Atomic RoadRunners

John Maine won his second straight outing, holding Seattle to two runs over six innings and not allowing a hit for the first four. Maine (8-5) breezed into the fifth, issuing a walk to Willie Bloomquist in the third for his only baserunner. Maine didn’t allow a hit until Jeremy Reed singled leading off the fifth inning. Reed and Richie Sexson singled to start the fifth and Bloomquist hit an RBI single. Ichiro Suzuki had a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2. Maine gave up two runs and five hits in six innings overall. He walked two and struck out three. Maine seemed unaffected by the blister he reportedly suffered from in his last start. Maine has won his last two starts and has allowed just four runs in 12 2/3 innings (2.84 ERA). Maine continues to be one of the Mets’ best arms in 2008. He has had some rough moments, but he has been reliable for the most part. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Jose Reyes hit a three-run homer and stole his 27th base of the year Wednesday. Reyes hit the homer off Mariners SP Miguel Batista during a four-run third inning Wednesday as New York won 8-2. Now this is the Jose Reyes that fantasy owners used a top draft pick on. He’s been one of the few bright spots for the Mets these past couple months. eyes had no homers and just two RBI in his previous 18 games before going deep Wednesday. He still remained productive at the plate, recording a hit in all but three of those games. Reyes’ average is creeping toward .300 and the speedy shortstop remains a must-start Fantasy option. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Reds 2B Brandon Phillips had a RBI single in four at-bats Wednesday against the Blue Jays. He also walked once and scored once. Phillips is 11-for-28 (.393) with five RBI in his last seven games. He has five multi-hit games in that span. Phillips has used his recent hot streak to raise his average from .262 to .277. He has having a hard time at the plate through the first few weeks of June, but seems to have regained his form. Phillips remains one of the elite Fantasy options at second base. (CBS Sports)

Mike Gonzalez struck out two in a scoreless ninth to earn a save versus the Brewers on Wednesday. Gonzalez’s last blown save came exactly four years ago today. He has just 34 saves since then — he didn’t take over as a closer until 2006 and he missed almost all of last season — but as many close games as he’s pitched it, it’s still remarkable that he’s made 159 straight appearances without ever being charged with a blown save. The typical setup man will still get charged with a blown save every month or so. (Rotoworld)

CF Shane Victorino picked up his 18th stolen base of the season in the eighth inning, but this one carried some extra meaning. Victorino stole the bag off Athletics C Kurt Suzuki, who hails from the same hometown in Hawaii. Victorino is three years older than Suzuki, and they attended rival high schools in Wailuku, a town on Maui. Their parents are friends, but until Tuesday, Victorino and Suzuki had never played against each other in the majors. Entering the game, Suzuki had thrown out the second-most runners in the majors and had the third-highest caught-stealing percentage (37 percent) among catchers. “I heard he’s pretty good,” Victorino said before the game. “He’s known as a very good defensive catcher. I’ve always known that. We’ll see.” Victorino is a solid start in all Rotisserie leagues because of his 40-steal potential and his placement in a great lineup and home hitter’s park. Suzuki has been hot of late and is a nice add in mixed leagues at the thin catcher position. Both are emerging Fantasy options and should continue to improve as they establish themselves as veterans in this game. (CBS Sports)

San Francisco Giants outfielder John Bowker went 1-for-4 Wednesday as the Giants defeated the Cleveland Indians in interleague action. Bowker hit his eighth homer in the eighth off Rafael Betancourt to make it 4-1, the game’s final margin. Bowker has now hit safely in five straight and seven of his last eight games. He’s got nine RBI during that span and two homers. Bowker has proven to be a streaky performer in his young career and can’t really be trusted outside of larger NL-only Fantasy leagues at this time. (CBS sports)

Blake DeWitt drove in two runs as the Dodgers defeated the White Sox 5-0 on Wednesday night. DeWitt finished the night 1-for-3, raising his average to .269 on the season. His average was at .303 when the month of June started, but after hitting .185 this month he’s now hitting .269 on the season. He’ll have to break out of this slump to ensure he keeps playing regularly. (Rotoworld)

Steve Pearce went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers Wednesday for Triple-A Indianapolis. Pearce is at .296/.344/.605 this month, though his OPS for the year is still under 800. At least the improved showing will put him back in line for an opportunity in the event of a Xavier Nady or Jason Bay trade. (Rotoworld)

Todd Wellemeyer (elbow) says he feels fine and he expects to start Thursday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Wellemeyer had missed two of his last three scheduled starts, so the Cardinals are happy to get him back healthy. (Rotowire)

Ryan Spilborghs started his second straight game on Wednesday and is 6-for-14 in his last six games. He has pushed his average back over .300. Spilborghs got a spot start in center field on Tuesday and was the Rockies’ DH on Wednesday. Despite his improved stats, he isn’t likely to receive much playing time in the foreseeable future, although he could pick up a start or two at DH this weekend. (Rotowire)

Additionally, every game Spilborghs starts is a game that Willy Taveras doesn’t, and Taveras is the leading steals machine for Get Off Kong! – currently second behind the Roadrunners in the steals category.

The Sports Xchange reports that Milwaukee 1B Prince Fielder, who batted .382 with five home runs and eight RBIs on the Brewers’ last homestand, was 0-for-12 in the three-game series in Atlanta that started a nine-game road trip. Maybe the veggies weren’t that tasty in Atlanta, but no matter how poorly he does in one series, the big man remains a must-start option in all formats. (CBS Sports)

Ruben Gotay started at third base Wednesday for Chipper Jones, who missed his fifth straight start because of a strained right quadriceps. Jones struck out in the eighth as a pinch hitter. The Braves had been hopeful he could return to the starting lineup in Toronto this weekend. Jones is having another fine year, when healthy, but the problem is staying healthy at this point. You have to expect frustrating weeks with the injury-risk veteran, especially in Head-to-Head leagues where a goose egg can prove real costly. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  42.0    39.0     81.0  -2.0 0.0
 2   Shoeless Jews       27.0    32.0     59.0  -1.0 22.0
 3   X-Men               18.5    39.0     57.5  0.5  23.5
 3   The Pi Train        29.0    28.5     57.5  -0.5 23.5
 5   Goodfellas          34.0    23.0     57.0  0.5  24.0
 6   Stanimals           37.0    17.0     54.0  -0.5 27.0
 7   Misogynistic Padres 28.0    25.0     53.0  2.0  28.0
 8   Uncle Lester        11.0    38.5     49.5  1.0  31.5
 9   Get Off Kong!       25.5    21.0     46.5  0.0  34.5
 10  Cover Zero          23.0    12.0     35.0  0.0  46.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/25/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 0.5000  0 1   1    0
Bowker, John OF SF       0.2500  1 1   1    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.6667  0 0   2    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.0000  0 0   0    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.5000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.2500  0 0   0    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.2500  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.3333  0 0   1    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.2500  0 1   1    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.2500  1 2   3    1
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.5000  0 2   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.3333  0 1   0    1

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/25/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL      0.00  2 1   0 1.00
Maine, John SP NYM         3.00  3 0   1 1.17
Wilson, Brian RP SF        0.00  0 1   0 1.00