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 Rangers could not have fallen out of the playoff race any more quietly than this. Not only have they been losing, but their bats have fallen silent. Including Friday night's 2-0 loss to the Angels, the Rangers have scored just one run in the past five games, a first in franchise history. The last team to score once in five games was the Braves in June 2007.
Scott Kazmir handed them a critical defeat on Friday. The Angels, who had been scuffling themselves on a trip to New York and Boston, came into Texas and pushed the Rangers a season-high 7 1/2 games back in the AL West. The Rangers trail Boston by seven games in the wild-card race.
From the Angels side, Kazmir seems to have turned around his season with the trade from the Rays to Angels. Kazmir had a 5.92 ERA with Tampa Bay, but he's got a 1.42 ERA in four starts with the Angels.
From The Trainers' Room...
The Phillies simply want to get through the rest of the regular season without anyone getting hurt, which is why they were being extra careful with rookie pitcher J.A. Happ on Friday night. Happ had been out of the rotation for two weeks with a strained side, and in the third inning of his return, he was pulled for what the team labeled "precautionary" reasons. Happ insisted he was OK. The Phillies also lost catcher Carlos Ruiz with a sprained left wrist. X-rays were negative, but the Phillies aren't sure when Ruiz will be back.
By The Numbers...
The Reds haven't been best in the National League at much, but in one respect they were perfect. Until Friday. The Reds had been the only team in the National League yet to blow a ninth-inning lead, winning all 57 games they led after eight, but the Marlins scored four times in the ninth to end that streak.
In Their Own Words...
"He just hit it absolutely perfect, as pure as you can hit it. If you hit great all the time, you hit .400 or .500, and nobody does that." -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, on Matt Holliday's walk-off homer to beat the Cubs. Apparently Holliday has hit the ball perfect more than usual since he's joined the Cardinals. He's hit .356 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs in 50 games with St. Louis.
Advance Scouting...
The Tigers need Justin Verlander to step up and right the ship before the Twins get any closer. Verlander starts for Detroit in the second game of a three-game series at Minnesota (4:10 PM ET). The Tigers have lost eight of their past 11 and the Twins are within three games. It's the Tigers' smallest lead since Aug. 23.
