This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Thursday's matchups (all times Eastern)
BOS (Rubby De La Rosa – R) at TOR (Marcus Stroman – R), 12:37 PM ET
TEX (Colby Lewis – R) at NYY (Brandon McCarthy – R), 1:05 PM ET
SF (Tim Hudson – R) at PHI (Cole Hamels – L), 1:05 PM ET
HOU (Scott Feldman – R) at OAK (Jeff Samardzija – R), 3:35 PM ET
MIA (Henderson Alvarez – R) at ATL (Aaron Harang – R), 7:10 PM ET
SD (Tyson Ross – R) at CHC (Edwin Jackson – R), 8:05 PM ET
CLE (Corey Kluber – R) at KC (Danny Duffy – L), 8:10 PM ET
NYM (Dillon Gee – R) at MIL (Matt Garza – R), 8:10 PM ET
CHW (Hector Noesi – R) at MIN (Phil Hughes – R), 8:10 PM ET
DET (Max Scherzer – R) at LAA (Garrett Richards – R), 10:05 PM ET
BAL (Wei-Yin Chen – L) at SEA (Hisashi Iwakuma – R), 10:10 PM ET
Day Game After Night Game: BOS/TOR, TEX/NYY, SF/PHI, HOU/OAK
Injuries
Day-to-Day
Pedro Alvarez, 3B, PIT – (Knee) Out of Wednesday's lineup after leaving Tuesday's game.
Antonio Bastardo, P, PHI – (Forearm) Hit by comebacker Monday, bounced back to retire one batter Tuesday.
Zach Britton, P, BAL – (Arm) Hit in arm by batted ball Monday, came back to throw an inning and earn Tuesday's save.
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, CLE – (Back) Receiving treatment for spasms, out of Wednesday's lineup.
Zack Cozart, SS, CIN – (Finger) Felt better Wednesday but still missed game.
Scooter Gennett, 2B, MIL – (Quadriceps) Out at least a few more days after leaving Tuesday's game.
Kyle Gibson, P, MIN – (Back) Scratched Wednesday, Twins hope he can start Saturday.
Curtis Granderson, OF, NYM – (Illness) Out both Tuesday and Wednesday, news for Thursday does not sound optimistic but check back for Mets lineup.
Eric Hosmer, 1B, KC – (Hand) Missed Monday and Tuesday, then left Wednesday's game.
Manny Machado, 3B, BAL – (Back) Out Wednesday for second day in a row.
J.D. Martinez, OF, DET – (Quadriceps) Out of Wednesday's lineup, seemed like he was available to pinch hit.
Joe Panik, P, SF – (Ankle) Out of Wednesday's lineup.
Yasiel Puig, OF, LAD – (Hand) Targeting a return to the lineup on Friday.
Hanley Ramirez, SS, LAD – (Hand) Dodgers are not optimistic about Friday return.
Jake Smolinski, OF, TEX – (Foot) Out of lineup Wednesday for second game in a row.
Ruben Tejada, SS, NYM – (Head) Passed concussion tests and traveling on next road trip, but probably won't start Thursday.
Dayan Viciedo, OF, CHW – (Hamstring) Scratched Wednesday with tightness.
Jayson Werth, OF, WAS – (Knee) Out Wednesday with soreness.
Players on the DL
Yonder Alonso, 1B, SD – (Wrist) Could be activated by end of the week.
Brandon Belt, 1B, SF – (Concussion) Manager Bochy backtracked from Wednesday statement that Belt could resume baseball activities in a couple days, looks like it could be lengthy layoff.
Kyle Blanks, OF, OAK – (Calf) Mid-August return seems likely.
Everth Cabrera, SS, SD – (Hamstring) Could return before end of the weekend.
Alberto Callaspo, 3B, OAK – (Hamstring) Could return as soon as Sunday.
Gerrit Cole, P, PIT – (Back) Threw 70 pitches in simulated game, next step could be rehab.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, TOR – (Quadriceps) Blue Jays think he can return next week.
Jedd Gyorko, 2B, SD – (Foot) Played in rehab game three of four games for Triple-A, still no timetable.
Matt Lindstrom, P, CHW – (Ankle) Will begin rehab the first week of August.
Starling Marte, OF, PIT – (Concussion) Has concussion, out until at least July 28.
Joe Mauer, C, MIN – (Oblique) Hit in cage Wednesday, still no timetable.
Collin McHugh, P, HOU – (Finger) Ready to return to Astros, but team is letting the current rotation turn over before deciding what to do with McHugh.
Wil Myers, OF, TB – (Wrist) Has started throwing, targeting mid-August return.
Ricky Nolasco, P, MIN – (Elbow) Scheduled to throw first bullpen session this weekend.
James Paxton, P, SEA – (Back) Will make another rehab start Sunday.
Jerry Sands, OF, TB – (Wrist) Had season ending surgery.
George Springer, OF, HOU – (Quadriceps) Has a strain, eligible to return from DL August 4.
Masahiro Tanaka, P, NYY – (Elbow) Still has discomfort, has not touched a baseball in 10 days.
Michael Wacha, P, STL – (Shoulder) Hopes to return to rotation in early-September.
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, WAS – (Hamstring) Has substantial strain, likely to miss more than a couple weeks.
Activated from the DL
Carlos Ruiz, C, PHI
Kevin Siegrist, P, STL
Placed on the DL
Grant Green, OF, LAA
Kelly Johnson, 3B, NYY
Starling Marte, OF, PIT (7-day DL)
Cameron Maybin, OF, SD (placed on restricted list – 25-game suspension)
George Springer, OF, HOU
Anthony Varvaro, P, ATL (paternity list)
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, WAS
Claimed Off Waivers/Signed
Dan Uggla, 2B, SF (minor league contract)
Called Up
Phillippe Aumont, P, PHI
C.J. Cron, 1B, LAA
Jeff Francoeur, OF, SD
Marc Krauss, 1B, HOU
Chris Leroux, P, NYY
Brent Morel, 3B, PIT
Jose Ramirez, 2B, CLE
Gus Schlosser, P, ATL
Tsuyoshi Wada, P, CHC
Taijuan Walker, P, SEA
Zach Walters, SS, WAS
Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Blake Beaven, P, SEA
Bruce Billings, P, NYY (designated for assignment)
Buddy Carlyle, P, NYM
Nick Greenwood, P, STL
Jair Jurrjens, P, COL
Jeff Manship, P, PHI (designated for assignment)
Mike Olt, 3B, CHC
Erasmo Ramirez, P, SEA
Cameron Rupp, C, PHI
Sergio Santos, P, TOR
Closer Watch
San Francisco – Tim Lincecum picked up his first career save in the 14th inning of Tuesday's game while pitching at the tail end of a ravaged Giants bullpen. Don't read too much into this one.
Key Matchups
Hot Batter Matchups – July 24, 2014Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| R. Howard | 1B | PHI vs SF 1:05PM | T. Hudson | 67 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 12 | 11 | .328 | .425 | .687 | 1.112 |
| J. Rollins | SS | PHI vs SF 1:05PM | T. Hudson | 84 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | .226 | .270 | .452 | .722 |
| H. Pence | OF | SF @ PHI 1:05PM | C. Hamels | 17 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .353 | .389 | .471 | .859 |
| B. Posey | C | SF @ PHI 1:05PM | C. Hamels | 11 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .636 | .636 | 1.273 | 1.909 |
| P. Sandoval | 3B | SF @ PHI 1:05PM | C. Hamels | 25 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .280 | .308 | .560 | .868 |
| A. Beltre | 3B | TEX @ NYY 1:05PM | B. McCarthy | 33 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 2 | .424 | .429 | .727 | 1.156 |
| S. Choo | OF | TEX @ NYY 1:05PM | B. McCarthy | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | .308 | .357 | .538 | .896 |
| F. Freeman | 1B | ATL vs MIA 7:10PM | H. Alvarez | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | .417 | .462 | .917 | 1.378 |
| J. Heyward | OF | ATL vs MIA 7:10PM | H. Alvarez | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .417 | .417 | .500 | .917 |
| C. Johnson | 3B | ATL vs MIA 7:10PM | H. Alvarez | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .500 | .538 | .500 | 1.038 |
| G. Jones | 1B | MIA @ ATL 7:10PM | A. Harang | 21 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3 | .429 | .458 | .714 | 1.173 |
| G. Stanton | OF | MIA @ ATL 7:10PM | A. Harang | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .250 | .294 | .563 | .857 |
| C. Denorfia | OF | SD @ CHC 8:05PM | E. Jackson | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .385 | .583 | .968 |
| C. Quentin | OF | SD @ CHC 8:05PM | E. Jackson | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | .375 | .421 | .750 | 1.171 |
| W. Venable | OF | SD @ CHC 8:05PM | E. Jackson | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .231 | .286 | .615 | .901 |
| R. Raburn | OF | CLE @ KC 8:10PM | D. Duffy | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .273 | .333 | .636 | .970 |
| C. Santana | C | CLE @ KC 8:10PM | D. Duffy | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .300 | .300 | .800 | 1.100 |
| A. De Aza | OF | CWS @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 |
| M. Sierra | OF | CWS @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | .500 | .526 | .750 | 1.276 |
| O. Infante | 2B | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 14 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .357 | .400 | .500 | .900 |
| M. Moustakas | 3B | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 18 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | .389 | .450 | .722 | 1.172 |
| C. Granderson | OF | NYM @ MIL 8:10PM | M. Garza | 24 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | .292 | .333 | .583 | .917 |
| C. Iannetta | C | LAA vs DET 10:05PM | M. Scherzer | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | .364 | .385 | .636 | 1.021 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Hot Pitcher Matchups – July 24, 2014Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Corey Kluber | CLE @ KC 8:10PM | 183 | 39 | 14 | 5 | 20 | 9 | 47 | .213 | .253 | .347 | .600 |
| Max Scherzer | DET @ LAA 10:05PM | 75 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 24 | .213 | .258 | .371 | .629 |
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 – July 24, 2014Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| B. Roberts | 2B | NYY vs TEX 1:05PM | C. Lewis | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .200 | .273 | .300 | .573 |
| M. Byrd | OF | PHI vs SF 1:05PM | T. Hudson | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .182 | .182 | .182 | .364 |
| T. Colvin | OF | SF @ PHI 1:05PM | C. Hamels | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .250 | .250 | .333 | .583 |
| M. Scutaro | 2B | SF @ PHI 1:05PM | C. Hamels | 24 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .167 | .200 | .292 | .492 |
| E. Andrus | SS | TEX @ NYY 1:05PM | B. McCarthy | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | .150 | .182 | .200 | .382 |
| A. Rios | OF | TEX @ NYY 1:05PM | B. McCarthy | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .063 | .167 | .125 | .292 |
| J. Altuve | 2B | HOU @ OAK 3:35PM | J. Samardzija | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .091 | .231 | .091 | .322 |
| A. Simmons | SS | ATL vs MIA 7:10PM | H. Alvarez | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .067 | .067 | .067 | .133 |
| G. Beckham | 2B | CWS @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | .118 | .118 | .235 | .353 |
| A. Dunn | 1B | CWS @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | .188 | .188 | .375 | .563 |
| P. Konerko | 1B | CWS @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .200 | .294 | .200 | .494 |
| A. Ramirez | SS | CWS @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .176 | .222 | .176 | .399 |
| B. Butler | DH | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | .190 | .227 | .238 | .465 |
| L. Cain | OF | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| A. Escobar | SS | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .227 | .227 | .227 | .455 |
| A. Gordon | OF | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 22 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | .182 | .250 | .455 | .705 |
| E. Hosmer | 1B | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 25 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | .160 | .192 | .480 | .672 |
| S. Perez | C | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | C. Kluber | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .154 | .200 | .231 | .431 |
| J. Willingham | OF | MIN vs CWS 8:10PM | H. Noesi | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .273 | .200 | .473 |
| A. Jackson | OF | DET @ LAA 10:05PM | G. Richards | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .100 | .100 | .100 | .200 |
| E. Aybar | SS | LAA vs DET 10:05PM | M. Scherzer | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 | .143 | .214 | .357 |
| A. Pujols | 1B | LAA vs DET 10:05PM | M. Scherzer | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .100 | .250 | .200 | .450 |
| K. Seager | 3B | SEA vs BAL 10:10PM | W. Chen | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .083 | .000 | .083 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Cold Pitcher Matchups – July 24, 2014Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Colby Lewis | TEX @ NYY 1:05PM | 92 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 13 | .315 | .376 | .480 | .856 |
| Henderson Alvarez | MIA @ ATL 7:10PM | 99 | 30 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 5 | 11 | .303 | .333 | .508 | .841 |
| Aaron Harang | ATL vs MIA 7:10PM | 96 | 37 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 8 | 19 | .385 | .420 | .657 | 1.077 |
| Edwin Jackson | CHC vs SD 8:05PM | 63 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 10 | .349 | .385 | .634 | 1.019 |
| Danny Duffy | KC vs CLE 8:10PM | 64 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 12 | .359 | .397 | .673 | 1.070 |
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
Odrisamer Despaigne, P, SD – No player in baseball has had a wilder ride this season than Despaigne. The 27-year-old Cuban defector signed a minor league deal with the Padres in May, then made two good starts at Double-A and five starts at Triple-A. He never worked more than six innings in those starts and gathered up a 7.61 ERA and 1.85 WHIP despite 41 strikeouts in 31.1 innings at Triple-A. Then Despaigne was promoted to start for the Padres and he has made five dominant starts, including Sunday's start in which he took a no-hitter 7.2 innings against the Mets. Despaigne has allowed two runs or less in all his MLB starts to the tune of a 1.31 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. There are warning signs. You can start with the Petco Park effect and end with the low strikeout rate at the MLB level (17 K in 34.1 IP), but don't make the strikeout argument without considering the minor league rate as well. Despaigne makes his next start on the road against the Braves, but his impressive run over the last month can't be ignored.
Other Recent Recommendations:Zach Putnam, Brandon McCarthy, Danny Salazar, Chris Young (pitcher), Travis d'Arnaud, Jacob deGrom
DraftKingsValue Picks
SP: Danny Duffy, KC ($6,800)
C: Mike Zunino, SEA ($3,200)
1B: Lucas Duda, NYM ($3,900)
2B: Emilio Bonifacio, CHC ($3,400)
SS: Jean Segura, MIL ($3,500)
3B: Yangervis Solarte, SD ($3,200)
OF: Nick Markakis, BAL ($3,800)
