Starting Five: Russell Martin, Brendan Ryan Slam Their Teams to Wins

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

You Oughta Know ...
That Russell Martin and Brendan Ryan felt just grand last night.

The Dodgers catcher and Cardinals' shortstop both swatted grand slams for some rare RBI as their division-leading teams won.

Martin's sixth-inning blast broke a tie with the Cubs, and the Dodgers went on to win 7-2. His four RBI on that swing were more than he had in the previous 21 games. It was also Martin's first homer since July 26 and his fourth of the season after hitting 13 a year ago.

"I haven't trotted around the bases too often this year," Martin said. "It was nice just to get a breather."

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Ryan had never before had more than three RBI in a game, and he went into last night with five career home runs and just one in the past 12 months, on June 22.

But he connected off San Diego's Tim Stauffer in the second inning after Stauffer hit two batters and walked one, and St. Louis won 5-1.

"Every day I'm trying to prove to myself, to prove to the other team, prove to everybody that I belong," Ryan said. "I want to play at this level a long time."

From the Trainer's Room ...
Attention Angels, Tigers, Cubs, Marlins and anyone else who could use bullpen help: Billy Wagner looked pretty good last night.

In his first game after about 11 months after major elbow surgery, Wagner hit 96 on the radar gun and showed a decent slider as he struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning for the Mets.

One note about the possibility of the Mets' trading Wagner: despite missing most of this season, he should still wind up a Type-A free agent. So the acquiring team would have to risk offering him arbitration to get the two draft picks as compensation if he left.

Numbers Game ...
Tampa Bay Opening Day starter James Shields, who took the loss Thursday against Baltimore, has one win since June 20. Shields, who tied the franchise record last year with 14 wins, is 7-10 with a 3.81 ERA. Over his past 11 starts, Shields is 1-5 with a 4.44 ERA. He also has the lowest run support in the AL.

In Their Own Words ...
"Again, baseball is something you can't figure. He only hit three down there in the minors, and then he comes up here and hits one. What a dramatic way to get your first home run." -- Reds manager Dusty Baker on rookie Drew Stubbs, who beat the Giants with a walkoff, 10th-inning homer off the foul pole in his second big-league game.

Advance Scouting ...
Two series between playoff contenders open tonight. It's the usual Armageddon when the Yankees visit the Red Sox (7:10 PM ET). In the series opener, Brad Penny goes for Boston, 6 1/2 games back of New York in the AL East, against Andy Pettitte. Later, the Giants visit the Rockies (9:10 PM ET) as the two NL wild-card leaders go head-to-head. Aaron Cook starts for Colorado against Jonathan Sanchez, who is 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA in six starts since his July 10 no-hitter.