Friday Lineup Card: Ride The Closer Carousel

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Friday's Starters
Braves (Tommy Hanson – R) at Nationals (Stephen Strasburg – R), 7:05
Orioles (Miguel Gonzalez – R) at Indians (Derek Lowe – R), 7:05
Marlins (Ricky Nolasco – R) at Pirates (Kevin Correia – R), 7:05
White Sox (Jake Peavy – R) at Tigers (Justin Verlander – R), 7:05
Giants (Tim Lincecum – R) at Phillies (Vance Worley – R), 7:05
Blue Jays (Aaron Laffey – L) at Red Sox (Josh Beckett – R), 7:10
Dodgers (Aaron Harang – R) at Mets (Johan Santana – L), 7:10
Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma – R) at Rays (James Shields – R), 7:10
Brewers (Marco Estrada – R) at Reds (Homer Bailey – R), 7:10
Twins (Nick Blackburn – R) at Royals (Luke Hochevar – R), 8:10
Cubs (Ryan Dempster – R) at Cardinals (Kyle Lohse – R), 8:15
Astros (Bud Norris – R) at Diamondbacks (Trevor Cahill – R), 9:40
Yankees (Ivan Nova – R) at Athletics (Tom Milone – L), 10:05
Rangers (Derek Holland – L) at Angels (Jered Weaver – R), 10:05
Rockies (Drew Pomeranz – L) at Padres (Jason Marquis – R), 10:05

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Ryan Braun, OF, MIL (groin) – Expects to be back in the lineup Friday
Colby Lewis, SP, TEX (forearm) – Removed after five innings Wednesday due to tightness
Cameron Maybin, OF, SD (wrist) – Out of the lineup for the second straight game Thursday
Jon Rauch, RP, NYM (knee) – Fluid drained from both knees Wednesday, but pitched (1 IP, 0 R, 2 K)

Disabled List
Evan Longoria, 3B, TB (hamstring) – "Getting better"; still no timetable
David Ortiz, DH, BOS (Achilles) – No rupture or tear, so he'll probably serve minimum time on DL
Jayson Werth, OF, WAS (wrist) – Rehab assignment starts Friday in High-A Potomac
Tim Stauffer, SP, SD (elbow) – Throwing bullpens Monday/Wednesday, then going on rehab trip
Jhoulys Chacin, SP, COL (shoulder) – Next simulated game could be pushed to Saturday
Brett Gardner, OF, NYY (elbow) – Headed for arthroscopic surgery next week; out for the year
Andrew Bailey, RP, BOS (thumb) – Close to facing live batters; early August remains return estimate
Matt Capps, RP, MIN (shoulder) – Rotator cuff irritation; out indefinitely
Todd Helton, 1B, COL (hip) – Starting rehab assignment in rookie ball this weekend
Eric Stults, SP, SD (shoulder) – Threw four innings in second rehab start
Chris Carpenter, SP, STL (shoulder) – Had surgery Thursday and remains out for the year
Chris Iannetta, C, LAA (forearm) – Rehab assignment will start this weekend
Vernon Wells, OF, LAA (thumb) – Going on rehab trip Friday; will be a part-timer when he returns
Scott Baker, SP, MIN (elbow) – Will begin throwing program first week of August
Erasmo Ramirez, SP, SEA (elbow) – Will throw a bullpen Thursday
Wilson Ramos, C, WAS (knee) – ACL surgery went well Wednesday
Aubrey Huff, 1B, SF (knee) – Back to High-A ball for more rehab; seemingly no setback
Sam Fuld, OF, TB (wrist) – Played nine innings in Triple-A Wednesday
Rafael Perez, RP, CLE (shoulder) – Could rejoin Indians as soon as middle of next week
Mark Lowe, RP, TEX (abdomen) – Hopes to throw a bullpen this weekend, then rehab trip
Jason Castro, C, HOU (knee) – Had an injection and fluid drained Wednesday; looking at next week

Transactions

Activated from DL
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS
Edward Mujica, RP, MIA
Drew Storen, RP, WAS

Placed on DL
Jhonatan Solano, C, WAS (oblique)
Charlie Furbush, RP, SEA

Optioned to Triple-A
D.J. Mitchell, RP, NYY
Pedro Hernandez, SP, CHW
Rick Ankiel, OF, WAS (DFA)
Vin Mazzaro, RP, KC
Sam Dyson, RP, TOR
Mauro Gomez, 1B, BOS
Jairo Asencio, RP, CHC
Mark Hamburger, RP, SD (DFA)
Jeremy Hermida, OF, SD

Called Up
David Phelps, RP, NYY
Donald Veal, RP, CHW
Sandy Leon, C, WAS
Will Smith, SP, KC
Yan Gomes, C, TOR

Traded
Justin Germano, RP, CHC (from BOS)

Closer Watch

Cubs – Would Carlos Marmol be Carlos Marmol if he didn't make things… interesting? A walk and a hit plated a run Thursday, but Marmol held on for his 11th save – and ninth in a row. In fact, that was the first run Marmol has given up in a save situation since April 24. Bet you wouldn't have thought that was possible.

Giants – Santiago Casilla's 10th-inning blown save against the Braves on Wednesday prompted Bruce Bochy to announce that change is coming to the back end of the San Francisco bullpen. After Casilla blew five of his last eight save chances, Bochy had clearly seen enough. Look for Sergio Romo to finally take over the job that should have been his in the first place. He's quietly been the ace of the Giants' bullpen for the last two years.

Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon has blown three of his last seven save tries, including giving up two runs in the ninth Wednesday against the Dodgers. That said, he has about as much job security as any closer in the game because, well, what other Phillies reliever can Charlie Manuel possibly trust to go get the last three outs (or any three outs)?

Brewers – Francisco Rodriguez didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence Wednesday, walking three batters and giving up a hit and a run, but he struck out two for his third save. He's not the answer to Milwaukee's closing problem, but John Axford certainly isn't either. No one else has made a strong case, though, so K-Rod is basically it, and he's a wily enough pitcher that he probably won't blow too many saves, but he's not going to help you in ERA and WHIP either. Closers like K-Rod must be responsible for – and this is purely an estimate – 94 percent of revenue from sale of Rolaids.

Nationals – Drew Storen is finally back from the DL after missing all season to this point, and while he'll be eased back into action, Tyler Clippard's hold on the closer's role is weakening by the moment. The Nationals have always seemed to prefer Clippard serve as their "bullpen ace," coming in for the highest-leverage situations, rather than confining him to the ninth inning. If Storen shows he hasn't missed a beat, he'll be back in the closer's seat in no time.

Other Recent Recommendations: Francisco Rodriguez, Anthony Gose, Jacob Turner, Adam Lind, Ben Sheets

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DraftStreet Lineup

C: Matt Wieters, BAL ($5,648)
1B: Anthony Rizzo, CHC ($6,353)
2B: Daniel Murphy, NYM ($5,720)
3B: Alex Rodriguez, NYY ($6,685)
SS: Alcides Escobar, KC ($7,202)
OF: Carlos Beltran, STL ($7,355)
OF: Justin Upton, AZ ($5,932)
OF: Michael Morse, WAS ($4,126)
UT: Ike Davis, NYM ($5,371)
UT: Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE ($5,341)
SP: Marco Estrada, MIL ($12,242)
SP: Ivan Nova, NYY ($12,315)
RP: Rafael Betancourt, COL ($2,130)
P: Jered Weaver, LAA ($13,369)

Total: 99,789

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