This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.
Projected Starters - A look at Thursday's matchups (all times Eastern)
Nationals (Max Scherzer – R) at Marlins (Dan Haren – R), 12:10
Padres (Andrew Cashner – R) at Mets (Jon Niese – L), 12:10
Braves (Shelby Miller – R) at Phillies (Aaron Harang – R), 7:05
Tigers (Alfredo Simon – R) at Orioles (Miguel Gonzalez – R), 7:05
Royals (Danny Duffy – L) at Blue Jays (Marco Estrada – R), 7:07
White Sox (Chris Sale – L) at Red Sox (Steven Wright – R), 7:10
Pirates (Jeff Locke – L) at Reds (David Holmberg – L), 7:10
Rockies (Chris Rusin – L) at Cardinals (Carlos Martinez – R), 7:15
Yankees (Michael Pineda – R) at Rangers (Yovani Gallardo – R), 8:05
Mariners (J.A. Happ – L) at Twins (Phil Hughes – R), 8:10
Cubs (Jake Arrieta – R) at Brewers (Jimmy Nelson – R), 8:10
Angels (Matt Shoemaker – R) at Astros (Scott Kazmir – L), 8:10
Indians (Carlos Carrasco – R) at Athletics (Chris Bassitt – R), 10:05
Day Game After Night Game: WAS/MIA, SD/NYM
Injuries
Day-to-Day
Robinson Cano, 2B, SEA (Abdomen) – Will sit a few games after suffering a Grade 1 abdominal strain.
Justin Turner, 3B, LAD (Leg) – Expected to miss a few more games.
Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD (Hip/Glute) – Kershaw's start was bumped to Friday after initially expected to start Thursday.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, TOR (Finger) – Was scratched from Wednesday's lineup.
Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY (Foot) – Did not play on Wednesday after being hit by a pitch Tuesday.
Mike Trout, OF, LAA (Wrist) – Did not play on Wednesday.
Devon Travis, 2B, TOR (Shoulder) – Did not play on Wednesday.
Gregory Polanco, OF, PIT (Knee) – Left Wednesday's game due to discomfort.
Ivan Nova, SP, NYY (Arm) – Expected to make his next scheduled start on Sunday.
Ryan Raburn, OF, CLE (Illness) – Raburn has missed games due to gastritis.
Players on the DL
Miguel Montero, C, CHC (Thumb) – Will be re-examined by a hand specialist on Thursday.
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS (Oblique) – Will likely need two starts before being activated from the DL.
Manny Banuelos, SP, ATL (Elbow) – MRI revealed a bone spur.
Mookie Betts, OF, BOS (Concussion) – Was placed on the 7-day DL.
Emilio Bonifacio, 2B, CHW (Oblique) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Aaron Harang, SP, PHI (Foot) – Will be activated from the DL to start Thursday.
Tommy LaStella, 2B, CHC (Oblique) – Will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Tennessee.
Byron Buxton, OF, MIN (Thumb) – Expected to take batting practice on Thursday.
Randall Delgado, RP, ARI (Ankle) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Neil Ramirez, RP, CHC (Abdominal) – Was placed on the 15-day DL.
Sean Doolittle, RP, OAK (Shoulder) – Not expected to return from the DL until late August.
Charlie Furbush, RP, SEA (Biceps) – Threw 10 pitches off a mound on Tuesday.
Christian Bergman, RP, COL (Shoulder) – Started a rehab assignment on Tuesday at Triple-A Albuquerque.
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS (Hamstring) – Received an injection of platelet-rich plasma on Monday.
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)
Emilio Bonifacio, 2B, CHW
Neil Ramirez, RP, CHC
Randall Delgado, RP, ARI
Mookie Betts, OF, BOS
Paternity List
Trevor Plouffe, 3B, MIN
Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Efren Navarro, OF, LAA
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, TEX
Chris Capuano, SP, NYY
Jemile Weeks, 2B, BOS
Mike Baxter, OF, CHC
David Carpenter, RP, ATL
Felix Doubront, SP, TOR
Sammy Stolis, RP, WAS
Daniel Robertson, OF, LAA
Dallas Beeler, SP, CHC
Jayson Aquino, RP, CLE
Cristhian Adames, SS, COL
Phil Klein, RP, TEX
Called Up
Bobby Wilson, C, TB
Ben Rowen, RP, CHC
Caleb Cotham, RP, NYY
Yoervis Medina, RP, CHC
Tyler Holt, OF, CLE
Addison Reed, RP, ARI
Jon Edwards, RP, TEX
Leury Garcia, 2B, CHW
Jackie Bradley, Jr., OF, BOS
Jorge Polanco, SS, MIN
Alex Claudio, RP, TEX
Mike Foltynewicz, SP, ATL
Traded
Jayson Aquino, RP, CLE – from Pittsburgh Pirates for cash
Closer Watch
Chicago Cubs – Figuring out the Cubs' closer situation is maddening. Hector Rondon, who hasn't pulled in a save since the Nixon era (okay, since June 20), snagged his 13th save of the year pitching a solid ninth inning to shut down the Rockies on Wednesday. Rondon, who is still in line for save opportunities down the stretch, did allow one walk but he was able to close the doors and hold the victory for starter Jon Lester. If you're scrounging for saves, check to see if someone dumped Rondon.
Key Matchups
Matchup Info | Career Matchup Stats | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batter | Pos | Game | Pitcher | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
D. Gordon | 2B | MIA vs WAS 12:10PM | M. Scherzer | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .400 | .667 | 1.067 |
M. Prado | 3B | MIA vs WAS 12:10PM | M. Scherzer | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .600 | .600 | .700 | 1.300 |
C. Barmes | SS | SD @ NYM 12:10PM | J. Niese | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | .375 | .375 | .625 | 1.000 |
J. Upton | OF | SD @ NYM 12:10PM | J. Niese | 23 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | .391 | .462 | .435 | .896 |
D. Uggla | 2B | WAS @ MIA 12:10PM | D. Haren | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | .250 | .357 | .500 | .857 |
J. Werth | OF | WAS @ MIA 12:10PM | D. Haren | 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .385 | .385 | .692 | 1.077 |
C. Johnson | 3B | ATL @ PHI 7:05PM | A. Harang | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .385 | .833 | 1.218 |
Y. Cespedes | OF | DET @ BAL 7:05PM | M. Gonzalez | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .455 | .500 | .455 | .955 |
R. Davis | OF | DET @ BAL 7:05PM | M. Gonzalez | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .385 | 1.083 | 1.468 |
A. Gose | OF | DET @ BAL 7:05PM | M. Gonzalez | 18 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 |
R. Howard | 1B | PHI vs ATL 7:05PM | S. Miller | 14 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | .357 | .438 | 1.071 | 1.509 |
M. Byrd | OF | CIN vs PIT 7:10PM | J. Locke | 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .333 | .357 | .917 | 1.274 |
T. Frazier | 3B | CIN vs PIT 7:10PM | J. Locke | 20 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | .450 | .522 | .800 | 1.322 |
B. Hamilton | OF | CIN vs PIT 7:10PM | J. Locke | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .462 | .462 | .538 | 1.000 |
J. Votto | 1B | CIN vs PIT 7:10PM | J. Locke | 17 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .353 | .455 | .471 | .925 |
C. Headley | 3B | NYY @ TEX 8:05PM | Y. Gallardo | 22 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | .364 | .481 | .500 | .981 |
G. Jones | 1B | NYY @ TEX 8:05PM | Y. Gallardo | 26 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 4 | .308 | .472 | .462 | .934 |
C. Coghlan | OF | CHC @ MIL 8:10PM | J. Nelson | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .333 | .750 | 1.083 |
A. Rizzo | 1B | CHC @ MIL 8:10PM | J. Nelson | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .200 | .700 | .900 |
J. Soler | OF | CHC @ MIL 8:10PM | J. Nelson | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .417 | .417 | .917 | 1.333 |
E. Aybar | SS | LAA @ HOU 8:10PM | S. Kazmir | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .636 | .636 | .818 | 1.455 |
D. DeJesus | OF | LAA @ HOU 8:10PM | S. Kazmir | 21 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | .381 | .409 | .476 | .885 |
C. Gomez | OF | MIL vs CHC 8:10PM | J. Arrieta | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .300 | .417 | .600 | 1.017 |
A. Lind | 1B | MIL vs CHC 8:10PM | J. Arrieta | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | .308 | .500 | .615 | 1.115 |
S. Smith | OF | SEA @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .357 | .438 | .429 | .866 |
B. Butler | 1B | OAK vs CLE 10:05PM | C. Carrasco | 22 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | .364 | .417 | .636 | 1.053 |
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 |
Aaron Harang | PHI vs ATL 7:05PM | 96 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 19 | .208 | .275 | .324 | .599 |
Shelby Miller | ATL @ PHI 7:05PM | 92 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 22 | .207 | .275 | .373 | .647 |
Yovani Gallardo | TEX vs NYY 8:05PM | 164 | 36 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 38 | .220 | .324 | .309 | .633 |
Jimmy Nelson | MIL vs CHC 8:10PM | 63 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 19 | .254 | .266 | .567 | .833 |
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 |
M. Upton Jr. | OF | SD @ NYM 12:10PM | J. Niese | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .167 | .286 | .167 | .452 |
F. Freeman | 1B | ATL @ PHI 7:05PM | A. Harang | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .118 | .167 | .118 | .284 |
N. Markakis | OF | ATL @ PHI 7:05PM | A. Harang | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .182 | .250 | .182 | .432 |
A. Pierzynski | C | ATL @ PHI 7:05PM | A. Harang | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .188 | .235 | .250 | .485 |
C. Asche | 3B | PHI vs ATL 7:05PM | S. Miller | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .091 | .000 | .091 |
C. Ruiz | C | PHI vs ATL 7:05PM | S. Miller | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .200 | .294 | .333 | .627 |
M. Napoli | 1B | BOS vs CWS 7:10PM | C. Sale | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .091 | .167 | .091 | .258 |
D. Ortiz | DH | BOS vs CWS 7:10PM | C. Sale | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 |
J. Bruce | OF | CIN vs PIT 7:10PM | J. Locke | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | .190 | .182 | .286 | .468 |
S. Drew | SS | NYY @ TEX 8:05PM | Y. Gallardo | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | .125 | .222 | .125 | .347 |
B. McCann | C | NYY @ TEX 8:05PM | Y. Gallardo | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | .200 | .333 | .300 | .633 |
C. Young | OF | NYY @ TEX 8:05PM | Y. Gallardo | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .111 | .158 | .111 | .269 |
S. Castro | SS | CHC @ MIL 8:10PM | J. Nelson | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .273 | .300 | .573 |
D. Murphy | OF | LAA @ HOU 8:10PM | S. Kazmir | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .143 | .200 | .143 | .343 |
K. Davis | OF | MIL vs CHC 8:10PM | J. Arrieta | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .182 | .182 | .364 | .545 |
J. Lucroy | C | MIL vs CHC 8:10PM | J. Arrieta | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
N. Cruz | OF | SEA @ MIN 8:10PM | P. Hughes | 21 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .190 | .227 | .571 | .799 |
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 |
Max Scherzer | WAS @ MIA 12:10PM | 69 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 13 | .348 | .357 | .557 | .914 |
Andrew Cashner | SD @ NYM 12:10PM | 62 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 16 | .323 | .354 | .494 | .848 |
Jon Niese | NYM vs SD 12:10PM | 92 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 17 | .326 | .380 | .458 | .838 |
Miguel Gonzalez | BAL vs DET 7:05PM | 87 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 8 | 11 | .322 | .377 | .536 | .912 |
Jeff Locke | PIT @ CIN 7:10PM | 111 | 35 | 11 | 4 | 17 | 11 | 13 | .315 | .369 | .491 | .860 |
Scott Kazmir | HOU vs LAA 8:10PM | 85 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 12 | .318 | .389 | .384 | .773 |
Matchup Info | Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | Game | AB | H | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Aaron Hicks, OF, Minnesota Twins – Hicks is 10-for-16 over his last five games and if you're scouring the dregs of the waiver wire for hitting help, dude can do the job. Hicks also has eight RBI over the same amount of games played, while scoring six runs in the process. This level of play won't last forever, so Hicks is more of a short-term solution.
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DraftKings Value Picks
SP: Marco Estrada, TOR ($5,900)
C: Jonathan Lucroy, MIL ($3,300)
1B: Victor Martinez, DET ($3,500)
2B: Kolten Wong, STL ($4,100)
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, TOR ($3,900)
3B: Maikel Franco, PHI ($3,800)
OF: Jorge Soler, CHC ($3,700)