Daily Notes for Sunday: Cueto back to the mound
Johnny Cueto and Tom Gorzelanny headline the most interesting pitching matchup, but one that could also be spoiled by the weather, as rain is expected in Pittsburgh. Kenny Rogers and Mark Buehrle face off in a division duel of southpaws, Francisco Liriano makes his first start since September of 2006, and the Yankees and Red Sox get the primetime billing on Sunday night as Phil Hughes and Daisuke Matsuzaka face off.
| Time | Visitors | L/R | Record | ERA | WHIP | Home | L/R | Record | ERA | WHIP | |||
| 1:05 p.m. |  | Chad Gaudin | R | 11-13 | 4.42 | 1.53 | @ |  | Cliff Lee | L | 5-8 | 6.29 | 1.52 |
| 1:10 p.m. |  | Jeff Suppan | R | 12-12 | 4.62 | 1.50 | @ |  | Oliver Perez | L | 15-10 | 3.56 | 1.31 |
| 1:35 p.m. |  | Tom Glavine | L | 13-8 | 4.45 | 1.41 | @ |  | Tim Redding | R | 3-6 | 3.64 | 1.45 |
| 1:35 p.m. |  | Jason Marquis | R | 12-9 | 4,60 | 1.39 | @ |  | Jamie Moyer | L | 14-12 | 5.01 | 1.44 |
| 1:35 p.m. |  | Johnny Cueto | R | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | @ |  | Tom Gorzelanny | L | 14-10 | 3.88 | 1.40 |
| 1:40 p.m. |  | Brian Burres | L | 6-8 | 5.95 | 1.70 | @ |  | Jeff Niemann | R | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2:05 p.m. |  | Kenny Rogers | L | 3-4 | 4.43 | 1.43 | @ |  | Mark Buehrle | L | 10-9 | 3.63 | 1.26 |
| 2:05 p.m. |  | Burke Badenhop | R | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | @ |  | Wandy Rodriguez | L | 9-13 | 4.58 | 1.32 |
| 2:10 p.m. |  | Francisco Liriano | L | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | @ |  | Brian Bannister | R | 12-9 | 3.87 | 1.21 |
| 3:05 p.m. |  | A.J. Burnett | R | 10-8 | 3.75 | 1.19 | @ |  | Scott Feldman | R | 1-2 | 5.77 | 1.95 |
| 4:05 p.m. |  | Joel Pineiro | R | 7-5 | 4.33 | 1.39 | @ |  | Tim Lincecum | R | 7-5 | 4.00 | 1.28 |
| 4:10 p.m. |  | Joe Saunders | L | 8-5 | 4.44 | 1.52 | @ |  | Erik Bedard | L | 13-5 | 3.16 | 1.09 |
| 4:10 p.m. |  | Aaron Cook | R | 8-7 | 4.12 | 1.34 | @ |  | Edgar Gonzalez | R | 8-4 | 5.03 | 1.35 |
| 4:10 p.m. |  | Greg Maddux | R | 14-11 | 4.14 | 1.24 | @ |  | Chad Billingsley | R | 12-5 | 3.31 | 1.33 |
| 8:05 p.m. |  | Phil Hughes | R | 5-3 | 4.46 | 1.28 | @ |  | Daisuke Matsuzaka | R | 15-12 | 4.40 | 1.32 |
Out
Willie Aybar. 3B, Rays (hamstring)
Mike Lowell, 3B, Red Sox (thumb)
Ty Wigginton, 2B/3B, Astros (thumb)
Day-to-day
Travis Buck, OF, A's (shin)
Luis Castillo, 2B, Mets (knee)
David DeJesus, OF, Royals (ankle)
Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees (quadriceps)
Howie Kendrick, 2B, Angels (thumb)
Jason Marquis, SP, Cubs (flu)
Kaz Matsui, 2B, Astros (anal fissure)
Jorge Posada, C, Yankees (shoulder)
Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies (ankle)
Jose Reyes, SS, Mets (hamstring)
Francisco Rodriguez, RP, Angels (ankle)
Gary Sheffield, OF, Tigers (finger)
Nick Swisher, OF, White Sox (hip)
Hitters: J.J. Hardy has a .294 average and .913 OPS against southpaws in his career; comparatively, he hits .250 with a .685 OPS against right-handers. Teammates Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks are also strong options with the Brewers facing a lefty. … Jamie Moyer allowed a whopping 1.8 home runs per nine innings at home last season. Alfonso Soriano is heating up with a five-game hitting streak and is a strong start; Aramis Ramirez and Mark DeRosa are also worthy of mention, as they hit lefties well. … Joe Crede doesn't have a large platoon split one way or another, but is currently red-hot with eight hits, four going for extra bases (and two for home runs) in his past four games. … Billy Butler has had a hit in every game this season, and is facing a potentially rusty Francisco Liriano with the platoon advantage. … Chris Duncan against a power pitcher in a cavernous pitchers' park doesn't sound like the best matchup to me. Tim Lincecum is inconsistent, but dominant when on, and AT&T Park is brutal on left-handers like Duncan. … Adrian Beltre has knocked lefties around a fair bit the past three seasons, and Joe Saunders, whom he faces on Sunday, shuts down lefties but is susceptible to righties, allowing a .288/.349/.450 line in his career to all right-handed batters.
Pitchers: The Brewers were a fierce offensive team at home last season (.815 OPS, sixth) and the D-backs have been the majors' hottest offense this season, so if Johnny Cueto could combine for 18 strikeouts and zero walks against that kind of opposition, the Pirates equal a must-start. … The Reds lean to the left offensively, which tends to make them weak against southpaws; last season the team OPS of .732 against southpaws ranked 25th. Expect Tom Gorzelanny to take advantage of that, especially with the game taking place in the friendly confines of PNC Park. … The vast majority of the Tigers lineup mashes lefties, and the game is also in homer-friendly U.S. Cellular Field; Mark Buehrle doesn't make the wisest play on Sunday. … Chad Billingsley has been erratic in this short season, and is being moved up to start Sunday. Billingsley had by far his best success against the Padres last season, with a 1.05 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 25 2/3 innings (three starts). … There are few pitchers who can reliably face an offense as good as the Yankees and turn out good results, so there's no shame in Daisuke Matsuzaka getting lit up by the Yanks last season (6.12 ERA in four starts). But don't fall into the trap of starting good pitchers against great offenses.
Hitters: He's been off to a poor start so far, but Geoff Jenkins, in Citizens Bank Park, against a righty (career: .882 OPS against), is too favorable too resist, especially when the righty is homer-prone Jason Marquis. … Jonny Gomes is a nice option against most southpaws, with a career .291/.395/.539 line against; his opposition, Brian Burres, is worse than most. … Marcus Thames (24 home runs in 395 career at-bats against lefties) should get the start and is a reliable option for cheap power against southpaws.
Pitchers: Tom Glavine has owned the Nationals in recent seasons, with a 2.97 ERA in 69 2/3 combined innings dating back to 2005. The Nats are just 28th in team OPS so far this season, with a .663 mark. … Wandy Rodriguez has 12 strikeouts and just one walk through 12 1/3 innings and has actually performed better at home in his career, notably so last season, when he accumulated a sub-3.00 ERA in 15 starts at home. But it's not the safest spot start either, as the Marlins have hit well this season (.836 OPS, second). … Brian Bannister gets the spot start treatment Sunday, more due to his opponent, the Twins, and their .700 team OPS (24th). An encouraging sign is that Bannister allowed just 15 home runs in 165 innings last season, and through two starts this season he has yet to allow a home run to the Tigers and Yankees, two of the best offenses. … The Giants have scored five runs just once, so you could try your luck and toss out any random starter facing the Giants. Joel Pineiro comes off the disabled list to give it a try. … It's always somewhat inherently risky to recommend a fifth starter, but the matchups are the matchups. Edgar Gonzalez faces the Rockies, who he held to one run in five innings a week ago. The Rockies are talented enough to bust out of their team-wide slump at any time, but they are a poor offensive team even at their best when on the road, and the D-backs offense should give Gonzalez plenty of run support.
Cleveland's going to deal with rain and snow showers from morning until night, so don't be surprised to see a delay and/or postponement. … New York should see PM showers, likely not enough to postpone the game, but conditions should be damp. … Pittsburgh will deal with significant PM showers; a delay could mean a short outing for either Johnny Cueto or Tom Gorzelanny, two young pitchers who will assuredly be babied given the opportunity. … Philadelphia, Boston and Washington should see some rain, but not enough to threaten a game. … Orioles-Rays, Marlins-Astros, Angels-Mariners, and Rockies-Diamondbacks are all weatherproof.
Adam Madison is a fantasy baseball analyst for ESPN.com.
