Brewers Rise, Reds Slide

Wednesday, May 11 2005 @ 09:45 AM EDT

Contributed by: Pepper Moffatt

He snatches at you and you match his cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake

Standings as of May 11th, 2005

TEAM               W     L     PCT   GB   2WK		
St. Louis         20    12    .625   -   (7-7)
Milwaukee         16    16    .500   4   (9-4)
Chicago           14    18    .438   6   (4-8)
Pittsburgh        14    18    .438   6   (7-6)
Cincinnati        12    20    .375   8   (2-10)
Houston           12    20    .375   8   (4-9)

St. Louis - 1st Place - 7-7 Last 2 Weeks

Noteworthy Transactions:

April 28: Jason Isringhausen put on 15-Day DL with strained right abdominal muscle.

Record Last 2 Weeks:
1-1 vs. Brewers (at home)
1-2 vs. Braves (away)
3-0 vs. Reds (away)
1-3 vs. Padres (at home)
1-1 vs. Dodgers (at home)

Noteworthy Performances:

April 28: With Isringhausen on the DL, reliever Al Reyes collects his first save of the season in a 6-5 win over the Braves. He's collected two since, one in a 4-2 win against the Reds on May 3rd and the other in a 4-2 victory over the Dodgers on May 9th.

May 2nd: Cardinals score 7 runs in the 9th inning to beat the Reds 10-9. It was the greatest come-from-behind victory in the team's history. Jim Edmonds and John Mabry both homered in the 9th.

May 8th: In his major league debut reliever Brad Thompson notched a save by pitching the final three innings of a 15-5 win over the Padres. Larry Walker went 3 for 3 in that game with a home run.

May 9th: Mark Mulder strikes out 12 as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 4-2. Mulder improved his record to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.70. Albert Pujols collected all 4 Cardinal RBIs by hitting 2 homeruns.

Milwaukee - 2nd Place - 9-4 Last 2 Weeks

Noteworthy Transactions:

April 30: Ben Sheets on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 21, with a viral infection.

Record Last 2 Weeks:
1-1 vs. Cardinals (away)
3-0 vs. Reds (home)
3-0 vs. Cubs (home)
1-2 vs. Mets (home)
1-1 vs. Phillies (home)

Noteworthy Performances:

May 1st: 1B Lyle Overbay goes 5-for-5 against the Reds, as the Brewers cruised to a 13-3 win. This was the last game of a 3 game series sweep against Cincinnati.

May 3rd: Chris Capuano strikes out 6 and gives up only one run over 7 innings as the Brewers defeat the Cubs 4-1. Second baseman Bill Hall goes 3-for-4 hitting out of the #2 spot in the order.

May 8th: Closer Derek Turnbow picks up a win as the Brewers score a single run in the 9th to beat the Mets 5-4. Turnbow has also collected 3 saves in the last two weeks.

Chicago - 3rd Place (T) - 4-8 Last 2 Weeks

Noteworthy Transactions:

May 4: Kerry Wood on 15-day DL with a strained muscle in his right shoulder.

Record Last 2 Weeks:
1-0 vs. Reds (home)
1-2 vs. Astros (away)
0-3 vs. Brewers (away)
1-2 vs. Phillies (home)
1-1 vs. Mets (home)

Noteworthy Performances:

May 6th: Mark Prior strikes out 10 over 8 innings while giving up only one run. The Cubs entered the 9th inning up 2-1, but would end up losing the game 3-2 on a fluke play:

    LaTroy Hawkins caught Placido Polanco's line drive back to the mound and threw to first base for what could have been a game-ending double play. The ball hit Jose Offerman's helmet and ricocheted deep into the stands, allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score. (Source: ESPN)
May 8th: Carlos Zambrano pitches a complete game 2-1 beating the Phillies and Brett Myers, who threw 8 complete innings. The only damage against Zambrano came from a Bobby Abreu homerun. The Cubs scored both of their runs from 4th inning homeruns - one by Aramis Ramirez and the other by Neifi Perez(?!?).

May 10th: Greg Maddux strikes out 10 as the Cubs beat the Mets 7-0. The Cubs homered in 4 consecutive innings (3rd Corey Patterson, 4th Jason Dubois, 5th Corey Patterson, 6th Jeromy Burnitz).

Pittsburgh - 3rd Place (T) - 7-6 Last 2 Weeks

Noteworthy Transactions:

May 6: Recalled 2B Jose Castillo from 15-day DL.

May 9: Placed Craig Wilson on the 15-day DL with a finger injury. Released Benito Santiago.

Record Last 2 Weeks:
1-0 vs. Astros (home)
0-3 vs. Giants (home)
2-1 vs. Astros (away)
3-1 vs. DBacks (away)
1-1 vs. Giants (away)

Noteworthy Performances:

April 27th: Kip Wells throws 7th shutout innings as the Pirates beat the Astros 2-0. Rick White pitched a scoreless 8th inning for his 3rd hold of the season and Jose Mesa recorded his career 300th save for his work in the 9th. Canadian Jason Bay went 3-for-4 in the game and collected an RBI.

May 9th: Mark Redman pitches 8 innings giving up only 6 hits and 2 runs. However, the Pirates lose 2-1 thanks to brilliant pitching by Brett Tomko of the Giants. For the season Redman has a 2.91 ERA and a 1-3 record.

May 10th: Jose Mesa pitches a scoreless 9th inning to pick up the save as the Pirates beat the Giants 5-2. The save was the 12th(!) for Mesa this season and the scoreless inning dropped Jose's ERA down to 2.25. Mesa has collected 5 saves in the last two weeks.

Cincinnati - 5th Place (T) - 2-10 Last 2 Weeks

Noteworthy Transactions:

May 1: Activated Ramon Ortiz from 15-day DL.

May 10: Placed Wily Mo Pena on 15-day DL with a strained left quadriceps and Ben Weber with a bulging disc in his neck.

Record Last 2 Weeks:
0-1 vs. Cubs (away)
0-3 vs. Brewers (away)
0-3 vs. Cardinals (home)
1-2 vs. Dodgers (home)
1-1 vs. Padres (home)

Noteworthy Performances:

April 27th: Former Blue Jay Felipe Lopez hits a grand slam, but the Red still lose 8-7 to the Cubs. Austin Kearns went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.

May 7th: Reds snap 8 game losing streak by beating the Dodgers 11-3. Relievers David Weathers, Kent Mercker, and Ryan Wagner threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief during the win. 2B D'Angelo Jimenez goes 3-for-3, raising his batting average to .225.

May 10th: The Reds use 6 different pitchers in a 5-1 win over the Padres. Starter Brandon Claussen had to come out of the game in the 4th inning after taking a line-drive off of his pitching arm. Sean Casey went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI.

Houston - 5th Place (T) - 4-9 Last 2 Weeks

Noteworthy Transactions:

May 6: Activated Lance Berkman from 15-day DL.

Record Last 2 Weeks:
0-1 vs. Pirates (away)
2-1 vs. Cubs (home)
1-2 vs. Pirates (home)
0-4 vs. Braves (away)
1-1 vs. Marlins (away)

Noteworthy Performances:

May 2nd: The Astros beat the Pirates 11-4 as Morgan Ensberg goes 3-for-3 and Craig Biggio goes 3-for-5 with a homerun. Andy Pettite allowed only 3 runs over 7 2/3 innings and picked up the win, raising his record to 2-2.

May 4th: Roger Clemens strikes out 8 and gives up 2 runs over 7 innings, but the Astros lose 6-4 to the Pirates as reliever Brad Lidge gives up 3 runs in the 9th inning.

May 9th: Roger Clemens pitches 7 innings of scoreless 4 hit ball as the Astros defeat the Marlins 2-1. Roger's ERA falls to 1.10 and his record improves to 2-1 on the year. Orlando Palmeiro collects both RBI for the Astros.

Key Questions

1. Can anyone catch the Cardinals?

2. If the Cubs and Astros continue to falter, how long will it take them to deal off some veterans. Who will likely be on the trading block?

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