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We've got our World Series rematch in the early stages of the week, Phillies-Rays in Tampa Bay, and Wednesday's game is the one in which two of the 2008 postseason's most effective pitchers face each other: Joe Blanton takes on Matt Garza. In Game 4 of the 2008 World Series Blanton mastered the Rays for six innings for the win, and while Garza dropped Game 3 in Philly, he did complete the postseason 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA in his four starts. Blanton is the one in the midst of the hotter streak, but Garza has home-field advantage, so it'll sure be one to watch.

In other matchups, Brandon Morrow gets a rematch against the Padres in his third turn since being converted back into a starter; Joba Chamberlain takes on the Braves in a road start on national TV; and the Rockies look to extend their hot streak by sending one of their most effective starters, Jason Marquis, to the mound.

For starters

Selected notes: Jon Lester is rollin', rollin', rollin', with a 2-1 record, 1.67 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 27 innings in his past four starts -- numbers that are all the more impressive when you consider three of the matchups were the Blue Jays (they hit lefties!), Rangers and Phillies. The question needs not even be asked whether he's a must-start. … Rick Porcello has won back-to-back interleague starts, both on the road, and is actually 7-1 with a 2.42 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in nine turns since May 1. Now he'll return home, where he'll draw the Cubs, who have averaged 3.3 runs per game with a .236 team batting average and .670 OPS in their past 30 contests. What's not to like? … Ricky Nolasco has a 2.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, .235 batting average allowed and 18 strikeouts in 18 innings in his three starts since returning from the minors, and two of those matchups were at Toronto and at Boston -- neither a cakewalk for any pitcher. Oh, he also dominated in two starts before that for Triple-A New Orleans, combining for a 2.40 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while going seven-plus frames each time. Seems like the wake-up call was a stroke of genius. … Randy Johnson is 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in his past six starts, during which time he notched his 300th win, though admittedly his schedule has been somewhat light (Mariners, Nationals and Athletics were three opponents). Speaking of Oakland, Johnson limited that team to two runs on four hits in seven innings on June 13, and now he'll head to Oakland, where he's 8-3 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 12 career starts. … Nick Blackburn at this point is a must-start at home, and a matchups consideration on the road. However, he has a string of six consecutive quality starts, during which he's 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, and will be facing a Brewers lineup with a middling (14th in the majors) .750 team OPS; those facts have me willing to elevate his road status to "must-play streak" for the time being. … Joba Chamberlain's most obvious weakness is his inefficiency with pitches, leading to quicker hooks than your average starter. But here's a great stat in his defense for Wednesday: The Braves rank second-worst in baseball in pitches seen per plate appearance (3.63). Expect success -- and atypical length -- from him. … One of the primary reasons the Rockies have been as successful as they have of late is the pitching of Jason Marquis, who is 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in his past seven starts and 5-2 with a 3.10 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in seven road starts for the season. You can't dismiss this guy as a fluke any longer. … You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have Brandon Morrow in a nutshell. The good: The right-hander has a 3.86 ERA and 10 strikeouts in his past seven innings. The bad: Those numbers came in two starts, not one. The good: Morrow struck out six Padres in four innings this past Thursday, and the Padres have averaged 3.3 runs per game with a .634 team OPS in the month of June. The bad: Morrow's pitch count was 64 in his first start of the season, 74 at San Diego, and might not top 90 Wednesday, which isn't much. I leave the decision up to you; your league's format (do you have starts/innings limits?) is an important deciding factor, as you hum that catch-catch-catchy tune. … No, it is not crazy to look at Josh Geer as a deep-league spot starter. He limited the Mariners to three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out six in six innings Thursday, and Seattle sports a .703 team OPS versus right-handers, third-worst in baseball. … You know that phrase "sneaky-good start"? Well, Carl Pavano is what I'd call a "sneaky-bad start" at Pittsburgh. The Pirates have a .789 OPS in their home games, 10th in the majors; Pavano was rocked for 15 runs, 20 hits, four home runs and a .444 batting average allowed in his past two turns combined; and it's his return to the rotation after some creative rescheduling due to a sore right shoulder. … Craig Stammen might have mastered the Yankees for 6 1/3 shutout innings in his most recent start, but expect a quick, steep drop to earth for him versus the Red Sox. Fly-ball pitcher with a penchant for sporadic wildness faces the game's No. 3 offense (.805 team OPS)? No thanks.

Now batting

Hitters' count

• Placido Polanco, 2B, Tigers: So long as his leg allows him to play, he's a good start, being that he's 5-for-7 (.714 BA) with two doubles lifetime versus Rich Harden.
• Mark DeRosa, 2B/3B/OF, Indians: He's 7-for-20 (.350 BA) with three doubles in his career against Zach Duke.
• Scott Rolen, 3B, Blue Jays: He's a lifetime .360 hitter (9-for-25) with four doubles, two home runs, three walks and seven RBIs against Bronson Arroyo.
• Carlos Pena, 1B, Rays: He's 4-for-7 (.571 BA) with one double and two walks in his career against Joe Blanton. This season he also has a 1.079 OPS in his home games, 257 points higher than his number in road contests.
• Corey Hart, OF, Brewers: Though it's a small sample size, he has two hits in three at-bats in his career against Nick Blackburn, and both of them were home runs.
• J.J. Hardy, SS, Brewers: Another small sample, but Hardy is 2-for-3 with one home run in his career against Nick Blackburn. He's also a .341 hitter with a 1.134 OPS in 10 interleague games this season, .312/.997 in 47 career interleague contests.
• Joe Mauer, C, Twins: What is this, "small sample size Wednesday"? Still, the stats are somewhat relevant; he's 3-for-3 with one home run in his career against Braden Looper, all those stats accrued this season, on May 23.
• Mike Jacobs, 1B, Royals: There's a threat he'll sit in a National League park since he's the Royals' usual DH and Billy Butler typically mans first base, but the Royals should seriously consider using Jacobs at first, seeing as he's 5-for-17 (.294 BA) with one double and one home run in his career against Roy Oswalt.
• Juan Pierre, OF, Dodgers: He's 3-for-6 (.500 BA) with one double in his career against Gavin Floyd. By the way, Floyd has allowed 47 stolen bases in 52 chances (90.4 percent success rate) between this and last season, most in the majors.
• Michael Young, 3B/SS, Rangers: A former division rival of Dan Haren, Young is a lifetime .393 hitter (11-for-28) with two doubles and one home run against the right-hander.
• Michael Bourn, OF, Astros: He's a .300 hitter with an .810 OPS versus right-handers this season, and will be facing Luke Hochevar, who has allowed a .965 OPS to that side this season. Another plus: Hochevar has allowed six steals in as many starts.

Pitchers' count

• Eric Hinske, OF, Pirates: He might get the start at DH versus a right-hander, but be aware he's 1-for-9 in his career against Carl Pavano.
• Jason Bartlett, SS, Rays: He's 2-for-14 (.143 BA) with four strikeouts and no extra-base hits in his career against Joe Blanton.
• Matt Stairs, OF, Phillies: Another guy who might DH on Wednesday, Stairs nevertheless is a lifetime .100 hitter (1-for-10) with five strikeouts and zero extra-base hits versus Matt Garza.
• Ty Wigginton, 3B/OF, Orioles: Small sample size or not, he's 0-for-6 with one strikeout in his career against Ricky Nolasco.
• Jose Guillen, OF, Royals: He's hitless with four strikeouts in nine career at-bats against Roy Oswalt.
• Casey Blake, 3B, Dodgers: He might remember Gavin Floyd from their days as American League Central rivals but would probably prefer to forget; he's hitless with three strikeouts in six career at-bats against the right-hander.
• Bobby Abreu, OF, Angels: Jason Marquis has limited Abreu to a .143 batting average (3-for-21), five strikeouts and one extra-base hit -- a double -- in their careers.
• Matt Holliday, OF, Athletics: He has a host of trouble handling Randy Johnson; he's 2-for-17 (.118 BA) with five strikeouts in his career against the "Big Unit."
• Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B, Padres: He's 1-for-6 (.167 BA) with two strikeouts in his career against Brandon Morrow.
• Jack Cust, OF, Athletics: He's a .200 hitter with a .565 OPS and 26 strikeouts in 85 at-bats versus left-handers this season, and sure enough, he'll be facing Randy Johnson, a strikeout artist historically tough against lefty hitters (.572 career OPS).

If you're hard-core

• Brian Schneider, C, Mets: He's 3-for-8 (.375 BA) with one home run in his career against Brad Thompson, and he caught Fernando Nieve's most recent start, a 5-3 victory in which Nieve tossed six innings of one-run, three-hit baseball.
• Tony Clark, 1B, Diamondbacks: I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting at first base despite the game being played in an NL park. After all, he's 3-for-7 (.429 BA) with one double and one home run in his career against Vicente Padilla.
• Marlon Byrd, OF, Rangers: He's 6-for-11 (.545 BA) with one double, one triple and one walk in his career against Dan Haren.
• Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Mariners: He just belted two home runs in his three at-bats versus Josh Geer in their June 18 meeting … and that game was played at Petco!
• Skip Schumaker, 2B/OF, Cardinals: He's a perfect spot-start guy against middling or worse right-handers -- not that Fernando Nieve is a total throwaway, but he's no ace, either -- with a .304 batting average and .778 OPS against that side.

Triage

Injury list: Out

• Carlos Beltran, OF, Mets (knee, 15-day DL)
• Kiko Calero, RP, Marlins (shoulder, 15-day DL)
• Endy Chavez, OF, Mariners (knee, 15-day DL): He's out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
• Clay Condrey, RP, Phillies (ribs, 15-day DL)
• Angel Guzman, RP, Cubs (triceps, 15-day DL)
• Reed Johnson, OF, Cubs (back): He'll likely sit at least until the weekend.
• Josh Outman, SP, Athletics (elbow): Outman will have an MRI on his left elbow Wednesday and thus be unavailable to pitch. Gio Gonzalez gets the call in his place.
• Jose Lopez, 2B, Mariners (bereavement): Lopez is expected to be back in Seattle Wednesday, but not available to play. He should be back in the lineup Thursday.

Injury list: Day-to-day

• Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners (shoulder): He was expected to play Tuesday.
• Russell Branyan, 1B/3B, Mariners (arm): He hoped to return Tuesday.
• Johnny Damon, OF, Yankees (calf)
• Jermaine Dye, OF, White Sox (calf)
• Yunel Escobar, SS, Braves (hip)
• Ryan Garko, 1B, Indians (wrist)
• Jason Giambi, 1B, Athletics (general soreness): He was expected to play Tuesday.
• Ken Griffey Jr., OF, Mariners (knee): He should be available at least to pinch hit.
• Ryan Howard, 1B, Phillies (illness): He was expected to play Tuesday.
• Kelly Johnson, 2B, Braves (leg cramps)
• Jason Kubel, OF, Twins (flu-like symptoms)
• Brad Lidge, RP, Phillies (knee, 15-day DL): He might be activated Wednesday.
• Mike Lowell, 3B, Red Sox (hip)
• Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins (general soreness): He was expected to play Tuesday.
• Roy Oswalt, SP, Astros (wrist): Despite having thrown 126 pitches Friday, 245 in his past two starts and 452 in his past four, he'll start Wednesday on his usual four days' rest.
• Placido Polanco, 2B, Tigers (leg)
• Humberto Quintero, C, Astros (back)
• Grady Sizemore, OF, Indians (elbow, 15-day DL): He was hoping to be activated Tuesday.
• Juan Uribe, 2B/3B, Giants (hamstring)
• Joey Votto, 1B, Reds (stress-related, 15-day DL): The Cincinnati Enquirer suggests he might be activated Tuesday.
• Chris Young, OF, Diamondbacks (groin)

Weather concerns

• There's a barrage of weatherproof games on the schedule Wednesday, something fantasy owners love to hear: Reds-Blue Jays, Phillies-Rays, Twins-Brewers, Royals-Astros, Rangers-Diamondbacks and Padres-Mariners. In fact, the Twins are the only team that calls a dome its home yet plays on the road -- and they're playing in Milwaukee's retractable-roof ballpark, so they're safe, too.
• None of the weather reports in cities with open-air ballparks seems particularly problematic, at least not to the point where a rainout is a high probability for an interleague game. There's a 20 percent chance of rain facing that intraleague game in New York (Cardinals-Mets), though that hardly seems like a threat.
• Scattered showers and thunderstorms threaten Orioles-Marlins, as there's a 30 percent chance of rain at night, but again, that's not much of an issue.
• There's a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in Chicago (Dodgers-White Sox), though the forecast there during the day is clear. Maybe the rain can hold off long enough to squeeze the game in?

Tristan H. Cockcroft is a fantasy baseball analyst for ESPN.com and a two-time champion of the League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR) experts league. You can e-mail him here.