Hot pitcher versus hot offense
The Braves might have suffered a PR hit when they released future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine earlier this season, but they were on to something when they called up that Tommy Hanson guy. Hanson has won four consecutive starts, sporting a 2.85 ERA in that span, and is providing a boost to fantasy owners akin to the rookie season from Felix Hernandez, who posted a 2.67 ERA in 84 innings in '05 after a midseason call-up. Hanson hasn't been quite as dominant but has exceeded already-lofty expectations, and he'll try his best to keep his team's season afloat when it faces the division-rival Phillies on Friday.
Hanson is one of the highlights in what appears to be a top-heavy day of pitching. A number of the day's pitchers are either struggling (usual stalwarts Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle), draw tough matchups (Zach Duke and Chris Volstad) or simply are enigmas (John Smoltz). All the info you need is below:
For starters
Starting pitcher rankings for Aug. 28
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Felix Hernandez | R | 12-5 | 2.73 | 1.19 | 8.73 | .632 | KC | .713 | 80.6% |
| 2 |  | Ubaldo Jimenez | R | 12-9 | 3.36 | 1.22 | 7.95 | .627 | @SF | .701 | 79.2% |
| 3 |  | Tim Lincecum | R | 12-4 | 2.43 | 1.04 | 10.39 | .559 | COL | .786 | 77.0% |
| 4 |  | Ted Lilly | L | 9-8 | 3.40 | 1.11 | 7.73 | .706 | NYM | .728 | 83.2% |
| 5 |  | Chad Billingsley | R | 12-7 | 3.73 | 1.26 | 8.29 | .672 | @CIN | .690 | 80.1% |
| 6 |  | CC Sabathia | L | 15-7 | 3.59 | 1.13 | 7.19 | .666 | CHW | .754 | 81.0% |
| 7 |  | Max Scherzer | R | 7-8 | 4.12 | 1.40 | 9.59 | .756 | HOU | .731 | 82.6% |
| 8 |  | Tommy Hanson | R | 9-2 | 3.12 | 1.26 | 7.17 | .697 | @PHI | .789 | 79.2% |
| 9 |  | Matt Garza | R | 7-8 | 3.74 | 1.25 | 8.15 | .690 | @DET | .746 | 79.4% |
| 10 |  | John Smoltz | R | 3-5 | 7.40 | 1.58 | 8.40 | .917 | WAS | .761 | 78.2% |
| 11 |  | Pedro Martinez | R | 2-0 | 5.14 | 1.29 | 8.36 | .841 | ATL | .749 | 81.5% |
| 12 |  | Kevin Correia | R | 8-10 | 4.46 | 1.36 | 6.33 | .729 | @FLA | .749 | 77.5% |
| 13 |  | Zach Duke | L | 10-11 | 3.38 | 1.24 | 4.32 | .719 | @MIL | .771 | 77.8% |
| 14 |  | Josh Beckett | R | 14-5 | 3.65 | 1.13 | 8.14 | .670 | TOR | .765 | 82.6% |
| 15 |  | Mark Buehrle | L | 11-7 | 3.92 | 1.22 | 4.60 | .754 | @NYY | .839 | 82.4% |
| 16 |  | Fausto Carmona | R | 3-8 | 5.92 | 1.71 | 5.42 | .805 | @BAL | .750 | 82.3% |
| 17 |  | Scott Richmond | R | 6-7 | 4.09 | 1.29 | 8.08 | .758 | @BOS | .801 | 79.6% |
| 18 |  | Chris Volstad | R | 9-10 | 4.73 | 1.35 | 6.17 | .796 | SD | .699 | 78.4% |
| 19 |  | Brian Bannister | R | 7-10 | 4.50 | 1.36 | 5.61 | .715 | @SEA | .720 | 80.6% |
| 20 |  | John Lannan | L | 8-9 | 4.03 | 1.41 | 3.75 | .780 | @STL | .746 | 81.2% |
| 21 |  | Brian Duensing | L | 1-1 | 4.91 | 1.49 | 5.58 | .745 | TEX | .778 | 76.8% |
| 22 |  | Yorman Bazardo | R | 0-0 | 4.50 | 1.70 | 5.40 | .649 | @ARI | .742 | 77.4% |
| 23 |  | Trevor Bell | R | 1-1 | 9.49 | 2.56 | 5.95 | 1.046 | OAK | .709 | 81.7% |
| 24 |  | Patrick Misch | L | 0-1 | 4.09 | 1.68 | 5.32 | .764 | @CHC | .745 | 78.0% |
| 25 |  | Tommy Hunter | R | 6-2 | 2.85 | 1.19 | 5.56 | .682 | @MIN | .771 | 81.2% |
| 26 |  | Jason Berken | R | 3-11 | 6.49 | 1.67 | 4.81 | .885 | CLE | .772 | 78.2% |
| 27 |  | Rick Porcello | R | 10-8 | 4.39 | 1.39 | 4.83 | .768 | TB | .801 | 77.0% |
| 28 |  | Manny Parra | L | 8-10 | 6.54 | 1.85 | 7.38 | .880 | PIT | .714 | 79.3% |
| 29 |  | Brett Tomko | R | 3-2 | 3.69 | 1.17 | 5.68 | .722 | @LAA | .805 | 81.7% |
| 30 |  | Homer Bailey | R | 3-4 | 6.82 | 1.58 | 5.37 | .815 | LAD | .760 | 80.9% |
Selected notes: Hanson took another step forward when he limited the Marlins to three runs in seven innings, striking out seven batters in the process. It was his fourth consecutive quality start, and second in three in which he conquered a streaking offense. This time he'll face a genuinely quality offense -- not just one on a hot streak -- in the Phillies, who lead the NL in team OPS with a .789 mark. Hanson has made a strong case as an every-week starter, and because he's not necessarily pitching outside his talent level -- he's a 23-year-old who was/is considered one of the three or four best prospects in baseball -- and has the benefit of pitching in the National League, where even the best offenses aren't truly dominant, he's worth throwing out there. … It's hard to judge much off John Smoltz's start against the Padres; pitching against the Padres in Petco Park is maybe the most favorable matchup a pitcher can ask for. Still, his stat line was dominant, with just three hits allowed, zero walks and nine strikeouts. It's such a stark contrast between his days in Boston, though, that it's tough to know whether to start him versus the Nationals. It remains to be seen how he'll do against a league-average offense, and he's pretty much a six-inning pitcher at this point, but Smoltz strikes out enough batters to make starting him worth it. If you're nearing an innings cap, however, there will be better opportunities down the road. … Zach Duke hasn't struck out more than three batters in his past five starts, yet he has pitched at least seven innings and allowed three runs or fewer in four of those outings. That's not sustainable, and his owners should be concerned when he travels to Milwaukee to face the Brewers. It will be Duke's first start against the Brewers this season, but he hasn't been great against them in the past, with a career 4.70 ERA in 12 starts. It also might be a bit of a red flag that Duke has allowed 33 hits in his past 26 2/3 innings, and the difference is the Brew Crew can do something with those hits; they currently rank third in the league in home runs and slugging percentage. … Josh Beckett has allowed 15 earned runs in his past two starts, and he'll face the Blue Jays, a team that just pasted him for seven runs in 5 1/3 innings two starts ago. Including last season, Beckett has a 14.87 ERA in his past three starts against the Blue Jays. He's also working out the kinks of his recent struggles with his pitching coach, so it seems irresponsible to keep him active. … With a 6.29 ERA in his past six starts, including at least four runs allowed in five of the six, it probably goes without saying that you'll want to keep Mark Buehrle reserved when he faces the Yankees, who put up 11 runs on him earlier in the month. … After Fausto Carmona limited the Mariners to one run in seven innings, striking out eight and walking just one, we can say one thing: It's a start. All was not well, however, as three of the five hits he allowed went for extra bases, including one long ball. The ground-ball specialist had only a 9-to-9 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio as well. Ignore that he has now gone five straight starts without allowing more than three runs and make him prove it against the Orioles, who rank eighth in OPS against right-handed pitching. … Regression to the mean has caught up with Chris Volstad, who has really fallen apart in August. He has posted a 7.50 ERA and a 2.11 WHIP, with batters hitting .360 against him, and he hasn't even faced a particularly arduous batch of offenses. A matchup versus the Padres is tempting, but Volstad hasn't even made it past the sixth inning this month, and the Pads are actually a decent offense on the road, so there's not much upside here. And because he has nearly doubled the innings he pitched last season, there's always the chance Volstad could just be tiring. It's probably time to cut bait.
Now batting
Hitters' count:
• Jermaine Dye, OF, White Sox: Dye is 14-for-46 (.304) against CC Sabathia, and five of his six extra-base hits have left the park, giving him a .652 slugging percentage as well.
• J.D. Drew, OF, Red Sox: Drew has been hot recently; all four of his home runs this month have come in his past 10 games, and he's batting .322 during that span. He'll face Scott Richmond, who has trouble versus left-handers, with a .526 slugging percentage and 12 home runs allowed in 228 at-bats.
• Vernon Wells, OF, Blue Jays: Wells has swatted five home runs off Josh Beckett in just 31 at-bats, and overall he's hitting .323 with seven extra-base hits against Beckett.
• Mark DeRosa, 1B/2B/3B/OF, Cardinals: DeRosa has struggled this month, but he is 6-for-16 (.375) in his past five games, possibly a sign he'll break out of it soon. He has lacked power, but maybe a matchup against John Lannan, a left-hander, can change that: DeRosa is slugging .614 against lefties, with nine homers in 101 at-bats.
• Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies: Helton has gone 8-for-15 versus Tim Lincecum with two extra-base hits, including a home run. He has had no problems making contact against the strikeout artist, fanning only once in 18 plate appearances.
Pitchers' count:
• Adam LaRoche, 1B, Braves: LaRoche is just 2-for-20 versus Pedro Martinez, with a whopping eight strikeouts. He has no extra-base hits, too, further evidence Pedro has him figured out.
• Johnny Damon, OF, Yankees: His OPS against left-handers is more than 100 points lower than his mark against righties, and Damon is hitting only .260 (13-for-50) against Mark Buehrle. With only two extra-base hits, he has shown little power, too, and has struck out eight times.
• A.J. Pierzynski, C, White Sox: CC Sabathia has limited lefties to a sub-.600 OPS, and for his career, Pierzynski has been unable to solve the lefty, going 4-for-24 with six K's to zero walks.
• Brandon Phillips, 2B, Reds: Phillips is hitting just .207 in August, and he's only 1-for-12 against Chad Billingsley with only a single and five strikeouts to his name.
• Bengie Molina, C, Giants: Besides a small handful of singles, Molina has done little in 20 at-bats against Ubaldo Jimenez. He's hitting .150, with more strikeouts (four) than hits (three).
If you're hard-core
• Matt LaPorta, OF, Indians: In the midst of a seven-game hitting streak since being called up, LaPorta has racked up six extra-base hits, including one home run. He has scored six runs during that time. If he keeps hitting like that, it's just a matter of time before he's moved up in the lineup, though to be fair, it's a concern that he has yet to draw a walk. In any case, a favorable matchup against Jason Berken, against whom the league is hitting .317, bodes well for LaPorta's continued success.
• Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays: Snider, who is 4-for-13 with two home runs in his past four games, might only be heating up, and it's worth noting that he went 2-for-2 with a homer against Josh Beckett earlier in the month. His average might fluctuate, but the power is for real. He's worth gambling on.
• Lastings Milledge, OF, Pirates: The talented outfielder seems to be coming alive, as he's hitting .344 in his past 10 games, including four multihit games with two home runs, two doubles and a steal. One of those dingers came against Manny Parra, whom he will face again Friday. In seven career at-bats against Parra, Milledge is 3-for-7 with a double and a homer, so he deserves a look.
• Jack Cust, OF, Athletics: It may have taken all season, but lo and behold, here comes one of Cust's famous hot streaks. He's 12-for-23 (.521) in his past seven games, slugging four homers and a double. Poor Trevor Bell already has allowed two home runs and two doubles to lefties in 30 at-bats, resulting in a 1.263 OPS allowed, so there's no reason Cust can't continue to drive balls out of the park.
• Seth Smith, OF, Rockies: It was less than a week ago when Smith most recently jacked one off Tim Lincecum, upping his career stat line to three hits, including two homers and a double, in seven at-bats against the ace. With both Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez hurting, there's room for Smith in the outfield, so he makes a sneaky play Friday.
Triage
Injury list: Out
• Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, Blue Jays (15-day DL, knee)
• Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies (15-day DL, knee)
• Nick Johnson, 1B, Marlins (15-day DL, hamstring)
• Freddy Sanchez, 2B, Pirates (15-day DL, shoulder)
Injury list: Day-to-day
• John Baker, C, Marlins (back)
• Kyle Blanks, 1B/OF, Padres (heel; available to pinch hit)
• Marlon Byrd, OF, Rangers (kidney stones)
• Carl Crawford, OF, Rays (back): Crawford is prepping for a Friday return, but you never know with back injuries.
• Joe Crede, 3B, Twins (back): Crede could land on the disabled list if the epidural he received Wednesday does not work.
• Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies (hand)
• Adam Jones, OF, Orioles (back): Jones' back has improved, and he could return Thursday night, although Friday or sometime during the weekend may be more reasonable.
• Felipe Lopez, 2B, Brewers (foot): Lopez expects to play through his foot injury, so expect to see him in there Thursday.
• Nyjer Morgan, OF, Nationals (illness): Morgan is scheduled to return from the flu Thursday.
• Jorge Posada, C, Yankees (finger)
• Mark Reynolds, 3B, Diamondbacks (illness): Apparently Reynolds has been battling a case of slight pneumonia and a viral infection in his stomach, messy stuff. He's expected to return Thursday.
• Pablo Sandoval, 1B/3B, Giants (calf)
• Gary Sheffield, OF, Mets (back): Sheffield seems optimistic that he'll be able to return soon.
• Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Mariners (calf): Although Ichiro is raring to get back to action, the Mariners are playing it cautiously. And although manager Don Wakamatsu says the disabled list isn't an option right now, Ichiro still could miss a few more days.
Weather concerns
• There are four weatherproof games on tap: Pirates-Brewers, Rangers-Twins, Astros-Diamondbacks and Royals-Mariners.
• Rain will be all over the Northeast, as New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore all will deal with the same 40 to 50 percent chance of showers. And in the Southeast, Miami has a familiar 30 percent chance of thunderstorms.
• The Midwest isn't any better, with a 50 to 60 percent chance of thunderstorms in Detroit. St. Louis and Cincinnati also may be subject to storms (40 percent), while Chicago has the best chance of dodging precipitation, with a 30 percent chance of storms, and the rain not expected to persist past 9 p.m.
