Cubs Brewers

Cubs Brewers

Cubs Brewers

This Week In The NL Central: Perfect Time For Astros Revival

Almost overnight, the Houston Astros have to being feeling great about their chances of getting back to the World Series.

Roger Clemens was back in the fold Wednesday, ending his post-retirement drama by signing with the Astros for another year. The 43-year-old, who won his seventh Cy Young Award in 2004 (18-4, 2.98 ERA), was 13-8 with a 1.87 ERA last year, winning the major league ERA title for the first time since 1990.

It also helped that the Astros rallied to beat NL Central-leading St. Louis Tuesday night, getting into their bullpen and rallying for a 6-3 win.The Astros are within shouting distance right now, and the return of Clemens will do a lot to re-energize this team.

Rallying against the strong St. Louis bullpen was also huge. Nothing is more of a confidence booster than coming back to steal a win on the road, especially when every game against the division really counts as two. The St. Louis bullpen has been great in May. Closer Jason Isringhausen saved 10 in a row, and the bullpen hadn't lost a game since May 2.

A game like that gives the Astros a boost and also puts a bit of doubt in the mind of the Cardinals. They aren't feeling as comfortable these days, with
injuries starting to mount. Center fielder Jim Edmonds hasn't started in four days because of a possible sports hernia, and ace Chris Carpenter is nursing a sore shoulder. He has missed two starts and is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. He may start Monday or Tuesday,but the Cardinals are taking a wait-and-see approach.

"Get him back and keep him back,'' Manager Tony La Russa said. ""That's the goal.''

CUBS FEELING BETTER: Kerry Wood has his first win, and Mark Prior made a rehab start. That' has optimism on the rise again in Chicago, despite the dismal May the Cubs have had.

A brutal stretch where they went 6-24 has the boo-birds out, but the Cubs turn to Carlos Zambrano (3-2, 5.52 ERA) tonight as they go for a three-game
sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds are struggling, having lost five of six. Zambrano (3-2, 5.52 ERA) has won three of his past four starts. On Friday, he allowed two runs and two hits and struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings but did not get a decision against Atlanta. Zambrano lost to the Reds on April 13, surrendering five runs in six innings, but he is pitching better lately and seems ready to turn his season around. This is the good spot for the Cubs tonight (Wagerweb.com game line: Cubs -165). They need another win before starting a 10-game road trip through St. Louis, Houston and Cincinnati.

PIRATES ROCKING, BREWERS REELING: The Pittsburgh Pirates have won four of five and scored in double figures three times during this hot streak. They play much better at home (14-12, as opposed to 4-18 on the road). Outfielder Jason Bay has been on fire,hitting .500 last week (13-for-26) with seven homers, 15 RBIs and 11 runs. Their 23 homers in the past 12 games are the most in the majors& nbsp;during that span.

Milwaukee starters Ben Sheets, Tomo Ohka and Rick Helling are all out, which explains why the Brewers can't get anyone out lately.

"You can use any excuse you want to be a failure," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. "We can sit back and say, 'Oh, woe is us. We don't have Ben or we don't have Tomo or we don't have Rick Helling.'

"Someone else needs to pick up the slack, and let's go. You can look at it any way you want to look at it, but those are the guys we've got and those are the guys we need to get the job done with. And they will," he said.

About the Author

Inspin.com Contributing Writer.