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The team with baseball's best record will send the pitcher with the best record to the mound Thursday against Colorado when Brandon Webb seeks his ninth victory. The Rockies will counter with their most successful pitcher, sinkerballer Aaron Cook. The two hurlers both have earned run averages under 2.50, WHIPs under 1.15 and a combined record of 14-1.

Time	Visitors		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP		Home		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP
12:05 p.m.		Greg Smith	L	2-2	3.00	1.07	@		Aaron Laffey	L	1-2	1.83	0.86
1:05 p.m.		Chad Billingsley	R	2-5	4.89	1.58	@		Ben Sheets	R	4-0	2.53	0.97
1:10 p.m.		Dustin McGowan	R	2-3	4.47	1.45	@		Glen Perkins	L	0-1	4.50	1.50
1:10 p.m.		Jason Bergmann	R	0-1	11.68	1.78	@		Mike Pelfrey	R	2-3	4.86	1.83
1:15 p.m.		Ian Snell	R	2-2	4.53	1.57	@		Joel Pineiro	R	2-2	4.05	1.32
2:10 p.m.		Kenny Rogers	L	3-3	5.82	1.71	@		Gil Meche	R	2-5	6.31	1.53
2:20 p.m.		Greg Maddux	R	3-3	3.60	1.16	@		Ryan Dempster	R	4-1	2.76	1.06
3:45 p.m.		Chris Sampson	R	2-3	6.27	1.64	@		Tim Lincecum	R	5-1	1.61	1.25
4:10 p.m.		Ian Kennedy	R	0-2	8.37	2.03	@		Scott Kazmir	L	1-1	2.70	1.50
7:05 p.m.		Chuck James	L	2-2	7.58	1.58	@		Cole Hamels	L	4-3	3.36	1.10
7:10 p.m.		Andrew Miller	L	3-2	6.52	1.81	@		Matt Belisle	R	1-3	7.45	1.91
9:40 p.m.		Aaron Cook	R	6-1	2.26	1.13	@		Brandon Webb	R	8-0	2.41	1.00
10:05 p.m.		Javier Vazquez	R	4-3	3.63	1.21	@		Jon Garland	R	4-3	4.30	1.41

All times are ET.

Out
Wilson Betemit, 3B, Yankees (hamstring)
Chris Denorfia, OF, A's (back)
Ryan Doumit, C, Pirates (thumb)
Chone Figgins, 3B, Angels (hamstring)
Rafael Furcal, SS, Dodgers (back)
Jeff Keppinger, SS, Reds (knee)
Angel Pagan, OF, Mets (shoulder)
Richie Sexson, 1B, Mariners (suspension)
Vernon Wells, OF, Blue Jays (wrist)

Day-to-day
Luis Castillo, 2B, Mets (quad)
Coco Crisp, OF, Red Sox (illness)
J.D. Drew, OF, Red Sox (wrist)
Mark Ellis, 2B, A's (hamstring)
Mike Jacobs, 1B, Marlins (quad)
Takashi Saito, RP, Dodgers (illness)
Mark Teixeira, 1B, Braves (back)
Ty Wigginton, 3B, Astros (ribs)

Hitters: Mike Cameron can take a seat for you Thursday. He has managed only a hit and a walk to go with eight strikeouts in 17 at-bats versus Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. … Twins outfielder Delmon Young faced Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan plenty while playing in the AL East with the Rays. But Young is only 1-for-10 versus McGowan, and is just coming back from an ankle injury to boot. Bench him if you have a decent alternative. … The Tigers' Placido Polanco is 6-for-26 without an extra-base hit against Royals starter Gil Meche. … After his recent homer surge, the Cardinals' Ryan Ludwick is owned in nearly all ESPN leagues. However, he'll probably be on the bench Thursday against tough right-hander Ian Snell, as manager Tony LaRussa tends to stick to his platoon arrangements regardless of who has the hot hand. … In his career, Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has had plenty of chances against Greg Maddux -- 54 at-bats, to be exact -- but has managed only a .241/.276/.352 line off the future Hall of Famer. Shallow leaguers can look elsewhere for first-base help Thursday. … It's hard to bench Derek Jeter, but if there was ever a time for it, it would be when Scott Kazmir was on the hill. The Rays starter has owned Jeter, allowing only two hits in 20 at-bats. Shallow leaguers with a decent backup option can give the Yankees' captain a day off. … Conor Jackson (0-for-12) and Stephen Drew (4-for-22) are two Arizona hitters who have really struggled with Rockies sinkerballer Aaron Cook. … Yet another hitter beginning to shake his early-season slump is Hunter Pence. The Astros outfielder has nine hits in his last 21 at-bats, and has walked four times against only three strikeouts. … Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson has been struggling recently, and he has never had much success against Phillies starter Cole Hamels anyway (1-for-11.)

Pitchers: Chad Billingsley has been struggling with his control, but he's striking out enough batters to succeed in spite of it. Keep him activated while he works through it. … Gil Meche should not be active against the Tigers in any format. … Greg Maddux is sporting a 1.42 ERA at home in pitching-friendly Petco Park, but that figure is nearly 5.00 in his road outings. Keep him reserved Thursday when he faces the Cubs at Wrigley. … Pirates starter Ian Snell is a great bet to work through his control problems and wind up having plenty of value this year. For now, however, it's best to keep him reserved. Snell tossed seven innings of one-run ball against Atlanta in his last start, but what seemed like an encouraging outing really wasn't since he also walked six batters. Snell's cause won't be helped Thursday by his history against Albert Pujols. The Cardinals' slugger is 11-for-19 with four home runs versus the Pirates' ace. … Scott Kazmir wasn't sharp in his first outing after returning from the disabled list, but he was back in form with six shutout innings against the Angels in his second start. Don't hesitate to put him back in the lineup against the Yankees. The Tampa left-hander has been very successful against New York in his career, posting an ERA of exactly 3.00 in nine appearances. Also, Kazmir hasn't had trouble with any of the Yankees' big boppers except the disabled Jorge Posada.

Hitters: Owners seeking infield help Thursday should look no further than Mark Grudzielanek. The Royals' second baseman has been a nightmare for Kenny Rogers, going 12-for-20 with five doubles and two home runs in his career against the Tigers left-hander. … A lengthy slump caused most owners to give up on Royals outfielder Jose Guillen, but the veteran is back in form, stroking 10 hits -- including five doubles -- in his last 18 at-bats. … They've swapped addresses, but Orlando Cabrera still owns Angels starter Jon Garland. The White Sox shortstop, surprisingly unowned in nearly 40 percent of ESPN leagues, is 13-for-30 with five extra-base hits versus Garland. … Only the top hitters should be in your lineup against a streaking ace like Brandon Webb, and in this case that does not include Garrett Atkins. The Rockies' third baseman is hitting only .176/.194/.206 against Webb. … Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder has had to share time with Miguel Montero since the latter came off the disabled list, but on Thursday, Snyder should have catching duties to himself thanks to his 10-for-17 history against Rockies starter Aaron Cook. … Randy Winn is heating up for the Giants, with a .931 OPS during the past week's games. Winn is also 3-for-6 against Astros starter Chris Sampson.

Pitchers: Indians rookie Aaron Laffey is off to a fine start after three outings. Laffey keeps the ball on the ground and should be a solid play against the A's mediocre lineup. … Twins left-hander Glen Perkins is a high-strikeout pitcher with questionable control, so it was a good sign that he didn't walk a Red Sox batter in his first start of the season last week. Perkins acquitted himself well in that start and can be used against Toronto on Thursday.

Games in Minnesota, Tampa, Milwaukee and Arizona are always weatherproof. Rain is forecast for much of the country for Thursday, though. The home dates of the Cardinals, Royals and Reds are the most likely to be affected, with games hosted by the Phillies and Cubs also possibilities.

Will Harris is a fantasy baseball and college football analyst for ESPN.com