Starting Five: Cards Are Dealing So Far

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Cardinals haven't started out this hot in 65 years.

St. Louis is 17-7, its best 24-game record since 1944. That team went 105-49 and beat the crosstown Browns in the World Series.

These Cards have won nine of 11 and, with a rotation that's 14-2, already have a four-game lead in the NL Central.

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"I feel like the middle of the order has been doing good, but I feel like the whole lineup has been doing a good job," [Ryan] Ludwick said. "I think we're still one of the top offensive leaders in baseball. Combine that with the pitching we're getting and it's a deadly combination."

But ...

Of the past 10 teams to start 17-7 or better, just seven made the postseason ('05 White Sox, '03 Yankees, '03 Giants). The past four all missed the playoffs ('08 Diamondbacks, '06 White Sox, '06 Reds, '05 Orioles).

From the Trainer's Room ...
Royals closer Joakim Soria on Friday was declared ready for action after being held out of eight games with a sore shoulder. Soria wasn't needed in a loss to the Twins, but his return is important for Kansas City. He has a 1.80 ERA in five appearances, while the rest of the bullpen has a 3.90 ERA and 25 walks in 55 1/3 innings.

Numbers Game ...
14: the number of pitches seen by Seattle's Jose Lopez in the final at-bat of the Mariners' 8-7 defeat of the Athletics. Lopez fouled off nine 2-2 pitches from Oakland's Russ Springer before a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In Their Own Words ...
"We need guys to get the job done and too many of them are having trouble doing that right now." – Angels manager Mike Scioscia after his team blew a 9-4 lead at Yankee Stadium on Friday – the first time in nearly nine years the Angels lost a game in which they led by five runs in the eighth inning or later, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Advance Scouting ...
Matt LaPorta, the key prospect who went from the Brewers to the Indians in the CC Sabathia deal last July, will join Cleveland today for its game at Detroit (3:40 PM ET). LaPorta, 24, was hitting .333 with five homers and 14 RBI for Triple-A Columbus, and the 9-14 Tribe could use some sock, having scored 43 runs in its past 11 games. It sounds as if LaPorta will platoon with David Dellucci, just off the DL, at DH while Travis Hafner (shoulder) is out.