Starting Five: Ichiro Streaking Again

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

You Oughta Know ...
That Ichiro Suzuki has another hitting streak going. Suzuki singled in his first at-bat on Saturday and ran his hitting streak to 23 consecutive games. Since Ichiro got to the big leagues in 2001, this is his seventh hitting streak of at least 20 games.

In that time, no one else in the majors has had more than two streaks of that length.

"It's not a fluke that a guy like that has consistency in his game," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "He's so strong mentally that you see the exact same approach day in and day out with him. Even if he does struggle a little bit, he seems to find a way to get either an infield hit, hit the ball the other way or pull the ball. So he has a lot of weapons, and obviously the ability to still run at his age allows him to do that."

Here's what's weird though. Although Ichiro has gotten to 20 seven times, he's never gotten past 25, the franchise record he set in 2007. Fifteen players have had hitting streaks of 26 games or more during that time.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

From The Trainer's Room ...
The Indians got bad news on two of their big sluggers. Catcher Victor Martinez fouled a ball off his left knee in the first inning and had to come out of the game. X-rays were negative, and he's listed as day-to-day. Meanwhile, designated hitter Travis Hafner's right shoulder acted up on him, preventing him from playing for Triple-A Columbus. Hafner was expected to be activated within a week, but that is now questionable.

Numbers Game ...
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard set a franchise record with his eighth career grand slam, including three this season. Howard belted a 475-foot shot into the third deck at Citizens Bank Park. Howard likes Nationals righty Shairon Martis. In his last three meetings with Martis, he's hit two grand slams and a solo homer.

In Their Own Words ...
"I won't be pitching to him with an open base [Sunday]. He's really in a groove." -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland, on Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott, who hit his sixth homer in four games since returning from the disabled list.

Advance Scouting ...
If you like pitchers who can hit, you'll want to check out Brewers righty Yovanni Gallardo and Reds righty Micah Owings when their square off in Milwaukee (2:05 PM ET). Gallardo has already hit two homers this year, and four in his career. Owings is a career .315 hitter. When he's not pitching, he often pinch-hits.