Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.You Oughta Know ...
That a couple of game tying three-run homers threatened to make the NL wild-card chase really wild, but the teams that hit them both lost, leaving the Rockies three games up on the Braves with five games to go.
The excitement began in Atlanta, where the Braves' Matt Diaz hit a sixth-inning shot to erase a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Marlins responded with Jorge Cantu's tie-breaking single a half inning later, and Florida held on to snap the Braves' seven-game winning streak.
A few hours later, Rockies closer Huston Street was looking to convert his 27th consecutive save opportunity when he gave up a game-tying homer to the normally powerless Jason Kendall of the Brewers in the ninth. Like the Marlins, the Rockies overcame it, winning in the 11th on Chris Iannetta's two-run homer.
From The Trainer's Room ...
Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett said he is fine to make his final regular season start on Saturday. Beckett had his last start scratched because of mild back spasms. The Red Sox, who clinched the wild card because Texas lost late Tuesday night, also got good news on Mike Lowell. Lowell, who had two injections for pain in his hip, is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. Lefty Hideki Okajima was OK on Tuesday after missing four games because of a sore right side.
Numbers Game ...
The Cubs accomplished a goal that would seem rather modest, but not for them. By winning their 82nd game on Tuesday, they clinched a third consecutive winning season. It's only the second time in the past 70 years the Cubs have had three consecutive winning seasons. The other stretch (of six straight) was from 1967 to 1972.
In Their Own Words ..."You want to compete the best you can. You don't want to turn anything off. You can't turn it off and turn it on. Nobody is that good." -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, expressing concern that his team has lost some of its edge toward the end of the regular season. The Cardinals have lost four of their past five games, with the only victory in that span being the one that clinched the NL Central.
Advance Scouting ...
The Dodgers had a small celebration upon clinching a playoff spot, holding off on the big one until they clinched the division. That was three days ago. Los Angeles will try to snap a three-game losing streak when they play the Padres (10:05 PM ET) in San Diego. Any Dodgers win or Rockies loss will lock up the division for L.A. Needless to say, they'd like to have it over before the Rockies come to town on Friday.
