FanHouse KevinCorreia

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.

After Tim Lincecum missed a start, fantasy owners still in the championship race had to have been holding their collective breath. Now is not the time to lose your staff ace. His next start would be a test of his health. Last year's NL Cy Young winner took the hill Monday night against the wild card-leading Rockies, and he passed the test with flying colors. While the 4 free passes were a bit disappointing, Lincecum more than made up for that with a win, 11 strikeouts and just 1 earned run in 7 innings of work. He's back, and he'll be a force the rest of the way (now if only someone could convince him to get a freaking haircut).

There are a plethora of two-start pitchers hurling in week five (Monday, May 4th - Sunday May 10th) of the fantasy baseball season. There are 58 total this week and you late sleepers are luck that all of the Monday games are night games. You won't need to set you lineups until 7:05 PM ET.

[Update: 7:48 AM ET] : Two games were rained out yesterday. The Mets and Phillies did not play and the Angels and Yankees were rained out as well. Here is the fallout from those two postponed games as it relates to two-start pitchers.

As we head into the third week of the fantasy baseball season we have 34 starting pitchers throwing twice. When setting your lineups, remember that tomorrow is Patriot's Day in Boston, so first pitch is at 11:05 AM Eastern Time.

Must Start
Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - Tuesday vs TEX (B. McCarthy) and Sunday at CWS (J. Contreras)
Derek Lowe, Braves - Monday at WAS (J. Zimmermann)and Saturday at CIN (B. Arroyo)
C.C. Sabathia, Yankees - Tuesday vs OAK (B. Anderson) and Sunday at BOS (J. Beckett)
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers - Tuesday at HOU (R. Ortiz) and Sunday at COL (J. Marquis)

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Worst team in baseball. Much like the 2008 incarnation, there are very few bright spots on the 2009 San Diego Padres. Jake Peavy is obviously awesome (although he does have a lot of mileage already), Adrian Gonzalez has been quite consistent the past few years, Chase Headley is dreamy if you're one of those folks that are obsessed with prospects (/raises hand), and Heath Bell might be able to save some games ... if the Pads can get him a lead.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

San Francisco Giants (3-6) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (7-2) - 10:15PM Est.

Wait a minute. Aren't the Cardinals supposed to suck? How in the hell are they 7-2 and ahead of both the Brewers and Cubs in the NL Central? If the Redbirds win again tonight, they'll have started a season 8-2 for the first time since 1981, which was before their starter tonight was even alive. Adam Wainwright was great in his first start of the season, going 8 innings and allowing only 2 runs against the Nationals, and he's one of the reasons why St. Louis is off to such a hot start. After their first 9 games, the Cardinals starting rotation has an ERA of 1.99. (So it's either the pitching or Tony LaRussa getting drunk and calling Albert Pujols fat, bald, and ugly before each game that's responsible for this start.) Wainwright has never started against, but he's 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA against them in two appearances out of the bullpen. On the other side of the diamond we have the Giants, who are just about eliminated from the NL West division crown thanks to their 3-6 start. Well, that and they aren't very good. Kevin Correia gets the start for the Giants, and he gave up 4 runs in 6 innings against the Brewers in his first start, and picked up the loss. On the bright side, at least it's not Barry Zito starting.

Here's a look around the NL West and what final roster moves your team made to prepare for Opening Day:

Diamondbacks: Infielder Brian Barden and utility man Robby Hammock made the squad. Hammock showed promise in '03 and '04, but missed all of '05 because of shoulder surgery. Right handers Dustin Nippert and J.D. Durbin won the final spots in the bullpen. (via East Valley Tribune)

Dodgers: Matt Kemp made the club as the final outfielder, beating out Larry Bigbie and James Loney (who hit .414 in Spring and didn't take the news well), presumably because Kemp's a right-handed hitter while Bigbie and Loney are lefties. Wilson Valdez will replace Rafael Furcal on the opening day roster. Furcal will start the season on the DL retroactive to March 23rd. Rudy Seanez is the final pitcher on the 11 man staff. (via LA Times)

Giants: They're going with a 12 man pitching staff, the seven men in the bullpen will be Armando Benitez, Vinnie Chulk, Kevin Correia, Brad Hennessey, Steve Kline, Jonathan Sanchez, and Jack Taschner. Scott Munter and candidate for the closer job, Brian Wilson, were optioned to Triple A amongst others. Todd Linden made the team as a bench player, Mark Sweeney was placed on the DL to start the year, and Jason Ellison was traded to the Mariners. (via Giants official site and Contra Costa Times)

Padres: Mike Thompson and Kevin Cameron made the final two spots in the bullpen. Cameron is a Rule 5 draft pick from Minnesota. Paul McAnulty will be the final bench player. (via San Diego Union-Tribune)

Rockies: Veteran John Mabry (pictured) beat out Ryan Spilborghs and Alexis Gomez for the final bench spot. Mabry is a left-handed pinch hitter who can fill holes as a corner outfielder and corner infield. Jeff Baker and Steve Finley are the other bench players in the outfield. Manny Corpas and Ramon Ramirez were awarded the final spots in the bullpen as well. (via Denver Post and Rockies.com)