Torii Hunter- MIN- Cold- The road has not been a friendly place for Hunter lately. During the just-completed 6-game road trip he went 3-for-20 with 2 runs and 2 RBI (the product of 2 solo homers). This brought Hunter's home/road splits into sharp contrast. He now has a .333 batting average under the dome, but only .269 on the road. This is unusual for Hunter, who normally is close in his home/road stats. The Twins are starting a 9-game home stand tomorrow, so maybe Hunter will snap out of his current funk.
Danys Baez- BAL- Drop Value- It looks like Baez has pitched himself out of a job. Manager Sam Perlozzo said that the Orioles need to upgrade their bullpen and when he spoke of the good jobs the overworked Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford has done he also noted what spot in the bullpen needs the upgrade. "Those two guys [Walker and Bradford] were originally here to get us through the seventh. Baez would handle the eighth and Ray would handle the ninth. We need to get another guy going to get back to normal,'' said Perlozzo. Baez ended April with a 2.92 ERA but since then has given up 15 earned runs on 15 hits and 11 walks in 12-2/3 IP. Pitching coach Leo Mazzone said that he has found a mechanical flaw in Baez' delivery, but they haven't had a chance to get him into a game to correct it. From Perlozzo's comments, it looks like they may never get that chance.
Jarrod Washburn- SEA- Inj- Washburn went as long as he could yesterday while suffering from flu-like symptoms, but crashed and burned in the 5th inning. Until that point he had held the Orioles scoreless on 3 hits. Then, before getting removed with 2 outs, Washburn was touched for 5 runs on 6 this in the 5th. At this point, chalk the start up to illness and not a continuation of a trend of poor outings like the one in his previous start.
Jermaine Dye- CHA- Cold- There was talk of the slumping Dye (3-for-25 in his last 7 games) getting a game off today. However, he is batting .400 in 50 career at bats against Yankee starter Mike Mussina, so he will probably get a chance to break out of his funk. If he doesn't, Dye will probably get a rest during at least one game this weekend.
Joey Gathright- KC- Hot- Gathright immediately made his presence felt after being called up yesterday and being inserted into the lineup. He went 2-for-3 with a double and, most importantly as far as his fantasy value goes, a stolen base. Gathright made major strides in his Batting EYE at AAA Omaha, with an outstanding mark of 1.61, leading to a batting average of .328 and OBP of .450. If you need stolen bases, Gathright is a good pickup. If his batting average can be sustained at the major league level, that would be a bonus.
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