Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That things got weird, awfully weird, at Petco Park on Sunday. The Diamondbacks carried a five-run lead into the ninth inning against San Diego thanks to seven innings of one-run ball by Dan Haren and a scoreless inning of relief by Tony Pena.
Then the wheels really fell off.
Juan Gutierrez and Chad Qualls surrendered five runs in the ninth, the last three of which came on a game-tying home run by light-hitting David Eckstein. Eckstein has 20 career homers in nine professional seasons, and a career slugging average of .359. So if you're keeping score, one of the most punchless players in the majors went deep in the most cavernous park in baseball, and things were only starting to get interesting.
The rest of the Arizona bullpen -- four pitchers in all -- held San Diego hitless for the next nine innings, until D'backs third baseman Mark Reynolds struck the decisive blow with a three-run homer of his own in the 18th inning. Reynolds went deep against San Diego's Josh Wilson, an infielder thrust onto the mound because of the length of the game. Ironically Wilson pitched in a game earlier this year for Arizona before the club released him on May 13.
"On the one hand, we blew Danny's lead," Reynolds said. "On the other hand, the bullpen -- after they tied it up -- the bullpen did great. What did they give up, no hits? That's unbelievable. They did a great job and we were able to stay in there, play good defense and get a W."From the Trainer's Room ...
Don't count on Jacoby Ellsbury being in the lineup for the Red Sox Tuesday when they renew their blood feud with the Yankees. Ellsbury jammed his right shoulder on a slide in the third inning, then tweaked it further on two subsequent plays before he came out of Boston's 6-3 loss to the Rangers in the fifth inning. The Sox will re-evaluate the center fielder's injury over the next two days.
"I always try to stay in the game," Ellsbury said. "But if I stayed in the game, it would be one of those things that would maybe make it worse than something that's maybe a day or two, make it something longer, maybe a couple weeks. It was definitely the right decision, coming out of the game. Hopefully, it's just something that I wake up -- I'm sure it's going to be sore tomorrow, but we'll see on Tuesday."Numbers Game ...
Albert Pujols' first inning sacrifice fly against the Rockies scored two runs -- making him the first player in the majors to accomplish the feat this year. Skip Schumaker and Colby Rasmus were able to score on the St. Louis slugger's deep drive because Colorado left fielder Carlos Gonzalez crashed into the outfield wall and fell down making the catch. Pujols is the first Cardinal to have a two-RBI sacrifice fly since Game 4 of the 1982 World Series, when Tom Herr drove in Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee. No Cardinal has accomplished the feat in the regular season since at least the 1960s, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
In Their Own Words ...
"I would say that's one of my talents. I would say so. I wouldn't say that separates me from rest of closers because we have a lot of good closers. But I have that ability and I'm thankful." -- Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on his ability to compartmentalize a bad outing. Rivera surrendered four runs in a loss to the Rays Saturday and then (kinda, sorta) criticized Joe Girardi for asking him to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Evan Longoria in the process. He bounced back Sunday with a 10-pitch save against the very same Rays, and was awarded a championship belt by teammate Johnny Damon.
Advance Scouting ...
The Tigers and White Sox will play two of the nine games on the schedule tomorrow in a day-night doubleheader at the Cell. Do yourself a favor and tune into the nightcap (8:11 PM ET) as Jeremy Bonderman returns to the Detroit rotation more than a year after his last start in the major leagues. Bonderman, who missed most of last season because of a blood clot in his shoulder, went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in four minor-league rehab starts.
