Starting Five: Texas Two Steps Back of Boston in Tightening Wild-Card Race

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 aren't going away, at least not yet.

On the eve of a critical series with the AL West-leading Angels, Texas got seven innings of three-run ball from unheralded rookie Tommy Hunter to beat the A's and stay 4 1/2 games back of Los Angeles in the division. The win also pulled them within two games of Boston, which lost to the Yankees, in the wild-card race.

Hunter is now 4-2 in seven starts since being recalled from Triple-A in late June -- a span over which he has a 2.32 ERA.

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"It's what I'm supposed to do," Hunter said. "We used the bullpen a lot lately, and we needed to be fresh going into Anaheim. The big thing was getting a win going into a big series."

From the Trainer's Room ...
The Red Sox are going to be short a few outfielders for the rest of the weekend in the Bronx. Boston placed the oft-injured Rocco Baldelli on the disabled list as he recovers from fouling a ball off of his foot during batting practice. The move was related to an injury to Jason Bay, who is likely to miss the entire weekend series against the Yankees. Though Baldelli will be ready to return before his 15-day stint is up, the Red Sox made the move so they could call up rookie Josh Reddick to share time in the outfield while Bay is out.

Numbers Game ...
Rick Porcello became the third pitcher in the last 22 years to win 10 games in a season at the age of 20 or younger as the Tigers cruised past the Orioles 7-3 Thursday afternoon.

"I'm definitely honored to be mentioned in that category," Porcello said. "I'm definitely more happy to help the team out, help us try to stay in first place."

Porcello won't turn 21 until December.

In Their Own Words ...

"It's going to be exciting when [Vlad] gets hot. We're all going to get on base, and he's going to drive in a lot of runs and we're going to score a lot of runs. When he and Torii Hunter both come back, the length of the lineup is going to be stronger." -- Bobby Abreu on Angels teammate and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero, who homered for the first time since July 5 as Los Angeles avoided a sweep at the hands of the White Sox.

Advance Scouting ...
If the Marlins want to seriously challenge the Phillies for the NL East crown, Friday might be the time to start making a move. Florida will send Ricky Nolasco to the mound as it opens a series at division-leading Philadelphia (7:05 PM ET). Joe Blanton takes the hill for the Phillies, who lead the Marlins and Braves by seven games in the standings.