Silva struck out 11 Cardinal batters, including 7 in the first three innings. The right hander finished the game with 100 pitches, going 7 innings, and allowing just 2 hits. Sean Marshall, Carlos Zambrano and Jeff Stevens finished the last two innings for Chicago.

The Cubs used a three run fourth inning to take the lead and keep it. Marlon Byrd knocked in Alfonso Soriano, who had just stole second base to put the Cubs on the scoreboard. Mike Fontenot tripled home Byrd, followed by a Starlin Castro single to make the game 3-0 after 4. Kosuke Fukudome walked to score the fourth run in the 6th inning, then hit a sac fly in the 8th to make the score 5-0.

Rookie Adam Ottavino took the loss for the Cardinals. This was Ottavino’s first career major league start after starting several games for AAA-Memphis. He finished the game with 5 hits and 4 runs through 5.2 innings. His biggest problem was the six walks, as he finished with 99 pitches. Ottavino took the rotation spot of Kyle Lohse, who will miss significant time. Mitchell Boggs and Blake Hawksworth finished the game for the Cardinals. Matt Holliday finished the game with the only two hits off Silva, a single and a double. Yadier Molina and Brendan Ryan both singled in the 8th inning for a minor rally, which was killed by Nick Stavinoha’s double play. Albert Pujols went 0-3 with a strikeout to dip his season average to .299.

The win for the Cubs moved them to 24-26 overall and 14-12 at home. Chicago is 6.5 games behind Cincinnati, in third place in the NL Central. The Cardinals dropped to 28-22 overall and 13-14 on the road. St. Louis fell to a season high two games behind Cincinnati for first place in the division.

The right hander started the season hot, winning his first four starts. Since that point, in his last six starts, he is just 1-1. His previous start in Arizona, he lasted just five innings, allowing five hits and five runs in the 8-7 loss. On the season, Lincecum has moved his earned run average to 3.00. Lincecum still has struck out 80 and walked 25 on the season.

The Nationals used several key hits to knock Lincecum out early. The party got started with Adam Kennedy singling home a run to give them the lead. Josh Willingham then doubled home Kennedy, followed by an Ian Desmond single to knock in Adam Dunn.

Washington continued their assault on Lincecum in the fifth inning, when Adam Dunn hit a sac fly to score Kennedy. Desmond then singled again, driving home both Zimmerman and Willingham.

The Nationals added one more run in the 7th inning when Willingham knocked in Adam Dunn. The Giants were held scoreless until Juan Uribe’s fifth inning solo homerun. Pablo Sandoval added the second run in the sixth inning, when he doubled in a run to right center field. San Francisco added one more in the 7th, but came up on the wrong end of a 7-3 loss.

The win for Washington moved them to one game above .500; at 24-23. Washington is now just three games out of first place in the National League East. They are tied with Florida and New York for third place in the division. Washington moves to 10-13 on the road this season. The loss for the Giants dropped them 23-22 on the season, fourth place in the NL West. San Francisco is 4.5 games behind the Padres at the top of the division.

Washington and San Francisco will play their final game of the three game series on Thursday afternoon. The Nationals will send Craig Stammen to the mound, while left hander Barry Zito will throw for the Giants. Zito has had a solid return season, going 6-2 with a 2.80 earned run average through the first two months.

The 6’0, 195lbs right handed ace pitcher for the Astros is currently making $15,000,000 for the 2010 season. Oswalt is signed with Houston through the 2011 season, with a club option of $16 million for 2012.

Oswalt has been frustrated with a lack of run support in his starts this season. Despite his 2.66 earned run average, Roy is 2-6 on the season. In the nine starts Oswalt has made this season, the Astros have scored a total of 20 runs. Oswalt has struck out 60 batters, while walking just 16 thus far in 2010.

In his career, Oswalt has made 280 starts, completing 18 games. His career win/loss record is 139-76, with an earned run average of 3.21. Oswalt has 1533 career strikeouts, as well as just 428 walks. Oswalt’s next start will be Wednesday night in Milwaukee, against the Brewers.

Houston is in last place in the National League Central with a 15-29 record. They are 10.5 games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals, and two games behind Milwaukee for fifth place. Only the Baltimore Orioles have worse record, at 15-31 in all of major league baseball.

The Astros have the worst offense in baseball statistically with a .227 batting average. Jeff Keppinger leads the team, with a .292, while Hunter Pence has led the power numbers, with 7 homeruns and 20 runs batted in. Houston has scored just 132 runs thus far in 2010, while allowing 205.

Trailing 9-3 heading into the ninth inning, after Troy Glaus and Eric Hinkse led off with singles, Yunel Escobar reached on an error to load the bases off Mike Lincoln. Nate McLouth kept the rally going with a single that scored two, to make it a four run game. Nate Masset then came in and walked his first batter; David Ross. After Martin Prado reached on a fielder’s choice that went for an error the game moved to 9-6. Arthur Rhodes came in and struck out rookie Jason Heyward for his only batter of the game. Heyward was the main cog in the come from behind win on Wednesday night for the Braves. The rookie has smashed 8 homeruns and drove in 30 homeruns in his first season. Dusty Baker then went with closer Francisco Cordero to go after pinch hitter Brooks Conrad. Conrad hit a ball just over the left fielders glove to cap off the seven run rally and win.

The second inning for the Reds was capped by eight straight batters reaching base. The biggest hit was the Joey Votto grand slam that scored the pitcher Mike Leake, along with two others. After that, Cincinnati was not done, as a single and a walk led up to a Ramon Hernandez single and a Laynce Nix double. The Reds chased Atlanta’s starting pitcher Tommy Hanson after retiring just five batters.

The win for the Braves was their third straight and fourth in their last five games. Bobby Cox’s team has moved to above .500; at 21-20 and just 4.5 games out of first place in the National League East. The loss for Cincinnati dropped them ½ game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central.

Atlanta will now head to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates, while the Reds will head across the state to play in Cleveland, against the Indians, out of the American League Central.

The move by Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa was said to energize Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday. Holliday, who signed a huge contract in the off-season, has just 14 runs batted in on the season. The Cardinals have struggled as a team losing nine of their last 12 games. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals the final two games of the recent series to move into first place in the National League Central.

Pujols, a three time Most Valuable Player in the National League has started slow as well in 2010, batting .310 with 8 homeruns and 29 runs batted in. The 30 year old from the Dominican Republic is a career .333 hitter. Pujols will reach 400 homeruns this season, and is expected to amass 1200 career runs batted in this season. Pujols’ personal favorite stat is runs scored, where has leads the team with 21 this year, just 8 shy of 1100 in his career.

The biggest news regarding Pujols is his status after the 2011 season. The Cardinals have a team option for 2011, which they expect to pick-up, but following that, Pujols will be a free agent. With the Philadelphia Phillies recently locking up Ryan Howard to a big time deal, Pujols is expected to receive anywhere from $20-$30 million. Pujols makes $14,595,953 this season.

St. Louis is starting a seven game home-stand on Monday. After two against Washington, they will host Florida for two and then welcome the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to town. Following the home stand, the Cardinals finish May with a trip to San Diego and another to Chicago, before coming back home at the end of the month to host the Reds once again.

The Cardinals also activated short-stop Felipe Lopez. Lopez is slated to lead-off in the game on Monday night, after missing time with elbow tightness. Rookie infielder Tyler Greene was sent back to Memphis to make room for Lopez. The Cardinals are hoping the emergence of Lopez energizes struggling regular shortstop Brendan Ryan. Ryan is hitting just .162 for the Cardinals.

Ethier said he felt the finger get pinched against the bat while he was taking a swing before the game. He will meet with team doctors on Sunday and the team will then decide whether to place him on the disabled list or not.

Ethier leads the team in all offensive categories. He also leads the entire National League. Ethier is batting .392 with 11 homeruns and 38 runs batted in. He has an on base percentage of .458, and a slugging percentage of .744. A career .297 hitter, Ethier is in just his fifth year out of Arizona State. The 28 year old is currently making $5.7 million in his current contract.

The Dodgers will look for a sweep in San Diego on Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles with their six game winning streak have moved to 19-17 overall, and just three games back in the National League West. Los Angeles ranks second in the National League with a .275 batting average, and 4th with 189 runs. Helping Ethier lead the way offensive; Matt Kemp with his 32 runs scored.

The pitching for Los Angeles has continued to struggle. The Dodgers rank 11 th in the National League with a 4.53 earned run average. Opponents are hitting .233 against the Dodgers pitching.

Los Angeles will finish their series in San Diego, and then come home to host Houston for two and San Diego for two before interleague baseball begins. The first series will see the Detroit Tigers come to LA for a three game weekend series. After Detroit leaves town, the Dodgers will head to Chicago and Colorado in the final week of May.

The National League West continues to be one of the most impressive and certainly surprising divisions in all of baseball. The San Diego Padres have the best record in baseball, led by their spectacular pitching. San Francisco has also provided some sensational pitching, led by Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Matt Cain. The Dodgers have possibly the best combination of pitching and hitting, but have seen some of their pitching struggle in the first quarter of the season.

Like most seasons, both teams have high hopes and look to win the American League East. The Yankees are in second place, just one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot. Boston is in fourth place, despite their above .500 record. They currently are 5.5 games back.

The two teams played at the beginning of the season, with the Red Sox winning, in a high scoring affair; 9-7. The New York Yankees picked up wins in the next two games; 6-4 and 3-1 in 10 innings. The Yankees came back to Fenway the first full weekend of May and won the first two, scoring a combined 24 runs, but then fell in the final game of the series; 9-3.

New York is going to send Phil Hughes and Javier Vazquez to the mound, while Boston expects to send Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett to the hill. Hughes is 5-0 on the season with an earned run average of 1.38. He won a May 7th start in Boston, pitching 7 innings, and allowing 7 hits and 2 runs. Vazquez has been horrible this season, with a 1-4 record and 8.10 earned run average. Vazquez has not pitched against Boston this season. Daisuke is 2-1, 6.35 on the season in three starts. In those starts, Matsuzaka has pitched a total of 17 innings. Beckett, who is supposed to be Boston’s ace, is just 1-1 on the season. In 7 starts, Beckett has allowed 52 hits, 34 earned runs and allowed 5 homeruns in 41 innings.

No matter what the numbers say – this series is always a barn burner. With the Yankees winning the first four of six, and the Red Sox continuing to chase, Boston will come out with a lot to prove. If this isn’t enough for New York to get ramped up about, they will take on divisional leading Tampa Bay following the Red Sox exiting town.

In the American League, the Detroit Tigers have enjoyed the red-hot start out of Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera leads the league in batting with a .376 average, with 8 homeruns and another lead league leading 36 runs batted in. Cabrera has always been known to have a bat, but this blistering start is more than we have ever seen from him.

Mr. Reliable Justin Morneau continues to lead the way for Minnesota. Morneau trails only Cabrera for the AL batting lead, and has also hit 8 homeruns, but driven in just 23 runs thus far. Along with catcher Joe Mauer this 1-2 punch could be the deadliest in all of baseball.

Paul Konerko has always been a solid power hitting. He has never seen the power surge that he has experienced thus far in 2010. Konerko leads all of baseball with 13 homeruns, as he has 28 runs batted in as well. For a career .278 hitting, his .290 average of this season is impressive. Konerko is one of the line bright spots for a White Sox team that has struggled thus far in 2010.

In the National League, Andre Ethier appears to be head and shoulders ahead of the pack right now. Ethier leads the NL in batting, with a .385 clip, homeruns (11) and runs batted in with 37. Thankfully for the rest of the league, his teammates have not nearly been as deadly, and the Dodgers pitching has stunk.

Ryan Braun of Milwaukee is going to get a MVP in his career. 2010 may be his chance. The Brewers slugger is batting .359, which is second in the NL, and 6 homeruns and 28 runs batted in. That number is not first on the team (runs batted in) as Casey McGhee has 33.

Philadelphia could have as many as five representatives, when the end of the season rolls around. In Mid-May our choice is outfielder Jayson Werth. The right fielder is batting .345 with 7 homeruns and 27 runs batted in. A free agent at the end of this season, Werth is most certainly going to get paid during the off-season.

The Yankees are just ½ game behind the Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the American League East. If the postseason started today, the Yankees would slide in as the AL wildcard. The Twins hold a three game lead on the Detroit Tigers, which is tied with St. Louis for the largest divisional lead in all of baseball.

The Yankees will send A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez to the bound. Burnett is 4-1, Pettitte is 4-0 and Vazquez comes in with a 1-3 record. Minnesota will counter with Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn. Liriano is 4-1, Baker 4-2 and Blackburn 3-1.

The Yankees have been successful using the bats. New York leads the American League with a .280 batting average, along with the most runs scored in all of baseball; with 182. Robinson Cano has been the main cog in the lineup, with a .353 batting average, and 9 homeruns. Nick Swisher has also been off to a hot start, as he leads the team with 24 runs batted in. The pitching has also been sharp, as they have a combined 3.61 earned run average, which ranks 4th in the American League.

Minnesota has been winning games both offensively, and on the mound. The Twins .275 batting average is third in the American League, while they have scored 164 runs. The Twins also have the second best earned run average, with a 3.51, while opponents are hitting just .261 as a team. Joe Mauer has gotten off to a .341 batting average, while Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer have provided the power. Morneau has hit 7 homeruns, while Cuddyer has driven in 23 runs.

The two teams have played in numerous postseasons in the past. The Yankees have always gotten the best of Minnesota. This year, the Twins look to be a new look ballclub, and hope to get over the Yankees hump. After this series, Minnesota will head to the Bronx on May 25th for a three game series, and then the teams will not see each other again in 2010.

While the struggles of the Houston Astros may keep the Pirates out of the National League Central basement – they won’t be far away. Pittsburgh is still fighting to get to .500, and have another year to wait. The Pirates pitching has been absolutely horrid this season, ranking dead last in the National League with a 5.84 earned run average. The display did not get any better on Sunday when the Cardinals had 11 runs on the Pirates through six innings. When the Pirates DO have good pitching, they make bad executive decisions. The latest was announcing Jeff Karstens, who threw six shut-out innings against one of the best offenses in the NL, will go to the bullpen. Right-hander Ross Ohlendorf is coming off the disabled list on Monday to start against the Reds. Ohlendorf was out with bad back. Also, youngster Brian Burress will get a start during the week.

Offensively, the Pirates have several guys they are depending heavily on that haven’t done it in the big leagues yet. Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones have great promise, while Lastings Milledge has always been a key name in the future of a ball club. Milledge couldn’t cut it in New York or Washington is now roaming the Pittsburgh outfield. McCutchen leads the team in batting average, with a .333, but as a team Pittsburgh is hitting just .243. The Pirates as a team have hit 25 homeruns, with McCutchen leading with 4.

Pittsburgh has some work to do. It appears the guy at the helm, John Russell is the man for the job. The Pirates have been on about the third rebuilding phase, but will this be the one? With the young names, are the Pirates up and coming in the NL Central? Another question that has been posed for Pirates fans, would they fare well in the American League? Would a move to the AL Central (trade for Kansas City), be a benefit or a hindrance to a baseball team that has a long history of success; which has turned into embarrassment.