News from around the Central:
- Ryan Theriot makes his first trip to Wrigley Field as a Cardinal on Tuesday, and, provided they're paying attention to the game, the denizens of the Friendly Confines might have a thing or two to say to him in the wake of Theriot's "I'm on the right side of the rivalry now" comments over the winter.
- To make room for Johnny Cueto on the active roster, the Reds optioned reliever Carlos Fisher to AAA Louisville. Fisher appeared in just three games after being recalled from Louisville on April 23.
- The Pirates improved to 17-17 with yesterday's win over Houston (more on that below). It's been a while since Pittsburgh was in the rarified air of .500 this late in a season. Rum Bunter takes a look back at the last time the Bucs were over .500 in May.
- Jason Bourgeois's strained oblique is serious enough to warrant a trip to the disabled list, meaning that former Brewer Joe Inglett is coming back to Houston from AAA Oklahoma City.
- After a 4-for-24 performance with men in scoring position in this weekend's series with the Reds, the Cubs are now hitting .213 with RISP for the year. When there aren't men on base, Chicago is hitting .268 as a team, good for second in the NL.
Yesterday's action:
- Milwaukee ended a disastrous 10-game road trip with another punchless performance at the dish, falling meekly to St. Louis, 3-1. Our recap is here.
- Johnny Cueto came out firin' in his season debut for the Reds, throwing six innings without giving up a run and striking out four as Cincinnati blanked Chicago, 2-0. Drew Stubbs provided all the offense the Reds needed with a fifth-inning homer off Ryan Dempster, and Francisco Cordero threw a clean ninth inning one day after blowing his first save of the season.
- Pittsburgh climbed back to .500 with come-from-behind, 5-4 win over Houston. The Pirates trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but Ryan Doumit changed all that with a three-run bomb off Fernando Abad. James McDonald turned in a solid six-inning start for Pittsburgh, striking out eight without giving up a run.
Your updated standings for May 9:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
| Cardinals | 20 | 15 | -- | 6-4 | W1 |
| Reds | 18 | 16 | 1.5 | 6-4 | W1 |
| Pirates | 17 | 17 | 2.5 | 6-4 | W2 |
| Cubs | 15 | 18 | 4.0 | 5-5 | L1 |
| Brewers | 14 | 20 | 5.5 | 2-8 | L1 |
| Astros | 13 | 21 | 6.5 | 4-6 | L2 |
On tap for tonight:
- Cincinnati travels to Houston for a 7:05 p.m. CDT game at Minute Maid Park. The Reds start Travis Wood (1-3, 6.21) and the Astros counter with
WandyAneury Rodriguez (0-0, 4.15). - The Dodgers pay a visit to the Steel City for a four-game series with the Pirates. Tonight's game starts at 6:05 p.m. CDT and features L.A.'s Chad Billingsley (2-1, 3.92) and Pittsburgh's Jeff Karstens (2-1, 4.05).
- The Cubs and Cardinals take the day off before beginning a three-game series tomorrow in Chicago.