Roto Rush: Battle of the Ages (You Know, Old and New)

Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

On Thursday in Philadelphia, one of the game's best pitchers from years past squared off against arguably the game's best pitcher of today. Who would win the battle of old versus new? It turns out fantasy owners were the big winners.

Tim Lincecum struck out 11 batters, which isn't even close to a season high for the kid, and walked one over seven innings while allowing two runs, but all that got him was a loss.

Pedro Martinez, making his fifth start with the Phillies, moved to 3-0 on the strength of a nine-strikeout, no-walk performance. He threw 62 of his 87 pitches for strikes and looked completely dominant after a first-inning homer by Eugenio Velez.

Pedro hasn't walked more than one batter in an appearance this year, leaving his K/BB ratio at a stratospheric 23/3. We might expect that sort of K/BB ratio from a reliever like Neftali Feliz, but not from a starting pitcher. Cliff Lee's impact on the Phillies has been evident, but if Pedro can continue to dominate? You'd have a playoff 1-2-3 of Cole Hamels, Lee and Pedro. Once the Phillies' bats wake up, they'll be well on their way to a repeat title.

Also noteworthy from the Giants-Phillies contest: Brad Lidge recorded a scoreless save! That makes three in a row for Lights Out Lidge, meaning another blown save is just around the corner. Jayson Werth connected for his 30th HR. His owners have no room to complain, but why has Werth stopped running? His last stolen base attempt came on August 2nd, and it was unsuccessful.

Bits From the Box Scores:
• The Yankees' plate discipline was on display against the Blue Jays, as they recorded eight walks (six against starter Ricky Romero) in yesterday's game. Six came from the two-through-five hitters, leaving a lot of ducks on the pond for Jorge Posada, who finished the game 4 for 5 with a homer and 4 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez also homered and extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

• Don't look now, but the Rockies may have traded for Carlos Pena to play in the middle infield. Well, you explain Clint Barmes' numbers. The Colorado second baseman homered for the 22nd time this year (he had 30 homers in about 1,350 at-bats coming into 2009), but the power has come at a steep price to fantasy owners. After hitting .314 in June, Barmes has managed a .192 average in July, a .191 average in August, and a .182 average thus far in September.

• Jon Garland made his first start away from the Diamondbacks, and he faced off against his former team. He obviously scouted them well, throwing seven innings of two-run ball while striking out six for the win. Garland has been fantastic sine July, with a 56/16 K/BB ratio in 85.1 innings. Manny Ramirez hit his third homer of the past week, and fantasy bust Stephen Drew also homered in the game.

• Speaking of a guy that's been very good, Ricky Nolasco recorded another quality start, this one against the Braves, while striking out seven and walking one. He earned the win, moving him to 10-8 on the season. Many owners will be scared off by the bloated ERA (currently 5.27) in next year's draft, but you'll look past that to see his 154 strikeouts and 38 walks in 152 innings.

• Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 57th and 58th bases in Thursday's game against the Rays, while B.J. Upton recorded his 37th save. Upton, hitting ninth on Thursday, has only had one good month this year. Here are his averages per month: .177, .218, .324, .233, .216, .222. With little-to-no power, he's been one of the biggest busts of the season. His sprained ankle is really a blessing in disguise for anyone still running him out there every day.

• John Smoltz was in the middle of another very good start, but a two-run sixth-inning homer by Casey McGehee contributed to Smoltz's four-run line against the Brewers. He still struck out six while walking none in six innings. For Milwaukee, Trevor Hoffman picked up his 30th save, marking the 14th time in 15 years that the future Hall-of-Famer has recorded 30 saves or more.

The Afflicted: Josh Hamilton has a pinched nerve in his back, and the Rangers are calling him day-to-day. Expect him out for the remainder of the week, if not a little longer. Carlos Beltran experienced no issues in a Single-A rehab game, and he could be back next week. Check your wire -- he could provide enough of a stat push in September to help win your league. Dexter Fowler begins a rehab assignment today, and the speedster should be back early next week.

Locking Your Lineup: Games don't kick off till 7:05 ET tonight, so take your time.