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News:
The Cardinals called up outfielder Shane Robinson to the major leagues. Robinson has hit well when healthy this year--he's only played in 43 games due to suffering facial and hand injuries in an outfield collision. To make room for him on the 40 man roster, St. Louis transferred Lance Lynn to the 60 day DL.
Reds' pitching coach Bryan Price believes that Aroldis Chapman should be in the starting rotation. At least part of the reason Price feels that way is due to how it would allow him to have more time to work with Chapman between appearances.
Pirates' star outfielder Andrew McCutchen had a scary moment yesterday as he was hit on the hand by a pitch. However, it doesn't appear it's broken and early signs point to him having a bone contusion.
Nobody knows where Carlos Zambrano is, but what we do know is that he will not be pitching for the Cubs again this season.
The Cubs also called up first baseman Brian LaHair.
Yesterday's Games:
All the NL Central was playing against one another yesterday. The Brewers came out winning 8-2 against the Astros. You can find our recap here.
The Pirates beat the Cubs 3-1. Nothing too special happened in this one--Carlos Pena hit a homerun for the Cubs in the second just before the Pirates scored two runs of their own. Pittsburgh would add one more insurance run later in the game, resulting in the final score. Alex Presley had a great day, going 3-4 with a triple and a run scored, and James Harrison picked up a couple hits, including a double, and an RBI. In his first start this season, Brian Burress held Chicago to just one run in 5.1 innings and struck out five hitters. Ryan Dempster also had a very nice start, giving up three runs in 6.1 innings while striking out nine.
The Reds beat the Cardinals 11-8. The Reds had a big five run second inning, but the Cardinals scored two in the second, one in the third, and two more in the fifth to tie it up. Both teams would score one more in the sixth before the Reds took a two run lead in the seventh. The Cards worked at getting the tie back as they scored one in the eighth, but a three run ninth inning for Cincinnati sealed the Redbirds fates. As you might expect, there are a ton of offensive accomplishments, so I'll let you click the link to the box score rather than list them all here.
Updated Standings:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | Elimination # |
|
|
Brewers |
82 | 57 | -- | 5-5 | W1 | -- |
| Cardinals | 73 | 65 | 8.5 | 6-4 | L1 |
16 |
| Reds | 68 | 70 | 13.5 |
5-5 | W1 | 11 |
| Pirates | 63 |
75 | 18.5 | 3-7 | W1 |
6 |
| Cubs | 59 | 79 | 22.5 | 3-7 | L2 | 2 |
| Astros | 47 | 91 | 34.5 | 5-5 | L1 | Done |
The Wild Card race looks like this right now:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
|
Braves |
81 | 56 | -- | 6-4 | L1 |
|
Brewers* |
82 | 57 | -- | 5-5 | W1 |
| Cardinals | 73 | 65 | 8.5 | 6-4 | L1 |
| Giants | 73 | 65 | 8.5 |
5-5 | W2 |
| Reds | 68 |
70 | 13.5 | 5-5 | W1 |
And here are the playoff participants, if the season ended today:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
| Phillies (East) | 88 | 46 | -- | 7-3 | W5 |
|
Brewers (Central) |
82 | 57 | 8.5 | 5-5 | W1 |
|
D-backs (West) |
78 | 59 | 12.0 | 9-1 | L1 |
|
Braves (Wild Card) |
81 | 56 | 8.5 |
6-4 | L1 |
Today's Matchups:
It's a battle of stalwart ERAs as Ross Ohlendorf (0-1, 6.27) and the Pirates take on Casey Coleman (2-7, 7.14) and the Cubs.
Homer Bailey (7-6, 4.35) takes the mound for the Reds as they go against Jaime Garcia (10-7, 3.73) and the Cardinals.
The Narv-Dog (9-6, 4.28) makes his (hopefully) triumphant return to the rotation as the Brewers and Astros do battle. Bud Norris (6-8, 3.68) is on the mound for Houston.