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 Braves are all but done in the NL wild-card race, not that there was anything they could do about it. Atlanta, which had surged into contention over the last few weeks, ran into the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco Wednesday night.
He was on -- very on -- and now the Braves' playoff push is off.
Nolasco struck out 16, a Marlins record, including a stretch where he fanned nine in a row, one shy of the major league record of 10 straight held by Tom Seaver.
"I haven't had that feeling since high school, when you pretty much have a good idea what's going to happen," said Nolasco. "I would never think I would strike out this many hitters against this lineup."Any Braves loss or Rockies win over the final four days of the regular season will mathematically eliminate Atlanta.
From the Trainer's Room ...
Stop us if you've heard this one before: A Met suffered an injury setback. All-Start shortstop Jose Reyes, out since May 20 with an assortment of nagging hamstring injuries including a torn tendon, further damaged the area, meaning he will almost certainly require surgery in the offseason. Reyes, who relies on his speed as much as any player in baseball, is now not a sure thing to be ready for spring training next year.
Numbers Game ...
Roy Halladay threw his ninth complete game of the season against a vastly depleted Red Sox lineup. It's the third time Halladay has gone the distance nine times in a season. Only five other pitchers have thrown that many completes game in a season this decade -- all of them once -- and only CC Sabathia last year exceeded that total. Doc has 47 complete games since 2000, 11 more than the next closest pitcher, Livan Hernandez.
"It's obviously a nice way to finish," Halladay said. "It's fun when you get runs like that. It takes a lot of the pressure off."
In Their Own Words ... "I'm sure he had pine tar on his cap. He didn't have any problem getting a grip. Balls like that can generate a lot more movement than a slick ball that hasn't been rubbed up." -- Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan on Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo. Duncan insinuated that Arroyo had pine tar on his cap during St. Louis' 6-1 loss and complained to the umpiring crew that the baseballs being used at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati weren't rubbed up properly. Apparently clinching a playoff spot did little to take the Cardinals off edge.
Advance Scouting ...
Weren't the Rockies just clinging to the wild-card lead over the Braves? All of sudden Colorado's magic number is one and it'll take its first crack at clinching a playoff spot in a Thursday matinee against the Brewers. Aaron Cook will start for the Rockies against Milwaukee's Manny Parra (3:10 PM ET). If Cook can deliver, Colorado will head to Los Angeles for the final three games of the season with a real chance to pass the NL West-leading Dodgers, who are 2 1/2 games ahead in the standings.
