Starting Five: Tale of Two Pitchers

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

You Oughta Know ...
Kevin Hart got a win and Russ Ortiz got a loss, but that was the least eventful thing that happened to the starters from Thursday's Cubs-Astros game. Not long after the Cubs finished their 12-3 victory over the Astros, Hart was traded to the Pirates. And Ortiz, the losing pitcher for the Astros, was released.

Hart said it was a "little weird" to be sitting in an empty clubhouse after his former teammates had departed for Miami. He had won his third consecutive start, allowing three runs in six innings.

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Ortiz was blasted for nine runs in 2 1/3 innings. As he tried to rebound from an injury that cost him a season and a half, Ortiz had a few decent outings earlier in the year, but he was not consistent enough to keep his job. Now, the 35-year-old's career may be over.

"It just wasn't there, I guess lately. I shouldn't say 'I guess.' It wasn't there lately," Ortiz said. "So, they had to make moves that going to help. This team has a very good chance to make the playoffs. So, they had to make a move that was going to help that, not hurt it."

From the Trainers' Room...
Orioles right-hander Brad Bergeson picked up a painful victory. Kansas City's Billy Butler hit a line drive off Bergeson's leg in the seventh inning, knocking him to the ground. Catcher Matt Wieters retrieved the ball and got an out, but Bergeson was done for the game. He went for X-rays, which were negative.

"The pain was bad. I wanted to throw up, but I took the X-ray and there was no break on there and hopefully there isn't," Bergesen said. "They say worst-case scenario, sometimes a hairline fracture doesn't show up until a couple of days because of the swelling. But I'm going to be really optimistic about it right now."

By The Numbers...
Derek Holland became the first Rangers left-hander since 1999 to have at least 10 strikeouts in a game. Holland retired 24 of the first 25 batters in a victory over Seattle. Holland has made enough of an impression on the Rangers that he's been deemed untouchable in a Roy Halladay trade.

In Their Own Words...
"They're not a good club. They're beating us like this. This is pitiful." -- Reds manager Dusty Baker, after his team lost for the fifth time in six games to the Padres.

Advance Scouting...
Cliff Lee will make his Phillies debut, starting against the Giants in San Francisco (10:15 PM ET). Lee has pitched at AT&T Park just one other time, with the Indians in 2005. He gave up three runs in seven innings and won that day. Lee will miss facing the reigning NL Cy Young winner by one day. Tim Lincecum pitches for the Giants on Saturday. Instead the Giants will send Ryan Sadowski to the mound.