Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That Chris Carpenter is all the way back. The 2006 NL Cy Young winner has missed almost all of the past two seasons, and a chunk of this one, with injuries, but now he seems to be pitching as well as ever. The Cardinals righty tossed a three-hitter, his first complete game since Sept. 11, 2006, to beat the Reds 3-1 Thursday night.
Carpenter is 4-0 with an 0.71 ERA and a WHIP of 0.63 in six starts so far this year. Afterward, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Carpenter should be considered among the game's best.
"I don't think anybody pitching today is better. He's right up there with [Roy] Halladay and the best ones out there. Carp's right there."
From The Trainers' Room ...
Marlins right-hander Anibal Sanchez is headed back to the disabled list, just one start after he was activated. Sanchez started Tuesday against the Brewers and felt more pain in his shoulder during his 71-pitch outing. Sanchez's return to the DL opens the way for Ricky Nolasco's return to the majors, most likely to Sunday against the Giants. Nolasco, the Marlins' Opening Day starter, was sent to Triple-A New Orleans with a 9.07 ERA in nine big-league starts. Nolasco is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA in two starts in the minors.
Numbers Game ...
On the day that Giants lefty Randy Johnson joined the 300-win club, only six other active pitchers had even half of that total: Jamie Moyer (250), Andy Pettitte (220), John Smoltz (210), Tim Wakefield (184), Bartolo Colon (153) and Livan Hernandez (151). Of those, Hernandez (age 34) is the youngest. Pettitte and Colon are both 36. The others are over 40.
In Their Own Words...
"It was a deep fly ball to short left field." -- Rangers reliever C.J. Wilson, on Melky Cabrera's tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning. Left fielder David Murphy leapt at the wall, but the ball got just over his glove to send the Yankees on their way to a victory. It was the fourth homer of the day at Yankee Stadium, where there has been at least one homer in all 26 games played.
Advance Scouting...
The Rays are finally starting to look like the team that was supposed to contend again, having just swept the Royals to get back to .500. On Friday night, they will send phenom David Price to the mound at Yankee Stadium against CC Sabathia (7:05 PM ET). Sabathia's terrible start is long forgotten now that he's won his last four decisions. The Rays have won three of five games against the Yankees so far this year, including forcing Nick Swisher to the mound in a 15-5 win on April 13.
