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What a Fourth of July this one is! We've got some classic rivalries: Red Sox-Yankees, Dodgers-Giants, Mets-Phillies and Cubs-Cardinals, and every one of those games absolutely matters in the standings. Plus, with the staggered scheduling, we'll probably get baseball every minute of the day from 1:05 p.m. until at least midnight (Eastern time, of course). Oh, how am I to squeeze in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, scheduled for 1 p.m., while manning the grill, too? Such challenges. But that's the greatness of a summer holiday weekend, isn't it?

And what of those individual matchups? Carlos Zambrano marks his return from the DL in the Cubs-Cardinals game, and Boston's Josh Beckett takes the mound at Yankee Stadium, where, in case you forgot, he won the clinching game of the 2003 World Series as a member of the Marlins.

So crack out the top-shelf grub for Friday, because this is shaping up to be one captivating Fourth, one you can't afford to miss. Enjoy!

Time	Visitors		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP		Home		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP
1:05 p.m.		Josh Beckett	R	7-5	3.65	1.12	@		Darrell Rasner	R	4-6	4.42	1.40
1:15 p.m.		Jason Bergmann	R	1-5	4.26	1.32	@		Bronson Arroyo	R	5-7	6.19	1.67
2:05 p.m.		Tom Gorzelanny	L	6-6	6.18	1.75	@		Ben Sheets	R	9-2	2.83	1.07
4:05 p.m.		Derek Lowe	R	5-8	3.88	1.27	@		Jonathan Sanchez	L	8-4	3.79	1.34
4:10 p.m.		Kenny Rogers	L	6-5	4.59	1.55	@		Erik Bedard	L	5-4	3.79	1.30
4:35 p.m.		Vicente Padilla	R	10-4	4.13	1.39	@		Jeremy Guthrie	R	4-7	3.50	1.20
5:10 p.m.		Brian Bannister	R	7-7	4.88	1.36	@		Edwin Jackson	R	4-6	4.33	1.45
7:05 p.m.		Joe Blanton	R	4-11	4.97	1.43	@		Mark Buehrle	L	6-6	3.79	1.30
7:05 p.m.		Johan Santana	L	7-7	3.01	1.22	@		Chad Durbin	R	2-1	1.58	1.20
7:10 p.m.		Paul Byrd	R	3-9	5.26	1.29	@		Livan Hernandez	R	8-5	5.22	1.60
7:35 p.m.		Brian Moehler	R	4-3	3.82	1.38	@		Tim Hudson	R	8-6	3.31	1.21
8:05 p.m.		Scott Olsen	L	4-4	3.47	1.25	@		Greg Reynolds	R	2-6	5.75	1.46
8:15 p.m.		Carlos Zambrano	R	8-3	3.13	1.33	@		Braden Looper	R	9-5	4.26	1.40
9:05 p.m.		A.J. Burnett	R	8-7	4.74	1.48	@		Jered Weaver	R	7-8	4.30	1.27
9:40 p.m.		Cha Seung Baek	R	1-4	5.43	1.37	@		Dan Haren	R	8-4	2.85	0.97

All times are ET.

Out
Eric Byrnes, OF, Diamondbacks (hamstring)
Matt Capps, RP, Pirates (shoulder)
Eric Chavez, 3B, A's (shoulder)
Alex Cintron, 3B/SS, Orioles (hamstring)
Troy Percival, RP, Rays (hamstring)
Juan Pierre, OF, Dodgers (knee)
Humberto Quintero, C, Astros (concussion)
Chris Snyder, C, Diamondbacks (testicular fracture)
Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins (ankle)

Day-to-day
Miguel Batista, RP, Mariners (back)
Miguel Cabrera, 1B/3B, Tigers (hip)
David DeJesus, OF, Royals (ribs)
Omar Infante, 2B/3B, Braves (hamstring)
Jason Isringhausen, RP, Cardinals (knee)
Duaner Sanchez, RP, Mets (knee)
Willy Taveras, OF, Rockies (thigh)
Michael Young, SS, Rangers (groin)

Hitters: Robinson Cano hits the Red Sox's Josh Beckett well. Against the right-hander, he's hit .375 (9-for-24) and has struck out only twice in his career. Bobby Abreu, by comparison, does not: He's hitting .193 (11-for-57) with 20 K's against Beckett, though he has 18 walks, too. But don't get creative with your Yankees; Beckett is one tough cookie. … The Pirates' Tom Gorzelanny has been having his share of problems against right-handed hitters this season -- all 14 of the home runs he has surrendered have come against that side -- so load up on Brewers righties for Friday. We're talking Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks, to name four. … Xavier Nady is one of the rare few who completely owns the Brewers' Ben Sheets; he's 9-for-17 with two doubles and three home runs lifetime against the right-hander. Ryan Doumit also has a decent enough track record against Sheets in his career, as he's gone 3-for-8 with two homers. … Giants hitters actually have a decent track record against the Dodgers' Derek Lowe. Bengie Molina, for instance, is 7-for-17 against him for his career, while Aaron Rowand is 7-for-14. … Matt Kemp is 3-for-4 with a double lifetime against the Giants' Jonathan Sanchez, but more importantly, he plays every single game against a left-handed starter, mainly because his career OPS against that side is almost .900. … Brian Roberts is 6-for-11 with three doubles in his career against the Rangers' Vicente Padilla. … Though the Indians' Paul Byrd has an extraordinary track record at the Metrodome -- see below -- a handful of Twins hitters do handle him pretty well. One of them is Justin Morneau, who is hitting .421 (16-for-38) with three homers in his career against the right-hander. … The Marlins' Scott Olsen was lit up the most recent time he pitched at Coors Field, and Rockies hitters in general boast a good share of success against him. Garrett Atkins is 4-for-8 with two doubles and a home run against the left-hander, while Matt Holliday is 6-for-7 with a double and a homer against Olsen. … The Rockies' Greg Reynolds isn't especially successful against left-handed hitters, which bodes well for Jeremy Hermida. Hermida, by the way, is 9-for-24 with two home runs in six career games at Coors Field.

Pitchers: Josh Beckett mastered the Yankees' lineup in an April 17 start at Yankee Stadium, going eight innings and allowing only three runs on six hits. He's the ultimate big-game pitcher, so there's little reason to expect any less than a similar effort, even though he has a 5.90 ERA at the Stadium in five career regular-season starts. … Avoid Darrell Rasner, in spite of his 2.08 ERA in four starts at home this year. The Red Sox bring a healthy share of lumber to the table, putting the right-hander at high risk of a blowup. … The last time Bronson Arroyo faced the Nationals, he served up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings on Aug. 1. He also has an 8.26 ERA in his past six starts. No thanks! … Though Ben Sheets has only seven wins in 21 career starts against the Pirates, his 2.97 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in those outings sure back him up as a solid start. He hurled a one-run, 11-hit, complete-game effort against them on May 21 for a W. … Derek Lowe has been masterful at AT&T Park throughout the years, with a 3-1 record, 1.50 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in five career starts there. He also has a 2.40 ERA in his past seven starts, which bodes extremely well. … Of course, Jonathan Sanchez, Lowe's opponent, is in the midst of a comparable hot streak, with a 6-1 record and 3.09 ERA in his past seven turns. The Dodgers might hit lefties better than righties, but even with that, they're not much better than league-average against Sanchez's side. Expect a low-scoring affair. … This is a very risky proposition for Erik Bedard, who's making his second start since battling back spasms and battling a Tigers team that ranks as one of the game's best against southpaws. That he has a 2.30 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in seven starts at Safeco Field this season makes him worth using, but there's risk here, so be cautious if you're preserving innings and/or starts. … In case you slept through June, Mark Buehrle was 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA in six starts in the month, and now he faces the A's, a team that rarely touches left-handers. That hot streak should extend into July, I'd think. … The Astros continue to display their share of struggles offensively, but more importantly, Tim Hudson is lights-out at home this year, with a 6-1 record and 2.24 ERA in eight starts. Expect a bounce-back effort coming off his so-so June. … Carlos Zambrano is the great unknown in his first start fresh off the DL, and it's in St. Louis, which isn't the easiest of matchups. He was 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three starts there in 2007, so NL-only owners can feel free to activate him, but I'm still advising those who can afford to bench "Z" and evaluate him in his first start back to do so. … A.J. Burnett has had back-to-back outstanding starts, in which he's totaled 15 innings, 18 strikeouts, one run and eight hits allowed. This also is right around the time of year when he begins to heat up, so expect continued success. … Not that you need me to tell you, but start Dan Haren by all means against the Padres. He's one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, with a 3-0 record and 1.32 ERA in six starts in June, and the Padres represent one of the game's weaker offenses.

Hitters: Dmitri Young is a lifetime .471 hitter (8-for-17) with one home run against the Reds' Bronson Arroyo, and he was 8-for-15 with four doubles in four games at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park last season. … If the Nationals summon Austin Kearns from his rehabilitation assignment in time for Friday's game, he's well worth activating immediately in NL-only and deep-mixed formats. He's 3-for-4 with two home runs lifetime against Arroyo and was 5-for-17 with a home run in four games at Great American in 2007. … Recalling the "use Brewers righties" theme, feel free to grab Mike Cameron and Bill Hall, too. In Hall's case, in particular, he starts every single game for the team at third base against a southpaw, thanks to his near-1.000 OPS against that side. … The Mariners rank among the game's top 10 in terms of team OPS against left-handers, so expect moderate success against the Tigers' Kenny Rogers. In particular, Richie Sexson is a lifetime .435 hitter (10-for-23) with a home run and a 1.349 OPS against the left-hander, whereas Yuniesky Betancourt is 6-for-16 (.375) with a home run in his career against Rogers. … Emil Brown is a lifetime .444 hitter (16-for-36) with three homers against the White Sox's Mark Buehrle, and he'll almost assuredly be in the lineup, noting the A's struggles against lefties. Kurt Suzuki is also 4-for-6 with a home run in his career against Buehrle. … Jason Kubel is another of the aforementioned Twins with a good track record against the Indians' Paul Byrd; he's a lifetime .444 hitter (8-for-18) with two home runs against the righty. … Take a look at both Jamey Carroll and Shin-Soo Choo, because each of them had huge games the last time the Indians faced the Twins' Livan Hernandez, on June 12. They were a combined 6-for-8 with a home run (Choo hit it). They're also both playing fairly regularly against right-handed starters. … There's a good chance the Rockies will consider slotting Ryan Spilborghs in ahead of Brad Hawpe in right field, knowing he's 4-for-6 in his career against Marlins left-hander Scott Olsen. … Lyle Overbay is 4-for-8 with a double and a home run lifetime against the Angels' Jered Weaver. … Brian Giles is 4-for-10 with two doubles in his career against the Diamondbacks' Dan Haren, including 1-for-3 in their April 18 meeting this season.

Pitchers: Matt Capps' shoulder injury clears the Pirates' closer role for a committee, with Damaso Marte and Tyler Yates the best two choices. Manager John Russell also has mentioned Romulo Sanchez and John Grabow as candidates. … It's a challenging matchup against the stout Rangers offense, but Jeremy Guthrie is pitching too well lately to sit, outside of shallow mixed leagues. He has eight quality starts in his past 10 tries and a 2.88 ERA and 1.16 WHIP overall during that span. … With Troy Percival on the DL, the Rays will go with a closer-by-committee of their own, led by Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour. Again, it's something for desperate save-seekers to keep in mind. … Paul Byrd, believe it or not, is 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 10 career starts at Minnesota's Metrodome. That includes a quality-start effort there on April 20 (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER), so take a look at him in AL-only or deep-mixed formats. … Braden Looper dominated the Cubs last season, with a 2-1 record, 1.67 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in four starts, and he's 11-7 with a 3.74 ERA in 24 starts at home since the beginning of last season. He has to consider himself fortunate that the time in which he's matched up against Carlos Zambrano is coincidentally the Cubs right-hander's first start coming off a DL stint because of a shoulder problem. Otherwise, Looper wouldn't stand much of a chance of being a useful spot starter.

Five Friday games are weatherproof: Pirates-Brewers, Tigers-Mariners, Royals-Rays, Indians-Twins and Padres-Diamondbacks. Sadly, though it's a holiday and a big BBQ day, rain should be expected in a fair share of cities. There's a 50 percent chance of rain in Cincinnati (Nationals-Reds); 40 percent in Baltimore (Rangers-Orioles); 40 in St. Louis (Cubs-Cardinals); 30 in New York (Red Sox-Yankees); and 30 in Philadelphia (Mets-Phillies). Not that any of the forecasts suggest downpours, but there's a risk of a less-than-pretty day in any of those five cities.

Tristan H. Cockcroft covers fantasy sports for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.