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Pirates starter Phil Dumatrait again put his former team in last place, this time without even playing them.

Dumatrait went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs for the win, thanks in large part to a 5 run fourth inning. Those do tend to help with the winning. Jason Bay contributed two RBI to the cause, continuing his resurgent year at the plate.

How long before Bay’s traded? He’s about the only chip the Pirates have to bring in fresh blood. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to do it before all the other crappy teams flood the market with players.

Randy Johnson goes for the snakes this afternoon, matching up with Zach Duke at 12:25pm EDT.

Boxscore

Starting with the worst Central team first, the Reds continued to display their suckiness to the world. This time, it wasn’t even Arroyo. No former Cy Young vote-getter Aaron Harang sucked again, and he has to be getting frustrated.

Things started well for him, with him driving in the first run of the game, but he couldn’t hold it. Harang hasn’t received run support all year, and despite his struggles, I bet it’s nothing that a 10-run barrage wouldn’t cure. His confidence is likely down, and he’s probably placing a lot more pressure on himself because he knows the team won’t score squat for him. It’s not good to be pitching all tense like that.

Tonight, Edinson Volquez starts against Mark Hendrickson in the final game of the series at 7:10pm EDT.

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Apparently, a broadcaster for the Cubs had said he’d grow a moustache if the team won 10 games in a row. Chicago came close, losing for their first time in the last 10 by one run to San Diego.

Another pitcher’s duel in the Central, as Greg Maddux proved a difficult problem to solve, even though he’s old and slow. Maddux pitched seven innings and allowed only one run. Yeah, I think he could help the Cubs again. Ted Lilly pitched well again for the Cubs. After his disastrous season start, he’s been making decent strides. For the Cubs to contend, he has to keep it up because the Cubs need another dependable starter.

The Cubs travel to Los Angeles, sending Ryan Dempster out against Chad Billingsley tonight at 10:10pm EDT.

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Edinson Volquz pwned the Phillies, as he has so many teams this year. Seven innings, 8 strikeouts, and no runs, lowering his ERA to an unheard-of 1.32. That’s crazy good territory.

He faced Philly Brett Myers, who also pitched a gem of a game. Both starters had no-hitters going for the first few innings. Joey Votto broke Myers’ bid in the 7th, driving in Brandon Phillips with a double. And that was all the Reds needed for their first win on this road trip.

First win in their third game of the trip, huh? Why, that equates to a 33% winning percentage, which is exactly what they’ve done all season away from home. They haven’t been blown out, though, so there is room for a tiny bit of optimism.

Homer Bailey makes his first appearance of 2008 today, starting against Cole Hamels at 1:05pm EDT.

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How does a team improve on an inning where they score 4 runs? They score 5 in the very next.

The Brewers demolished the Diamondbacks yesterday, thanks to overwhelming appearances from both the offense and the defense. Corey Hart and Russell Branyan homered. And can I say how impressive Branyan’s return to the Brewers has been? He’s obviously hitting way above his–or anyone’s–head right now, but there’s no doubt that his OPS of 1.262 since he’s rejoined the team has been exactly what their struggling offense needed.

Milwaukee is now 4 games over .500 and have won 6 in a row. They have a day off to think about what they’ve done before heading to Colorado on Friday.