Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Phillies weren't expecting much when they signed Pedro Martinez right around mid-season. Well, let me rephrase and say the Phillies weren't expecting this much.
On Sunday, Martinez pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven while walking two. But those aren't his most amazing numbers. When Martinez pitches the Phillies are a perfect 7-0. Think about that. Every time Pedro runs out there to take the mound the Phillies win.
It could be because he's controlling the strike zone so well. His strikeout to walk ratio is 5.66 (34:6 K:BB) in 37.2 innings of work. Or it could be that he's allowed only 35 hits (less than one per inning) and sports a 2.87 ERA.
Whatever the reason that Martinez is pitching like his Cy Young days of old, it just goes to show you how smart the Phillies were to take a chance on him. What's crazy is that most fantasy baseball owners still aren't ready to Vote For Pedro. He's only owned in 45% of fantasy leagues.
Number don't lie very often guys. Go grab Martinez for your stretch runs. Do it now!
Bits From the Box Scores:
• We knew that the Orioles planned to shut down Brian Matusz early this year. The time may have come. The Orioles are thinking long and hard about shutting him down right now. The decision should come in the next day or two.
• Felix Hernandez threw seven strong shutout innings on Sunday striking out five batters and allowing only four hits. King Felix has thrown nine consecutive quality starts, a streak that dates back to July 27th.
• Tommy Hunter went the distance on Sunday. In his complete game he only allowed six hits and one earned run. His season earned run average sits at 3.23 and the hurler is 8-3.
• Prince Fielder blasted his 39th home run of the season on Sunday. While he'll probably be looking up at Albert Pujols in the home run standings for the remainder of the season he does lead Major League Baseball in RBI with 126.
• Derrek Lee went 3-for-4 on Sunday raising his batting average to .302. He also hit his 32nd home run of the season.
• Hideki Matsui drove in five runs on Sunday as he went 3-for-4 with his 24th home run. Over the last month he's batting .310 with 23 runs batted in.
• David DeJesus went 3-for-5 on Sunday and over the past month is hitting .345 with 22 runs scored. He's only owned in 11% of fantasy leagues.
• Jeff Francoeur went 3-for-4 on Sunday and has almost become the hitter he was supposed to be. Since joining the Mets he's batting .309 with seven home runs in 220 at-bats. If you calculate his numbers since being traded to New York and project them over his usual number of at-bats he only comes up with 20 home runs for a full season in the Big Apple. His batting average is fine, but where's the pop?
• Joe Mauer went 3-for-4 on Sunday and launched his 27th home run of the season. Mauer is batting .366 and has 84 runs scored and 84 runs batted in. Not bad for a guy who missed the first month of the season.
• Jon Lester threw eight scoreless innings and only allowed two hits on Sunday while facing the Rays. Over the last month Lester has four wins and a superb 1.51 ERA and 0.87 WHIP.
The Afflicted: J.A. Happ threw a successful bullpen session on Monday and could be back on the mound for Philadelphia on Friday. Chris Davis fouled a pitch off of his right leg on Sunday and had precautionary x-rays done. He was seen walking around after the game; a game he did not leave after the foul ball. Roy Oswalt may miss his next start due to back spasms.
Lineup Lock Time: You have plenty of time. First pitch isn't until 7:05 PM ET.
