Around the NL Central: May 1

News

As expected, the Pirates did call up 2007 first round pick Daniel Moskos to replace Evan Meek, who was placed on the 15 day DL.

The Astros made some lineup moves yesterday.  First, they took Nelson Figueroa out of the starting rotation and replaced him with Aneury Rodriguez.  Figueroa had an 8.28 ERA in five starts in 2011.  Then, they took Brett Wallace out of the lineup with a hip pointer contusion and took Carlos Lee out of the cleanup spot.

It might be a little bit tougher to beat the Cardinals if this turns out to be true:  Derrek Goold says that a good April for Lance Berkman usually signals a big year.

Starlin Castro won't move to second base anytime soon.

Yesterdays Games

The Astros beat the Brewers, despite Randy Wolf's best efforts.  Here's our recap.

The Cardinals won their fourth straight, beating the Atlanta Braves in the late innings once again.  This time, Atlanta held a 2-0 lead going into the eighth inning, but gave up two runs in that frame and the game winner in the ninth.  And, once again, they won on a triple as Gerald Laird drove in Matt Holliday.  David Freese went 2-4 and drove in both runs in the eighth. 

The Reds also didn't see many runs for a while in their game as they were shut out through seven innings.  The Marlins weren't much better, scoring just one solitary run in the first.  In the eighth, both teams struck with the Marlins scoring two more and the Reds countering with three of their own to tie the game.  Nobody scored in the ninth, so the game headed to extras.  It wouldn't last long, though, as the Reds walked off in the tenth on an Edgar Renteria single. 

The Cubs also won in late innings as the game was tied 3-3 going into the ninth before the Cubs scored two to win 5-3 against the Diamondbacks.  Alfonso Soriano went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI.  Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney both went 2-5 with an RBI each.

The Pirates lost to the Rockies 4-1.  All five runs were scored within the first two innings.  Andrew McCutchen went 2-4 with a home run for Pittsburgh.

Updated Standings

What's going on today?

The Cardinals go for the sweep against the Braves.  Jaime Garcia (3-0, 2.08) takes on Derek Lowe (2-3, 3.21)

The Brewers and Astros play their rubber match.  Chris Narveson (1-1, 4.33) goes against Bud Norris (1-1, 3.86).

The Pirates are shooting to win their series against the Rockies, throwing Charlie Morton (2-1, 3.00) against Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1, 6.75)

The Cubs and Casey Coleman (1-1, 7.43) go against the Diamondbacks and Daniel Hudson (1-4, 5.64)

Finally, the Reds look for a series win against the Marlins.  It's Bronson Arroyo (3-2, 3.64) versus Ricky Nolasco (2-0, 3.64)