The Lineup Card: Duda On a Roll

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Projected Starters- A look at Friday's matchups (all times Eastern):
Astros (Bud Norris - R) at Nationals (Tom Milone -L), 7:05
Twins (Kevin Slowey - R) at Tigers (Brad Penny - R), 7:05
Marlins (Ricky Nolasco - R) at Pirates (Ross Ohlendorf - R) 7:05
Orioles (Jeremy Guthrie - R) at Blue Jays (Brett Cecil - L). 7:07
Cubs (Casey Coleman - R) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey - R), 7:10
Red Sox (John Lackey - R) at Rays Wade Davis - R), 7:10
Athletics (Brandon McCarthy - R) at Rangers (Colby Lewis - R), 8:05
Phillies (Roy Halladay - R) at Brewers (Shaun Marcum - R), 8:10
Indians (Jeanmar Gomez - R) at White Sox (Mark Buehrle - L), 8:10
Braves (Randall Delgado - R) at Cardinals (Edwin Jackson - R), 8:15
Reds (Homer Bailey - R) at Rockies (Jhoulys Chacin - R), 8:40
Padres (Mat Latos - R) at Diamondbacks (Daniel Hudson - R), 9:40
Yankees (Bartolo Colon - R) at Angels (Jered Weaver - R), 10:05
Royals (Jeff Francis - L) at Mariners (Blake Beavan - R), 10:10
Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw - L) at Giants (Tim Lincecum - R), 10:15

Day Game After a Night Game:None

Injuries- A brief look at players that have been missing time with minor ailments and their expected returns.

Day-to-Day(includes players expected to make their return from the DL)

Jed Lowrie, SS, BOS (shoulder) - Non-starter Wednesday and Thursday
Josh Beckett, SP, BOS (ankle) - Back with the team and wearing a brace; could get babied until the playoffs
Adam Lind, 1B, TOR (wrist) - Will have a couple days off to alleviate soreness
Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL (ankle) - Activated from DL, but won't see action until middle of next week
Jason Isringhausen, RP, NYM (back) - Unavailable a few days due to herniated disk
Charlie Morton, SP, PIT (arm) - Being skipped due to inconsistency and arm trouble
Mike Stanton, OF, FLA (hamstring) - Expected back in the lineup Friday
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI (concussion) - Hope is he'll be healthy this weekend
Drew Pomeranz, SP, COL (appendix) - Making MLB debut Sunday
Todd Helton, 1B, COL (back) - Out again Wednesday
Jeff Karstens, SP, PIT (shoulder) - On track to rejoin rotation Sept. 19
Aubrey Huff, 1B, SF (back) - Out again Wednesday

Players on the DL

Josh Tomlin, SP, CLE (elbow) - Cleared to resume throwing Wednesday
Nelson Cruz, OF, TEX (hamstring) - Progressing quickly and could be back Tuesday
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS (back) - Playing long toss
J.D. Drew, OF, BOS (finger) - Still can't throw or swing
Carlos Quentin, OF, CHW (shoulder) - Could be back by end of the week, via Ozzie
Rajai Davis, OF, TOR (hamstring) - Shut down for the year
Andre Ethier, OF, LAD (knee) - Out for the year
Logan Forsythe, 2B, SD (knee) - Season-ending surgery Thursday
Eduardo Sanchez, RP, STL (shoulder) - Threw a bullpen Wednesday; close to return
Tommy Hanson, SP, ATL (shoulder) - Felt good after Wednesday long toss; on track for late-season return

Transactions- Players that have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up

Sent Down

Jason Rice, RP, CLE

Placed on DL

Activated from DL

Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL
Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI
Ryan Ludwick, OF, PIT

Released

Alfredo Amezaga, 2B, FLA

Closer Watch- A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out our Closer Grid with the link to the left).

Mets - With Bobby Parnell (ineffectiveness) and Jason Isringhausen (back) unavailable, Manny Acosta collected his first save of the year Wednesday, striking out two Marlins and working around a hit batsman in a scoreless inning of work. Acosta has pitched exceptionally well in the second half, and with neither Parnell nor Isringhausen truly trustworthy, could be Acosta will see a couple more chances down the stretch.

Dodgers - Looking ahead to next year, Javy Guerra has really made himself into the Dodger reliever to own. He collected his 16^th save Thursday with a perfect inning and has a 2.09 ERA and 1.16 WHIP on the year. He's also averaged better than a strikeout per inning since the All-Star break.

Orioles - Jim Johnson picked up his third save Wednesday against the Yankees in an extra-inning win. This is particularly interesting because Kevin Gregg was used in the eighth rather than the ninth in a tie game. Hard to say that Johnson, who worked around a couple baserunners for a scoreless inning, has seized the job from the somewhat terrible Gregg, but the situation certainly bears watching.

Rays - Kyle Farnsworth blew his fifth Wednesday, giving up a solo homer to Ian Kinsler, and preseason closing favorite Jake McGee ended up with the win. Farnsworth's numbers are still just too good for him to lose the job at this time.

Twins - It hasn't always been pretty for Joe Nathan (though it was Wednesday, with two strikeouts in a perfect inning), but he's nailed down 10 saves in a row now.

Key Matchups

Recommended Pickup

Lucas Duda, 1B, NYM - Duda hasn't been recommended in this space since June, and it's about time we recognized what he's been doing in the second half, largely as the Mets' cleanup hitter: a sick .312/.393/.561 slash line with nine homers and 34 RBI - those are numbers that play in almost any format. He's also collected an RBI in seven of his last eight games coming into Thursday's action.

Other recent recommendations: Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands, Yonder Alonso, Jason Motte, Julio Teheran

DraftStreet Lineup

C - Alex Avila, DET ($5,926)
1B - Paul Konerko, CHW ($7,212)
2B - Ben Zobrist, TB ($5,399)
3B - David Wright, NYM ($7,461)
SS - Starlin Castro, CHC ($6,560)
OF - Curtis Granderson, NYY ($8,836)
OF - Jay Bruce, CIN ($5,853)
OF - Adam Jones, BAL ($5,210)
UTIL - J.D. Martinez, HOU ($6,025)
UTIL - Alex Rios, CHW ($4,870)
SP - Tim Lincecum, SF ($14,959)
SP - Bud Norris, HOU ($10,718)
RP - Brandon League, SEA ($2,098)
P - Ricky Nolasco, FLA ($8,698)

Total: $99,825

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