Roto Rush: Another Injured Phillie?

The Phillies made a big move toward securing their second championship in three years when they acquired Roy Oswalt from the Astros, but on Sunday they could have suffered an even bigger loss.

Ryan Howard, who has a .292 average and 23 home runs this season, jammed his ankle sliding into second base in Sunday's game against the Nationals. Howard was given X-rays for his ankle and elbow (he was hit by a pitch in his at-bat that inning) and both came back negative, which is great news for him and the team. Manager Charlie Manuel isn't expecting to place Howard on the DL, and he could only miss a few days. The Phillies have had their problems with injuries this year, but it seems they dodged a pretty big bullet on Sunday.

In the game itself, the Phillies were able to win in extra innings, with Brad Lidge shutting the door in the 11th. Cole Hamels surrendered four runs in the no-decision, but did pile on 10 Ks and no walks for a nice outing outside of the earned runs.

Bits From the Box Scores:

• Speaking of excellent outings, Francisco Liriano just posted his third straight scoreless outing of seven innings, giving him 21 consecutive scoreless innings. Of course, the feat came against the Indians, Royals and Mariners, so maybe we want to discount the impressive streak just a tad. Jason Kubel did the damage for the Twins in the win, clearing the bases with a three-run double in the sixth before coming home on a Danny Valencia single.

• It's August, and Adam LaRoche has apparently gotten the memo. The historically-great second-half hitter smacked two three-run homers in the Diamondbacks' 14-1 thrashing of the Mets on Sunday. New D-Back Dan Hudson held the Mets to one run over eight innings of work while allowing three hits and a walk. NL-only owners should be all over the guy.

• Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez combined to throw nine perfect innings before Chicago put a four spot on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Floyd picked up the win and has now allowed nine earned runs in his last 11 starts. That's about as astounding a run as you'll ever see. Let's not overlook Gonzalez, who went the distance (eight innings in this case) while striking out 11 batters and allowing no walks. Bobby Jenks is back to closing games for the White Sox and earned the save.

• Jason Heyward went for a Web Gem in the fifth inning of Atlanta's game with Cincinnati and failed, allowing Brandon Phillips to cruise into third base with a triple. As a result, Tommy Hanson was the tough-luck loser of a 2-1 game, while Edinson Volquez moved two 2-1 despite giving up five walks in five innings of work. Alex Gonzalez hit his first home run since coming to the Braves, putting him two behind Yunel Escobar (who hit his third on Sunday) post-trade.

• Carlos Silva was pulled from his start in the first inning with an abnormal heartbeat and was taken to the hospital for tests. Before he left, he allowed two hits and a walk to the Rockies who stormed to an early six-run lead before holding off the Cubs' three-run rally in the ninth for an 8-7 victory. Word is that Carlos Zambrano will eventually be moved back to the rotation, and he pitched two innings in relief today.

• Cliff Lee walked multiple batters for just the second time this season, but considering he now has a 118:9 K:BB ratio, I think we can give him a free pass, even if he hasn't given many to anyone else. That 13.1 K:BB ratio would be the best ever for a starting pitcher in a season, topping Bret Saberhagen's 11.0 ratio in 1994 (143 Ks, 13 BBs). The only other player to top a 9.0 ratio post-1900 was Curt Schilling in 2002 when he struck out 316 batters (hat tip, Baseball-Reference.com). Of course, Lee was out-pitched by Jered Weaver on Sunday, who allowed no earned runs in seven innings. The Angels have decided to call up prospect Peter Bourjos, who is an immediate add in AL-only leagues.

• A pitcher's duel predictably broke out in San Francisco between Matt Cain and Clayton Kershaw, where Cain got the upper hand by holding the Dodgers scoreless through 7.2 innings and earning the victory. A two-out triple by Edgar Renteria gave the Giants their only runs in the 2-0 win. Scott Podsednik stole his second base since joining the Dodgers and still has value until Manny Ramirez returns.

• Alex Rodriguez was held out of the starting lineup, but appeared as a pinch-hitter and again failed to hit his 600th homer. He wasn't the only Yankee to have trouble with James Shields on the day, as the Rays pitcher mowed down 11 batters while allowing four hits and a walk in 7.1 scoreless innings.

In other action ... Matt Holliday scored an inside-the-park home run while Albert Pujols did it the conventional way in the Cardinals' 9-1 win over the Pirates. Pittsburgh scored just two runs in the three-game series ... It would have taken me 30 guesses to pick the location of Josh Johnson's worst start of the season, and the fantasy ace gave up five runs in Petco Park on Sunday. Use this as an example of how terrible Johnson is to buy him from his owner before your trading deadline ... Jose Bautista did it again, smacking his 32nd home run of the season. That puts him 18 ahead of teammate Adam Lind ... The Tigers made a game of it in the ninth inning after being tamed by Clay Buchholz over the first eight, tying the game at 3-3. But Detroit reliever threw the game away on an errant throw after a Marco Scutaro bunt, giving Boston the win ... Corey Hart's 23rd homer was upstaged by a pinch-hit grand slam from Jason Michaels as the Astros went on to beat the Brewers 5-2 ... Alex Gordon smacked his second homer in three games -- grab him if you need power in your deep league.

Locking Your Lineup: Games start at 7:05 ET Monday, so no checking box scores when you should be working.