP)
Aaron Miles v. Tom Gorzelanny – 7-for-15 (.467), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2:1 BB:K (.529 OBP)
Albert Pujols v. Tom Gorzelanny – 6-for-17 (.353), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3:2 BB:K (.450 OBP)
Vernon Wells v. Jeremy Bonderman – 7-for-22 (.318), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2:3 BB:K (.375 OBP)
Michael Bourn v. Johnny Cueto – 5-for-14 (.357), 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1:3 BB:K (.400 OBP)
Lance Berkman v. Johnny Cueto – 5-for-13 (.385), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 8:5 BB:K (.619 OBP)
Laynce Nix v. Roy Oswalt – 7-for-15 (.467), 2 HR, 2 RBI, 0:2 BB:K (.467 OBP)
Brandon Phillips v. Roy Oswalt – 12-for-35 (.343), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:2 BB:K (.378 OBP)
Ryan Zimmerman v. Manny Parra – 7-for-11 (.636), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2:0 BB:K (.692 OBP)
Cristian Guzman v. Manny Parra – 6-for-12 (.500), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1:1 BB:K (.538 OBP)
Brian McCann v. Anibal Sanchez – 8-for-22 (.364), 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3:3 BB:K (.440 OBP)
Ian Kinsler v. Ervin Santana – 10-for-26 (.385), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0:4 BB:K (.407 OBP)
Michael Young v. Ervin Santana – 19-for-46 (.413), 2 HR, 10 RBI, 2:10 BB:K (.420 OBP)
Howie Kendrick v. Scott Feldman – 5-for-15 (.333), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1:2 BB:K (.375 OBP)
Erick Aybar v. Scott Feldman – 7-for-15 (.467), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:1 BB:K (.500 OBP)
Mike Napoli v. Scott Feldman – 11-for-21 (.524), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1:4 BB:K (.545 OBP)
Torii Hunter v. Scott Feldman – 7-for-18 (.389), 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4:2 BB:K (.500 OBP)
Ichiro Suzuki v. Jon Lester – 6-for-18 (.333), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 0:1 BB:K (.333 OBP)

Jeremy Bonderman v. Blue Jays – This is a case where "Hot" definitely refers to history against the opponent, not recent performance. Bonderman sports a brutal 7.48 ERA over his last five starts and has just 11 strikeouts in his last 27.2 innings. However, if he's going to turn things around, the Blue Jays might be a good opponent to do it against, considering that Toronto's hitters have a career line of .224/.303/.265 against Bonderman. And although they've been homer-happy this season, no current Blue Jay has ever homered off him (109 plate appearances).

Cold

Nick Swisher v. Kyle Davies – 2-for-10 (.200), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:1 BB:K (.273 OBP)
Mark Ellis v. Freddy Garcia – 2-for-12 (.167), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:3 BB:K (.286 OBP)
Coco Crisp v. Freddy Garcia – 4-for-24 (.167), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:4 BB:K (.200 OBP)
Ronnie Belliard v. Mike Pelfrey – 3-for-17 (.176), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:4 BB:K (.167 OBP)
Brian Schneider v. Ubaldo Jimenez – 1-for-11 (.091), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2:3 BB:K (.231 OBP)
Miguel Tejada v. Scott Baker – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:0 BB:K (.182 OBP)
Julio Lugo v. Scott Baker – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:3 BB:K (.182 OBP)
Nick Markakis v. Scott Baker – 3-for-15 (.200), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2:2 BB:K (.294 OBP)
Jose Molina v. Jeremy Bonderman – 2-for-11 (.182), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:4 BB:K (.182 OBP)
Aaron Hill v. Jeremy Bonderman – 3-for-14 (.214), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:1 BB:K (.214 OBP)
Lyle Overbay v. Jeremy Bonderman – 1-for-13 (.077), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 5:3 BB:K (.333 OBP)
John Buck v. Jeremy Bonderman – 6-for-27 (.222), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4:7 BB:K (.323 OBP)
Omar Infante v. Anibal Sanchez – 3-for-15 (.200), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:2 BB:K (.250 OBP)
Josh Hamilton v. Ervin Santana – 2-for-15 (.133), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:2 BB:K (.133 OBP)
Nelson Cruz v. Ervin Santana – 3-for-16 (.188), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0:6 BB:K (.188 OBP)
Juan Rivera v. Scott Feldman – 3-for-20 (.150), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:1 BB:K (.182 OBP)
Bobby Abreu v. Scott Feldman – 4-for-21 (.190), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3:4 BB:K (.292 OBP)
Jose Lopez v. Jon Lester – 1-for-10 (.100), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:2 BB:K (.250 OBP)
Franklin Gutierrez v. Jon Lester – 3-for-13 (.231), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0:7 BB:K (.231 OBP)

Johnny Cueto v. Astros – Houston ranks 28th in runs scored, but don't tell that to Cueto, who has seen Astros hitters light him up for a .329/.418/.553 line in 98 plate appearances. Lance Berkman has been particularly damaging, homering twice in 13 at-bats and posting a ridiculous .619 on-base percentage. Of course, Cueto's been pitching so well that he's almost impossible to bench, but remember that he has a career 5.32 ERA after the All-Star break (3.91 before the break).

Ervin Santana v. Rangers – Santana has allowed just one run in back-to-back starts, but he's never had much luck against the Rangers. Texas hitters have a career .319/.342/.535 mark against him, including seven homers in 152 plate appearances. What's more disturbing is that the Rangers' big bashers – Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz – are a combined 5-for-31 and Santana's numbers are still that poor. If Hamilton and Cruz get on track, watch out.

Scott Feldman v. Angels – Feldman has a 6.37 ERA in his last five starts and seems unlikely to reverse his fortunes on Saturday. Current Angels are hitting .327 against him in 167 plate appearances, with Torii Hunter, Mike Napoli and Erick Aybar doing the most damage. Feldman has a 5.54 ERA and a 37:24 K:BB ratio in 65 career innings against Los Angeles.

Recommended Pickup

Alex Gordon, OF/3B, KC – Gordon raked against Triple-A pitching this season, hitting .315 with 14 homers and 44 RBI in 68 games. A season-ending injury to David DeJesus finally prompted the Royals to bump Gordon up, giving him another chance to live up to some of the colossal hype that surrounded him as a prospect. There's no certainty here – will he blossom into the five-tool player that many think he could become or revert back to the hitter who batted .226 at the big league level in 2009-2010? – but he's worth a gamble, especially in AL-only and deeper mixed formats. He's not guaranteed an everyday role out of the gates, but if he's hitting, he'll get one before long.