MILWAUKEE — Carlos Zambrano pitched the first no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs in 36 years, returning from a sore rotator cuff to shut down the Houston Astros 5-0 Sunday night in a game relocated because of Hurricane Ike.

“I guess I’m back!” Zambrano hollered.

Pitching for the first time since Sept. 2, Zambrano stopped a Houston team that had not played since Thursday. The storm forced baseball to move two games from Texas to Miller Park and the Astros flew hours before they took the field.

Zambrano, known for his emotional displays on the mound, kept himself in control until striking out Darin Erstad to finish off the gem. It was baseball’s first neutral-site no-hitter in modern history, the Elias Sports Bureau said.

The big right-hander dropped to his knees and pointed to the sky with both hands after getting Erstad to swing and miss. Zambrano (14-5) was immediately mobbed on the mound by his teammates.

“I’m a little confused right now,” Zambrano said. “I still can’t believe it. It’s a great feeling, a feeling that you can’t describe.”

The crowd of 23,441 — mostly Cubs fans — erupted in a wild ovation after chanting “Let’s go Z!” throughout the final inning.

Zambrano struck out a season-high 10 and walked one in the Cubs’ first no-hitter since Milt Pappas pitched one against San Diego in 1972. This was the 13th no-hitter in team history, including five in the late 1800s.

The Astros only once came close to a hit. David Newhan lined a drive that first baseman Derrek Lee jumped to catch to end the fifth inning.

Zambrano helped himself, too, by charging off the mound and across the first-base line to catch Hunter Pence’s foul pop for the second out in the eighth.

Zambrano began the ninth by getting Humberto Quintero to ground out on one pitch — it was his 100th of the game. After pinch-hitter Jose Castillo also grounded out, Erstad chased a full-count pitch low-and-away for Zambrano’s first shutout since 2004.

Coming into the game, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said he wanted to limit the 27-year-old Venezuelan ace to 100 pitches in his return to the rotation. Having recently an anti-inflammatory shot, Zambrano managed to come close — he threw 110 pitches, 73 for strikes.

“What can I do?” Piniella said. “I was even hesitant to warm someone up.”

Also on Sunday:

National League

Phillies 7-6

Brewers 3-1

PHILADELPHIA — Brett Myers pitched a two-hitter and the Phillies moved into a tie for the NL wild-card lead, sweeping a day-night doubleheader from the Brewers. Pat Burrell homered and Shane Victorino went four for four in the nightcap for the surging Phillies. Myers (10-11) gave up just a pair of hits while striking out four. In the first game, Ryan Howard and Victorino homered and Burrell hit an RBI single to cap a four-run eighth inning.

Braves 7

Mets 4

NEW YORK — Fill-in closer Luis Ayala gave up a go-ahead homer to pinch-hitter Greg Norton, and Atlanta rallied for five runs in the ninth inning. Wasting two homers by David Wright and a strong start from Oliver Perez, the Mets lost for the ninth time in 30 games.

Rockies 1

Dodgers 0

DENVER — Troy Tulowitzki singled home the winning run with one out in the 10th to help Colorado end Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak. The Rockies loaded the bases on reliever Hong-Chih Kuo (5-3) on singles by Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins and Ryan Spilborghs, and Tulowitzki lined an 0-2 pitch down the right-field line to end Colorado’s seven-game losing streak.

Reds 2

Diamondbacks 1

PHOENIX — Corey Patterson homered to give Cincinnati a win over slumping Arizona. With one out, the .202-hitting Patterson hit a 3-2 pitch high off the right-field foul pole against Jon Rauch (4-8), sending the Diamondbacks to their eighth loss in nine games.

Pirates 7

Cardinals 2

PITTSBURGH — Adam LaRoche drove in three runs with a pair of hits and the Pirates scored three times in both the first and second innings and went on to beat St. Louis for a three-game sweep. Nate McLouth hit his 25th homer — his previous major league high was 13 last season — and had two RBIs as the Pirates all but finished off St. Louis in the NL wild-card race.

Marlins 8

Nationals 7

MIAMI — Josh Willingham drove in the go-ahead run to help Florida rally past Washington. Trailing 6-1, Florida scored seven runs off four Washington relievers in the eighth to go ahead 8-6.

Giants 8

Padres 6

SAN DIEGO — Rookie Pablo Sandoval scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning and San Francisco beat San Diego. The Giants have won nine of 11.

AMERICAN League

Red Sox 4

Blue Jays 3

BOSTON — Jon Lester held Toronto to four hits over eight innings and Coco Crisp drove in two runs to lead Boston over Roy Halladay and Toronto. The Red Sox moved within one game of AL East-leading Tampa Bay. Boston and the Rays begin a three-game series today in St. Petersburg, where the Red Sox are 0-6 so far this season.

Yankees 8

Rays 4

NEW YORK — Derek Jeter collected three hits for the third straight game, Alex Rodriguez belted a grand slam and New York beat Tampa Bay to win the weekend series against the AL East leaders. Mariano Rivera entered with two on in the ninth and struck out Erick Aybar for his 35th save in 36 opportunities. The All-Star closer also moved into a tie with Lee Smith for second on the career list with 478 saves.

White Sox 4-11

Tigers 2-7

CHICAGO — DeWayne Wise hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning and Chicago completed a doubleheader sweep after the bullpen blew a seven-run lead. In the opener Javier Vazquez (12-13) took a shutout into the eighth and Alexei Ramirez homered.

Orioles 7

Twins 3

BALTIMORE — Radhames Liz (6-5) pitched eight shutout innings, and Baltimore hit five home runs in a victory over Minnesota. Nick Markakis and Oscar Salazar each homered twice, and Lou Montanez also connected to help Baltimore salvage the finale of the three-game series.

Angels 4

Mariners 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Chone Figgins singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and Mark Teixeira hit his 200th career homer as Los Angeles beat Seattle for a four-game sweep. Ninth-place hitter Sean Rodriguez tripled just beyond the reach of Ichiro Suzuki with one out. Figgins followed with a drive off the right-field wall against Roy Corcoran (5-1) for his third game-ending hit this season.

Royals 13

Indians 3

CLEVELAND — Brian Bannister won for the first time in nearly three months and Ryan Shealy homered twice and drove in five runs and Kansas City defeated Cleveland. Bannister (8-15) gave up four hits and three runs in the first inning, then settled down and won for the first time in 14 starts to snap his nine-game losing streak.

Athletics 7

Rangers 4

OAKLAND, Calif. — Aaron Cunningham hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot that broke an eighth-inning tie and lifted Oakland over Texas.