Lately, CC Sabathia and Bill Hall have been coming up huge for the Brewers, helping them win game after game. Last night, Ryan Braun was the catalyst for the Brewers. He went 4 for 4, including a 2-run HR in the 9th which gave the Brewers their 8th straight win, 4-3 over the Cardinals.

Ben Sheets gave the Brewers yet another masterpiece on the mound, pitching 7 strong innings, while only giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits. Eric Gagne got the win in relief, and Salomon Torres picked up the save.

The Brewers are playing better than anyone else in baseball right now. I know I've been talking a lot about Sabathia in these posts, but I can't say enough about the way he has affected their entire pitching staff. The bullpen is getting a lot more rest, and even the other starters seem to be pitching much better. He's even a solid hitter, so he has helped in every facet of the game. Could he possibly be the NL MVP, only playing the 2nd half? It's not THAT ridiculous... is it?

The Blue Jays won 2 today against the Orioles... kinda. Wendesday's game was suspended in the 6th, so they finished it yesterday. The Blue Jays were leading 2-1, and finished the game ahead 5-1. In the 2nd game, Roy Halladay completely took over, giving up only 1 run in 7 innings, striking out 6 and walking only 1. He's on my short list of mid-season Cy Young candidates, along with Cliff Lee, Joe Saunders, Justin Duchscherer and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dark horse candidate: Francisco Rodriguez. If K-Rod continues his dominance and breaks the single season saves record, he'll get a few votes, at least. /tangent. Blue Jays win, 7-1.

Matt Cain threw a 4-hit shutout, and the Giants completed their first series sweep of the season. Any Nationals fans out there? Anyone? Eh... it's probably for the best. The Giants barely managed to score themselves, getting their only run off a Dave Roberts single in the 8th. Giants 1, Nats 0.

----- Other games -----
AL:
Royals 4, Rays 2 - Gil Meche: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 K, 1 BB ... John Buck: 2-run double

NL:
Mets 3, Phillies 1 - Oliver Perez: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 12 K, 1 BB ... Carlos Delgado: 2-run double
Pirates 9, Padres 1 - Nate McLouth: 3 RBI ... Yoslan Herrera: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 K, 1st ML win
Cubs 6, Marlins 3 - Carlos Zambrano: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 K ... Aramis Ramirez: 2-4, 2 RBI


---- Other MLB News -----

Some people think it's time to do away with "Yankees Suck". I happen to agree.

Mark Cuban is coming dangerously close to owning the Cubs. I believe this is nothing but good for Chicago, and baseball in general.

Speaking of the Cubs, someone made Steve Bartman an offer he couldn't refuse. Well, or maybe he COULD, because he did refuse it.

Ugh... more Cubs... The Shark might be taking the place of the injured Kerry Wood. CriticalFanatic is excited about this one, since he loved Samardzija so much when he was at Notre Dame.

It's been 25 years since George Brett infamous pine tar incident. Check out an incredible video re-enactment here.


Streakers - In case any team tries to make history, I'm going to list the teams with the longest active winning and losing streaks. Today's streakers:
Brewers: 8 wins
Mariners: 5 losses