Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That Andruw Jones had two shots at accomplishing baseball's hardest feat.
The four-homer night is rarer than hitting for the cycle or throwing a perfect game. It has happened just 15 times, most recently by Shawn Green in 2002. (There have been 17 perfect games.)
In the Rangers' 8-1 pounding of the Angels that put them back alone in first place in the AL West, Jones homered in his first three at-bats. But he popped up in the sixth and struck out in the ninth.
"I was thinking about it. I tried. I just didn't get it done," Jones said. "I'm just happy we won."
More Coverage: Jones Surging in Fantasy Value
Although Jones came up short of the single-game record, he is having a nice power resurgence in Texas. Picked up by the Rangers after he negotiated a buyout from the Dodgers, Jones has 14 homers in 160 at-bats. That rate of one per 11.4 at-bats would be the best of his career and a huge improvement over his three in 238 at-bats last year.
"He's having a terrific season for them," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's obviously much more comfortable in the batter's box than he was last year when we saw him with the Dodgers."From the Trainer's Room ...
Angels All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter sat out Wednesday with a strained abductor, and he and the team were awaiting results of an MRI to see how serious the injury is. Hunter leads the Angels in homers (17), RBI (65) and total bases (159),
Hunter said the pain was so intense that he couldn't run at all on Tuesday night when he went 1 for 5. His groin has been bothering him since May 24 when he crashed into the wall making a catch against the Dodgers.Numbers Game ...
"As of now, it's a little sore," Hunter said before Wednesday's game. "I've been playing on it for a month. It's just been going downhill."
Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa was 0-6 with a 5.43 ERA in his first 10 starts. Since then, De La Rosa has gone 6-1 with a 4.61 ERA in seven starts, including Wednesday's win against Washington.
In Their Own Words ...
"I don't know who was pitching worse, him or the kid across the way. It was kind of a race, who's going to get run out of there first." – Toronto manager Cito Gaston on Brian Tallet and Scott Kazmir, the starting pitchers in the Blue Jays' 10-9 loss to the Rays.
Advance Scouting ...
You may not remember, but on May 5, Houston and Washington were tied 10-10 in the bottom of the 11th inning when rain set in at Nationals Park and the game had to be suspended. Well, the contest will be concluded today (7:05 PM ET) before the first game of a four-game series between the Nats and Astros in Houston. The Nationals will have a runner on first – a pinch runner for Elijah Dukes, who was on first when the game was called but is now in the minors – with one out, and the Astros will have LaTroy Hawkins on the mound. If Washington can score a run in that half inning, the win will go to Joel Hanrahan – who has been with Pittsburgh since being traded June 30.
