This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Thursday's matchups (all times Eastern)Tigers (Justin Verlander – R) at Yankees (Adam Warren – R), 7:05
Pirates (A.J. Burnett – R) at Nationals (Joe Ross – R), 7:05
Cardinals (Tyler Lyons – L) at Phillies (Phillippe Aumont R), 7:05
Orioles (Mike Wright – R) at Blue Jays (Marco Estrada – R), 7:07
Rays (Nathan Karns – R) at Indians (Carlos Carrasco – R), 7:10
Marlins (Dan Haren – R) at Reds (Mike Leake – R), 7:10
Mets (Jacob deGrom – R) at Braves (Matt Wisler – R), 7:35
Red Sox (Eduardo Rodriguez – L) at Royals (Yohan Pino – R), 8:10
Rangers (Colby Lewis – R) at White Sox (Chris Sale – L), 8:10
Cubs (Kyle Hendricks – R) at Twins (Phil Hughes – R), 8:10
Brewers (Taylor Jungmann – R) at Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa – L), 8:40
Angels (Matt Shoemaker – R) at Athletics (Sonny Gray – R), 9:35
Padres (James Shields – R) at Diamondbacks (Rubby De La Rosa – R), 9:40
Astros (Lance McCullers – R) at Mariners (Roenis Elias – L), 10:10
Giants (Chris Heston – R) at Dodgers (Mike Bolsinger – R), 10:10
Day Game After Night Game: None
Injuries
Day-to-Day
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS (Knee) – Missed Thursday's game.
Jake Marisnick, OF, HOU (Hamstring) – Left Thursday's game due to soreness.
Kyle Blanks, 1B, TEX (Achilles) – Did not play on Thursday.
Neil Walker, 2B, PIT (Illness) – Did not play on Thursday due to a stomach ailment.
Carlos Gomez, OF, MIL (Hip) – Did not start on Thursday.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL (Wrist) – Did not start on Thursday.
Colby Rasmus, OF, HOU (Personal) – Expected to return to action on Friday or Saturday.
Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU (Hamstring) – Did not start on Thursday.
Cole Hamels, SP, PHI (Hamstring) – Will not make his scheduled start on Friday.
Adam Jones, OF, BAL (Shoulder) – Expected to be in the lineup on Friday.
Players on the DL
Martin Prado, 3B, MIA (Shoulder) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Oscar Hernandez, C, ARI (Wrist) – Started a rehab assignment with Low-A Kane County.
Cory Rasmus, RP, LAA (Back) – Expected to start his rehab assignment on Friday.
Martin Perez, RP, TEX (Elbow) – Will throw a bullpen session on Friday.
Derek Holland, SP, TEX (Shoulder) – Underwent an MRI on Thursday with favorable results.
Matt Harrison, SP, TEX (Back) – Will make his next rehab start on Friday.
Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX (Hamstring) – Participated in full baseball activities and may start a rehab assignment next week.
Yordano Ventura, SP, KC (Hand) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Victor Martinez, 1B, DET (Knee) – Expected to be activated from the DL on Friday.
Wil Myers, OF, SD (Wrist) – Had successful surgery on Friday.
Aaron Sanchez, SP, TOR (Back) – Has not started to throw yet.
Kris Medlen, SP, KC (Elbow) – Expected to make a rehab start on Friday.
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, NYY (Knee) – Was able to run the bases on Thursday.
Maicer Izturis, 2B, TOR (Shoulder) – Expected to miss the rest of the season after surgery on Thursday.
Heath Hembree, RP, BOS (Shoulder) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Miguel Gonzalez, SP, BAL (Groin) – Expected to pitch on Saturday at Double-A Bowie.
Ike Davis, 1B, OAK (Quadriceps) – May be activated on Friday.
Justin Morneau, 1B, COL (Concussion) – There is still no timetable for his return.
Brooks Brown, RP, COL (Shoulder) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
John Jaso, C, TB (Wrist) – Expected to start a rehab assignment soon.
James Loney, 1B, TB (Finger) – Will start range-of-motion work soon.
Matt Moore, SP, TB (Elbow) – Expected to make two more minor league starts.
Justin Masterson, SP, BOS (Shoulder) – May return to action over the next few days.
Cliff Lee, SP, PHI (Elbow) – Expected to throw in another three or four weeks.
Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.
Placed on the DL (15-day DL, unless otherwise noted)
Yordano Ventura, SP, KC
Brooks Brown, RP, COL
Martin Prado, 3B, MIA
Heath Hembree, RP, BOS
Activated from the DL
Doug Fister, SP, WAS
Called Up
Logan Verrett, RP, NYM
Jeff Manship, RP, CLE
Jhonatan Solano, C, MIA
Scott Carroll, RP, CHW
Christian Bergman, RP, COL
Eury Perez, OF, ATL
Jake Diekman, RP, PHI
Travis Shaw, 1B, BOS
Kyle Crockett, RP, CLE
Yohan Pino, SP, KC
Anthony Ranaudo, SP, TEX
Daniel Coulombe, RP, LAD
Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Hector Noesi, SP, CHW
Dustin McGowan, SP, PHI
Shaun Marcum, SP, CLE
Zach Walters, SS, CLE
Daniel Castro, SS, ATL
Chris Heisey, OF, LAD
Taylor Hill, RP, WAS
Akeel Morris, RP, NYM
J.C. Ramirez, RP, ARI
Wei-Chung Wang, SP, MIL
Released
Jordan Schafer, OF, MIN
Closer Watch
Tampa Bay Rays – If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Well, sorta. I'm sure that's the thinking with Brad Boxberger, who closed out his16th save of the season on Thursday in beating the Nationals. Boxberger, who has two blown saves since June 3, is still doing enough to keep the job in Tampa Bay, even if it was his first save since May 31.
Philadelphia Phillies – It only took nine pitches for Jonathan Papelbon to close out the ninth inning, as he pitched a perfect frame, while notching one strikeout. It was Papelbon's 13th save of the year, which is more than half of the Phillies' seasonal win total (23). There's a good chance you can buy Papelbon for 50 cents on the dollar, pushing the idea that the Phillies will lose 100 games by season's end. But, even so, you know you can still get 17-20 saves out of Papelbon from here on out.
Key Matchups
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
A. Rodriguez | 3B | NYY vs DET 7:05PM | J. Verlander | 28 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 | .357 | .455 | .821 | 1.276 |
B. Harper | OF | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 19 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .263 | .333 | .526 | .860 |
A. Rendon | 2B | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 16 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | .438 | .474 | 1.000 | 1.474 |
B. Phillips | 2B | CIN vs MIA 7:10PM | D. Haren | 21 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | .333 | .333 | .619 | .952 |
C. Johnson | 3B | ATL vs NYM 7:35PM | J. deGrom | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .455 | .455 | .545 | 1.000 |
C. Gillaspie | 3B | CWS vs TEX 8:10PM | C. Lewis | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .400 | .500 | .900 |
A. Rosales | 2B | TEX @ CWS 8:10PM | C. Sale | 14 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | .500 | .500 | 1.143 | 1.643 |
R. Braun | OF | MIL @ COL 8:40PM | J. De La Rosa | 14 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | .714 | .765 | 1.643 | 2.408 |
A. Hill | 2B | ARI vs SD 9:40PM | J. Shields | 36 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | .278 | .350 | .639 | .989 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Justin Verlander | DET @ NYY 7:05PM | 149 | 32 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 17 | 43 | .215 | .297 | .397 | .694 |
Chris Sale | CWS vs TEX 8:10PM | 101 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 43 | .158 | .236 | .256 | .492 |
Colby Lewis | TEX @ CWS 8:10PM | 95 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 22 | .274 | .289 | .369 | .658 |
Sonny Gray | OAK vs LAA 9:35PM | 152 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 43 | .191 | .243 | .255 | .498 |
James Shields | SD @ ARI 9:40PM | 77 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 16 | .208 | .282 | .514 | .796 |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
C. Beltran | OF | NYY vs DET 7:05PM | J. Verlander | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .100 | .100 | .100 | .200 |
S. Drew | SS | NYY vs DET 7:05PM | J. Verlander | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .182 | .250 | .182 | .432 |
B. Gardner | OF | NYY vs DET 7:05PM | J. Verlander | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | .158 | .273 | .158 | .431 |
M. Teixeira | 1B | NYY vs DET 7:05PM | J. Verlander | 33 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | .091 | .205 | .182 | .387 |
I. Desmond | SS | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | .143 | .250 | .190 | .440 |
Y. Escobar | SS | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .100 | .182 | .100 | .282 |
D. Espinosa | 2B | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | .176 | .222 | .235 | .458 |
W. Ramos | C | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | .133 | .188 | .333 | .521 |
D. Uggla | 2B | WAS vs PIT 7:05PM | A. Burnett | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | .154 | .267 | .385 | .651 |
T. Snider | OF | BAL @ TOR 7:07PM | M. Estrada | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .083 | .154 | .083 | .237 |
J. Bruce | OF | CIN vs MIA 7:10PM | D. Haren | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .167 | .231 | .167 | .397 |
E. Longoria | 3B | TB @ CLE 7:10PM | C. Carrasco | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .200 | .500 | .700 |
F. Freeman | 1B | ATL vs NYM 7:35PM | J. deGrom | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .200 | .333 | .500 | .833 |
A. Eaton | OF | CWS vs TEX 8:10PM | C. Lewis | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .100 | .100 | .400 | .500 |
E. Andrus | SS | TEX @ CWS 8:10PM | C. Sale | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .100 | .182 | .100 | .282 |
S. Choo | OF | TEX @ CWS 8:10PM | C. Sale | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .063 | .250 | .063 | .313 |
P. Fielder | 1B | TEX @ CWS 8:10PM | C. Sale | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .160 | .222 | .200 | .422 |
G. Parra | OF | MIL @ COL 8:40PM | J. De La Rosa | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | .190 | .393 | .238 | .631 |
K. Calhoun | OF | LAA @ OAK 9:35PM | S. Gray | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | .125 | .250 | .208 | .458 |
C. Iannetta | C | LAA @ OAK 9:35PM | S. Gray | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .091 | .000 | .091 |
A. Pujols | 1B | LAA @ OAK 9:35PM | S. Gray | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .182 | .174 | .182 | .356 |
M. Trout | OF | LAA @ OAK 9:35PM | S. Gray | 22 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | .182 | .217 | .455 | .672 |
S. Vogt | C | OAK vs LAA 9:35PM | M. Shoemaker | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .273 | .500 | .773 |
J. Saltalamacchia | C | ARI vs SD 9:40PM | J. Shields | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .000 | .125 | .000 | .125 |
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |||||
There are no pitchers who qualify as "cold" today. |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Anibal Sanchez, SP, Detroit Tigers – Sanchez may not be owned in as many leagues as you'd think, considering his awful rollercoaster ride in the season; however, Sanchez hasn't given up an earned run in his last 16.2 innings pitched. He's coming off a masterful two-hit shutout against the Reds earlier in the week and really seems to have turned a corner. Sanchez may not be out there, but if he is? Snag him.
Other Recent Recommendations:David Phelps, Byron Buxton, Rougned Odor, Francisco Lindor, Eugenio Suarez and Avisail Garcia
DraftKings Value Picks
SP: Chris Heston, SF ($7,300)
C: Buster Posey, SF ($4,000)
1B: Michael Cuddyer, NYM ($3,600)
2B: Wilmer Flores, NYM ($3,800)
SS: Carlos Correa, HOU ($3,900)
3B: Evan Longoria, TB ($3,700)
OF: Mookie Betts, BOS ($4,100)