News:
Edinson Volquez is back with the Reds or, at least, he will be Tuesday when he will make the start for Cincinnati. Volquez was sent down to AAA a couple of weeks ago after walking nearly every batter in the major leagues.
The MLB amateur draft is tomorrow already and Pittsburgh has the first overall pick. Apparently they have plenty of choices for said pick. Like everyone eligible.
Also, if you haven't heard by now, the Astros released Bill Hall.
It was a pretty slow news day in the central.
Yesterday's Games:
The Reds lost to the Dodgers 8-11 in eleven innings. The two teams were tied at seven apiece at the end of nine, but LA scored an insurmountable four runs in the eleventh frame. The Reds rallied a little bit in their dieing breath, scoring one run and bringing Brandon Phillips to the plate as the tieing run, but he lined out to end the game. Despite the high scoring game, Johnny Cueto was once again very good for the reds, going seven innings and allowing just two runs. The next three pitchers after him--Nick Masset, Bill Bray and Logan Andrusek--combined to give up five runs in one inning, though. Joey Votto had yet another great game, going 2-4 with a three run home run. Ramon Hernandez and Chris Heisey both went 2-3 with Hernandez scoring two runs and driving in one and Heisey driving in two and scoring one. Drew Stubbs and Phillips both had a couple hits, as well, and each drove in one run and scored one run.
The Pirates won their second straight game against the Phillies by the score of 6-3 and are now just a game from .500. Charlie Morton continued his great season, going seven innings and allowing two runs while striking out five Phillies hitters. Andrew McCuthen had a 3-4 day and drove in two runs while scoring one and Brandon Wood hit a HR for the Pirates. Lyle Overbay also went 3-4 and managed to get a triple somewhere in there.
Houston lost to the Padres 3-6. Not much of note in this one. Aneury Rodriguez met the minimum requirements for a quality start, Clint Barmes hit a home run and Michael Bourn went 2-5.
The Cubs couldn't outlast the Cardinals as St. Louis won 5-4 in 12 innings. Randy Wells had a quiet return to the Cubs rotation, allowing four runs in 5.2 innings while striking out just one batter. He also gave up just three hits and a walk. Carlos Pena went 2-5 with a two run home run and Kosuke Fukodome had a three hit game. Tony Campana also went 2-5 with an RBI and run scored. For the Cards, His Holiness may finally be getting back to form. Today He went 3-4 with four RBI and three runs scored. He also hit two home runs, a two run shot and a solo shot. The latter was the game winner.
The Brewers kept pace with St. Louis, winning 3-2 against the Marlins. Here's our recap.
Updated Standings:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
| Cardinals | 35 | 25 | -- | 5-5 | W2 |
| Brewers | 32 | 26 | 2.0 | 7-3 | W2 |
| Reds | 30 | 29 | 4.5 | 4-6 | L1 |
| Pirates | 28 | 29 | 5.5 | 6-4 | W2 |
| Cubs | 23 | 33 | 10.0 | 2-8 | L5 |
| Astros | 23 | 36 | 11.5 | 5-5 | L2 |
Today's Games:
Travis Wood (4-3, 5.05) and the Reds take on Chad Billingsley (4-4, 3.46) and the Dodgers.
Chris Narveson (2-4, 4.68) takes the mound for the Brewers, facing Anibal Sanchez (5-1, 2.57) and the Marlins in the third game of a four game series.
The Pirates go for a sweep against the Phillies. James McDonald (3-3, 4.85) gets the call and he'll be facing Roy Halladay (7-3, 2.56).
The Cubs and Carlos Zambrano (5-2, 4.23) can hopefully win a game against the Cardinals and Chris Carpenter (1-5, 4.52).
Twenty year old Jordan Lyles (0-0, 2.57) gets his second career major league start for the Astros as they take on the Padres and Mat Latos (3-6, 3.97)/