Brewing victories

Milwaukee's got some good karma (or maybe just good players) after all their recent deals.

CC Sabathia had it humming in St. Louis tonight. Sabathia held the third-place Cardinals to three hits in a complete game 3-0 shutout. The win pulls Milwaukee within a half-game of the Cubs and one back in the loss column. The Brewers have won seven straight. The can sweep the Cardinals in four straight at Busch on Thursday, and the pitching match up is in Milwaukee's favor with Ben Sheets facing Todd Wellemeyer.

JJ Hardy homered for the 14th time while Ryan Braun hit his 25th off of Jason Isringhausen to start the ninth. The Brewers got hot at the start of 2007 but faded down the stretch. They're working in reverse to this point in 2008.

Soriano's worth

It would be hard to say Alfonso Soriano's return catalyzed the Cubs offense in the first at Arizona; Derrek Lee hit the home run to put the Cubs up 1-0. Soriano's presence, however, must help the Cubs in any regard. Save for a 9-0 win in Houston the Cubs have scored just four runs in four games since the All-Star break.

Cubs making moves

Alfonso Soriano is back in the lineup for the Cubs tonight in Arizona. He'll bat leadoff.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have Carlos Marmol in Kerry Wood's closer role and could bring Jeff Samardzija up from Triple-A. Samardzija would enter a long relief or setup role, not the closer job.

Fantasy Impact: Get Soriano active, and enjoy Marmol while Wood's blister heals. Watch Samardzija's progress for next year.

Hand it to Hanrahan

Baseball's newest closer is the Nationals' Joel Hanrahan, who inherits the job left vacant with Jon Rauch's trade to Arizona. He has the pedigree: striking out more than a batter per inning and yielding just 47 hits in 59 1/3 innings pitched.

Fantasy Impact: This is not necessarily a permanent move. Hanrahan has to prove he can handle the stress of closing out ballgames, but he's got room to make a few mistakes with the Nats out of the playoff race.

Gibbons to Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Brewers continue to acquire players in an attempt to make a run at the World Series. Jay Gibbons is their latest pick up.

Gibbons, 31, who was released by the Orioles at the end of spring training, is expected to spend the next 10-to-14 days at Double-A Huntsville before being promoted to Triple-A Nashville, if all goes according to plan. He had been playing with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

"He's a little rusty, self-admittedly rusty," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said according to MLB.com. "The idea is to get him some minor league at-bats and then evaluate as we go along."

It's a low-risk move by Milwaukee, and one that could prove important down the stretch as Gibbons provides pop from the left side. Gibbons was named in the Mitchell report, so we'll have to wait and see if the power comes back.

Urine test for HGH

A urine test is on the way for detecting Human Growth Hormone.

MLB spokesman Rich Levin said in an e-mail to the newspaper that MLB could move to include a urine HGH test as soon as scientists validate the test. Greg Bouris, spokesman for the MLB Players Association, told the paper the union had no comment.

NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy told USA Today, "We are always open to reviewing any test but have yet to see a test that is available on a commercial basis." NFL players union officials couldn't be reached for comment. Use of an HGH test would have to be collectively bargained between the NFL and the union, USA Today notes

Scientists explained to the Washington Business Journal how the test works. It uses "nanoparticles, which work much like a crab net, filtering bodily fluids and using chemical bait to snare, isolate, compile and preserve some of the world's smallest matter to help detect diseases or toxins earlier, faster and cheaper."

At least they're trying, but as long as chemists can make new designer steroids they're capable of getting their way around or remaining one step ahead of the new technology.