Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That Carl Pavano is back and better than ever. Well, not really, but he's not as bad as he used to be. Still a long way from being the guy who earned that four-year, $40 million deal from the Yankees, Pavano is starting to pitch credibly for the Indians.
On Wednesday night he beat the Red Sox, pitching six innings and allowing two runs. Over his past four starts, Pavano has a 3.46 ERA. Manager Eric Wedge said the right-hander is improving.
"Carl has just kept getting better and better," said Wedge. "He's put together two good starts."
Pavano, who got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, said he's starting to feel like his old self.
"The things I've been through the last few years with the injuries, I was able to put it behind me," said Pavano.From the Trainers' Room ...
Tigers lefty Dontrelle Willis seems to be getting close to a return to the majors. He gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings for Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday night. It was his longest outing in four rehab appearances so far. Willis, on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder, has a 3.86 ERA in the minors.
Numbers Game ...
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols had four hits and a homer against the Pirates. In 132 career games against Pittsburgh, Pujols has hit 37 homers and he's hit .371. Pujols is frighteningly consistent, though. Here are his homer totals against the other teams in the NL Central: Chicago (38), Houston (36), Cincinnati (35) and Milwaukee (26).
In Their Own Words ...
"That's the first time I've done that in my career. It was a process of elimination. It was almost like Little League -- 'Who wants to pitch?'" -- Reds manager Dusty Baker, on the process of picking infielder Paul Janish to pitch at the end of a blowout loss to the Brewers. Janish hit 92 mph on the radar gun, but still gave up five runs in one inning.
Advance Scouting ...
Arizona righty Dan Haren could do some big things today. Haren (1.47 ERA) is pitching as well as he has at any time in his career, coming off his first back-to-back double-digit strikeout games. Thursday he'll face a light-hitting Padres team at pitcher-friendly Petco Park (3:35 PM ET).
