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 Cardinals have hit the skids. Well, relatively speaking. The Cardinals have lost two games in a row for the first time since July 25-26. Even worse, their loss on Saturday came after closer Ryan Franklin blew his second consecutive save opportunity, allowing the Braves to score twice in the ninth in a 7-6 defeat.
It's just a hiccup for the Cardinals, who remain 10 1/2 games up on the Cubs in the National League Central. Their magic number for clinching the division is 11. Still, any slump by Franklin is bound to raise some eyebrows, especially this close to the playoffs.
Franklin may be having a stellar season this year, but he's hardly a proven closer. He had 17 saves last season and only one in his career prior to that. Franklin has now allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings in four games in September. Even Franklin admitted something's wrong.
"Sure, I'm concerned," Franklin said. "I don't like to fail. I don't think anyone likes to fail. It's just part of it. I don't think anyone is perfect, and I sure wasn't today.From The Trainers' Room...
"[Hopefully] I can get this bad start to the month out of the way. I had like five really good ones, but I've been scuffling a bit lately."
Two of the Dodgers top three pitchers, Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw, had encouraging throwing sessions on Saturday. Wolf, who was scratched from his last start because of elbow irritation, played catch on flat ground. Wolf could start as soon as Tuesday. Kershaw, who bruised his non-throwing shoulder when he ran into a wall trying to make a catch in batting practice, threw off a mound. His return is still undetermined.
By The Numbers...
Phillies right-hander Ryan Madson, who got the closer job while Brad Lidge tries to figure it out, suffered his sixth blown save in a 10-9 loss to the Mets. The Phillies have 21 blown saves, which is tied for seventh most in the majors this year. That seems bad, but the first-place Dodgers are one of the teams with the most, 23. Just two years ago, the Rockies made the playoffs with a major-league worst 29 blown saves.
In Their Own Words...
"That's a question a lot of people have got to ask. I don't think he's tired. I don't think he needs a rest. I think he's 100 percent ready to go because to me he seems like he's battling every time." -- Yankees catcher Jose Molina, on struggling pitcher A.J. Burnett. As the Yankees are trying to figure out their playoff rotation, Burnett has now lost five of his past six decisions with a 6.19 ERA.Advance Scouting...
Brad Penny has been looking forward to this game for a year. The Giants' newly-acquired right-hander will start against the Dodgers in San Francisco (4:05 PM ET). Penny spent the previous four-plus seasons with Los Angeles, and he did not leave on good terms. Penny is prone to emotional displays that irritate opponents in a routine start, so there could be some fireworks when he faces the Dodgers. By the way, the Giants, losers of four in a row, absolutely must have this game.
