Around the NL Central: May 29 Edition

News:

The Pirates placed RP Joe Beimel on the DL and recalled Daniel Moskos to take his place. 

In a much more exciting move, the Astros have placed top pitcher Wandy Rodriguez on the DL due to lef elbow joint effusion.  Called up to take his place is Houston's top pitching prospect Jordan Lyles, a 20 year old who had a 3.20 ERA at AAA Oklahoma.  Lyles will make his debut Tuesday against the Cubs.

The Cardinals have advanced top prospect Shelby Miller to AA Springfield.

Yesterday's Games:

The Brewers rocked the Giants socks yesterday.  You can find our recap here.

The Astros lost yet again, this time to the Diamondbacks by the score of 11-3.  Bud Norris made it through five innings, allowing six runs, though only two of them were earned.  Jose Valdez didn't exactly have a banner night out of the bullpen, either, giving up five runs in two innings, including a two run blast to Gerardo Parra.  Hitting-wise, Clint Barmes and Carlos Lee both went 2-4, with a run each.  Lee also had an RBI.

The Reds just can't buy a break as their slump just continues on.  This time, they lost to the Braves 7-6 in the 12th inning of their game last night.  Cincinnati had been up 6-5 after scoring in the fifth inning, but Atlanta scored in the bottom half of that frame and won the game seven innings later when Chipper Jones singled in Jordan Schafer.  Bronson Arroyo didn't have the best of nights as he could only make it three innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk.  The Reds ended up using a total of seven different pitchers in this game.  Jonny Gomes had a nice game, going 4-5 with two runs scored and Drew Stubbs went 3-7 with three RBI and a run.  Brandon Phillips also picked up a couple of hits and Joey Votto went 2-4 and also walked twice. 

It just wasn't a great night for much of the Centrals starting pitching.  Jaime Garcia managed just 3.1 innings and gave up a whopping twelve runs (eleven earned) on eleven hits and four walks as the Cardinals lost to the Rockies 15-4.  Garcia's ERA went from 1.93 before the game to 3.28 after, a difference of 1.35.  Jon Jay was 3-5 with a run and Tony Cruz and Ryan Theriot both picked up a couple hits.  The Rockies Chris Iannetta must be feeling good after going 4-6 with two HR, six RBI, and two runs. 

Paul Maholm pitched a great game against the Cubs as the Pirates won 10-0.  Maholm went all nine innings and gave up just three hits while striking out four.  Randy Wells, on the other hand, only made it through four and gave up five runs on five hits and three walks, though he did strike out seven.  Andrew McCutchen has been hitting pretty well since moving to the three spot in the batting order.  Today, he went 2-4 with 2 RBI and 2 Runs.  Neil Walker also went 2-4 with a run.  The Cubs only hits came from Alfonso Soriano, Darwin Barney, and Luis Montanez.

Updated Standings:

Today's Matchups:

J.A. Happ (3-6, 4.99) tries to net the Astros a win, but Houston will have to go through the Diamondbacks and Josh Collmenter (3-1, 1.19)

The Pirates go for the sweep against the Cubs as Jeff Karstens (3-3, 3.57) faces Ryan Dempster (3-4, 6.29).

Kyle Lohse (6-2, 2.06) and the Cardinals go for the series win against the Rockies and Jhoulys Chacin (5-3, 3.09).

Johnny Cueto (2-1, 2.19) looks to build on his strong season as the struggling Reds take on the Braves and Jair Jurrjens (6-1, 1.56).

We see another outstanding pitching matchup in the Brewers-Giants series as Matt Cain (3-3, 3.53) and Yovani Gallardo (6-2, 4.35) do battle.