News from around the Central:
Matt Holliday returned to the Cardinals lineup for the first time since leaving Wednesday's game with left leg soreness. He went 1-3 with a walk in last night's game against the Royals.
Game 6 of the 1975 World Series between the Reds-Red Sox was chosen by the MLB network as the greatest game of the past 50 years. That game, of course, featured a 12th inning home run by Sox catcher Carlton Fisk.
Cubs pitcher Randy Wells should return next weekend, either Friday or Saturday, which is good news for our friends from down south.
Yesterday's action:
The Cardinals got shut out by the Kansas City Royals, 3-0. Chris Carpenter, who has struggled some this year, allowed all three Royals runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings while striking out five. Jon Jay went 2-4 with a stolen base for St. Louis, and both Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday had a hit and a walk.
OMG, have you heard that yesterday was the first time the Cubs played in Fenway since the 1918 World Series??!?!? Well, it didn't work out so hot for Chicago then and it didn't work out last night, either, as they got routed 15-5. Our old friend, Doug Davis, didn't have one of his better days, giving up seven runs in just 3.2 innings. The Red Sox amassed a whopping 19 hits and six walks against the baby bears. The Cubs also had four errors in this game, including two by Starlin Castro.
The Reds also had some problems in interleague, losing to the surprising Indians 5-4. Not much to say about this one. No standout offensive performances, Travis Wood had a mediocre at best start, and no Cleveland pitcher went more than three innings, despite giving up a total of two earned runs.
Surprisingly, it was the Pirates and Astros who represented the NL Central well in interleague. The Astros beat the Blue Jays 5-2 behind a 2-4, 2 RBI game from Hunter Pence and a 2-3, two run HR from Chris Johnson. All of the Astros runs were scored in the eighth and ninth innings after an outstanding Jo-Jo Reyes start on the Blue Jays side.
The Pirates crushed the Tigers 10-1. Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones all had a couple hits each and Walker launched a three run homer in the eighth inning. Jeff Karstens looks blinded the Tigers hitters enough so that they only scored one run on three hits in six innings off of him.
The Brewers just wouldn't quit last night and Yuni and Prince showed why we love (and also, in Yuni's case, can't stand) them.
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
| Cardinals | 26 | 20 | -- | 5-5 | L1 |
| Reds | 25 | 20 | 0.5 | 6-4 | L3 |
| Brewers | 22 | 23 | 3.5 | 7-3 | W1 |
| Pirates | 21 | 23 | 4.0 | 4-6 | W3 |
| Cubs | 19 | 24 | 5.5 | 4-6 | L1 |
| Astros | 16 | 29 | 9.5 | 3-7 | W1 |
On tap for today:
The Houston Astros, Brett Myers (1-3, 4.79), and Myers' badass beard take on Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.85) and the Blue Jays.
The Cardinals, Jake Westbrook (3-3, 6.07), and Westbrook's pitiful stats take on Nathan Adcock (1-0, 2.16) and the Royals.
The Reds, Homer Bailey (3-0, 1.89), and Bailey's great baseball name take on Josh Tomlin (5-1, 2.56) and the Indians.
The Pirates, Kevin Correia (5-4, 3.97), and Correia's unnoteableness take on Max Scherzer (6-0, 2.81) and the Tigers.
The Cubs, Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 4.89) and Zambrano's anger issues take on Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 2.60) and the Red Sox IN FENWAY FOR THE SECOND GAME SINCE 1918 OH MY GOD.
The Brewers, Shaun Marcum (5-1, 2.54) and his dirty hat get to crush the Rockies and Clayton Mortensen's (1-0, 2.01) spirits again. Yay!