Starting Five: Snubbed Kemp Goes Off

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Matt Kemp put on quite a show a day after he lost out on the final spot on the National League All-Star team. The Dodgers' center fielder was one of the five players on the fan ballot for the final spot, which was won by Philadelphia's Shane Victorino on Thursday.

On Friday night, Kemp hit a go-ahead grand slam to lead the Dodgers to a 12-8, 10-inning victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee. In the bottom of the inning, Kemp recorded the final out of the game making a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, running with his back to the infield.

Kemp said he'd actually been fooling around making over-the-shoulder catches in batting practice earlier in the day.

"I was messing around with it in batting practice today," said Kemp, who ran up the wall for show after the catch. "I guess I thought I'd use it in the game."

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From The Trainers' Room...
Rockies left-hander Alan Embree suffered a possible career-ending injury, breaking his right tibia when he was hit by a line drive. Embree was scheduled for surgery on Saturday. Embree is out for the rest of this season. At age 39, he may not be back next year.

By The Numbers...
Pirates right-hander Zach Duke has 13 quality starts in 18 outings this year, but he's only 8-8. Duke, who pitched all eight innings in a 3-2 loss to the Phillies, actually got pretty robust support with those two runs. In his eight losses this year, the Pirates have scored a total of seven runs for him.

In Their Own Words...
"It's at the point where it's just embarrassing for us. I think everyone in the clubhouse should be embarrassed about the way we play and just the way we lose games.We find a way all the time. It's just sickening." -- Nationals left-hander Joe Beimel, after Washington lost its fifth consecutive game. Beimel blew a one-run lead in the eighth. Houston's Geoff Blum drove in the go-ahead run after the Nationals had misplayed his foul pop.

Advance Scouting...
Could there be a pitchers' duel at Coors Field? The Braves and Rockies will both send hot pitchers to the mound in Denver (8:10 PM ET). Jason Marquis (11-5, 3.61) will try to extend a 17-inning scoreless streak for the Rockies. He'll also be trying to become the first 12-game winner in the majors, as he makes his final start before heading to St. Louis for the All-Star Game. Jair Jurrjens (6-7, 2.91) has certainly pitched better than his record. Among pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA lead, Jurrjens and teammate Javier Vazquez (6-7, 2.95) are the only two pitchers in the majors with losing records and ERAs below 3.00.