Monday Lineup Card: Cueto Returns, Part III

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Projected Starters - A look at Monday's matchups (all times Eastern)

Braves (Mike Minor – L) at Nationals (Dan Haren – R), 7:05
Marlins (Sam Dyson – R) at Phillies (Cliff Lee – L), 7:05
Padres (Andrew Cashner – R) at Pirates (A.J. Burnett – R), 7:05
Mariners (Joe Saunders – L) at Tigers (Rick Porcello – R), 7:08
Rangers (Matt Garza – R) at Rays (Alex Cobb – R), 7:10
Cubs (Edwin Jackson – R) at Brewers (Wily Peralta – R), 8:10
Reds (Johnny Cueto – R) at Astros (Erik Bedard – L), 8:10
Indians (Scott Kazmir – L) at Royals (James Shields – R), 8:10
Twins (Liam Hendriks – R) at White Sox (Erik Johnson – R), 8:10
Cardinals (Lance Lynn – R) at Rockies (Collin McHugh – R), 8:40
Dodgers (Hyun-Jin Ryu – L) at Diamondbacks (Trevor Cahill – R), 9:40
Angels (C.J. Wilson – L) at Athletics (Sonny Gray – R), 10:05

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-To-Day
Brett Anderson, P, OAK (back) – Will play catch Sunday and expects to rejoin the bullpen Monday.
Domonic Brown, OF, PHI (Achilles) – Returned to the lineup Sunday against the Nationals, marking his first start since Aug. 30.
Jason Castro, C, HOU (knee) – Remained out of the lineup Sunday.
Yoenis Cespedes, OF, OAK (shoulder) – Will receive MRI on right shoulder after he was scratched from Sunday's lineup with soreness.
Jorge De La Rosa, SP, COL (thumb) – Scheduled to make his next start with the Rockies on Saturday against the Diamondbacks.
Avisail Garcia, OF, CHW (personal) – Scratched from Sunday's lineup to be with his pregnant wife.
Miguel Gonzalez, SP, BAL (groin) – Diagnosed with a Grade 1 right groin strain after leaving Sunday's start with the injury.
Robbie Grossman, OF, HOU (oblique) – Cleared for availability as a pinch runner in games.
Luis Jimenez, 3B, LAA (thumbs/shoulder) – Still at least a few days away from returning to action.
Jed Lowrie, SS, OAK (hamstring) – Left Sunday's game with hamstring tightness.
Starling Marte, OF, PIT (hand) – Could return to the lineup within the next few days.
Justin Masterson, SP, CLE (oblique) – Continues to make progress in throwing program and could be cleared to throw a bullpen session next weekend.
Nate McLouth, OF, BAL (knee) – Left Sunday's game with a knee injury.
Will Middlebrooks, 3B, BOS (illness) – Held out of Sunday's lineup after coming down with the flu.
Brad Miller, SS, SEA (hamstring) – Will miss at least a few days with his hamstring injury.
Bud Norris, SP, BAL (elbow) – Experienced minimal issues during Sunday's throwing session.
Jarrod Parker, SP, OAK (illness) – Scratched from Sunday's start due to an illness.
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, MIL (wrist) – Plans to return to the lineup Monday.
Hanley Ramirez, SS, LAD (back) – Remained out of the lineup Sunday against the Giants.
Colby Rasmus, OF, TOR (general soreness) – Held out of Sunday's lineup.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY (hamstring) – Remains is the lineup as a designated hitter and expected to return to third base duties Tuesday.
Marco Scutaro, 2B, SF (back) – Removed from Sunday's game with lower back tightness.
Justin Smoak, 1B, SEA (quadriceps) – Has been battling a sore quadriceps for the last three days and was held out of the lineup all weekend.
Alfonso Soriano, OF, NYY (thumb) – Returned to the lineup Sunday.
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS (forearm) – Will throw a bullpen session Monday and expected to make next start Thursday.
Huston Street, RP, SD (personal) – Will be away from the team Monday and Tuesday due to a death in his family.

Disabled List
Johnny Cueto, SP, CIN (back) – Will return from the disabled list to start Monday against the Astros.
Gavin Floyd, SP, CHW (elbow) – Began throwing from short distances two weeks ago.
Cory Luebke, SP, SD (elbow) – Recently had his rehab shut down after completing his fourth bullpen session. Set to be examined by a specialist.
Joe Mauer, C, MIN (concussion) – Will not travel with the Twins for the start of their seven-game road trip beginning Monday.
Chris Nelson, 3B, LAA (hamstring) – Close to returning to action for the Angels.

Transactions

No league-wide transactions were processed Sunday.

Closer Watch

Padres –Huston Street will be away from the team both Monday and Tuesday due to a death in his family, forcing the Padres to get by with Luke Gregerson as the temporary closer should any save situations arise. Gregerson has been an extremely reliable middle reliever for several seasons now and shouldn't be a liability in the ninth inning if called upon.

Tanner Roark, SP, WAS – An ace out of the bullpen for the Nationals immediately following his Aug. 6 promotion to the big leagues, Roark has since landed a rotation spot and maintained excellent results. In his two starts, Roark has allowed just two runs over 12 innings to earn the win on both occasions, though it comes with the caveat that the victories came against the weak Marlins and Mets lineups. The performance should nonetheless entrench Roark as a member of rotation the rest of the way, and the relative lack of familiarity big league hitters have against him should further work to his advantage, even if his stuff isn't particularly overpowering. Roark appears in line for two starts this week, with the first coming against the occasionally potent (but also strikeout-happy) Braves and the other over the weekend against the lowly Marlins. With an 8-2 record over their last ten games, the Nationals finally appear to be firing on all cylinders, so even if Roark isn't particularly sharp in this week's outings, a surging offense may be enough to carry him to a win or two.

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