Atomic RoadRunners

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he expects to start Victorino on Thursday, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. If so, it would be Victorino’s first start since returning from the DL on Tuesday. With Philadelphia set to face the lefthanded Randy Wolf, it seems most likely that the switch-hitting Victorino would take lefty Geoff Jenkins’ spot in rightfield, with Jayson Werth remaining in center. (Rotowire)

“Tonight, (Werth) is our centerfielder,” manager Charlie Manuel said Tuesday. “Victorino is still going to play centerfield and he’s still kind of our centerfielder. At the same time, Werth’s our centerfielder tonight, if that makes sense. For me to say no, Victorino is not going to play centerfield for us anymore, I’m not going to say that, because that’s not true.” This sounds like a right mess in the Phillies outfield, especially for Fantasy owners. If we can try to decipher what Manuel is on about, it looks like Werth and Victorino will be in some sort of platoon in CF, with both possible occasional replacement for Jenkins in right. Got it? In other words, don’t expect everyday at-bats out of these three guys on a consistent basis for the near future. Victorino is usually a solid start, especially in rotisserie formats, but if he’s not getting at-bats, his value takes a nosedive. Werth and Jenkins remain useful in NL-only formats at this time. (CBS Sports)

Manny Acosta took the loss in relief for the Braves on Wednesday after giving up two runs in his third inning of work. Manager Bobby Cox asked for way too much from Acosta, who was hardly dominant while walking three and giving up a hit through two scoreless innings. Cox had him begin a third anyway, and Acosta couldn’t get an out.

Wil Nieves wasn’t supposed to bunt, of course. Indeed, with a 1-2 count, the Washington Nationals tried to signal to Nieves that he shouldn’t try to sacrifice over the two runners on base with no outs in the 12th inning against the Atlanta Braves. But Nieves didn’t see the sign, and bunted a ball right back to the pitcher’s mound. A sure out, maybe even two, right? Except reliever Manny Acosta let the ball go through his legs for an error, loading the bases. Acosta then walked in the tying run, and left for Buddy Carlyle, who gave up Felipe Lopez’s RBI single that delivered Washington’s 3-2 victory over the Braves on Wednesday, dropping Atlanta to 0-9 in one-run games this season. The runs were the first he had allowed since March 21.

The loss went to Acosta (0-1), who came in to start the 10th. He got into trouble right away, loading the bases with one out by issuing two walks and allowing a single. But Acosta got Lopez to ground into a 1-2-3 double play. He pitched two-plus innings, allowing two hits, two runs and five walks. He struck out one. Acosta had a lot of trouble Wednesday, but still remains the best candidate to close games with the Braves bullpen decimated by injuries. Acosta remains a nice stopgap Fantasy option for the time being. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Blake DeWitt was 2-for-5 with a triple and four RBI Wednesday in a 13-1 thrashing of the Marlins. DeWitt is now up to an impressive .279/.364/.397. That’s he’s doing this with very little upper-level minor league experience is quite impressive. DeWitt hasn’t homered in 68 at-bats, but he does have six extra-base hits and a fine 10:8 K:BB. How the Dodgers could ever turn back to Nomar Garciaparra (calf) as their regular third baseman is beyond us. (Rotowire)

Braves 1B Mark Teixeira had two hits, including his ninth double, in five at-bats Wednesday against the Nationals. He extended his hitting streak to seven games (11-for-29). He has four multi-hit games and five RBI in that span. When Teixeira heats up, he’s a sight to behold. He has the potential to hit .300 with 40 home runs, and he looks ready to gain some ground on those projections. Get him active if you’re part of the four percent of Fantasy owners who somehow found reason to bench him. (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 3-for-5 on Wednesday for Triple-A Portland, but even with that, he is hitting just .216 over his last 10 games. Thus far in 2008, he is hitting .242/.317/.396 with an ugly 26:9 K:BB over 91 at-bats. After his .330/.437/.580 line at Double-A, more was expected of Headley. His strikeout rate is up, his walk rate is down and unless something changes, he will spend the bulk of the year at Triple-A. (Rotowire)

Giants RP Brian Wilson issues a leadoff walk to Todd Helton in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Rockies, but retired the next three hitters — including Matt Holliday and Garret Atkins — to record his ninth save in a 3-2 win. Wilson had a strikeout for his fourth save since April 23. Wilson’s nine saves are the most for any Giants pitcher before May 1 since Robb Nen also had nine in 1999. Rod Beck had 11 in 1997. Wilson has lowered his ERA to 2.92 and is starting to look like a decent closer. Treat Wilson as a No. 2 Fantasy RP while he is racking up saves. (CBS Sports)

Brandon Lyon worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his ninth save of the season on Wednesday. Lyon gave up a single to Kazuo Matsui and a one-out walk to Lance Berkman, but Carlos Lee and Jose Cruz Jr. flew out to center to end the game. Lyon had a strikeout while lowering his ERA to 2.57. The talk of him coughing up the job have died down for now, while his recent consistency has slowly bumped him up out of the bottom-third of most closer rankings lists. Lyon has not allowed a run in his last 11 appearances and has eight saves in that span. Lyon is worth starting while he is red hot for the contending D-Backs. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Nelson Figueroa was needed in relief of Oliver Perez on Wednesday and allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings against the Pirates. Figueroa was available after having his turn skipped following Monday’s rainout. It could be Tuesday before he makes another start. Figueroa allowed five hits and two walks, so although it wasn’t the most inspiring performance, he continued his run of success this season. With Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez still due to miss significant time, Figueroa figures to see at least a couple more starts in May. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Matt Murton is expected to be sent to Triple-A once Alfonso Soriano (calf) returns from the disabled list Thursday. Of course. Murton has gotten just a dozen at-bats in his latest stint with the Cubs and the 26-year-old career .295/.363/.451 hitter will receive more unneeded work in the minors. (Rotoworld)

Update: He was.

Rockies OF Ryan Spilborghs had his second double of the season during Wednesday’s game against the Giants. Spilborghs drove in a run as well when he put a ball into the gap off Jonathan Sanchez. Spilborghs has hit safely in five of his last six outings (5-for-13). He has three RBI in that span.Spilborghs has started eight times in 2008, but serves as a valuable fourth outfielder and pinch hitter off the bench for Colorado. Any injury will open everyday at-bats for Spilborghs, so right now he is nothing more than a NL-only Fantasy reserve. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   The Pi Train        36.0    38.0     74.0  3.5  0.0
 2   X-Men               31.5    37.5     69.0  1.5  5.0
 2   Goodfellas          39.5    29.5     69.0  0.0  5.0
 4   Shoeless Jews       38.0    25.5     63.5  -4.5 10.5
 5   Misogynistic Padres 35.0    22.0     57.0  -0.5 17.0
 6   Atomic Roadrunners  22.0    33.0     55.0  0.0  19.0
 7   Stanimals           33.0    16.5     49.5  -1.5 24.5
 7   Get Off Kong!       19.5    30.0     49.5  5.0  24.5
 9   Uncle Lester        8.5     33.0     41.5  -3.0 32.5
 10  Cover Zero          12.0    10.0     22.0  -0.5 52.0  

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (4/30/08)
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL  0.3333  0 1   0    0
Dewitt, Blake 3B LA       0.4000  0 0   4    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.3333  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.3333  0 0   0    0
Jones, Andruw CF LA       0.0000  0 1   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Ruiz, Carlos C PHI        0.0000  0 0   0    0
Spilborghs, Ryan CF COL   0.2000  0 0   1    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL     0.4000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.4000  0 3   1    1
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (4/30/08)
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Acosta, Manny RP ATL        9.00  1 0   0 3.50
Lyon, Brandon RP ARI        0.00  1 1   0 2.00
Wilson, Brian RP SF         0.00  1 1   0 1.00