Player Notes

J.P. Howell's first season in Los Angeles is off to a strong start, as the left-hander has a 2.89 ERA through 19 appearances for the Dodgers.
Advice: Coming off a stellar 2012 campaign, having posted a 3.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 42/22 K/BB ratio in 55 appearances for the Rays, Howell inked a one-year, $2.85 million contract with the Dodgers. Howell is allowing a few more base runners this season (1.34 WHIP compared to 1.21 in 2012), but his strikeout rate is slightly up and, more importantly, he hasn't surrendered a home run yet.

B.J. Upton hit his first homer since April 23 off the Twins' Vance Worley on Wednesday.
Advice: It gave him just his second RBI in May. Facing Twins pitching got B.J. going just a little; he's 3-for-7 the last two days. It's just the second time in a month that he's had three hits in a series.

Matt Guerrier struck out a pair over two scoreless innings of relief Tuesday against the Rockies.
Advice: He entered the contest with just four punch outs, so last night's performance qualifies as an outburst. Guerrier used to be a holds machine for the Twins, but he's posted just 19 over the past three seasons for the Dodgers, four less than he had in his last year in Minnesota. An elbow injury cost the veteran most of last season. He owns a 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and ugly 6/6 K/BB rate over 18 appearances.

Making his first start in eight days, Evan Gattis hit his first grand slam Wednesday against the Twins.
Advice: Gattis had two homers off the bench since his previous start on May 14. He has 10 homers in just 122 at-bats on the season. It's hard for the Braves to find playing time for him with Brian McCann and Jason Heyward back, but they have to do a better job than this of mixing him in.

Reds trainer Paul Lessard said Wednesday that Chris Heisey (hamstring) is able to job at about "80 percent effort."
Advice: Heisey landed on the disabled list in late April due to a hamstring strain and aggravated the injury during a rehab assignment last week. His absence is expected to stretch into June.
More: Cincinnati Enquirer

Glen Perkins blew his first save of the season in Tuesday's 5-4, extra-innings loss to the Braves.
Advice: Minnesota is having about as much success in Atlanta as they did during the 1991 World Series. Perkins was summoned in the ninth inning and recorded two quick outs before Evan Gattis blasted a 412-foot bomb over the left-field fence. The 30-year-old lefty remains a lighthouse in the dark night that is Minnesota's pitching corps. Perkins saved 16 games last year while registering a 2.56 ERA and now has eight saves, a 3.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 25/5 K/BB rate over 16 appearances in 2013.

Rafael Soriano took his third blown save after giving up a run in the ninth against the Giants on Tuesday.
Advice: Soriano also took a blown save on Friday, but that was aided by a Ryan Zimmerman throwing error and he ended up notching the win in the 10th. Soriano still has nothing to worry about as far as job security -- he's more trustworthy than Drew Storen right now -- but the Nationals can't afford to continue being let down by their pen when their offense has been so poor.

Danny Espinosa went hitless in a fourth straight game Tuesday, leaving him with a .159 average in 139 at-bats.
Advice: Maybe more patience would be warranted if Espinosa were healthy, but it's quite possible he needs surgery for the partial rotator cuff tear he suffered last year. Besides, he's just killing the Nationals offense right now. Not only is he batting .159, but he's walked just three times all year. His OBP stands at .186.

Adam Wainwright limited the Padres to one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings to pick up his sixth win Tuesday.
Advice: Wainwright had a 5.77 ERA on this day a year ago before finally turning around his season with a shutout of the Padres on May 22. This year, he's been on target since day one; he ranks in the top 10 in the NL in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts.

Ryan Madson has experienced yet another setback in his recovery from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Advice: Madson felt renewed soreness in his right arm while trying to throw this week and has been shut down indefinitely. There is no longer a timetable for his return and he can be dropped in most fantasy formats at this point. Ernesto Frieri is the Angels' ninth-inning man.
More: Kevin Baxter on Twitter

Wil Nieves has just one hit since April 25.
Advice: The seldom-used 35-year-old has slashed .280/.321/.280 through 28 plate appearances. Nieves, who entered 2013 a .229/.274/.301 career hitter over nine major league seasons, will continue to play sparingly behind starter Miguel Montero.