Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That the Marlins have had an interesting opening three weeks. After Sunday's 13-2 loss to the Phillies, which was so ugly that outfielder Cody Ross pitched the ninth inning, the Fish have dropped six in a row. That came immediately after they started 11-1.
Which is the real team? Most, likely neither.
"We're not an 11-1 team, and we're not an 0-6 team -- we're somewhere in the middle," manager Fredi Gonzalez said.So now the Marlins are 11-7, having scored 93 runs and allowed 89 runs. That type of run production ought to leave them at a little over .500, which is where many prognosticators figured they'd be when the season began.
From the Trainers' Room ...
Trevor Hoffman, the all-time saves leader, could be making his Brewers debut any day. Hoffman was activated from the disabled list on Sunday. Hoffman missed the first three weeks of the season with a strained right side.
By the Numbers ...
Nationals righty Jordan Zimmermann picked up his second victory in as many big league starts. Randy Johnson was the last pitcher in Nationals/Expos history to win as a starter in his first two big-league games, in 1988. Johnson actually won his first three. The franchise record belongs to Ross Grimsley, who won in his first five.
In Their Own Words ...
"I've never seen Peavy pitch like that. I've never seen him pick and nibble at the corners the way he did. He got in trouble. I've seen him really dominant, especially with his fastball. Today he threw his slider a lot and he fell behind quite a bit." -- Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche, who hit the first of his two homers to hasten an early exit for Jake Peavy. Peavy gave up five runs in five innings, lifting his ERA to 5.74 through his first five starts.
Advance Scouting ...
Omar Vizquel is going to start at shortstop for the Rangers today at Baltimore (7:05 PM ET), which will make him only the third player ever to start a game at shortstop after his 42nd birthday. The others were Honus Wagner and Luke Appling, both Hall of Famers. It will be Vizquel's 2,567th game at shortstop, an ongoing major league record.
