MLB Morning Mashup: May 4

Top News : Ryan Braun sat out Sunday's game with upper back stiffness.

AL MORNING MASHUP : Gil Meche struck out three, walked two, and gave up seven hits over six innings for a win...Kevin Youkilis is now batting .407 on the season. Youk hit a two run homer against the Rays Sunday night...

Scott Baker had a no-no through six innings before it all fell apart in the seventh.  Baker, now 0-4, struck out four batters allowed one walk, five runs and five hits...Carl Crawford put his name in the record books by stealing six bases against the Red Sox on Sunday...Justin Verlander struck out 11 Indians on his way to a victory...

If you have Asdrubal Cabrera on your fantasy team, you lost three RBI on a scoring change from Saturday's game...With Dioner Navarro struggling, Michel Hernandez once again got the start for the Rays. Boy, those high priced catchers are really paying off this season...Joakim Soria, back for the Royals on Sunday, notched his sixth save of the season...

Felix Pie has officially lost his starting job to Louis Montanez...The New York Daily News is reporting that the foot problem that Chien-Ming Wang had a year ago is contributing to his weak hip...Jermaine Dye was struck on the left hand Sunday night, and left the game in obvious pain. X-rays revealed no break and he hopes to return to the team in a few days...

Brandon Morrow, who's suffering from biceps tendinitis, is hoping to return from the disabled list on May 9, the day he's eligible...John Smoltz, who was shut down last week because of a setback in his rehab, said Sunday that his target return date of June 1 from shoulder surgery has been delayed slightly, adding that he may be ready to pitch at some point in June...

NL MORNING MASHUP: Orlando Hudson loves hitting in front of Manny Ramirez.  He's hitting .336 with three homers, 15 RBI and four steals as the Dodgers’ number two batter...

Michael Bourn, a player I spoke very highly of this off-season, is off to a great start. Bourn went 3-4 with two more steals and now has his average at .301.

Patience was his motto this offseason, as he stood and watched 100 straight pitches from the pitching machine each day to help him see more pitches...Carlos Zambrano left Sunday's game with an apparent left hamstring injury...

Chad Billingsley is off to a hot start. Now 5-0, Billingsley dominated the Padres with seven strikeouts, four walks and four hits over seven innings...According to MLB.com, Cubs 3B Aramis  Ramirez took ground balls at third Sunday, but wasn’t ready to return to action.

Manager Lou Piniella said he hopes to get him back in the lineup today...Barry Zito, yes, I said Barry Zito, was once again impressive for the Giants on Sunday. Zito shut out the Rockies over seven innings and lowered his ERA to 3.99...Derrek Lee is off to an awful start, but hit a grand slam on Sunday, his third homer of the season...

Johnny Cueto struck out nine Pirates, walking one, and allowing four singles for the win...Oliver Perez reported Sunday that he's been pitching with an apparent knee problem; ya that's the problem Oliver...

Orginally posted at FantasyPros911.com