Thursday Lineup Card: Down The Stretch They Go!

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Updated on September 16, 2015 9:05PM EST

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

Cubs (Kyle Hendricks – R) at Pirates (Charlie Morton – R), 12:35
Athletics (Sean Nolin – L) at White Sox (Jose Quintana – L), 2:10
Marlins (Jarred Cosart – R) at Nationals (Tanner Roark – R), 7:05
Orioles (Chris Tillman – R) at Rays (Matt Moore – L), 7:10
Royals (Yordano Ventura – R) at Indians (Corey Kluber – R), 7:10
Blue Jays (Marco Estrada – R) at Braves (Matt Wisler – R), 7:10
Astros (Lance McCullers – R) at Rangers (Colby Lewis – R), 8:05
Cardinals (John Lackey – R) at Brewers (Jimmy Nelson – R), 8:10
Angels (Hector Santiago – L) at Twins (Tommy Milone – L), 8:10

Day Game After Night Game: CHC/PIT and OAK/CHW

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Justin Upton, OF, SD (Illness) – Did not start Wednesday.
Jimmy Rollins, SS, LAD (Finger) – The pain resurfaced and is temporarily shut down.
Dixon Machado, SS, DET (Hamstring) – Did not start Wednesday.
Brayan Pena, C, CIN (Hamstring) – Did not start Wednesday.
Nick Castellanos, 3B, DET (Groin) – Was scratched from Wednesday's lineup.
Scott Van Slyke, OF, LAD (Hand) – Did not start Wednesday.
Brandon Crawford, SS, SF (Calf) – Did not start Wednesday.
Billy Hamilton, OF, CIN (Shoulder) – Did not start Wednesday.
Carl Crawford, OF, LAD (Hamstring) – Did not start Wednesday.
Derek Norris, C, SD (Hand) – Did not start Wednesday.
Trayce Thompson, OF, CHW (Elbow) – Was scratched from Wednesday's lineup.
Billy Burns, OF, OAK (Hamstring) – Did not start Wednesday.
Jason Motte, RP, CHC (Hamstring) – Was not available to pitch Wednesday.
Danny Valencia, 3B, OAK (Shoulder) - Did not start Wednesday.
Jed Lowrie, SS, HOU (Foot) - Did not start Wednesday.
Stephen Vogt, C, OAK (Groin) - Did not start Wednesday.
Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI (Knee) – Expects to return this season.
Carlos Torres, RP, NYM (Calf) – Expected to return to action in a few days.
Ryan Braun, OF, MIL (Back) – Was scratched from Wednesday's lineup.
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS, MIA (Hamstring) - Did not start Wednesday.

Out

Joe Kelly, SP, BOS (Shoulder) – Has been officially shut down for the season.
Luke Gregerson, RP, HOU (Personal) – Left Wednesday to be with his wife for the birth of their child.

Players on the DL

Joe Panik, 2B, SF (Back) – Placed on the 60-day DL and will miss the rest of the season.
Maikel Franco, 3B, PHI (Wrist) – Will take batting practice on Friday.
Jason Motte, RP, CHC (Shoulder) – Has started throwing on flat ground.
Josh Johnson, SP, SD (Elbow) – Will undergo his third Tommy John surgery.
Jesse Chavez, SP, OAK (Ribs) – Placed on the 60-day DL and will miss the rest of the season.
Hanley Ramirez, SS, BOS (Shoulder) – Not expected to get game action at first base.

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

Activated from the DL

Daniel Norris, SP, DET

Placed on the DL

Jesse Chavez, SP, OAK – placed on the 60-day DL.
Joe Panik, 2B, SF - placed on the 60-day DL.

Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)

Daniel Carbonell, OF, SF
Scott Copeland, RP, TOR

Called-Up

Mac Williamson, OF, SF
Trevor Brown, C, SF
Barry Zito, RP, OAK
Cody Martin, RP, OAK
Scott Carroll, RP, CHW

Closer Watch

As of this writing, there is no current closer action to report from Wednesday's games.

Key Matchups

Hot Batter Matchups – September 17, 2015

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
S. Castro	SS	CHC @ PIT 12:35PM	C. Morton	27	12	4	3	9	0	3	.444	.444	.815	1.259
C. Coghlan	OF	CHC @ PIT 12:35PM	C. Morton	10	4	2	1	4	2	3	.400	.500	.900	1.400
C. McGehee	3B	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	T. Roark	10	4	2	0	1	0	1	.400	.400	.600	1.000
A. Jones	OF	BAL @ TB 7:10PM	M. Moore	21	11	3	2	7	1	4	.524	.565	.857	1.422
M. Wieters	C	BAL @ TB 7:10PM	M. Moore	14	8	3	2	3	3	5	.571	.647	1.071	1.718
C. Santana	1B	CLE vs KC 7:10PM	Y. Ventura	15	5	2	2	4	4	0	.333	.474	.733	1.207
E. Hosmer	1B	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	37	10	8	3	12	3	7	.270	.325	.649	.974
M. Moustakas	3B	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	35	16	6	1	4	3	8	.457	.500	.686	1.186
E. Longoria	3B	TB vs BAL 7:10PM	C. Tillman	46	16	10	6	9	5	7	.348	.412	.826	1.238
J. Lowrie	SS	HOU @ TEX 8:05PM	C. Lewis	23	8	1	1	2	1	2	.348	.375	.478	.853
L. Valbuena	3B	HOU @ TEX 8:05PM	C. Lewis	13	3	2	2	2	1	3	.231	.286	.692	.978
C. Cowgill	OF	LAA @ MIN 8:10PM	T. Milone	13	6	2	1	3	0	2	.462	.462	.769	1.231
A. Pujols	1B	LAA @ MIN 8:10PM	T. Milone	22	9	7	0	0	1	0	.409	.435	.727	1.162
K. Davis	OF	MIL vs STL 8:10PM	J. Lackey	12	3	2	2	4	0	4	.250	.250	.750	1.000
A. Lind	1B	MIL vs STL 8:10PM	J. Lackey	37	16	6	0	7	0	2	.432	.432	.595	1.027
J. Segura	SS	MIL vs STL 8:10PM	J. Lackey	13	8	0	0	0	0	3	.615	.615	.615	1.231
B. Dozier	2B	MIN vs LAA 8:10PM	H. Santiago	11	4	2	0	1	0	0	.364	.364	.545	.909
M. Carpenter	3B	STL @ MIL 8:10PM	J. Nelson	11	4	1	1	5	2	1	.364	.462	.636	1.098

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Hot Pitcher Matchups – September 17, 2015

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jose Quintana	CWS vs OAK 2:10PM	67	10	1	1	4	6	17	.149	.217	.193	.411
Colby Lewis	TEX vs HOU 8:05PM	159	42	13	7	14	5	33	.264	.287	.447	.734

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Batter Matchups – September 17, 2015

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Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
D. Fowler	OF	CHC @ PIT 12:35PM	C. Morton	10	2	0	0	0	3	0	.200	.385	.200	.585
M. Montero	C	CHC @ PIT 12:35PM	C. Morton	11	2	0	0	0	2	7	.182	.308	.182	.490
B. Butler	1B	OAK @ CWS 2:10PM	J. Quintana	27	5	0	0	1	6	11	.185	.333	.185	.519
D. Valencia	3B	OAK @ CWS 2:10PM	J. Quintana	14	2	0	0	2	0	3	.143	.133	.143	.276
A. Hechavarria	SS	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	T. Roark	15	3	1	0	0	0	0	.200	.200	.267	.467
C. Yelich	OF	MIA @ WAS 7:05PM	T. Roark	10	2	0	0	0	2	4	.200	.333	.200	.533
C. Davis	1B	BAL @ TB 7:10PM	M. Moore	15	3	1	0	0	3	3	.200	.333	.267	.600
Y. Gomes	C	CLE vs KC 7:10PM	Y. Ventura	13	1	0	0	0	1	4	.077	.143	.077	.220
L. Cain	OF	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	26	5	1	0	2	0	5	.192	.192	.231	.423
J. Dyson	OF	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	30	7	0	0	1	1	5	.233	.258	.233	.491
A. Escobar	SS	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	37	7	1	0	0	0	14	.189	.189	.216	.405
A. Gordon	OF	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	32	6	3	2	6	2	13	.188	.297	.406	.704
K. Morales	1B	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	16	3	1	0	1	1	2	.188	.235	.250	.485
S. Perez	C	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	21	4	2	0	2	2	7	.190	.250	.286	.536
A. Rios	OF	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	17	4	0	0	3	0	4	.235	.235	.235	.471
B. Zobrist	2B	KC @ CLE 7:10PM	C. Kluber	11	1	0	0	0	0	2	.091	.091	.091	.182
K. Kiermaier	OF	TB vs BAL 7:10PM	C. Tillman	14	2	0	0	0	1	4	.143	.200	.143	.343
J. Loney	1B	TB vs BAL 7:10PM	C. Tillman	32	5	2	1	5	5	1	.156	.270	.281	.552
H. Conger	C	HOU @ TEX 8:05PM	C. Lewis	21	5	1	0	1	0	3	.238	.238	.333	.571
E. Gattis	C	HOU @ TEX 8:05PM	C. Lewis	12	3	1	0	0	0	4	.250	.250	.333	.583
R. Braun	OF	MIL vs STL 8:10PM	J. Lackey	16	4	1	0	0	0	4	.250	.250	.313	.563
T. Hunter	OF	MIN vs LAA 8:10PM	H. Santiago	10	2	0	0	0	2	0	.200	.333	.200	.533

Matchup Info				Career Matchup Stats
Batter	Pos	Game	Pitcher	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Cold Pitcher Matchups – September 17, 2015

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Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Charlie Morton	PIT vs CHC 12:35PM	79	26	8	4	15	11	16	.329	.420	.531	.951
Matt Moore	TB vs BAL 7:10PM	114	40	14	6	20	10	22	.351	.412	.592	1.004
Tommy Milone	MIN vs LAA 8:10PM	131	42	15	2	10	11	20	.321	.377	.459	.835
John Lackey	STL @ MIL 8:10PM	100	36	11	3	15	1	14	.360	.366	.525	.891
Jimmy Nelson	MIL vs STL 8:10PM	80	28	7	2	21	5	17	.350	.381	.492	.873
Hector Santiago	LAA @ MIN 8:10PM	64	24	10	4	9	10	4	.375	.459	.655	1.114

Matchup Info		Career Stats Allowed To Batters On Opposing Team
Pitcher	Game	AB	H	XBH	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS

Recommended Pickup

Kelby Tomlinson, 2B, San Francisco – I like Tomlinson mainly as a middle infield fill-in, helping with batting average, runs scored and stolen bases. Tomlinson is hitting .300, with 14 runs, four stolen bases and 15 RBI since taking over for Joe Panik. Panik's season just ended as he was just placed on the 60-day DL, so expect Tomlinson to get full-time at-bats down the last stretch of the season. Sometimes all we need is a live body in our middle infield slot, right?

Other Recent Recommendations: Nolan Reimold, Corey Seager, Steven Souza, Colby Rasmus, Marcus Stroman and Vidal Nuno

DraftKings Value Picks

SP: Marco Estrada, TOR ($7,900)
C: Russell Martin, TOR ($3,600)
1B: Albert Pujols, LAA ($3,900)
2B: Neil Walker, PIT ($3,600)
SS: Francisco Lindor, CLE ($4,000)
3B: Trevor Plouffe, MIN ($4,100)
OF: Adam Jones, BAL ($3,900)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dave Hunter plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: TheRolyPolyBoy, DraftKings: TheRolyPolyBoy.