Amazingly, the Pirates stand a chance at reaching .500 tonight against the Diamondbacks. That would put them at 30-30, the same as their record was when they reached .500 at this point in 2005. They've also scored one more run than they've allowed, which shows that their record so far isn't an obvious fluke.
↵Here are the N.L. Central standings:
↵1. Cardinals 37-25
↵2. Brewers 34-27
↵3. Reds 32-30
↵4. Pirates 29-30
↵5. Cubs 23-36
↵6. Astros 23-38
↵The Cubs have lost eight in a row and are quickly fading from relevance, if they ever even had that. The Astros have lost four in a row.
↵The Brewers, meanwhile, lost Tuesday to the Mets, but only after completing a four-game sweep of the Marlins. Prince Fielder has four homers in his first six games, and Milwaukee's rotation appears to be chugging along, getting great starts so far this month from Shaun Marcum, Yovani Gallardo and Zack Greinke.
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