Starting Five: Pirates Loathing Philly Trip

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

You Oughta Know ...
That the Pirates are certainly glad that they aren't in the same division as their intrastate rivals, the Phillies. The Pirates visit Philadelphia's Citzens Bank Park for only one series this year, and it can't end soon enough, as far as they are concerned.

The Pirates took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth on Saturday, only to have the Phillies score five times to win the game, one on a Matt Stairs homer, three on a Ryan Howard homer and the winning run on Paul Bako's single.

Afterward, Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson blamed the ballpark more than Pittsburgh reliever Matt Capps.

"It's the park,'' Wilson said. "Honestly, it's the park. That's the way their offense is built. They're built to hit home runs. They're the only team with four 20-homer guys at the break. We're lucky to have four 20-homer guys in two years combined.

---

---

From The Trainer's Room ...
Reds outfielder Jay Bruce broke his right wrist attempting to make a sliding catch in the first inning against the Mets. Bruce was to return to Cincinnati to be examined on Sunday by the Reds doctor. The Reds are expecting him to be out an extended period.

"I just hope Jay is not hurt too seriously," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "Let's hope we don't lose him for the year."

Numbers Game ...
The Angels have overcome deficits of at least four runs to win four times ... in their past eight games. The Angels trailed the Yankees 4-0 in the middle of the fourth, but they won, 14-8. It was their major-league leading 26th come-from-behind victory, and they did it without Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter or Juan Rivera, who were hurt.

In Their Own Words ...
"It's really a cool thing. And then you come into the clubhouse and talk to your buddies in there and they're telling you, 'You only got 200 more to go,'" -- Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly, who won his 100th career game. Lilly is one of only 29 active pitchers with at least 100 victories.

Advance Scouting ...
A couple of contenders, the Dodgers and Brewers, will play the rubber game of their series in Milwaukee (2:05 PM ET). Clayton Kershaw, who has allowed two earned runs in his last 29 2/3 innings will start for the Dodgers, while the Brewers will counter with ace Yovanni Gallardo.