Boxscore

The Pirates won thanks to a great start from Ian Snell and a gutsy performance from close Matt Capps. The win brings Pittsburgh back to 2 games below .500.

Capps had been used on three consecutive nights–blowing the save and losing the game the previous day–and was told by manager John Russell that he wouldn’t be pitching. Capps disagreed and requested to be considered.

Whether it was a good decision or not is hard to say. Obviously, the Pirates won, but how will Capps rebound later? Four consecutive appearances rarely turn out as a good thing for pitchers, but then again, Capps was hitting the mid-90s with his fastball. We’ll see. He’s one of the few bright spots on the Pirates team, and I’d hate to see him broken just to get a win here and there. However, since it is the Pirates, maybe that’s worth quite a bit, since they do usually only get a win here and there.

An afternoon game wraps up the series today as Jason Bergmann starts against Tom Gorzelanny at 12:35pm EDT.

Sure, it’s a battle between Braden Looper and Johnny Cueto, but will it really be much of a battle without Goliath Pujols on the field? Come on.

OK, yeah, in fact it’ll be a much more fair battle without Goliath Pujols on the field.

Will Jay Bruce crack under the pressure of leading off? Will Paul Janish be the next shortstop to go? Will Griffey be Seattle-bound before the end of the game? That’s what makes the game exciting, baby.

Boxscore

Ted Lilly was terrible in his first inning of work yesterday, but settled down for the next 5 2/3 innings, letting the offense bail him out.

The Cubs bullpen wasn’t so hot, either, allowing 2 runs in less than 3 innings, but it was good enough. Easy to get a win when your offense scores 10 runs.

Chicago continues to own everyone who steps inside the friendly confines. Well, at least their offense does. The team’s pitching staff still has lots of question marks, like all teams in the NL Central.

Jeff Bennett starts against Ryan Dempster tonight at 8:05pm EDT, with Dempster attempting to continue his hard-to-believe season.

Boxscore

Roy Oswalt had his best outing of the year by far, dominating the Brewers in 7 innings of work. Astros fans are happy everywhere today.

If Oswalt returns to his Cy Young self, the Astros rotation will receive a healthy shot in the arm, that’s for sure. And this time it won’t be Roger Clemens or Miguel Tejada holding the needle.

Oswalt struck out 10, allowing only one run on a solo shot from Ryan Braun.

The same two teams face off again tonight when Manny Parra battles Brandon Backe at 8:05pm EDT.

Boxscore

Reds rookie starter Homer Bailey lived up to his name, allowing two homers in 3 2/3 innings yesterday. Not a good outing for the kid as he continues to show he needs more practice at the big league level.

Bailey probably should have been getting this from the beginning of the season, but the Reds had delusions of adequacy for far too long. The only future the Reds have is in their young talent, and there’s not really any reason to let them waste away in the minors at this point.

As for the Cardinals, their delusions of adequacy have proven quite true. Somehow. Albert Pujols went down for at least a few days with a calf strain, but I have a feeling that his absence, even combined with that of Adam Wainwright, Jason Isringhausen, and a cast of thousands, will not derail St. Louis in their quest to sweep the Reds.

It’s Braden Looper versus Johnny Cueto tonight at 7:10pm EDT.