The Cardinals have placed starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia on the DL, both with shoulder injuries. Wacha's stress fracture appeared to surprise the Cards, and they don't know how long he'll be out after getting shut down for a few weeks.
It sounds like Carlos Martinez and Joe Kelly will take the two open rotation slots, with Martinez staying on turn for a Friday start at Los Angeles. However, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that with Kelly needing one more minor-league rehab start to recover for a hamstring injury, the Cards' Wednesday starter is TBD.
If Wacha and/or Garcia have extended absences, it'll be tempting to think that the talented Martinez can keep starting all year. Just remember that he pitched 108 innings last season, and is likely to leave games early, get skipped once or twice, etc. Martinez threw 74 pitches against the Phillies on Sunday; he's owned in just 3.7 percent of FOXSports.com leagues.
Sunday's studs & duds
Stud: Madison Bumgarner allowed two hits and no runs while striking out seven D-backs. He's pretty much always a stud.
Stud: Red Sox 1B Mike Napoli hit a home run and stole home against the A's. Granted, it was on the back end of a double steal, but for a guy with 29 stolen bases over nine seasons, that's quite a feat.
Dud: Red Sox closer Koji Uehara allowed two homers to blow a save. Doesn't he know he's supposed to be perfect?
News & notes
The Padres have scratched Andrew Cashner from tonight's start, and nobody seems to know why. Odrisamer Despaigne, who signed with the Pads in May and had a 6.85 ERA in five Triple A starts, will take Cashner's turn. Despaine came here recently from Cuba, and has 41 strikeouts in 31 1/3 minor-league innings. I'll tweet more news on the Cashner mystery when I see it.
Bad news from Toronto, where 3B Brett Lawrie is headed back to the DL with a broken right index finger, and OF Jose Bautista is day to day (at least) with leg tightness. Bautista will have an MRI today.
Tigers OF Torii Hunter hasn't played since last Sunday due to a hamstring injury, but there's hope that he'll return on Tuesday.
Joe Smith got Sunday's save for the Angels, and pitched the ninth inning of the team's four-run win on Friday. In between those games, Kevin Jepsen got Saturday's save opportunity, but gave up a game-tying homer to Shin-Soo Choo. I don't know what's going to happen here; I think Mike Scioscia will try to give rookie Cam Bedrosian another chance or two down the road (Bedrosian was sent to the minors on Saturday), but Smith is owned in 6.1 percent of FOXSports.com leagues if you want to give him a look.
All of Tampa Bay's closer committee members appeared in Sunday's game, but Joel Peralta got the save. Per the Rays' website, "Peralta pitched the ninth rather than (Jake) McGee -- who has been the designated closer of late -- because the Astros sent their middle of the order to the plate in the eighth and McGee was a better fit." There's no clarity here, so trying to read any tea leaves is probably futile.
Jared Burton saved Sunday's Twins' win because Glen Perkins had worked the previous three games. Nothing to see here.
Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong (shoulder) is on the DL. Veteran Mark Ellis is starting in Wong's place, and can be grabbed in NL-only leagues.
The Royals are likely to platoon Jarrod Dyson and Justin Maxwell to replace the injured Norichika Aoki (groin). They've also revived their third-base platoon now that Danny Valencia is back from the DL.
After a Ripken-esque stretch of nine games in nine days (including one pinch-hitting appearance), Marlins 2B Rafael Furcal injured a hamstring and is back on the DL. Derek Dietrich, who has been hitting well since his demotion to Triple A, is back to replace Furcal.
Big thanks to the Orioles for sending Kevin Gausman to the minors less than eight hours after I recommended him in Friday's edition of Free Agent Frenzy. On the bright side, Gausman could be recalled as soon as Friday, when the O's play a doubleheader against the Rays.
Tigers' closer Joe Nathan blew another save on Saturday, but he should still have a long leash.
Streaming starters
Charlie Morton wasn't so good on Friday, Jake Odorizzi was freaking awesome on Saturday, and Joe Niese was good enough on Sunday - we're up to 47-34 for the season. Today's pick is Yankee surprise Chase Whitley (20.4 percent owned) versus the undermanned Blue Jays, while Tuesday's selection is the still-somewhat-underappreciated Jake Arrieta (31.4 percent owned) against the Reds.
See you back here tomorrow morning.
