Houston, you gave the Yankees another problem.

Starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang wasn't the only Yankee injured in houston a couple of weekends back. Left fielder Hideki Matsui's played with a balky knee ever since that day, and tonight between double-headers with the Mets, the Yanks shut him down.

Fantasy Impact: Significant impact, considering Matsui was hitting .323 heading into the double-header. His power numbers were down, but a couple of weeks off he might spring to life and belt 15 bombs in the second half.

Mulder off DL, Isringhausen to DL

The Cardinals have activated Mark Mulder and put him in their bullpen. It sounds like he's going to be their left-handed specialist for the time being.

Mulder will temporarily fill the void left by Randy Flores, who has left ankle tendinitis and on Thursday became the seventh Cardinals pitcher on the DL. Flores had been the second left-handed reliever alongside Ron Villone.

"I'm definitely excited. Obviously, there's a need for it," Mulder said. "I've always liked facing lefties."

Jason Isringhausen was unavailable on Friday night and could be headed back to the disabled list after feeling a pop in his knee while stretching in the dugout during Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Fantasy Impact: Drop Mulder. He won't get any saves, or so it would seem, and he's not going to help you much as a setup guy unless you play in a league with holds. Isringhausen looks to be less and less a part of the Cardinals future if this sort of things keeps up. He's 35, and certainly on the downslide of his career. The Cardinals might turn things over to their young guns for the rest of the year at the back of the 'pen.

It's a Grand game

Curtis Granderson is beginning to look like himself again. The Tigers centerfielder is 3-4 tonight with two runs scored and a stolen base. He led off the ball game with a base hit, steal and a run scored as Detroit got two in the first on Colorado.

Granderson's average is up to .290 right now, and we're still playing in Detroit with the Tigers up 5-0 through six.

Fantasy Impact: Granderson has just five steals this year, but his numbers are coming up as a whole. If you drafted him early thinking big things, you might not fully cash in. But now is not the time to trade him. Granderson looks like he's going to be strong in the second half.

Yank 'em all

Didn't matter whom the Yankees turned to today, their pitchers all got scored on by the Mets. Dan Giese lasted four innings, giving up six. Three straight relievers followed up with a combined effort of five innings, nine earned. LaTroy Hawkins was the best of the bunch, "limiting" the Mets to one run in two inninngs. Very respectable, and even moreso considering he's got a 6.03 ERA.

Home city, still home-filed advantage

Even going on the road in your own home city is rough this year. With most MLB teams struggling on the road, the Cubs rolled across Chicago to the south side and got lit up by the White Sox today, 10-3. Nick Swisher swatted his ninth home run, a grand slam that put the Sox ahead 8-0 on Cubs starter Ryan Dempster in the third. Just last week the Cubs swept the Sox on Chicago's north side.

Garza gearing up for July

The back end of the Tampa Bay rotation is in constant flux. Seemingly all at once Rays starters Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine and Matt Garza dominate and disappoint. It's rare for any of them to have three consecutive starts that are either all good or all bad.

Take, for instance, Garza's Thursday. He threw a one-hitter against Florida in which the only hit was a Hanley Ramirez home run. Other than that he was nearly flawless, and although he's had a tendency to hit major highs and lows, Garza did become the first of these three Tampa tossers to string together back-to-back-to-back quality starts since Sonnanstine did so in late April.

Garza is the hot one in the bunch, and now is a good time to stay strong. We're just over a month from the trade deadline, and Double-A prospect David Price is on the fast track to the Majors. In his first Double-A start tonight, Price struggled a bit but still delivered a quality start. Two more of those and, well, he'll have a longer string of success than Jackson has all season. He'll have a better three-game stretch than Sonnanstine's experienced in two months.

Gonzo for, um, Gonzo

It looks like A's rookie Carlos Gonzalez is going to get more at bats now that Ryan Sweeney's gone down with an ankle injury. Anther interesting tidbit in this San Francisco Chronicle article spells out something that bugs me about fans these days -- their expectation level just for being in the right place at the right time is becoming absurd. Check out what happened after Gonzalez hit his first MLB home run last week:

The rookie outfielder didn't get the ball from his first home run a week ago because the fan who caught it wanted more than the three bats and autographed ball Gonzalez offered. He hit his second career homer Thursday, a solo shot in the sixth, and it landed over the wall in right and was retrieved for him.

"It's not home run No. 1, but it's No. 2, and my mom and my family are going to enjoy it," he said.

Sorry, but the fan who won't accept Gonzalez's fair payment for the ball is a meat head. It's merely a home run ball. It's not number 756. A few bats and an autographed ball is more than fair compensation. Get over yourself. You were lucky it landed in your lap.

Fantasy Impact: I'm liking Carlos Gonazalez at this point. He was the prize piece in the deal that sent Dan Haren to Arizona, and he's proving that he can be a consistent contributor at the big league level. He's going to have peaks and valleys, but the fact that he's hit mostly extra base hits to this point is a harbinger for future success.

No relief for Redbirds

When they broke from spring training it appeared the Cardinals's biggest concerns were starting pitching and every starting spot except for Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. The Birds have been generally solid in those capacities, but after blowing a ninth-inning lead in a 3-2, 10-inning loss at Detroit on Thursday, it is relief pitching that's costing them wins right now.

Cardinals starters have the best winning percentage in the majors at 36-17 (.679).

Ryan Franklin, who suffered his fourth blown save when Gary Sheffield homered off him in the ninth, said, "We're also crushing the whole league in holds (60). Our holds are way more than our blown saves. You can't look at just one part of it."

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Cardinals bullpen converted 75.6 percent of their save opportunities last year, but only 55.8 this year. They blew 11 saves in 2007. They've blown 19 in 2008. If Ryan Franklin Jason Isringhausen aren't the answer, the Cardinals still have potentials answers in Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez. McClellan's had the better run of late.

Lee of faith

Indians' starter Cliff Lee won his 11th game tonight against San Francisco, and looked like he went back to his April/early May bag of tricks to get it done. Lee worked eight innings, striking out 11, while allowing just one run on four hits as Cleveland supported him with four runs. It was his best outing since a complete game shutout against Toronto back on May 12th, which lowered his ERA to 0.67. Now he's at 2.34 after a recent rough patch.

Fantasy Impact: Aberration or a return to dominance? That question seems to follow Lee around. He's had his moments, and then he's had his moments. It looks like this year will be filled with more good moments than bad, as long as he can mix in days like this as the grind gets tougher in the second half.

Edinson's bell rung

Reds' starter Edinson Volquez suffered his worst outing of the year at Toronto Thursday, and his first non-quality start since his first three starts this season. Volquez couldn't get through the fifth, giving up five earned runs on seven hits. He walked three and served up Scott Rolen's sixth home run.

Fantasy Impact: There's no reason to worry about Volquez at this time. His ERA climbed all the way to a measly 2.08. He's the best pitcher in the National League over the first half of the season. If he puts together an above-average second half he'll be looking at 20 wins for his troubles.

Kershaw cursed?

Only 69 pitches by Dodgers' rookie starter Clayton Kershaw today. He threw 40 strikes, going four innings with two earned runs in his second loss of the season. Kershaw hasn't won yet as a professional pitcher, including losses or no-decisions in every start he's made in the minors.

Fantasy Impact: For those that thought Kershaw might come up and dominate at the Major League level, this is discouraging, but Kershaw hasn't pitched that poorly. While he's still looking for that first win, his ERA is a respectable 4.36. He's struggled with control, but tends to limit the big inning. He's a respectable low-end option until he harnesses his impressive stuff.

Roberts wins final battle and war

Brian Roberts and the Orioles come away big winners on Chicago's north side. Roberts outperformed Mark DeRosa in two of the three games, including the series finale, as the Orioles win 11-4 to become the first team other than the Milwaukee Brewers to take a series at Wrigley this year. Here's the second baseman linescore for the game:

BR: 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
MD: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Here's their combined linescore for the series:

BR: 14 AB, 4 R, 6 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K
MD: 9 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K

Roberts had a better average and scored three more runs in the series. No surprise that the catalyst's team had the better fate in the series. Cubs fans will certainly be wondering "what if" concering the trade that never materialzed for Roberts. DeRosa is still a solid second baseman.

Roberts vs. DeRosa tied, 1-1

Brian Roberts won the first battle of head-to-head productivity against Mark DeRosa, but the Cubs' second baseman bounces back strongly in game two of the three-game Cubs-Orioles series.

BR: 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 K
MD: 3 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 1 K

DeRosa's run-scoring single came in the first inning, leading to Baltimore starer Matt Albers getting lifted after recording just one out. Cubs win, 7-4, and so does DeRosa.

Pujols returns

Albert Pujols is adamant about returning from a strained calf injury tonight in Detroit. He won't DH if he can help it, because it sounds like he really wants to play first.

"If I'm ready to play first base, I think I'm going to play first base," Pujols said, adjusting his stance of the day before. "If I feel the same way I feel today, I think I'm going to be playing (Thursday).

"Something crazy has to happen ... for me not to play."

Pujols continues to impress with both his ability and his willingness to play. He's old-school tough, and here's guessing he goes yard tonight.

Fantasy Impact: Owners must be thrilled, and holding their breath that he hasn't returned too soon. I for one thought Pujols would be shut down for the rest of the season by the All-Star break with his elbow issue. It's been no issue, however, as Pujols is one of the top sluggers in the league. With the Cardinals in the playoff race for what appears to be the long-haul, Pujols isn't getting his elbow worked on any time soon.

Stults studly again

Eric Stults mesmerized the White Sox Wednesday in Los Angeles. The lefty call-up for the Dodgers (Kuroda and Penny are both on the DL) threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits while striking out three in his second straight win since arriving from Triple-A Las Vegas. This reporter was dismayed about the outcome, not only because Stults' win came against lights-out Gavin Floyd, but also because it hurt his fantasy team. I respect his honesty, but is that the first time a MSM blogged openly about his fantasy baseball team, because I've never see this before.

Fantasy Impact: Stults isn't going to hurt or help my fantasy team. I'm not picking him up, and I'm not going to see the guy that did while Stults is on his roster. That's not to say I'm not playing the guy again this year. That's to say that Stults is not going to be on his roster very long. The career minor-leaguer is 29-years-old, and he's seen very little action at the MLB level. In 71.1 innings, he has a 4.68 ERA, and that's after his two gems this year. A good marker for success at the MLB level is strikeouts at the minor league level. Stults fanned 81 batters in 89.1 innings last season, but he's never approached that ratio of nearly a strikeout per inning at the Triple-A level before. Once Penny or Kuroda is ready, Stults is likely to be gone, unless he pitches his way out of the rotation first. Pass.

Cinderella is a Bulldog

Congratulations to Fresno State for clinching the College World Series with a 6-1 win over Georgia. Fresno is one of the all-time Cinderellas in sports. The Bulldogs were basically a 13 seed in the NCAA baseball tournament (the committee only seeds the top eight teams). They were paired in the tournament pod across from Arizona State, the number three overall seed, which makes ASU a number one seed in their regional. One plays 16 in round one, and the winner gets either the number eight or nine winner in the regional. The winner of that second game would play Fresno State's pod, which would be the number four, five, 12 and 13 seeds. Fresno was the worst of that pod, making them the equivalent of a number 13 seed.

Fileted Fish

Ryan Tucker's only made three Major League starts in his career, that's why his ERA jumped from 4.50 to 6.75 in one night. The actual reason for the jump is four-fold, as in four extra base hits by the Tampa Bay Rays. Tucker lasted just four innings, and when he couldn't get anyone out in the fifth he was done. He gave up seven earned runs on eight hits.

At least he's not Eulogio De La Cruz. Whatever ails Tucker is contageous, because Cruz couldn't get a single runner out himself. Tampa scored five runs before Cruz was lifted, his ERA climbing from 6.00 to 21.00. Tampa is up 14-0 in the sixth.

Fantasy Impact: Tucker's a stop-gap for the Marlins. Josh Johnson is expected back from a rehab stint right around the All-Star break. He can't get to Miami soon enough. Drop Tucker and grab Johnson, then wait for his arrival.

Cano goes yard

After getting shelled by Pittsburgh, the Yankees are returning the favor tonight. The Yankees have eight runs on 10 hits through their half of the sixth, and even Robinson Cano got into the act, connecting for his fifth home run.

Fantasy Impact: Cano needs to get going. He's hitting just .236, and many fantasy owners drafted him early expecting a .300 average and close to 20 home runs. Cano can get himself back to respectability with just a couple of modest streaks, but he looks a long way from a top-shelf second baseman.

Campillo can still pitch

After a lackluster game on Tuesday with a ton of fielding miscues, the Braves made it through Wednesday with just one error committed -- by their pitcher, Jorge Campillo. Campillo made few mistakes on the hill. He gave up just four hits and two earned runs through seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.54.

Fantasy Impact: Campillo suffers from blisters, but only had to throw 88 pitches to go this deep in the ballgame. His ERA had been climbing steadily over his last handful of starts. This gets it going in a better direction. He's turned into a fairly reliable option, but will probably not emerge into a fantasy ace given his track record.

David Wright righting the ship

David Wright's .272 average and 12 homers entering Wednesday had Mets fans and fantasy owners a little bit concerned for their starting third baseman. No worries tonight. Two at bats, two home runs.

Fantasy Impact: Wright's first home run was a solo shot, the second one came with a runner on, giving him three RBI in a game he's destined to get at least four at bats. Stay tuned. This could get him going again.