Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That Friday night was not a good time to leave a game early.
There were three walk-off wins – by the Rays, Yankees and Braves – and three other games decided in the visitors' final-at bat.
Tampa Bay overcame a seven-run deficit and beat Cleveland 8-7 on B.J. Upton's homer in the ninth. The Yankees scored three off Twins closer Joe Nathan in the ninth to win 5-4. And Atlanta allowed Arizona to tie the game in the top of the ninth and then won the game in the bottom of the inning on Yunel Escobar's sacrifice fly.
"We had every opportunity to tuck our tails after the top of ninth and just fold up the tent and lose this game but we didn't," [Chipper] Jones said.Meanwhile ... Philadelphia scored four runs in the top of the 12th to win at Washington (after allowing two in the ninth to force extras); Colorado's three-run rally in the top of the ninth at Pittsburgh gave the Rockies a 3-1 win; and the Mets broke a tie with two runs in the ninth and won 8-6 at San Francisco.
From the Trainer's Room ...
Twins third baseman Joe Crede, who had back trouble the past four years with the White Sox, left Friday's game with back spasms and tight hamstrings. "We got him out of there as quick as we can," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We'll have to just go day-to-day."
Numbers Game ...
The Tigers got two grand slams – by Ryan Raburn and Brandon Inge – to tie the major-league record. It was the third two-slam game in team history, the first since Jim Northrup hit a pair on June 24, 1968.
In Their Own Words ...
"Maybe I'm too late in doing this. I hope not. I just think he needs to take a deep breath. Even when he's struggling, we love his presence. This is the time to take a step back, take a deep breath, and help us in the long run." – Boston manager Terry Francona on sitting struggling (and homerless) DH David Ortiz; Ortiz declined to be interviewed, and the Boston Herald reported Ortiz will not play until Tuesday.
Advance Scouting ...
The hardware comes out in San Francisco, as two lefties with a combined seven Cy Young Awards face off (4:10 PM, ET). The Giants' Randy Johnson has five and the Mets' Johan Santana has two. The last time the starting pitchers in a game had combined for that many Cy Young Awards was July 19, 2006, when Houston's Roger Clemens (seven) went against the Cubs' Greg Maddux (four).
