NL Central News

St. Louis Post-Dispatch — Cardinals starter Brad Thompson had another poor outing....

Cincinnati Enquirer — Micah Owings homered and pitched into the seventh inning to help the Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Fourth of July at rainy Great American Ball Park....

Daily Herald — Rookie Casey McGehee had a career high four hits and five RBIs to help the Milwaukee Brewers pound Rich Harden and the Chicago Cubs 11-2 on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak....

Chicago Sun-Times — Rookie Casey McGehee had a career high four hits and five RBIs to help the Milwaukee Brewers pound Rich Harden and the Cubs 11-2 on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak. Mike Cameron and J.J. Hardy also went deep to back a solid effort by Braden Looper (7-4). But McGahee delivered his best performance against the organization that let him go during the offseason....

ESPN Video — Casey McGahee drove in five runs in the Brewers' 11-2 win over the Cubs...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh, the Pirates' Indian-born pitchers, made their professional debuts this afternoon for Bradenton of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, each working an inning of relief....

Chicago Tribune — He should be back Chicago Cubs on Monday night Sure, it was only Class-A pitching, but Aramis Ramirez stepped to the plate Friday night for the first time in two months and promptly lined a double off the right-field wall. ...

Chicago Tribune — Despite a revamped lineup with Alfonso Soriano batting sixth, the Cubs' offense struggled for runs in Saturday's 11-2 loss to the Brewers in front of 40,088 holiday fans at Wrigley Field. ...

Chicago Tribune — At 30, Jason Marquis is the youngest of the unsung probable All-Stars. He is also probably the easiest sell, having led the Colorado Rockies' unlikely resurgence since the Cubs dumped him in the winter. Power rankings: White Sox at No. 11, Cubs at No. 17 ...

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Casey McGehee homered, had four hits and drove in four runs and the Brewers pounded Chicago starter Rich Harden for seven runs in two innings in a 11-2 victory over the Cubs today....

Chicago Sun-Times — Alfonso Soriano will move to the sixth spot in the Cubs batting order and Kosuke Fukudome to the leadoff spot ``for a while,'' manager Lou Piniella said Saturday. The move, hinted at Friday after another 0-for-5 day for Soriano, will mark the first time the team's biggest 2007 free agent signing will bat that low. The move comes in hopes of ``jump starting'' Soriano's bat, Piniella said....

Columbus Dispatch — Cardinals 7, Reds 4 ST. LOUISABRHBIBBSOAVG.Schumaker 2b-lf421010.292Duncan lf200010.240Hoffpauir ph-2b1112101.000Pujols 1b512501.336Ludwick rf400011.235Ankiel cf400001.230T.Greene ph100000.228Y.Molina c401000.279Thurston 3b300000.216Pineiro p200001.161Rasmus ph-cf222000.277Br.Ryan ss411001.297Totals3678745 CINCINNATIABRHBIBBSOAVG.Dickerson lf511000.286Taveras cf412011.237Votto 1b411010.363B.Phillips 2b512101.270Bruce rf301000.216R.Hernandez c200100.252Hairston Jr. 3b403101.252Janish ss300000.233L.Nix ph100001.249H.Bailey p300000.000Encarnacion 3b101000.141Totals35411324 ...