Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That Tampa Bay's Matt Garza picks up his game against division opponents.
Garza on Thursday was perfect for six innings against Boston before Jacoby Ellsbury led off the seventh inning with an infield hit.
In 7 2/3 innings of a 13-0 rout, Garza allowed that one hit, walked one and struck out 10.
Garza's Rays teammates obeyed the baseball superstition of giving a pitcher with a no-hitter in progress the silent treatment.
"That was weird," Garza said. "The first few innings there was a lot of chatter and then about the fifth, sixth inning nobody said anything. I was like, man, I'm trying to start a conversation with people here and people didn't want to talk. But that's the way the game is. If it happens to us again, I'm going to be the same way to the other guy – quiet and not say a word to the guy."For his career, Garza is 14-6 with a 2.86 ERA when facing AL East teams. In all other games, he's 7-18 with a 4.90 ERA.
Garza has been especially tough on Baltimore (5-0, 2.80) and Boston (5-1, 2.85). Thursday's win was Garza's second this year over the Sox.
"We've got to try to find a way to figure him out," added [Dustin] Pedroia.
From the Trainer's Room ...
Josh Hamilton, the Rangers' usual No. 3 hitter, has missed four straight games with a strained muscle in his left rib cage. And he expects to miss at least three more.
"I'm good, better," Hamilton said. "That doesn't mean that if I got in here and swung that I wouldn't be right back to where I was."Meanwhile, Texas catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia had to leave Thursday's game with irritation in his right eye.
Numbers Game ...
Kansas City's John Buck tripled twice against Toronto, making him the first catcher with a two-triple game since Jason Kendall on July 1, 2000.
In Their Own Words ...
"Walking guys after 0-2 counts, walking guys at the bottom of the order – I don't know why. You shouldn't be afraid. ... You're pitching for a last-place team in a half-empty stadium. What can you be intimidated (by) right now?" – Nationals manager Manny Acta, whose pitchers walked 11 Cardinals batters, including two in a five-run ninth that broke a 4-4 tie
Advance Scouting ...
With the Twins having hung on for a month, going 11-11 and staying withing a game of the AL Central lead, star catcher Joe Mauer returns tonight for a game against the Royals (8:10 PM, ET). Mauer, the AL batting champ in 2006 and 2008, had a kidney obstruction removed in December and then missed much of spring training with a sore sacroiliac joint (lower spine).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-01-2009 @ 10:23AM
papam11 said...
Here's the deal with the Sox. Although they're a good team, I see that they're much more concerned with "running up the pitch count" on opposing pitchers than swinging at good pitches. Here's the catch, folks, and the reason why guys like Garza are shutting the Sox completely down. THEY THROW STRIKES! Duhhhh! So when Sox "sluggers" stand there with their bats on their shoulders, waiting for a pitcher to throw a bunch of pitches, their ass is grass when most are called strikes. That's exactly what the Sox did last night. For what these players are getting paid, they should be able to hit anything, unless it's thrown over the backstop, behind their backs, hasn't bounced a few times before getting to the plate or thrown into the outfield. Screw "pitch counts", SWING! And get rid of that God awful bust, Drew.
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5-01-2009 @ 7:02PM
jojocbaseballwin said...
shut up pam pam they are a very good team and you dont know what you are talking about.
5-02-2009 @ 7:45PM
papam11 said...
jojocbaseballwin.............I've played and coached baseball my whole life---and I've watched the Sox for over 55 years. I know exactly what I'm talking about--punk!
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