Tropical Storm Hanna is set to wreak havoc with the East Coast on Saturday afternoon and evening, threatening even the Orioles' best-laid plans. They bumped up their Sunday contest to a Saturday doubleheader against the A's to avoid traffic problems with Sunday's Ravens football game, but Hanna could threaten Saturday's affairs. And if that's not messy enough, look at the starters -- it's Garrett Olson and Daniel Cabrera for the Orioles, and Greg Smith and a spot starter (necessitated when Justin Duchscherer's anticipated return was scratched) for the A's. Ugh, maybe a washout would be better for those rotations, though we fantasy owners love a double dip of slugfests!
Reds rookie Johnny Cueto also marks his return to the rotation after missing one turn with a posterior strain of his right elbow. He'll battle the division-rival Cubs.
In playoff-related news, it's a pair of (practically) must-win games for the Dodgers and Phillies, who battle their division rivals, the Diamondbacks and Mets. The Dodgers will attempt to delay Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb's 20th win for yet another start, while Jamie Moyer will bring his great track record against the Mets to the mound. That is, assuming Hanna doesn't create problems for Phillies-Mets, too!
Matchups for Saturday, Sept. 6
All times are ET.
Injury report
Out
Joe Crede, 3B, White Sox (back)
Jesus Flores, C, Nationals (ankle)
Kevin Gregg, RP, Marlins (knee)
Carlos Guillen, 1B/3B/SS, Tigers (back)
Andruw Jones, OF, Dodgers (knee)
Melvin Mora, 3B, Orioles (hamstring)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C/1B, Rangers (elbow)
Justin Duchscherer, SP, Athletics (hip>
Day-to-day
Bobby Abreu, OF, Yankees (wrist)
Mike Aviles, 2B/SS, Royals (finger)
Erick Aybar, 2B/SS, Angels (hamstring)
Ronnie Belliard, 1B/2B/3B, Nationals (groin)
Miguel Cairo, 1B/3B, Mariners (hand)
Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds (elbow)
Mark Ellis, 2B, A's (shoulder)
Yunel Escobar, 2B/3B/SS, Braves (shoulder)
Jody Gerut, OF, Padres (finger)
Ken Griffey Jr., OF, White Sox (back)
LaTroy Hawkins, RP, Astros (oblique)
Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves (knee)
Kazuo Matsui, 2B, Astros (back)
Juan Pierre, OF, Dodgers (back)
Carlos Quentin, OF, White Sox (forearm)
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, Astros (oblique)
Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks (headaches)
Jack Wilson, SS, Pirates (finger)
Kevin Youkilis, 1B/3B, Red Sox (back)
Delmon Young, OF, Twins (ankle)
Start 'em, sit 'em
Hitters: Orioles hitters benefit by facing ice-cold Greg Smith and the very young Josh Outman, and did you know that as a team, Baltimore leads baseball in team OPS (.835) and runs per game (5.96) since the All-Star break? Melvin Mora's absence stings, but Aubrey Huff (.369 BA, 1.082 OPS since the break), Nick Markakis (.314/.902) and Luke Scott (.302/.935) are standout starts, regardless of it being a one-lefty, one-unknown opponent situation. … The Twins' "M&M Boys" -- Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau -- are a combined 16-for-44 (.364 BA) with five doubles and three home runs in their careers against the Tigers' Justin Verlander, one of the colder pitchers in baseball. … Andre Ethier is a lifetime .500 hitter (9-for-18) with four doubles and a home run against the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb, one of the few hitters who absolutely owns the right-handed ace. James Loney and Russell Martin are two others; they're each 7-for-18 (.389 BA) against Webb. … You might be surprised to learn this, but a good number of Diamondbacks hit the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley pretty well. Among them: Stephen Drew (9-for-24, .375 BA), Mark Reynolds (4-for-13, .308 BA, 2 HRs) and Chris Young (8-for-19, .421 BA, 1 HR). … Carlos Delgado versus Jamie Moyer is one of the most stacked lefty-versus-lefty matchups on the hitter's side in all of baseball. Delgado is a lifetime .397 hitter (31-for-78) with eight home runs against Moyer, one of them coming back on April 8 at Shea. By the way, Delgado has socked 14 homers with 44 RBIs and a .965 OPS in 44 games since the All-Star break. … Pat Burrell is a horrendous 1-for-26 (.038) with 11 strikeouts, the one hit a home run, granted, in his career against the Mets' Pedro Martinez. Conversely, Ryan Howard is 5-for-14 (.357 BA) with two home runs against Martinez, so don't think he'll be a strikeout machine in this matchup. … Like Burrell against Martinez, Nick Swisher versus John Lackey is another brutal matchup stacked in the pitcher's favor. Swisher is 4-for-40 (.100 BA) with a double, no home runs and 15 K's against the Angels right-hander. Quentin -- assuming he's healthy enough to play -- is 4-for-6 (.667 BA) with two home runs against Lackey, by contrast. … Jhonny Peralta is a lifetime .462 hitter (12-for-26) with two homers against the Royals' Gil Meche, making him one of the few Indians worth trusting on Saturday. Well, Grady Sizemore too, obviously. … The Indians' Zach Jackson has some real trouble with right-handed hitters, who hit him for a .325 batting average and .882 OPS so far this year. That makes it worthwhile to load up on lefty-killing Royals, a group that includes Mike Aviles (.385 BA, 1.058 OPS), Billy Butler (.345/1.019) and Jose Guillen (.295/.951). … The Cubs' Geovany Soto and Ryan Theriot have experienced great success this season against the Reds' Johnny Cueto, who is coming off an elbow problem. Combined, they're 9-for-18 (.500) with three doubles, a triple and a home run (that was Soto's). … Edwin Encarnacion is a .314 hitter with two homers, 10 RBIs and a .987 OPS in his past 11 games, and he's a lifetime .462 hitter (6-for-13) with two homers against the Cubs' Jason Marquis. … Go with what you know when it comes to hitters battling knuckleballers, which is why Marlon Byrd's 4-for-8, two-double career performance against the Red Sox's Tim Wakefield is well worth your attention. … Ichiro Suzuki is 10-for-18 (.556 BA) with a double, a triple and a 1.294 OPS in his career against the Yankees' Sidney Ponson. … Keep a close watch on Chipper Jones' health heading into the weekend, because he dominates the Nationals' Tim Redding; he's 8-for-11 (.727 BA) with two home runs in his career against the right-hander.
Pitchers: James Shields pitched a quality-start loss at the Rogers Centre on July 28 (7 1/3 IP, 5 H's, 3 ERs, 5 K's); could it merely be he loves domes? Don't fret about his road-start track record. His Rays should be hungry after a disappointing series against the Yankees, so count on another quality start. … Shields' counterpart, Shaun Marcum, has faced a brutal schedule since the All-Star break, and this start will be no easier than his past seven, during which time he has a 6.19 ERA. Keep him reserved. … Justin Verlander has pitched as poorly since the All-Star break as he did the first month-plus of the season, with a 3-6 record, 6.22 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in nine starts. Don't be fooled by his 3.00 ERA in three starts against the Twins this season. He's in too much of a funk to trust. … In "20th-win attempts" -- two of them this year -- Brandon Webb is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA and 2.88 WHIP. Yuck. That he walked six batters and served up three home runs in eight innings during that span is awfully distressing, but it's also tough to sit a top Cy Young candidate, especially one who has won four consecutive starts with a 0.58 ERA at Dodger Stadium. I think this is where Webb finally notches No. 20. … In spite of the note above about Diamondbacks hitters, you can't possibly sit Chad Billingsley, hot as he has been. He's 4-1 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in his past eight starts, and did beat this team in Arizona on Aug. 30, so keep him in there. Just don't be afraid to use those Diamondbacks hitters, too, that's all. … As mentioned above, Carlos Quentin might own John Lackey, but Lackey did toss a masterpiece at U.S. Cellular Field on May 25 (8 IP, 6 H's, 3 ERs but a loss). He has a 2.86 ERA in his past three starts there, so keep him active. … Gavin Floyd, Lackey's counterpart, should keep the score close, though. He went the distance against the Angels in a losing effort on May 23, allowing three runs on three hits, and is coming off a string of three consecutive quality starts. … The last time Jake Peavy and Ben Sheets battled, on Aug. 14 in San Diego, the Padres won 3-2, but both pitchers managed quality-start efforts. A similar result should be expected this time, and while Peavy was the victor the last time, I'll pick the home pitcher as the winner yet again (Sheets in this case). … The Reds are taking a real chance pushing Johnny Cueto back into their rotation if there's any chance he's less than 100 percent healthy. You shouldn't take a similar leap of faith in fantasy. I'm thinking a John Danks 2007-like late-season swoon for Cueto, and then a comparable early shutdown. He's a must-sit against the Cubs. … Does Roy Oswalt's scheduled start at Coors Field scare you? It shouldn't, at least not entirely. He has a string of six consecutive quality starts, during which time he's 5-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. He's also 2-0 with a 3.15 ERA in three career starts at Coors. … Matt Cain has a 3.38 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 55 career home starts, and the Pirates' .698 team OPS since the All-Star break certainly plays in his favor.
Waiver-Wire pickups
Hitters: With it being a doubleheader day against shaky Orioles starters Daniel Cabrera and Garrett Olson, one might think A's hitters make quality fantasy starts. Not so much, as only two hitters on the entire team have better than a .250 batting average and .700 OPS since the All-Star break, Rajai Davis (.310 and .713) and Kurt Suzuki (.293/.781). Both could be useful spot-start candidates, especially the speedy Davis against the weak-armed Orioles catchers. … Fernando Tatis got the start for the Mets in each of their past two games against the Phillies' Jamie Moyer, and he was a combined 3-for-4 with a home run and a walk against a left-hander in those contests. Expect Tatis to emerge from that left-field shuffle as the Saturday starter. … Though Brian Giles was 0-for-3 in the aforementioned Aug. 14 game against the Brewers' Ben Sheets, he's still a lifetime .462 hitter (12-for-26) with two homers and a 1.433 OPS against the right-hander. Giles also has a .944 OPS in 38 career games at Miller Park. … Returning to the idea of grabbing Royals lefty killers, toss Mark Grudzielanek into your lineup, too. He's a .395 hitter (34-for-86) with 11 doubles against southpaws this season.
Pitchers: If you were troubled by Scott Baker's mini-funk of early August, you should no longer be. He managed three consecutive quality starts in West Coast games, managing a 2.18 ERA and 1.26 WHIP during that span. Among them: an Aug. 21 masterpiece against the Angels. The Tigers present more of a challenge than the Mariners or A's, sure, but I think he's up to the task at home. … The Mets did get to Jamie Moyer in Philadelphia on Aug. 26 (3 IP, 9 H's, 6 ERs), but he handled them just fine at Shea Stadium in July, and for his career the left-hander is 4-3 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 10 starts at Shea. The Phillies need this game in a bad way, so expect Moyer's best effort. … Gil Meche tossed a gem against the Indians on Aug. 20 (7 IP, 2 H's, 1 ER, 9 K's), and in nine starts since the All-Star break he's 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Go ahead and get this very underrated arm into your lineup. … Jason Marquis has back-to-back quality starts, and he's 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 11 road starts this season. The problem with him is that he doesn't generate enough strikeouts to be of much help in mixed leagues. In NL-only formats, though, this is a matchup worth your attention. … With the Marlins in a bit of a funk, Todd Wellemeyer warrants a look in deeper leagues, thanks to a home start. He did toss 7 2/3 shutout innings of three-hit baseball against Florida on Aug. 14. … This might surprise you, but Jeff Francis actually has a shot of sneaking a win away from the Astros and Roy Oswalt. Francis has a 1.93 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in two career starts against Houston, and he's coming off a string of four straight quality starts.
Weather concerns
Weather is going to be a severe problem on the East Coast on Saturday, due to the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna. For instance, the A's-Orioles doubleheader could see up to a 100 percent chance of rain and winds ranging from 21 to 43 mph, while Phillies-Mets is at 80 percent, with winds of 29-32 mph. The chances of rainouts in both cases are extremely high, though this late in the season bumping those games back a day, putting the A's-Orioles doubleheader on Sunday (despite the conflict the team was trying to avoid with the Ravens) and making Phillies-Mets a double-dip on Sunday, seems most logical in the event of a washout. Outside of that, the weather forecasts are beautiful in pretty much every other city, except for Atlanta, where there's a 20 percent chance of rain only early in the day. By the way, four Saturday games are weatherproof, and therefore entirely safe: Rays-Blue Jays, Tigers-Twins, Padres-Brewers and Yankees-Mariners.
Tristan H. Cockcroft covers fantasy sports for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.