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News:
The Cubs have given a contract extension to farm director Oneri Fleita.
Francisco Coredero still says he wants to stay with the Reds after this season. Cincinnati holds a $12MM option for 2012 on Cordero.
Yesterday's Games:
The Brewers beat the Astros 8-2. You can find our recap here.
The Pirates beat the Cubs 7-5. After the Pirates tied the game 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning, the Cubs took the lead back in the bottom of the frame with a two run outburst of their own. With the Pirates down two in the ninth and the bases loaded against Carlos Marmol, Derrek Lee hit a grand slam to take the lead. Joel Hanrahan shut down the Cubs to end the game. Lee ended up 3-5 with five RBI in this game. Alfonso Soriano was 2-3 with four RBI and Aramis Ramirez was 2-3 with three runs scored. The Cubs are officially eliminated from the playoff race.
The Cardinals beat the Reds 6-4. The Reds scored a couple in the eighth as they tried to make a run, but couldn't overcome an early Cardinals lead, as St. Louis put up five total runs in the second and third innings. Jaime Garcia had a nice start, going six innings and giving up just one earned run while striking out six. Jay Bruce went 2-4 with a two run homer and Edgar Renteria had a three hit day. John Jay, Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Skip Schumaker each picked up a couple hits for the Cards.
Updated Standings:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | Elimination # |
|
|
Brewers |
83 | 57 | -- | 6-4 | W2 | -- |
| Cardinals | 74 | 65 | 8.5 | 7-3 | W1 |
15 |
| Reds | 68 | 71 | 14.5 |
5-5 | L1 | 9 |
| Pirates | 64 |
75 | 18.5 | 3-7 | W2 |
5 |
| Cubs | 59 | 80 | 23.5 | 3-7 | L3 | Done |
| Astros | 47 | 92 | 35.5 | 5-5 | L2 | Done |
The Wild Card race looks like this right now:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
|
Brewers* |
83 | 57 | -- | 6-4 | W2 |
|
Braves |
81 | 57 | 1.0 | 5-5 | L1 |
| Cardinals | 74 | 65 | 8.5 | 7-3 | W1 |
| Giants | 73 | 66 | 9.5 |
5-5 | L1 |
| Reds | 68 |
71 | 14.5 | 5-5 | L1 |
And here are the playoff participants, if the season ended today:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | |
| Phillies (East) | 88 | 47 | -- | 7-3 | L1 |
|
Brewers (Central) |
83 | 57 | 7.5 | 6-4 | W2 |
|
D-backs (West) |
79 | 60 | 11.0 | 9-1 | W1 |
|
Braves (Wild Card) |
81 | 57 | 8.5 |
5-5 | L1 |
Today's Matchups:
The Brewers send Shaun Marcum (11-5, 3.24) to the mound to combat the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez (10-9, 3.43).
Bronson Arroyo (8-11, 5.13) and the Reds take on Edwin Jackson (11-9, 3.83) and the Cardinals.
The Pirates and Cubs play again with Charlie Morton (9-8, 3.74) facing off against Randy Wells (6-4, 5.06).