Army » d catches in the first two overs after deciding to bat. Havin

Remember last Thursday when we had a multitude of desirable starting options in each tier? Well, I hope you enjoyed it. This Thursday, were back in the muck. Get ready to spend on bats, because pickings are slim on the pitching side.PitchingEliteOnly one hurler draws elite status for Thursdays slate: Bostons Drew Pomeranz, who has a road date with the Mariners. The left-hander has not fared well since joining the Red Sox, posting a 7.53 ERA over 14 1/3 frames. Still, we shouldnt get too caught up in the small sample. His strikeout rate remains intact (15 whiffs in 14 1/3 innings), and hes been the victim of some bad batted ball luck (.350 BABIP). Pitching in Safeco Field, against an average Mariners offense that whiffs 22 percent of the time (including a 24 percent whiff rate since the All-Star break), Pomeranz is one of the days better cash bets.SolidDrew Smyly has endured a frustrating season. While hes whiffing more than a better per inning and sports a 3.8 K/BB ratio that ranks 11th-best in the American League, he has a 5.29 ERA and is averaging a 48 Game Score over 20 starts. The good news is that on Thursday he gets a Royals team thats been dormant since the All-Star break, sporting a 63 wRC+, the second-worst mark in baseball. The downside is that the Royals make lots of contact, so its unlikely Smyly goes off for double-digit Ks here. On a normal day, the Rays lefty would probably get lost in the shuffle. Thats not the case today, as hes at least in the cash-game discussion.Jose Quintana is seemingly always in play, and thats the case again on Thursday with a road matchup against Detroit. The Tigers lineup features plenty of right-hander power, but the team has actually been below-average against lefties this season. Quintana, meanwhile, has surrendered one or zero runs in four of his last five starts and boasts a career-best 8.2 K/9. Im more than comfortable building my cash games around him on Thursday.If youre looking for an upside play for GPPs, Ian Kennedy finds himself in a great spot with a road tilt against Tampa Bay. The right-hander is fanning a batter per inning, and the Rays have struck out at a 24 percent clip against righties this year. Its true that Kennedy has struggled so far in the second half, but so have the Rays (87 wRC+).Matt Moore makes his debut for the San Francisco Giants on the road in Philadelphia. Moore will be more interesting when working at home in AT&T Park, but this matchup is still in play as the Phillies offense is pedestrian, though to be fair the return of Aaron Altherr has added a solid stick. Still, Moore is in play on a day when risk-free options are scant.Opposing Moore is Vince Velasquez, who draws a more imposing opponent in the San Francisco Giants. While the Giants are just barely above-average versus righties, they strike out less than any team in the National League (16.8 percent), which limits Velasquezs ceiling. His ceiling is also limited by the fact that hes pitched past the sixth inning just twice in 18 starts this season. Then again, the young righty still carries huge whiff potential into every start (10.0 K/9) and owns a 2.75 ERA since returning from the DL in late June, so theres still plenty to like here on a day when there arent any standout options.Jordan Zimmermann is set to rejoin Detroits starting rotation after being sidelined since early July with a neck strain. He threw just 78 pitches in his second rehab outing, so he figures to be capped at 90-100 in this one. That said, he gets mentioned here because hes squaring off against a White Sox offense thats worst in the AL against right-handed pitching (85 wRC+). Keep in mind, though, that Zimmerman owns a 5.6 K/9 on the year and whiffed more than three batters just once in his seven starts before going on the DL, so nearly all of his value comes from run prevention, not strikeouts.StreamersMike Clevinger did not fare well in three May starts, allowing 14 runs in 14 1/3rd innings. However, down in Triple-A Columbus, its a different story as hes fanned 97 in 93 innings. The Cleveland Indians righty is being summoned to face the Minnesota Twins, who have a decent amount of swing-and-miss potential in their lineup. Theres some risk here, but if youre looking for some extra whiffs, Clevinger is an available option.Bartolo Colon doesnt get many Ks, but he doesnt walk many batters, either. The veteran righty is set up to face the Yankees, who have done a poor job against right-handed pitching this season and now have even less thump after dealing Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline. Colon remains a free agent in 67 percent of leagues.Mike Leake has battled inconsistency this season, but he finds himself in a favorable spot on Thursday, facing a Reds team thats one of the worst in baseball against right-handed pitchers (84 wRC+). Hes a free agent in 62 percent of ESPN.com leagues.AvoidScott Kazmir is a quality hurler, and this is a short slate, but Im still not throwing him out there at Coors Field. Hes made only two starts there in his career, but they werent pretty (5.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP).HittingAriel Miranda was dealt to the Mariners in the Wade Miley deadline deal, and hes making his first major league start on Thursday against the Red Sox. Talk about a tough draw. The 27-year-old lefty was decent at Triple-A this year, but his stuff might not translate well to the big leagues. And the Red Sox lineup, which mashes lefties, wont be very forgiving. Feel free to load up on the likes of Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez.The Baltimore Orioles acquired Wade Miley ostensibly to keep them in games while their offense slugged their way to a bunch of runs. This plan will be put to the test right away, as the southpaws debut for the Orioles will be against the equally powerful Texas Rangers in Camden Yards. Righty swingers give Miley far more trouble that lefties, especially in terms of homers. Ian Desmond, Jonathan Lucroy, Adrian Beltre and Ryan Rua, along with switch-hitters Jurickson Profar and Carlos Beltran, comprise a dangerous lineup.Brandon Finnegan struggles against right-handed hitters, and the Cardinals have plenty of quality right-handed bats who can do damage. Stephen Piscotty, Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta and Yadier Molina are all in play.The Coors Field game features Tyler Chatwood squaring off against the Dodgers. While Chatwood has been phenomenal on the road (1.30 ERA), hes been lit up at home (5.69 ERA). Coors bats are almost always expensive, but its worth trying to get some exposure here.Most likely to go yard: Carlos BeltranAgainst the homer-prone fly-baller Gallardo, look for Beltran to go yard for the first time in his new digs.Most likely to swipe a bag: Alcides EscobarSmyly has not had much success holding runners on this season, and the Royals can take advantage. Escobar is the favorite to pilfer one here. Custom Rockets Jerseys . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Custom Rockets T-shirts . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. http://www.customrocketsjersey.com/custom-tracy-mcgrady-jersey-large-85z.html . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Authentic Custom Rockets Jersey . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Custom Tracy McGrady Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Betting houses will give you odds on anything, but you cannot be sure if they would have accepted bets on the first talking point of the DRS on the first day of its use in a Test in India being its non-use. It has been a long wait for the review systems Test debut in India, and it has come with all the bells and whistles in place, including letting the viewers at home have a listen-in. You would have expected it to arrive with a bang, and it did - through its conspicuousness.Alastair Cook had enjoyed all the luck until then: won the first toss in a Test where Virat Kohli has flicked the coin in India, then enjoyed two dropped catches in the first two overs after deciding to bat. Having survived the first hour, having just begun to look comfortable, Cook missed one from Ravindra Jadeja. It was a shortish delivery, it spun past his inside edge and hit him in front of leg. At first look it seemed it was headed down leg, but Cook followed the protocol teams have in place: ask the non-striker, unless you have hit the ball.Cook did ask Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year-old debutant, the youngest player to open the innings for England on debut. You have to admire a team space where such a rookie can tell the captain, the most-capped England player, to walk off, but Cookk would have realised his error soon after, watching replays inside the dressing room.ddddddddddddHameed was not done dealing with the DRS. Soon he was trapped in front off the bowling of R Ashwin. This was a length ball from around the wicket that turned back just enough to be hitting the stumps but not enough to hit the defensive bat. This time, though, the vice-captain Joe Root encouraged Haseeb to ask for the review. Challenges remaining: 1.India made their first use of DRS minutes before tea, at the end of a wicketless session. The ball was reversing, Root had planted his front foot across, and Umesh Yadav had swung it past his inside edge. This one looked a really good candidate for lbw, but Kumar Dharmasena ruled it to be not out. India understandably reviewed it. Ball tracking said the ball was hitting the leg stump as much as it could without getting the decision overturned. Root was on 92 then, and successfully went on to become the first batsman visiting India to score a century since Michael Clarke in February 2013.Dharmasena, whom DRS had given a lot of grief in Bangladesh, could relax. It was DRS 0 - Dharmasena 2. ' ' '