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MLB

Starting Five: Sleepy Bats Relegate Red Sox to Second Place

Posted Jul 22, 2009 6:00AM By Ed Price (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Astros, Angels, Cardinals, Cubs, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Royals, White Sox, Starting Five

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Boston Red Sox David OrtizStarting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That it had been more than a year since the Red Sox had lost four straight.

But Tuesday's 4-2 defeat at Texas gave Boston its worst slide since dropping five in a row, June 28-July 2, 2008. And it meant the Yankees moved into first place alone for the first time since before the games of June 9.

Not even their stopper could overcome the Red Sox's continued offensive funk. Josh Beckett had been 6-0 in his previous 10 starts that followed a Boston defeat, but he lost to the Rangers, allowing four runs in an eight-inning complete game.
More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Since the All-Star break, the Sox have yet to score more than two runs in an inning, and in their past 40 innings they have scored eight runs via eight one-run "rallies."
"I don't have anything to say. We didn't score runs and everybody knows it," [David Ortiz] said. "We have to hit."

He took a breath and continued.

"It happens, man," he said. "It's not always going to be roses and flowers. We go through this every year. There's going to be a point when we get out of it -- we just have to keep on playing."
With 12 runs since the break, Boston has had its worst five-game output since May 2008.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Lance Berkman, who leads Houston with 18 homers, a .524 slugging percentage and a .405 on-base percentage, will miss at least two more games with a strained left calf.
"The reality is this is July, and there's a possibility that he could aggravate it and be out for an extended period of time," general manager Ed Wade said. "So if the choice is take a couple more days and let him get back to 100 percent, then that would be the appropriate thing to do."
Without Berkman, the Astros scored 11 runs on 11 hits against the Cardinals to get within two games of first place.

Numbers Game ...
Those Angels love them some barbecue. With a doubleheader sweep Tuesday, they have won 19 of their past 24 games in Kansas City. Los Angeles has 48 homers in its past 34 games after hitting just 44 homers in its first 58 games.

In Their Own Words ...
"We're challenged offensively. You don't score runs, you don't win no matter how good you pitch. I'll tell you what. We might need a couple of hitters at the [trade] deadline." -- Cubs manager Lou Piniella after a 4-1 loss to the Phillies.

Advance Scouting ...
Tampa Bay Opening Day starter James Shields looks for his first win since June 20 as the Rays visit the White Sox (8:11 PM ET). Shields has had three straight no-decisions, including allowing seven runs in 5 1/3 innings at Kansas City last Friday. Chicago counters with right-hander Carlos Torres, who will be called up from Triple-A to take the place of John Danks (finger blister). Torres, 26, was 8-4 with a 2.20 ERA for Charlotte (N.C.).

Tags: Carlos+Torres, james+shields, lance+berkman, lou+piniella, starting+five

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