Starting Five: Cubs May Be Awakening From Hibernation

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 Cubs might be making a charge.

Saturday's 5-3 victory over Cincinnati put Chicago five games over .500 for the first time in more than two months. And the Cubs now trail the first-place Cardinals by just a half-game in the National League Central.

"Let's not get euphoric about it," manager Lou Piniella said.

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The Cubs have won nine of 12 to move up from fifth place to second and have gained four games on the Cards since the All-Star break.

"Everybody's stepping up," [Derrek] Lee said. "That's what it's going to take to get through injuries. I think we have a good team and we're starting to show it."

From the Trainer's Room ...
White Sox lefty John Danks is scheduled to start Monday night against the Twins after a blister caused circulatory problems, forcing him to miss a turn. Danks (8-6, with a 3.98 ERA) is trying to give up chewing tobacco in case that affected his circulation.

Numbers Game ...
When the Dodgers beat the Marlins on Casey Blake's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth for their 10th walk-off win, it made closer Jonathan Broxton 7-0. With two more saves, Broxton will become just the second pitcher ever with 25 saves and seven wins in a season. The other was Mike Marshall of the '73 Expos, who was 14-11 with 31 saves in 92 appearances.

In Their Own Words ...
"It's easy to give at-bats away when you're down 8-0 after four innings and just say, 'Let's get out of here early and go get dinner.' I was waiting for Joe [Maddon, the manager] to start pulling guys to give them some rest." -- Joe Nelson, who got the save as Tampa Bay rallied from 8-0 and 9-1 deficits to beat Toronto 10-9 in 12 innings

Advance Scouting ...
After San Francisco and Colorado split the first two games of the series, the rubber game is today (3:10 PM ET), and either the Rockies will lead the wild-card race by two games or the teams will be tied. Colorado will start Aaron Cook, who has not lost since June 1, going 6-0 with a 2.90 ERA over his past nine starts.