Let’s take a look at this morning’s injury news and notes:

• We’ve all heard how good pitching beats good hitting.  The performance of Cliff Lee last night against the Red Sox showed it in full force, as he was nearly unhittable.  For the third straight game he tossed a complete game shutout, this time allowing just 2 H and 2 BB, striking out 5.  His past five starts may be the most impressive ever, as he has gone 5-0 allowing 1 ER over 42.0 innings.  No, that is not a typo.  Just to make it even more impressive he has allowed 21 H and 8 BB (a 0.69 WHIP) while striking out 29.  There really are no words to describe the run that he’s on.
• It is nice to see Domonic Brown produce, going 2-3 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 2 R.  We all know the potential, and he now has a pair of two-hit games in his past three.  Maybe he is finally starting to get things going, so keep a close eye on him.
• Both David Price and Johnny Cueto put on a great display, though neither ultimately factored in the decision.  Price went 7.2 innings allowing 2 ER on 5 H and 1 BB, striking out 12.  It is the second consecutive start where he has reached double-digit strikeouts and the fourth time in 2011.  As for Cueto, over his last four starts (3-0) he has now allowed 3 ER over 28.2 innings.  He entered the game with a .216 BABIP and 83.0% strand rate, so you certainly have to think that he’s going to slow down, sooner or later.  Keep that in mind and consider seeing what you can get for him. 
• It was not a pretty start for Ryan Vogelsong, allowing 6 R (3 earned) on 6 H and 4 BB, striking out 6, over 5.0 innings.  You can pitch like that and walk away with a win when your offense scores 11 times in the first five innings of the game, though.  He had been on a remarkable run, having allowed 2 ER or less in each of his previous 9 starts.  Did we really expect that to continue?  A regression is likely coming and this could just be the start.
• The Mets hadn’t hit a grand slam since August of 2009, so how do you break that type of streak?  You hit two of course!  First it was Jason Bay (1-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R) and then an inning later it was Carlos Beltran (2-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R).  While it was Bay’s only hit, it is great to see him hitting a long ball.  It is his second home run in his past six games and, over that span, he has gone 8-26 with 2 HR, 7 RBI and 3 R.  Slowly he’s starting to come around, so hopefully you haven’t given up hope yet.  He may not be the player that he once was, but in 5-outfielder formats he certainly could have value.
• Rick Porcello got knocked around for 7 ER on 11 H and 0 BB, striking out 0, over 3.2 IP.  Over his past three starts he has allowed 18 ER over 11.1 innings.  Anyone still holding out hope?
• Colby Rasmus went 1-3 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 2 R.  He is now on a 5-game hitting streak, going 6-16 with 2 HR, 2 RBI and 6 R.  Considering how deep of a slump he had been in, it certainly is promising to see him producing.  We all know the talent level, so stand by him.  You should be rewarded in time. 
• It was a poor outing for Zach Britton, allowing 4 ER on 7 H and 2 BB, striking out 3, over 5.2 innings.  It happens to everyone, but what is more worrisome is his inability to go deep into games.  He hasn’t gone more than 6.1 innings in his last seven starts, which certainly makes it tough to win (not to mention he’s a rookie pitcher in the AL East).  It’s tough to trust him in yearly formats.
• It looked like Zack Greinke was getting things going, didn’t it?  Yes, he had a poor start recently, but he had 29 K in his last 3 starts and 3 games of 10 K in his previous 6.  Last night was just ugly, however, allowing 7 R on 5 H and 3 BB, striking out 0, over just 2.0 innings against the Yankees.  Still, in his 11 starts he is 7-3 with a 5.63 ERA, but just a 1.25 WHIP.  The problems?  How does a .348 BABIP and 58.8% strand rate sound?  While his current 11.93 K/9 and 1.34 BB/9 could also regress, there’s no way he continues to get that unlucky (higher line drive rate or not).  As long as he’s healthy, I would have no issue buying him if the owner has grown frustrated.
• Nick Swisher went 2-4 with 1 HR, 4 RBI and 1 R.  He now has a five game hitting streak, going 8-18 with 3 HR, 8 RBI and 4 R. 
• With Jose Bautista (1-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R) finally getting a start at 3B, it would seem like Edwin Encarnacion could slowly lose playing time, right?  Hold that though for a minute, as he was in the lineup as the DH last night and went 2-4 with 2 HR, 2 RBI and 2 R.  He now has 3 HR in his past three games and a modest five game hitting streak.  Keep an eye on him, because he has shown power in the past and if he is going to stick as the DH, he could have value.
• Welcome to the Majors Alex Presley, who went 2-5 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and 1 R in his first game of 2011.  For more on my thoughts on him, click here. 
• Jordan Lyles had his worst start in the Majors, getting beat up by the Texas Rangers last night.  He allowed 5 ER on 10 H and 2 BB, striking out 2, over 6.0 innings to fall to 0-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.  He has shown flashes this season, but with those numbers it is certainly tough to trust him, regardless of the matchup.  Of course, next on the schedule for him is the Red Sox, so that makes that decision rather easy.
• The Dodgers-Twins matchup saw two struggling pitchers square off, and while Brian Duensing defeated Ted Lilly, neither pitcher actually impressed.  Duensing got the W, despite allowing 4 ER on 4 H and 4 BB, striking out 3, over 5.0 innings of work.  He has suffered from some poor luck this season, with a .325 BABIP and 65.7% strand rate, but also offers little strikeout potential which would limit his value anyways.  As for Lilly, he allowed 6 ER on 9 H and 0 BB, striking out 0, over 4.2 innings.  Really?  Over his past three starts he has allowed 17 ER over 14.2 innings, which includes starts against the Astros and Twins.  In other words, not good.  He has a track record for success, so it is hard to get too down on him, but it is also tough to trust him at the moment.  Keep him stashed until he can get things turned around.
• Alexei Ramirez’ tour of the White Sox lineup continued last night, going 1-5 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 R while hitting fifth.  He hadn’t homered since May 22, a span of 30 games.  It is certainly nice to see for fantasy owners and he is now hitting .282 with 7 HR, 36 RBI and 47 R on the season.  You would like to see the team settle him into one spot in the lineup, so we can get a better feel of how to value him.  Is he going to be a great source of R?  Is he going to be an RBI man?  Regardless, it appears like he is going to be right in the middle of things, as he should, meaning he should continue to be valued as a top SS.
• The struggles of J.J. Putz continued, as he blew the save and failed to get through a full inning, allowing 2 R on 2 H and 1 BB, striking out 1, over just 0.2 innings.  As long as he is the closer he has plenty of value, but you have to wonder if the Diamondbacks could soon consider a move as he has blown 4 saves in June.  David Hernandez would be the likely replacement, but Putz was so good early on that he should have a little bit more rope.  Still, his owners should be making other arrangements just in case.
• Everyone figured Wily Mo Pena was simply going to be a DH in AL parks, but could he be earning himself extra playing time somewhere?  He hit a walkoff, pinch hit home run last night, his third in just 25 AB.  Of course, he is hitting .240, having struck out 11 times.
• Don’t look now, but Vernon Wells is actually showing signs…  Forget about signs, he is just flat out producing.  He went 4-5 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 3 R yesterday, giving him a home run in three of his past four games.  He also has a 5-game hitting streak, going 9-22 with 3 HR, 6 RBI and 5 R.  Everyone has to start somewhere, right?  While I never would’ve expected him to be as good as he was in 2010, he also isn’t as bad as he was for nearly the first three months of 2011.  While he’s hot, he certainly is worth using.
• Javier Vazquez was part of a pitching duel?  Who saw that coming, even against the A’s?  He allowed just 1 unearned run on 3 H and 0 BB, striking out 5, over 7.0 innings.  In fact, over his last three starts he has allowed just 2 ER over 17.1 innings.  Of course, before we get too excited, he had allowed 18 H over his previous 10.1 innings.  His next start is in Texas against the Rangers and there is no way that I’d trust him.
• The other half of that pitching duel was Gio Gonzalez, who tossed 8.0 shutout innings of 1-run ball (he walked 3 and struck out 9).  He has struggled with control at times this season, with a 4.06 BB/9 (similar to his career mark).  He is sporting a 2.38 ERA, but an 80.9% strand rate shows that there has been some luck involved there.  In other words, if he can’t cut down on the walks, the ERA could increase before long.  That’s not to say to sell high on him, but it’s worth noting.
• Cameron Maybin has shown some signs of getting things going of late.  He went 3-3 with 2 R and 1 SB yesterday, giving him four multi-hit games in his past six.  He also has 3 SB in his past 7.  Is it a lot?  No, but at least it’s something.  In deeper formats, he’s worth monitoring.
• For most of the evening Michael Pineda was solid, though it fell apart for him in the seventh.  He finished allowing 5 R (4 earned) on 4 H and 5 BB, striking out 5, over 6.1 innings.  Starts like this are going to happen to everyone, as he simply just didn’t have his control.  It’s impossible to get too down on him off it, however, and you would certainly expect him to get things right back on track in Oakland the next time he takes the ball.