Tejada Triple Lifts Astros Over Cubs 4-3

Zambrano solid on the mound; Soriano hits first long-ball of year

(NEWSER) - Derrek Lee found his power stroke quickly this year. Lee hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh, Carlos Zambrano struck out seven in seven innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 3-2 Sunday. Lee connected against Oscar Villarreal (0-2) for his third big fly already this season after not hitting his first homer last season until the 21st game. More»

(NEWSER) - Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to congressional staffers involved in the inquiry into steroids use in baseball, the Washington Post reports. Federal prosecutors say Tejada’s accounts of conversations with teammate Adam Piatt in 2003, while both played for the Oakland Athletics, are contradicted by Piatt, who cooperated with investigators. Tejada will appear in court in Washington tomorrow. More»

Cubs first in 36 years; game moved for Ike

(AP) - Carlos Zambrano pitched the first no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs in 36 years, returning from a recent bout of rotator cuff soreness to shut down the Houston Astros 5-0 tonight in a game relocated because of Hurricane Ike. The storm forced two games of the series to be moved from Texas to Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. More»

Rays at the head of the class—Rockies, Marlins at the back

(NEWSER) - Report card time! Here’s how the rambunctious kids of MLB are doing so far, in Yahoo Sports’ Steven Henson’s estimation. A students—Rays, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, White Sox Particular kudos go to the Rays, the poor kid who went to the head of the class. B students—Cardinals, Brewers, Twins, Phillies, Yankees, Athletics, Marlins, Orioles The Cardinals have a slight edge in the wildcard race. The Yankees, meanwhile, barely scrape together a B. More»

Sampson throws 7 solid innings; Erstad, Tejada drive in runs

(NEWSER) - Chris Sampson pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, Darin Erstad and Miguel Tejada each drove in two runs and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 last night. Sampson (2-3) struck out three and walked one in his Dodger Stadium debut, matching his longest outing of the season. The right-hander had given up 18 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings over his previous four starts. More»