Starting Five: Jurrjens, Braves Roll On

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

You Oughta Know ...
This Jurrjens kid is pretty good.

Jair Jurrjens threw seven scoreless innings on Monday as the Braves downed the Marlins 4-0 and climbed within two games of the Rockies for the wild-card lead.

Atlanta has two more games with Florida and then four against Washington. Colorado hosts Milwaukee for three before finishing with three games at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Right now we feel like we're in control," [Chipper] Jones said. "We're dictating at-bats whether it be on the mound or whether we're hitting. And a lot of good things are happening."

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Jurrjens, 23, is 14-10 with a 2.61 ERA -- fourth-best in the National League -- and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 25 of his 33 starts. Since Aug. 14, he is 5-2 with a 1.70 ERA.

"I can make my dad's dream come true right now if I get to the playoffs," said Jurrjens who grew up a Braves fan in his native Curacao. "My mom said he's put the travel bag out already."

Florida fell 5 1/2 games out in the wild-card race and will be eliminated with one more loss or one Colorado win.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Boston lefty Jon Lester, hit near the right knee by a liner last Friday, threw a bullpen session Monday and is scheduled to start Thursday against Cleveland.

"I felt fine," said Lester. "No problems. Just the normal long tossing and everything. Right around 55 pitches. Everything was good. I felt good this morning when I woke up and walking around and everything. But there's that question in your mind, 'OK, when I get on the mound, is it going to bug me?' And it didn't. Everything was good. I'm sure Thursday is fine."

Meanwhile, third baseman Mike Lowell, who was hampered last postseason by a sore hip that eventually required surgery, received injections Monday in the hip.

"Heading into the postseason, I'd rather have more mobility than less. The docs said this would be a way to alleviate things," he said. "This would be a good time to take two, three days off to really get my hip feeling a lot better."

Numbers Game ...
The Orioles have been out-scored 77-35 in losing 11 straight, their longest skid since a 12-game losing streak in Sept. 2004. They have blown a lead in seven of the 11 losses.

Also -- cue the Boomtown Rats -- Baltimore is 5-14 on Mondays, with losses on 12 straight Monday games since a win on June 1.

In Their Own Words ...
"This is like Groundhog's Day -- I just want to wake up from it. It just keeps happening and keeps happening. It's just frustrating ... because no one likes to lose, and I'm definitely not someone who's going to sit there and say, 'Well at least I put forth a good effort.' I'm tired of losing. I hate losing." -- Mets right-hander Nelson Figueroa, who fell to 2-8 as he lost to the Nationals

Advance Scouting ...
Thanks to rain Monday, the Tigers and Twins start their AL Central showdown with a day/night doubleheader at Comerica Park (12:05 PM and 7:05 PM ET). Detroit goes into the series with a two-game lead and a magic number of six. After Tuesday, the lead will be zero, two or four games with five to play. Nick Blackburn and Rick Porcello are scheduled to start the day game, with Brian Duensing and Justin Verlander in the nightcap.