All the elements were in Carlos Zambrano’s favor.
The Brewers and Mets are hoping they don’t look completely out of their element in September.
Zambrano pitched the first no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs in 36 years, returning from a sore rotator cuff to shut down the Houston Astros 5-0 Sunday night in a game relocated because of Hurricane Ike.
“I guess I’m back!” Zambrano said.
At New York, fill-in closer Luis Ayala gave up a go-ahead homer to pinch-hitter Greg Norton, and the Atlanta Braves rallied for five runs in the ninth inning and a 7-4 victory. The Mets’ lead in the NL East was cut to one game by Philadelphia, which swept a doubleheader from Milwaukee.
“These are tough losses, especially this time of the year,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “We’ve been dealt many tough blows. We’ve got to see if we can make it back.”
Brett Myers closed out the Phillies’ sweep, pitching a two-hitter in a 6-1 win over slumping Milwaukee.
“Everybody’s frustrated,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. “The off day will help us.”
n 10 innings; Florida 8, Washington 7; Pittsburgh 7, St. Louis 2; and San Francisco 8, San Diego 6 in 10 innings.
At Philadelphia, Pat Burrell homered and Shane Victorino went 4-for-4 for the surging Phillies in the nightcap. In the first game, Burrell snapped out of a recent slump with two hits, including the go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and the Phillies won 7-3.
Pitching on three days’ rest for the first time since Oct. 3, 2004, against Florida, Myers (10-11) gave up just a pair of hits while striking out four. Myers, who tossed his second complete game in a 95-pitch performance, is 7-2 with a 1.80 ERA in 11 starts since being recalled from the minor leagues on July 20.
Myers also threw a complete game in a 4-0 win over Washington on Aug. 20. It was the eighth complete game of his career.
“The team needed it,” said Myers, who threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 29 batters he faced. “I felt fine warming up. We’ll see how it feels in five days.”
The Brewers are trying to avoid a repeat of last year’s late collapse, when they built an 8 1/2-game lead in the NL Central in late June only to finish two games behind the Chicago Cubs. After Zambrano threw a no-hitter to beat the Astros, the Brewers were 7 1/2 behind Chicago.
Nine days ago, the Brewers were within four games of the Cubs.
“When you’re struggling, things never seem to go your way,” Yost said.
wo homers by David Wright and a strong start from Oliver Perez, the Mets lost for the ninth time in 30 games.
The Mets squandered a seven-game cushion with 17 to play last year, letting Philadelphia charge past them for the division title in one of the worst collapses in baseball history.
Desperately trying to erase those painful memories, New York had 17 games remaining coming into this series and dropped two of three to the fourth-place Braves (67-83).
“Coming down the stretch at this point, every loss will probably be a reminder of what happened last year,” Manuel said. “What we have to do as a team is get through it. We’ve got to finish.”
That’s been a problem all season.
The Mets have 27 blown saves – they began the day tied for third-most in the majors. This was their 11th blown save in the ninth inning. New York entered Sunday tied for third-most in that category as well, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“We need to pick each other up. We all know they’re trying to do their best,” Carlos Beltran said. “Right now, things aren’t working for them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to pitch better.”
re the first pitch.
The Cubs, meanwhile, faced a short bus ride. Plenty of their faithful followed them up I-94, once again turning the Brewers’ ballpark into “Wrigley North.”
This was baseball’s first neutral-site no-hitter, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
“It was a long travel day and Hurricane Ike,” Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. “That’s what I put it on. That and having two days off. I’m not saying he wasn’t good.”
Rockies 1, Dodgers 0, 10 innings
At Denver, Troy Tulowitzki singled home the winning run with one out in the 10th to help Colorado end Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak.
The Dodgers, who had won 12 of 13, lead Arizona by 4 1/2 games in the NL West.
Reds 2, Diamondbacks 1, 10 innings
At Phoenix, Corey Patterson homered to give Cincinnati a win over slumping Arizona.
With one out, the .202-hitting Patterson hit a 3-2 pitch high off the right-field foul pole against Jon Rauch (4-8), sending the Diamondbacks to their eighth loss in nine games.
Marlins 8, Nationals 7
At Miami, Josh Willingham drove in the go-ahead run to help Florida rally past Washington.
Trailing 6-1, Florida scored seven runs off four Washington relievers in the eighth to go ahead 8-6.
Pirates 7, Cardinals 2
d innings, and went on to beat St. Louis for a three-game sweep.
Giants 8, Padres 6, 10 innings
At San Diego, rookie Pablo Sandoval scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning and San Francisco beat San Diego.
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