Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

Shane Victorino delivered a three-run homer in the eighth inning on Sunday to held the Phillies top the Cardinals 5-4. Victorino didn’t start, but he homered in his second at-bat after replacing Geoff Jenkins. It accounted for three of the four runs surrendered by a combination of Kyle McClellan, Jaime Garcia and Russ Springer in the eighth inning. “You kind of have an idea of what he has by watching video, and I was just trying to hit a ball I could drive,” Victorino said. “It was a fastball. That’s what I think it was.” Victorino is hot and having a career year for the Phillies and Fantasy owners. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Brett Myers yielded two runs in six innings Sunday versus the Cardinals. Myers followed up his fine start against the Nationals with another pretty good one against a major league offense. Ryan Ludwick did take him deep for the first homer he’s allowed in three starts since his return. He’s given up 25 on the year. After struggling with his command and walking five against the Mets on July 23 in his first game back from his minor-league assignment, Myers has looked great in his last two starts, giving up just one walk. He can’t be completely trusted yet, and has notched just seven strikeouts in the last 18 innings, but the signs are still very encouraging that he can be a reliable back-end pitcher for your fantasy squad for the rest of the season. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Todd Wellemeyer pitched six innings of one-run ball Sunday in a no-decision against the Phillies. Wellemeyer began July with four straight shaky outings after overcoming his June elbow woes, but he’s bounced back with three sould starts in a row. Unfortunately, the 2.65 ERA in those games hasn’t resulted in any victories. He remains 8-4 with a 4.01 ERA for the season. The Phillies got only three runners in scoring position against Wellemeyer, who allowed one run on four hits in six-plus innings. Wellemeyer took the brunt of a 20-2 pasting by the Phillies at home on June 13, surrendering eight runs in 3 1/3 innings. The only run scored Sunday was on a Chase Utley homer. He left with a 2-1 lead, but the bullpen would later surrender the lead. Wellemeyer walked one and struck out three. Wellemeyer has started to look like the guy that was named NL Pitcher of the Month in May in his last three starts. He has allowed no more than two runs in each outing and has lasted at least five innings. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Gregor Blanco reached base four times as the Braves beat the Brewers 5-0 on Sunday. Blanco doubled once and walked three times, scoring once in the process. The Braves’ center fielder has a terrible .328 slugging percentage and is batting just .266. However, since he’s sporting a nifty .370 on-base percentage thanks to 51 walks, the Braves have bigger worries. If he continues to get on base at such a high clip the Braves may stick with him in center next season. (Rotoworld)

Angels 1B Mark Teixeira smacked a grand slam in Sunday’s 14-9 loss to the Yankees for his first homer as a member of his new team. He now has 21 homers on the year. Teixeira’s homer came in the eighth inning off reliever Edwar Ramirez and gave the Angels a 9-8 lead. However, the bullpen and defense imploded in the next inning, allowing the Yankees to take the lead and eventually win the game. Though it didn’t end up mattering today, Teixeira’s blast highlights just how big of an addition he was for the otherwise mediocre Angels’ offense. The thumping first baseman is an immediate game-changer in AL-only leagues who remains a must-start in Fantasy. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Mets placed RHP John Maine on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 29, with a strained right rotator cuff. This is the right move for the Mets. Giving Maine a full two weeks off to deal with his minor shoulder issue makes a lot more sense than trying to rush him back. The team could call up Claudio Vargas to start Friday. (Rotoworld)

Brewers RP Seth McClung allowed three walks, two hits and two runs over 1 1/3 innings Sunday in his first action since being removed from the rotation. McClung was splitting starts with Dave Bush in the No. 5 spot in Milwaukee, but Bush was named the full-time guy on Saturday. With his move to the bullpen, McClung lost all of his Fantasy value outside of super-deep NL-only leagues. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  44.5    37.0     81.5  2.5  0.0
 2   X-Men               22.0    39.0     61.0  -1.0 20.5
 3   Stanimals           28.0    32.0     60.0  -5.0 21.5
 4   Shoeless Jews       26.5    33.0     59.5  3.5  22.0
 5   The Pi Train        28.5    29.0     57.5  0.0  24.0
 6   Goodfellas          36.0    18.5     54.5  -0.5 27.0
 7   Uncle Lester        13.0    38.0     51.0  1.5  30.5
 8   Cover Zero          25.0    18.0     43.0  0.0  38.5
 9   Misogynistic Padres 27.0    15.5     42.5  -1.5 39.0
 10  Get Off Kong!       24.5    15.0     39.5  0.5  42.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/3/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA       0.5000  0 0   1    0
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 1.0000  0 1   0    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.2500  0 0   0    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.5000  0 1   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.2500  0 0   0    2
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Pearce, Steve RF PIT     0.5000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.3333  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.5000  0 0   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA    0.2000  1 1   4    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.2500  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.5000  1 1   3    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/3/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL      0.00  0 0   0 1.00
Wellemeyer, Todd SP STL    1.50  3 0   0 0.83