Wang, Penny fight to stay in rotation

But Wednesday's big story is a full slate of interleague games, and that means big-time DH implications. Among the DHs I'm expecting to sit: the White Sox's Jim Thome and the Angels' Vladimir Guerrero. Among the National League hitters who might sneak in a start due to the addition of the DH: the Mets' Gary Sheffield, the Marlins' Ross Gload and the Pirates' Craig Monroe.
Editor's note: Due to Tuesday's rainout, the White Sox will use John Danks in lieu of Gavin Floyd for today's matchup. The Cubs will go with Ryan Dempster as originally planned, with Tuesday's starter Carlos Zambrano pitching on Thursday instead.
For starters
Selected notes: Francisco Liriano has had back-to-back quality starts against the Mariners and Athletics, and the Pirates don't sport that much stronger an offense, with a .726 team OPS overall, .701 since May 26. He has a 2.84 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 28 career games (21 starts) at the Metrodome, backing it up as a favorable matchup. Although the White Sox hammered Ryan Dempster in two starts in 2008, with the right-hander suffering a 7.84 ERA and 2.03 WHIP in those games, he continues to match up splendidly in his home games, with a 17-3 record, 3.09 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 25 starts at Wrigley Field between this and last season. It also helps that the White Sox rank 25th in baseball in team OPS (.715). Oddly, Edwin Jackson has been a wonder in his road starts, with a 3-2 record, 1.55 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in seven turns. He had a decent start in St. Louis on May 18, 2008, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing one run on six hits with seven strikeouts, and since the Cardinals have averaged 3.6 runs per game with a .677 team OPS in June, I'd expect continued good things. Brad Penny was pitching for his rotation spot last time out and shut the Yankees out for six innings, and now he draws the Marlins, a strikeout-prone, streaky offense. The motivation alone is enough to make him a spot-start candidate, but the fact that it's a home game also plays in his favor. Give Hiroki Kuroda a break; his most recent start was a treacherous matchup, in Texas against an elite offense. He is 6-3 with a 3.45 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 16 career starts at Dodger Stadium and will face the light-hitting Athletics. Expect a bounce-back performance. Although the win won't be an easy task, Micah Owings is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in three career starts versus the Braves. He defeated Atlanta with seven innings of one-run, six-hit baseball at home on April 26, so take a look at him if you're in an NL-only league. Sleeper alert: Garrett Olson tossed five innings of two-run baseball in Baltimore this past Thursday for the win, and now he'll face a Padres team with a miserable .665 OPS versus left-handers. San Diego has averaged 3.4 runs per game with a .626 team OPS in June. Strangely enough, Jamie Moyer has faced the Blue Jays at home in each of the past two seasons during interleague play and has had a good share of trouble in those two starts, surrendering 10 runs on 15 hits, including two home runs, in 10 innings. He has only one quality start at home this season and a 6.82 ERA in six starts there, and Toronto ranks fifth in the majors in team OPS versus left-handers (.828). Don't chance it. It's still a clear no for Chien-Ming Wang, despite his respectable complete-game performance versus the Nationals in 2006. Different time, different pitcher; he has a 11.05 ERA in his two starts since rejoining the rotation.
Now batting
Hitters' count
• A.J. Pierzynski, C, White Sox: He's 4-for-10 (.400 BA) with one home run and a 1.155 OPS in his career against Ryan Dempster and has batted .316 with three homers, 12 RBIs and an .855 OPS in 15 career games at Wrigley Field.
• Mark DeRosa, 2B/3B/OF, Indians: He's 4-for-11 (.364 BA) with one double and two walks in his career against Jeff Suppan.
• Vernon Wells, OF, Blue Jays: Blue Jays hitters have extensive experience -- and success -- against Jamie Moyer. Wells is one of their standouts, with a lifetime .342 batting average (13-for-38) and two homers versus the left-hander.
• Alex Rios, OF, Blue Jays: He's a .474 hitter (9-for-19) with four doubles, one triple and one home run in his career against Moyer.
• Lyle Overbay, 1B, Blue Jays: The rare lefty-versus-lefty matchup in which you want the hitter. Overbay is a surprising 6-for-13 (.462 BA) with one double, one triple and one home run in his career against Moyer. He's also a .309 hitter with three home runs, eight RBIs and a .912 OPS in 15 career games at Citizens Bank Park.
• Stephen Drew, SS, Diamondbacks: It's a small sample size, but Drew is 2-for-4 in his career against Zack Greinke, and coupled with his .326 batting average in his past 21 games, that makes him well worth activating.
• Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals: Just because Edwin Jackson warrants fantasy consideration doesn't mean Pujols isn't a must-start. He's 3-for-4 in his career against Jackson.
• Curtis Granderson, OF, Tigers: He is 3-for-8 with one double and one triple in his career versus Todd Wellemeyer, and is a .301 hitter with an .825 OPS in 59 career interleague games.
• Placido Polanco, 2B, Tigers: In his career against Wellemeyer, he's 3-for-7 with one double and two walks. He's also a .327 hitter in 142 career interleague games.
• Pat Burrell, OF, Rays: The concern here is that without the designated hitter role in which to hide him, the Rays might not start Burrell on Wednesday. But they might want to consider slotting him in right field, seeing as he's 11-for-16 (.688 BA) with one double and one home run in his career against Aaron Cook. Burrell also is a .366 hitter with eight homers, 29 RBIs and a 1.145 OPS in 25 career games at Coors Field.
• Matt Holliday, OF, Athletics: He remembers Hiroki Kuroda from their days as National League West foes and is 5-for-8 (.625 BA) with two doubles, three RBIs and one walk in his career against the Japanese right-hander.
• Clint Barmes, 2B/SS, Rockies: He's a .340 hitter with a 1.117 OPS versus left-handers this season and a .297 hitter with an .816 OPS in his career at Coors Field.
Pitchers' count
• Ty Wigginton, 3B/OF, Orioles: He's hitless in 12 career at-bats versus Tim Redding, with three strikeouts.
• Kelly Johnson, 2B, Braves: He's 2-for-10 (.200 BA) with two strikeouts and no extra-base hits in his career against Micah Owings.
• Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Mariners: He's hitless with three strikeouts in seven career at-bats versus Chad Gaudin, and a Petco Park assignment isn't at all favorable.
• Jose Lopez, 2B, Mariners: He's 3-for-13 (.231 BA) with only one extra-base hit -- a double -- in his career against Gaudin.
• Brian Giles, OF, Padres: Don't ever bother with him in a home game against a left-handed starter; he is a .136 hitter with a .374 OPS versus lefties this season and has an unsightly .188 batting average in 27 games at Petco Park in 2009.
• Alexei Ramirez, 2B/SS, White Sox: He is a .204 hitter with a .537 OPS versus right-handers this season, and his career OPS is 38 points lower in road games than at home.
• Russell Martin, C, Dodgers: He is a .229 hitter with a .603 OPS versus right-handers this season and historically has had trouble against ground-ball pitchers. In his career, he has a .769 OPS against ground-ballers, worst against any type of pitcher.
If you're hardcore
Deep inside the matchups
Chien-Ming Wang's important outing and Hiroki Kuroda's start against Oakland are analyzed.
Inside the Matchups.
• Corey Patterson, OF, Nationals: Can you believe this guy is back? Hey, he's 4-for-12 (.333 BA) with one home run in his career against Chien-Ming Wang, and Yankee Stadium does favor left-handed power hitters. You never know.
• Marco Scutaro, 2B/3B/SS, Blue Jays: He's a .379 hitter (11-for-29) with three home runs in his career against Jamie Moyer.
• Alex Gonzalez, SS, Reds: He's a lifetime .382 hitter (13-for-34) with five doubles and one home run versus Javier Vazquez.
• Jack Wilson, SS, Pirates: Another small sample size, but he's 2-for-3 with one home run in his career against Francisco Liriano. Wilson also is batting .294 (15-for-51) in his past 13 games, a respectable enough performance to warrant activating him.
• Adam Everett, SS, Tigers: Another light-hitting shortstop hitting decently of late, Everett has batted .280 in his past seven games. He's also 2-for-5 with one home run in his career against Todd Wellemeyer.
• David Eckstein, 2B/SS, Padres: It's a good day for spot-start shortstops, wouldn't you say? Eckstein is 3-for-5 with one double in his career against Garrett Olson.
• Yuniesky Betancourt, SS, Mariners: Yet another spot-start shortstop, Betancourt is 3-for-9 with one double and one home run lifetime versus Chad Gaudin.
• Casey McGehee, 2B/3B, Brewers: He is getting a fair share of starts between second and third base and is batting .423 with a 1.115 OPS in his past 18 games. He's also a .385 hitter with a 1.099 OPS versus left-handers this season.
Triage
Injury list: Out
• Geoff Blum, 3B, Astros (hamstring): Might be DL-bound.
• Coco Crisp, OF, Royals (rotator cuff, 15-day DL)
• Kelvim Escobar, SP/RP, Angels (shoulder, 15-day DL): Consider it more of a way for the Angels to get him in a rehabilitation stint to work on his conversion to relief.
• Frank Francisco, RP, Rangers (shoulder, 15-day DL)
• Torii Hunter, OF, Angels (ribs): He's due to miss a few games after crashing into the center-field wall during Monday's contest.
• Denard Span, OF, Twins (inner-ear infection): Likely headed to the DL.
Injury list: Day-to-day
• Joe Crede, 3B, Twins (back): Unlikely to miss more than a game or two.
• Michael Cuddyer, OF, Twins (finger): Was hoping to return Tuesday.
• Jermaine Dye, OF, White Sox (calf)
• Raul Ibanez, OF, Phillies (Achilles): Was expected to return Tuesday.
• Adam Jones, OF, Orioles (shin): Was expected to return Tuesday.
• Casey Kotchman, 1B, Braves (calf, 15-day DL): Was expected to be activated Tuesday.
• Carlos Lee, OF, Astros (hamstring): Will probably serve as the DH.
• Kazuo Matsui, 2B, Astros (hamstring, 15-day DL): Was expected to be activated Tuesday.
• Gary Sheffield, OF, Mets (knee): Plans to play through the pain, but once the Mets return home and lose the DH, he might begin to sit out some games.
• Josh Willingham, OF, Nationals (bereavement)
Weather concerns
• Only one game Wednesday is weatherproof: Pirates-Twins.
• White Sox-Cubs, a day game, might be able to wait out any potential showers, as the 60 percent chance of rain during the day should subside by evening. Remember, it's an interleague game, and those aren't easy to reschedule.
• There's a 40 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in Arlington, Texas, all day Wednesday, which warrants concern with that Astros-Rangers game.
• Cleveland (Brewers-Indians) has to tangle with a 50 percent chance of rain.
• The East Coast is the other problem area. The probability of rain is highest in Baltimore (Mets-Orioles, 60 percent chance), New York (Nationals-Yankees, 50 percent) and Philadelphia (Blue Jays-Phillies, 70 percent).
Tristan H. Cockcroft is a fantasy baseball analyst for ESPN.com and a two-time champion of the League of Alternative Baseball Reality experts league. You can e-mail him here.
