Wir suchen Dich! » held out of last weeks game, and a platele

Tuesdays slate is interesting in that a lot of the most usable pitchers are squaring off against one another which could make wrangling the ever-elusive win more difficult. Offensively, we have a game in Coors with two pitchers who arent shy about allowing runs.PitchingEliteThe only pitcher with a better second half ERA than Jon Lester (1.47) is his teammate Kyle Hendricks (1.46). Lesters last six starts are especially impressive: 0.63 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 40 strikeouts, and a 4.4 K:BB ratio in 42.7 innings (5-0 record, too). He hasnt faced the Reds since June, but they havent been a problem for him this year with Game Scores of 72, 66, and 53. In his two seasons with the Cubs, he has a 3.02 ERA and 0.86 WHIP against Cincy in 47.7 innings.Jose Fernandez facing Tanner Roark is our first head-to-head of guys where you could pick either side, though the strikeout advantage for Fernandez certainly makes him more desirable (further evidenced by his elite Game Score projection). Fernandez has fanned fewer than six batters just four times this year and two of them have come this month, but he tied his season-high of 14 in the other start hes made this month so Im not too worried. Plus, he has 29 strikeouts in 19 innings against the Nats this year in three starts (1.42 ERA, 1.00 WHIP for those curious).Roark has been every bit as good as his 2014 breakout and you could make the case that hes even a little better from a fantasy angle because he has added a full strikeout to his bottom line (7.3 K/9). Both Fernandez and Roark have 16 starts of a 60 or better Game Score this year. Fernandez has at least six strikeouts in each one with seven of at least 11 strikeouts while Roark has gone 6+ just eight times including his only double-digit strikeout outing of the season (15 v. MIN).Rich Hill versus Johnny Cueto is an equally awesome matchup that should be a lot of fun to watch and could be a playoff preview. For the purposes of DFS, Hill is a worse version of Fernandez while Cueto is a better Roark. Hill was great with Oakland, but hes been on another level with LA, albeit for just four starts. He has a 1.48 ERA and 0.53 (!) WHIP in 24.3 innings with 28 strikeouts and just three walks. In fact, he hasnt allowed a run as a Dodger until his most recent outing in Arizona when they put four on him. He still fanned eight despite just 5.3 innings.What Cueto lacks in dominant strikeout ability (7.9 K/9), he makes up for with endurance. He trails only Chris Sale (6) in complete games with five and his two shutouts are tied with Corey Kluber for second-most behind Clayton Kershaw. Cueto is averaging 6.9 innings per start, again trailing only Sale (7.3). Its an interesting contrast with Hill, whose lingering blister issue can end his night preemptively at any point. There are five starts with at least 14 outings of a 65+ Game Score this year and three of them are going on Tuesday: Lester 17, Cueto 15, and Fernandez 14. Max Scherzer is pacing the league with 20. And just as a fun little sidenote, Cueto is tied with -- yep, you guessed it -- Chris Sale.SolidJ.A. Happ and Hisashi Iwakuma square off in the Solid-if-Unspectacular Bowl. Happ went through a period of dominance earlier this summer when he ripped off eight starts of a 1.78 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 50.7 innings, but his return to earth (4.50 ERA, 19 Ks in last 26 IP) puts him essentially on par with the always-steady Iwakuma. Happ in his last nine starts has a 3.27 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 3.3 K:BB ratio over 52.3 innings while Iwakuma has a 3.07 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a 3.6 K:BB ratio over 55.7 innings.Kevin Gausman is definitely a risk going up against the Red Sox. On the one hand, they pasted him for 11 runs in nine innings over his first two starts against them earlier this year. On the other, he just popped eight shutout innings on em his last time out, pushing his ERA down to 2.06 over his last nine starts with 62 strikeouts in 56.7 innings. Gausman has been a boom or bust pick all year, not just against the Red Sox: he has six starts with a 70+ Game Score, but five others of 40 or lower (including a season-worst 22 against these Red Sox back in June). There are enough viable options to avoid this risk, but if youre a multi-lineup person looking to go against the grain with one of them, Gausmans your huckleberry.Spot StartersJulio Teheran and Robert Gsellman are both viable SP2 options when they go head-to-head in New York. Teheran is coming off a 5 ER dud against Miami, but as I regularly point out in this space each week, not all bad starts are created equally. Teheran was cruising through five (1 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 1 BB) when it came unglued in the sixth: 3B, 1B, HBP, deep flyball out, 3-run HR, fin. Just because it came in one awful sequence doesnt mean we dont count it, but its a lot different than allowing runs in three of the five-plus innings while dodging traffic of 10 or so base runners. Teheran has not only done his best work on the road this year, but he has also crushed the Mets with a nearly-invisible 0.78 ERA and 0.52 WHIP in 23 innings (8.5 K:BB).Gsellman has only been in the majors for five minutes, but he has continued the seemingly endless stream of quality starters the Mets have to combat their seemingly endless stream of injuries to the more heralded arms. The Braves have actually handed him his worst start so far (5 IP/4 ER), but he also logged a season-high six strikeouts. The Braves have been markedly better in the second half offensively, but I still dont run from them with starters.Sean Manaea has quietly put up a 2.74 ERA in his last 65.7 innings dating back to July 10 when he put up seven scoreless against the Astros, who he faces on Tuesday. Hes allowed more than 3 ER in just two of the 11 appearances (theres one relief appearance, but he went 5 IP so it was essentially a start).I see the gaudy projected Game Score for Michael Pineda, but I remain entirely suspect. Hes got a sharp 2.84 ERA in three starts this month, but the wet blanket on that is his 12.7 innings as he hasnt finished five in any of the three starts. Me personally, I cant start him.HittingCardinals will be in high demand against Jorge de la Rosa for sure. For his career he has a 146-point platoon split favoring righties, but this year its been just five points thanks to a full season career-worst .842 OPS against lefties. That said, there are enough righties on St. Louis to avoid risking the lefty-lefty matchups. Stephen Piscotty is my top pick here, but Im also looking at Randal Grichuk, Jedd Gyorko, and Aledmys Diaz. If I were to pick a lefty, itd be Matt Carpenter.Adam Wainwright has seen his season ebb and flow. He opened with a 6.80 ERA in his first eight starts, then had a 2.84 in his next 14 as it looked like he was back before suffering through a 5.64 in his last eight. He has a brutal 6.15 ERA on the road and a trip to Coors isnt going to help that. He hasnt had a platoon split this year, making all of the stud Rockies viable for Tuesday: Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, David Dahl, and DJ LeMahieu top my list.It looks like Josh Smith will start for Cincinnati against the Cubs. He has a sharp 214-point platoon split favoring lefties and his horrific 1.8 HR/9 has been equal opportunity. Anthony Rizzo is obviously the top pick, but Id also consider switch-hitters Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist even on their weaker side. Kris Bryant hasnt had any issues with righties this year, posting a .919 OPS with 24 of his 37 homers.The James Shields-Jake Thompson matchup could be a fruitful alternative to a Coors stack while still allowing for some premium pitching as neither team is loaded with costly stars. Shields is making everyone look like an All-Star this year while the rookie Thompson is getting pummeled by lefties. Im looking at Odubel Herrera, Tommy Joseph, Cameron Rupp, Maikel Franco, and even Freddy Galvis on the Phillies. Galvis somehow has 20 homers this year, 17 against righties. Jose Abreu has a 1.038 OPS over the last month and 16 of his 24 homers against righties. Adam Eaton and Todd Frazier are the other big considerations for Chicago.Angels lefties draw the only other 10 rating aside from Cardinals righties, but theres no real way to maximize that as Kole Calhoun is the only usable bat from that side against A.J. Griffin.Most likely to go yard: Gary Sanchez. Im going a little unorthodox here. Hes facing a lefty and he only has a .752 OPS against them this year, but Im calling a homer against a reliever for the rookie backstop.Most likely to swipe a bag: Jean Segura. Arizona is one of four teams with a 10 rating in stolen bases on Tuesday so Ill take their team leader in that category (30) with the added bonus of maybe getting some big offense out of him, too. Segura is having a career year with 17 HRs and an .855 OPS in 642 PA. Dallas Stars Pro Shop . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Fake Stars Jerseys . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Stars Jerseys China .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Custom Dallas Stars Jerseys . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. LOS ANGELES -- Colorados first game as a ranked team in nearly 11 years is a prime chance for the Buffaloes to prove theyre serious about contending with the Pac-12s perennial powers.Its also a chance for one of those perennial powers to continue climbing.No. 21 Colorado (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) puts its program resurgence to its stiffest test yet Saturday against Southern California (2-3, 1-2), which has dominated this matchup since 1927. These arent the same Buffaloes who lost 40 conference games over the past five years, but coach Mike MacIntyre realizes theyve got to show it on the Coliseums grand stage.How many times has Colorado played USC? 10, MacIntyre said. How many times have they beat them? Zero. So we have to earn our respect, theres no doubt about it. Its fun to do something thats never been done. Hopefully we can do that. I think you always need a little bit of a chip on your shoulder in whatever you do. I think it gives you an added advantage.The experienced, veteran Buffs are the only team in the Pac-12 South without a conference loss, and theyre on their first Pac-12 winning streak since joining the league in 2011. Theyre carrying momentum and confidence after beating Oregon during their strong start to MacIntyres fourth season.But few teams have the overall talent level of the Trojans, who showed strong signs of revival last week while routing previously unbeaten Arizona State. USC lost three of its first four games away from home to ranked teams in coach Clay Heltons first full season, but that talent was too much for the Sun Devils.While the Trojans have never lost to the Buffs, theyve never taken the matchup for granted. Colorado led for more than 30 minutes last season before Cody Kessler rallied USC to a win in Boulder.Weve always known they have had players, USC safety Chris Hawkins said. Most of their players are from here, so I know (receiver) Devin Ross. I played (receiver) Bryce Bobo in high school. I know (receiver) Shay Fields. We know they have the good players. They were young. Now that theyre juniors and seniors, it is really showing how special they can be.Here are moore things to know for Colorados visit to the Coliseum:MEGA MATCHUP: USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster broke out against Arizona State with three TD catches from freshman quarterback Sam Darnold.dddddddddddd The job of slowing Smith-Schuster could largely fall to Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, a California native with NFL-caliber coverage skills.RANKING POINTS: The Buffs are the fourth ranked team faced already this season by USC, which is playing one of the nations toughest schedules, but this is the first of those games at home. Helton is hoping the Trojans have learned from taking their lumps against Alabama, Stanford and Utah. Colorado has only been ranked once in a previous matchup with USC -- and the Trojans beat the Buffs 40-3 in Boulder in 2002.QB QUESTION: MacIntyre hasnt said whether freshman quarterback Steven Montez will make his third consecutive start. The Buffs have been waiting to gauge the health of career passing leader Sefo Liufau, who has an ankle injury. The change isnt likely to alter Colorados game plan. If you look at the tape, they are the same guy, said Hawkins, the USC safety. They can run. They are identical, and I think they are very interchangeable.BANNER DAY: USC offensive tackle Zach Banner is doubtful to play due to a sprained left ankle. He was held out of last weeks game, and a platelet-rich plasma injection this week didnt appear to help. His absence could open an opportunity for the Buffaloes to put pressure on Darnold, who was outstanding in his first home start last week.CALIFORNIA SOUL: The Buffs are 2-19-1 in California, where they havent won since 2002. Colorado has 43 players from California on its roster, including that vaunted receiving group containing Ross, Bobo and Fields, who is aware of the Buffs winless record against USC. You always want to do something thats never been done in school history, Fields said. So that aspect adds a little bit of fire for us.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '