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 National League wild-card leaders are all playing well this weekend, leaving the Braves in the dust. For the second consecutive day, the Rockies, Giants and Marlins all won. The Braves have lost four in a row, falling six games out in the wild-card race.
The Rockies have won four of five games since getting swept by the Giants last weekend. They got a boost on Saturday night when Jose Contreras gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings in his Rockies debut. The Marlins have also been hot, winning four games in a row. They have scored eight runs in each game, a first in the franchise's history.
The Giants, meanwhile, still aren't scoring much, but their pitching is carrying them. Five games into this tough six-game trip through hitters parks in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, the Giants have scored 13 runs. They've won three, including a 3-2 victory on Saturday that snapped Matt Cain's eight-start winless streak.
Meanwhile, the Braves seem just about finished.
"I don't know what to say anymore. It's getting frustrating, considering how important these games are," said pitcher Jair Jurrjens.
From The Trainers' Room...
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who has been sidelined because of a sore left groin, threw about 20 pitches in the bullpen before Saturday's game and reported no problems. Rivera might be able to return to closing duties as soon as Sunday.
"I wasn't expecting to feel anything," Rivera said. "I just have to make sure that it's ready. I wasn't looking for something."By The Numbers...
Pirates righty Ross Ohlendorf became just the 40th pitcher in big league history to strike out the side on nine pitches, whiffing the Cardinals in the seventh inning. What was even more unusual was that all three times catcher Ryan Doumit mishandled the third strike and had to throw to first for the putout.
"I threw a lot of sliders that bounced for strike three, and he did a great job of knocking them down and going and getting them and throwing them out at first," Ohlendorf said.
In Their Own Words...
"I told her, 'Man, now I've got to hit a home run for you and Dylan. It's going to be tough,' " -- Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, recalling what he told his daughter, Jada, who is always asking him to a hit a home run. Lee returned to action for the first time since his wife gave birth to Dylan, the couple's second child, and he responded with two homers.
Advance Scouting...
You might only have to watch the first batter of the Mariners-A's game (4:05 PM ET) to see a milestone. Ichiro Suzuki has 1,999 hits in the major leagues. Granted, 2,000 hits is not that big a milestone (the are 18 active players with 2,000 hits), but it is just the appetizer for the milestones upcoming for Suzuki. He's got 194 hits this season. When he gets to 200, he'll break Willie Keeler's record with his ninth consecutive 200-hit season.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-06-2009 @ 9:16AM
mdat said...
The Braves blew two in a row in Florida by Bobby Cox bringing in Kris Medlen for 3 games in a row. Medlen had not been effective two games in a row all year...why bring him in three in a row in a critical series?? No wonder they're tanking!
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9-10-2009 @ 7:55AM
Bob said...
It's time to replace the primary reason for the Braves' failure, namely Bobby Cox. His compulsive need to bring in erratic bullpen pitchers even when a starter is doing a masterful job has caused more losses than wins. Chipper Jones is facing "the beginning of the end" as far as being an active player is concerned, and a smart move would be to place him in a managerial position. From there, see if the team can find a potential billionaire owner who loves the sport and is willing to shell out money to buy better players. It's time to dump "the suits," the corporate bean-counters who only look at the bottom line.
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