This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Friday's matchups (all times Eastern)Braves (David Hale -- R) at Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann -- R), 1:05
Orioles (Miguel Gonzalez -- R) at Tigers (Anibal Sanchez -- R), 1:08
Brewers (Marco Estrada -- R) at Red Sox (Jake Peavy -- R), 2:05
Phillies (Roberto Hernandez -- R) at Cubs (Travis Wood -- L), 2:20
Twins (Mike Pelfrey -- R) at Indians (Danny Salazar -- R), 3:05
White Sox (Erik Johnson -- R) at Royals (Jeremy Guthrie -- R), 4:10
Giants (Ryan Vogelsong -- R) at Dodgers (Hyun-Jin Ryu -- L), 4:10
Diamondbacks (Randall Delgado -- R) at Rockies (Juan Nicasio -- R), 4:10
Cardinals (Shelby Miller -- R) at Pirates (Gerrit Cole -- R), 7:05
Yankees (Masahiro Tanaka -- R) at Blue Jays (Dustin McGowan -- R), 7:07
Reds (Mike Leake -- R) at Mets (Jenrry Mejia -- R), 7:10
Padres (Eric Stults -- L) at Marlins (Tom Koehler -- R), 7:10
Rangers (Joe Saunders -- L) at Rays (Jake Odorizzi -- R), 7:10
Angels (Garrett Richards -- R) at Astros (Lucas Harrell -- R), 8:10
Mariners (Chris Young -- R) at Athletics (Dan Straily -- R), 10:05
Day Game After Night Game: BAL, BOS
Injuries
Day-to-Day
Wil Myers, OF, TB (illness) -- Scratched from Thursday's lineup due to flu-like symptoms.
Jordan Zimmermann, P, WAS (illness) -- Scratched from his scheduled start Thursday due to flu-like symptoms but the Nationals are hoping he can go Friday.
Jason Castro, C, HOU (foot) -- Left Thursday's game with discomfort after being hit by a pitch twice.
Hector Santiago, P, LAA (back) -- Removed from Wednesday's start after his back began to tighten up.
Conor Gillaspie, 3B, CHW (illness) -- Held out of the lineup again Thursday.
Players on the DL
Matt Kemp, OF, LAD (ankle) -- Expected to be in the lineup Friday.
Doug Fister, P, WAS (back) -- Did not resume his throwing program Thursday, as expected.
Michael Bourn, OF, CLE (hamstring) -- Began his rehab assignment Thursday at Triple-A Columbus.
Bobby Parnell, P, NYM (elbow) -- Team doctors have told him he has a 50 percent chance of avoiding Tommy John surgery.
Casey Janssen, P, TOR (back) -- Able to throw long toss Thursday.
Devin Mesoraco, C, CIN (oblique) -- Could return Monday after three games with Double-A Pensacola.
Gordon Beckham, 2B, CHW (oblique) -- Began his rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham on Thursday.
Chris Young, OF, NYM (quadriceps) -- Placed on the 15-day DL on Thursday.
Gavin Floyd, P, ATL (elbow) -- Gave up two runs on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.
Cody Ross, OF, ARI (hip) -- Will remain on his rehab assignment at Triple-A Reno until at least April 10.
Sean Marshall, P, CIN (shoulder) -- The Reds are hoping he'll be available by April 18.
Jason Motte, P, STL (elbow) -- Threw 20-25 pitches in a simulated game Thursday and could head out for a rehab assignment by mid-April.
Freddy Galvis, 2B, PHI (illness) -- Could rejoin the Phillies by the middle of the month.
Dan Hudson, P, ARI (elbow) -- Has thrown multiple bullpen sessions since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Erik Davis, P, WAS (elbow) -- Recently underwent Tommy John surgery.
Transactions -- Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Placed on the DL (15-day, unless otherwise noted)
Chris Young, OF, NYM
Jake Elmore, SS, OAK
Sean Rodriguez, SS, TB (paternity list)
Activated from the DL (15-day, unless otherwise noted)
Daniel Murphy, 2B, NYM (paternity list)
Brian Duensing, P, MIN (paternity list)
Called Up (from Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Vincent Belnome, 2B, TB
Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Ryan Buchter, P, ATL
Michael Tonkin, P, MIN
Chen Lee, P, CLE
Josh Lindblom, P, OAK
Mike Belfiore, P, DET
Vincent Belnome, 2B, TB
Claimed off Waivers
Mike Belfiore, P, DET (from BAL)
Closer Watch
Chicago Cubs -- A day after Jose Veras blew the save in his Cubs debut, Pedro Strop breezed through a scoreless frame on seven pitches to close out a 3-2 win over the Pirates. Veras was unavailable after throwing 38 pitches in Wednesday's outing, but it appears the job is still his as manager Rick Renteria told ESPN Chicago that he's "still not worried" about the right-hander. Strop has had issues with his control, but has averaged more than a strikeout per inning in his career and is clearly next in line for saves behind Veras, who also struggled in spring training (7.00 ERA). The Cubs don't have a whole lot invested in Veras, so his leash may be shorter than most.
Chicago White Sox -- Matt Lindstrom blew the save and took the loss Thursday, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk in an inning against the Twins. Named to the closer's role on Opening Day, Lindstrom successfully converted his first opportunity of the year Monday, and while Thursday's performance was step back, his main competitor for the ninth-inning job, Nate Jones, struggled as well. Jones walked the first two batters he faced and was promptly pulled from the game. Daniel Webb appears to be transitioning to a long-relief role.
New York Yankees -- David Robertson made quick work of the Astros on Thursday, retiring the side in order on 13 pitches en route to his first save of the season. It was an encouraging performance, considering there were some concerns with Robertson's velocity in spring training. The 28-year-old right-hander was outstanding the last three seasons while setting up for Mariano Rivera, and while it may be impossible to fill Rivera's shoes, he has the stuff to succeed in the ninth inning.
Hot Batter Matchups – April 4, 2014Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| A. De Aza | OF | CWS @ KC 4:10PM | J. Guthrie | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .400 | .500 | .900 |
| P. Konerko | 1B | CWS @ KC 4:10PM | J. Guthrie | 35 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | .257 | .289 | .571 | .861 |
| D. Jeter | SS | NYY @ TOR 7:07PM | D. McGowan | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | .348 | .464 | .391 | .856 |
| B. Roberts | 2B | NYY @ TOR 7:07PM | D. McGowan | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .417 | .529 | .667 | 1.196 |
| I. Suzuki | OF | NYY @ TOR 7:07PM | D. McGowan | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .462 | .563 | .538 | 1.101 |
| J. Loney | 1B | TB vs TEX 7:10PM | J. Saunders | 27 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | .296 | .345 | .556 | .900 |
| D. Freese | 3B | LAA @ HOU 8:10PM | L. Harrell | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | .583 | 1.000 | 1.583 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Hot Pitcher Matchups – April 4, 2014Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Jake Peavy | BOS vs MIL 2:05PM | 60 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 20 | .200 | .284 | .264 | .547 |
| Ryan Vogelsong | SF @ LAD 4:10PM | 62 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | .242 | .319 | .276 | .594 |
| Jeremy Guthrie | KC vs CWS 4:10PM | 98 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 22 | .194 | .266 | .319 | .584 |
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 – April 4, 2014Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| D. Uggla | 2B | ATL @ WAS 1:05PM | J. Zimmermann | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .154 | .214 | .231 | .445 |
| M. Reynolds | 1B | MIL @ BOS 2:05PM | J. Peavy | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .118 | .167 | .118 | .284 |
| R. Sweeney | OF | CHC vs PHI 2:20PM | R. Hernandez | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .133 | .188 | .133 | .321 |
| N. Morgan | OF | CLE vs MIN 3:05PM | M. Pelfrey | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .182 | .250 | .182 | .432 |
| A. Dunn | 1B | CWS @ KC 4:10PM | J. Guthrie | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | .125 | .300 | .125 | .425 |
| A. Ramirez | SS | CWS @ KC 4:10PM | J. Guthrie | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | .107 | .219 | .143 | .362 |
| A. Ethier | OF | LAD vs SF 4:10PM | R. Vogelsong | 13 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .308 | .357 | .462 | .819 |
| D. Gordon | SS | LAD vs SF 4:10PM | R. Vogelsong | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .385 | .429 | .385 | .813 |
| H. Ramirez | SS | LAD vs SF 4:10PM | R. Vogelsong | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .083 | .154 | .083 | .237 |
| D. Murphy | 2B | NYM vs CIN 7:10PM | M. Leake | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .100 | .100 | .200 | .300 |
| D. Wright | 3B | NYM vs CIN 7:10PM | M. Leake | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .100 | .250 | .100 | .350 |
| D. DeJesus | OF | TB vs TEX 7:10PM | J. Saunders | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .182 | .182 | .182 | .364 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Cold Pitcher Matchups – April 4, 2014Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Dustin McGowan | TOR vs NYY 7:07PM | 71 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 | .338 | .440 | .473 | .913 |
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
Marcell Ozuna, OF, MIA -- With two more base knocks Thursday, Ozuna has now hit safely in each of his first four games to begin the season. A rocky spring training (.177/.284/.355) appeared to have Ozuna on the roster bubble, but the Marlins ended up giving him the starting job in center field over Jake Marisnick. The decision started paying dividends right away, as Ozuna blasted a towering home run in his first at-bat of the year. In 275 at-bats last season, Ozuna managed just three homers, which was surprising given he has three 20-plus homer seasons in the minors, but the lack of power can at least in part be contributed to the wrist injury he suffered in the spring. The 23-year-old also has some speed, but there is some uncertainty as to whether he can hold onto the job all year.
Other Recent Recommendations:Jose Valverde, Francisco Rodriguez, Grady Sizemore and Oswaldo Arcia
DraftStreet Value Picks
SP: Erik Johnson, CHW ($12,852)
C: J.P. Arencibia, TEX ($4,871)
1B: Adam Lind, TOR ($5,578)
2B: Kolten Wong, STL ($5,196)
SS: Hanley Ramirez, LAD ($5,978)
3B: Will Middlebrooks, BOS ($4,858)
OF: Ben Revere, PHI ($5,227)
