There's no surer sign that the NL Central is an abysmal division than the fact that the team playing the best in the stretch run is the fifth-place Pirates. They won their third game in four nights against a contender for the division crown in a 9-0 laugher over the Brewers. The loss knocked the Brew Crew back into a tie with the Cubs for first place and while their chances of ultimately winning the thing weren't dealt too horrible a blow it's hard to get too excited about a team that gets four-hit by Tony Armas, Franquelis Osoria and Romulo Sanchez. The Brewers lack of success in Pittsburgh isn't a new thing. They've lost 41 of 60 games at PNC Park since it opened in 2001 and have lost four of five to the Buccos this season. If two teams with .510 winning percentages tied for a division lead isn't illustrative enough the Pirates, 64-80 after last night's win, are less than 10 games out of first in September. Someone has to win this thing but the word winner has never been more loosely defined.
- The Cubs and Cardinals had to make up a game on Monday afternoon and the one-day respite from the road did the Cubbies well. They pounded Joel Piniero for eight hits and six runs en route to a 12-3 win that pushed them back to the top of their town dump. Aramis Ramirez did the heavy lifting offensively with a pair of home runs and Ted Lilly cruised to his 15th win thanks to all of the run support. The Cubs are off to Houston for three before resuming their rivalry with the Cardinals this weekend in St. Louis.
- Is Scott Kazmir the best pitcher on a terrible team or is he a tease who will never put together a truly great season? There's a vote for the fprmer after the diminuitive lefty shut down the Red Sox 1-0 on Monday. He struck out 10 over seven innings and shaved a half-game off Boston's East lead. There's also a vote for the latter. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were both MIA for the Sox who batted Bobby Kielty fifth.
- Note to Central teams, this is how you close out a division. The Diamondbacks won their sixth straight game on Monday night to extend their division lead to three and a half games over San Diego. Jeff Salazar played Kirk Gibson, shrugging off a sprained ankle to hit a three-run, game-winning ninth inning homer that beat the Giants 5-3 in San Francisco.
- Note to Central teams, if you aren't going to win anything please lose spectacularly. The Mariners lost their 14th game in 16 tries and lost it by allowing two grand slams to Oakland in a 9-3 loss. It's the second time the A's have pulled off that feat in 106 years as a professional baseball outfit making Monday's loss a memorable one in the neverending onslaught of misery for the Pacific Northwest.
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
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