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

Brett Myers pitched eight impressive shutout innings Friday as the Phillies won 3-0 and moved within two games of the Mets in the NL East standings. Myers struck out 10 batters while allowing just three hits. 81 of his 118 pitches went for strikes. He lowered his ERA to 4.19 and improved his record to 9-10. Myers (9-10) is 6-1 since being recalled from the minors with a 1.55 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 56 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Myers has been great since the end of July and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue the success versus the Marlins next week. (Rotoworld)

Matt Lindstrom picked up his first career save in Friday’s 4-1 win over St Louis on Friday night in 11 innings. Lindstrom should be the first option for saves with Kevin Gregg out and should be picked up by owners, who could use a few saves down the stretch. He retired the side on just eight pitches and took the hill as Kevin Gregg missed his fifth straight game with knee trouble. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

D-Backs manager Bob Melvin has dismissed reports that Brandon Webb has tendinitis in his right arm, according to the East Valley Tribune. He’s struggled in his last two starts, while trying to become the National League’s first 20-game winner. Webb gets a big afternoon start against the Dodgers on Saturday, but there’s no reason to seriously consider reserving him because of his health right now. (Rotowire)

Corey Hart went 2-for-5 with two singles in Friday’s extra-inning win over the Padres. Hart continues to be a boon for owners who reached for the power/speed threat on draft day. Entering Friday, Hart was hitting .286 with 20 home runs and 22 stolen bases. (Rotowire)

Brandon Moss drove in three runs during Friday night’s win over San Francisco. Moss has shown signs of being a productive hitter. He has six homers and 13 RBI in 107 at bats since being traded to the Pirates but has struck out 29 times. (Rotowire)

Brewers 1B Prince Fielder went 0-for-4 with a walk Friday against the Padres and is batting only .161 (10-for-62) with zero home runs over his last 16 games. Fielder hit only .228 in August and hasn’t begun September much better. He’s obviously not this bad, but he’s not the MVP candidate we saw last year either. Consider him on the low end more than the high end of No. 1 Fantasy 1B. (CBS Sports)

Reds 2B Brandon Phillips ripped his 24th double Friday against the Cubs. It was his only hit in four at-bats as he scored twice and walked once. Phillips has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. He has just one RBI in that span. Phillips hasn’t gone deep since Aug. 22 and has just two RBI in that span. He might be putting the ball in the play, but he is not going deep or driving in runs. Phillips hasn’t quite been his 2007 form, but he remains a must-start in all Fantasy leagues through thick and thin. (CBS Sports)

Phillies OF Shane Victorino singled with one out in the first inning Friday against Mets SP Mike Pelfrey, then stole his 31st base, moved to third on a throwing error and scored on Chase Utley’s RBI groundout. Victorino’s run was all Brett Myers needed in a 3-0 win. Victorino is 5-for-19 (.263) over his last five games, but he doesn’t have a RBI in seven games and hasn’t homered since Aug. 5. Victorino has slowed down some after he came out of the All-Star break on fire. Still, he is worth using as a No. 3 Fantasy OF in most formats. (CBS Sports)

On Friday, the Cardinals announced that rookie SP Jaime Garcia is scheduled for reconstructive elbow surgery on Monday. He will miss the entire 2009 season. Tommy John surgery usually requires at least a year of recovery, but the Cardinals plan to give Garcia plenty of time. He’s a decent prospect, but this surgery obviously takes him off the Fantasy radar for a while. (CBS Sports)

John Maine (shoulder) will play catch Sunday for the first time since he was shut down on August 24. The Mets are hoping Maine will be able to return later this month as a reliever. “He’s done absolutely nothing baseball (related),” manager Jerry Manuel said, “so he’s probably still a ways away.” (Rotoworld)

Padres OF Jody Gerut (finger) missed his eighth straight start Friday at Milwaukee, but he did appear as a pinch runner. Gerut has decent numbers and shows moderate power, but he only plays against right-handers. Think of him as just an NL-only option when healthy. (CBS Sports)

Reds manager Dusty Baker hopes Chris Dickerson isn’t infected with what he calls home run-itis after hitting six home runs in his first 20 major league games. Dickerson has no minor league track record of being a power hitter. Baker hopes the 425-foot home run Dickerson hit the opposite way Wednesday against the Pirates shows him he doesn’t have to muscle up and pull. “I remember him having some pop in spring training,” said Baker. “It is a matter of learning to channel and control that pop versus seeing him surprisingly pop one.” Dickerson extended his hitting streak to seven games (10-for-26) and has hit safely in 17 of 20 games since his recall from the minors. He is one of the Reds hottest hitters and is finding everyday at-bats. Use him as a stopgap Fantasy option until he starts to cool down. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  42.0    37.0     79.0  -1.5 0.0
 2   X-Men               30.5    38.0     68.5  -2.5 10.5
 3   Shoeless Jews       32.0    33.5     65.5  1.5  13.5
 4   Goodfellas          39.5    21.0     60.5  2.5  18.5
 5   Stanimals           21.0    36.0     57.0  -1.0 22.0
 6   The Pi Train        25.0    28.0     53.0  0.5  26.0
 7   Uncle Lester        11.0    38.5     49.5  -0.5 29.5
 8   Cover Zero          27.0    16.0     43.0  0.0  36.0
 9   Get Off Kong!       26.0    12.5     38.5  -0.5 40.5
 10  Misogynistic Padres 21.0    14.5     35.5  1.5  43.5

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (9/5/08) F
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA        0.3333  0 1   0    0
Dickerson, Chris OF CIN   0.2500  0 1   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.4000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.0000  0 0   1    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     0.0000  0 1   1    0
Milledge, Lastings LF WAS 0.0000  0 0   0    0
Moss, Brandon OF PIT      0.2500  0 0   3    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.2500  0 2   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Sandoval, Pablo C SF      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.2500  0 1   0    1

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (9/5/08) F
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Lindstrom, Matt RP FLA      0.00  0 1   0 0.00
Myers, Brett SP PHI         0.00 10 0   1 0.62