Fantasy Baseball: Monday's Matchups in MLB

• The Chicago Cubs, already likely to end the season with the best record in the NL, place their No. 4-man, Ted Lilly on the mound. And although I wouldn't normally recommend 1B Adam LaRoche against another lefty, this time is different. Not only is Lilly allowing lefties to hit .307 against him this season, but Adam is 4-9 with three doubles against Lilly in his career. I'm also a strong advocate of Mr. "Second Half" down the stretch (a.k.a. Adam LaRoche), who is only 26.9 percent owned in fantasy leagues! Opposing the Cubs? Jeff Karstens, who threw six scoreless innings against them in his first start for the Pirates since being traded from the Yankees. If the Cubs didn't read the scouting report yet, he could do it again, but I wouldn't exactly count on that. 
• Who's looking to break out the buttered popcorn for a pitching duel? Maybe the baseball gods will grant us one, as two playoff contenders face off. Brett Myers takes the mound for the home-team Phillies against Chad Billingsley of the Los Angeles Dodgers. I've been a strong advocate of Brett Myers since he's come back from the minors. He's actually a fixture on all but two of my seven fantasy teams. Look for his 72.7 percent ownership in leagues to near 100 percent after he pitches another gem. Helping on the offensive side for the hometown Phillies will be 3B Pedro Feliz. Billingsley just might be what the doctor ordered for Feliz, who recently returned off the DL just a few days ago. Helping Feliz' cause? He has the most experience vs. Billingsley of any Philly player, at 3-9, with a HR and two RBI.
• Two southpaw rookies take to the mound for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. Clayton Richard will be facing Chris Waters. Clayton Richard lit up AAA earlier this season for a 6-0 record in seven starts, boasting a phenomenally low WHIP of 0.84, well complemented by a 2.84 ERA. That success finally translated into a successful major-league start this past week—six shutout innings and the win. Look for more of the same, as the White Sox are in a dead-heat with the Twins for first place in the AL central.
• Cleveland vs. Detroit. This is a matchup of "why exactly are you pitching in the major leagues" vs. "you've already shown us you belong in the bigs!" Zach Jackson wasn't exactly lighting up AAA the past three seasons, putting up an ERA over four each time. On the other side is Andres Galarraga, who is 5-0 in his past six starts. He looks to extend his streak to six. Keep an eye on OF Shin-Soo Choo though, as he is 3-5 with two doubles and an RBI in his career against the overachieving Detroit Tiger pitcher.
• Two solid pitchers take to the mound in New York. Houston's Brian Moehler against Mike Pelfrey. The difference between them is that the Mets need to hang on to first place if they want to be playing in October. Pelfrey will help them do that, as he is 10-2 since June 16. Brian Moehler has been just as good, going 5-0 in his past eight starts. The issue at hand might be the home-field advantage, as the Mets are 40-24 at home.

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