Josh Hamilton go the day off, although he came in the game late, and Matt Kemp remains on the DL while only a handful of fantasy aces took the mound.

The guy who looked most like an ace was Atlanta’s Brandon Beachy, who tossed a five-hit shutout with six strikeouts against Miami to continue his stellar start to the season.

That bettered Roy Halladay, who gave up three runs in eight innings, and Matt Cain, who gave up four runs in six frames.

Pittsburgh’s James McDonald had his roughest start in a while, giving up three runs in 5 2/3 innings pitched, but he did strike out 11.

Trevor Cahill continues to have a tough time in the NL, giving up four runs in five innings for Arizona.

J.A. Happ, who has been off the fantasy radar for more than a year now, threw six scoreless innings for Houston, but I’d wait a while before trusting him again.

Thursday was a rare night this year without many closer implosions although J.J. Putz loaded the bases with no outs before getting a strikeout and a double play to finish off the Rockies without allowing a run.

The ugly line of the night from the bullpen was Cinci’s Logan Ondrusek, who gave up five runs in one inning, but he is probably only owned in leagues that count holds.

Offensively, it was a big night for catchers, including many available in plenty of fantasy leagues.

Los Angeles catcher A.J. Ellis continued to swing a hot bat for the Dodgers with two hits and two RBIs.

Rod Barajas is another catcher available in many leagues that can provide power and he hit his third homer of the year.

John Baker had two hits for the Padres, Carlos Santana had two hits for the Indians, and Wellington Castillo had two hits, including a homer. J.P. Arencibia homered for the Blue Jays. Houston’s Chris Snyder also had two hits while A.J. Pierzynski had three hits.

Elsewhere, Tony Gwynn Jr. continued to fill in for Kemp and had two hits for the Dodgers. Justin Morneau returned from injury to hit his fifth homer for the Twins, while Jose Bautista continued his recent power surge with his 10th homer.

Lastly, a fond fantasy farewell to Kerry Wood, who is expected to retire today. He hasn’t been as relevant in fantasy in recent years pitching mostly in a set-up role, but you will never forget him if you owned him in 1998 for his 20-strikeout game.

Written by Steve Mims exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Follow Steve on Twitter @nwsportscards

Follow The Fantasy Fix on Twitter @thefantasyfix

or  for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team!
_