MLB team All the elements were in Carlos Zambrano's favour.

Zambrano pitched the first no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs MLB team 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.
Pitching for the first time since Sept. 2, and cheered on by thousands of Cubs fans, Zambrano stopped a Houston MLB team that had not played since Thursday. The storm forced baseball to move two games from Texas to Miller Park and the weary Astros arrived only hours before the first pitch.

The Cubs, meanwhile, faced a short bus ride. Plenty of their faithful followed them up I-94, once again turning the Brewers' ballpark into "Wrigley North."
This was baseball's first neutral-site no-hitter, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
 
Zambrano, known for his emotional displays on the mound, kept himself in control until striking Darin Erstad to finish off the gem.
Zambrano (14-5) dropped to his knees and pointed to the sky with both hands after getting Erstad to swing and miss for his season-high 10th strikeout. The big right-hander was immediately mobbed on the mound by his MLB team.

The crowd of 23,441 erupted in a wild ovation after chanting "Let's go Z!" throughout the final inning.
At Milwaukee, Zambrano walked one and hit a batter in the Cubs' first no-hitter since Milt Pappas against San Diego in 1972. This was the 13th no-hitter in MLB team history, including five in the late 1800s. 
This was the second no-hitter in the majors this season - Boston's Jon Lester did it against Kansas City at Fenway Park on May 19. 

It also was the first no-hitter at Miller Park, and the Brewers MLB team were nowhere to be found.
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. 

While the Astros batted last, Cooper wasn't happy with the arrangement.
Zambrano helped himself with his glove, too, 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's only real display of emotion came after he struck out swinging in the seventh, then motioned as if he was going to break the bat over his knee.
Fiercely proud of his hitting ability, he saw the look on his manager's face and got the message: "Some other game, but not today," Zambrano said.
 All team sports information reported that Zambrano began the ninth by getting Humberto Quintero to ground out on one pitch, 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.

With his jersey untucked, Zambrano paraded triumphantly through a series of interviews in front of the Cubs dugout, then waved to the still-cheering crowd as he walked down the steps.
Piniella planned to limit the 27-year-old Venezuelan ace to 100 pitches in his return to the rotation. Having recently had an anti-inflammatory shot, Zambrano managed to come close - he threw 110 pitches, 73 for strikes.
Because the Brewers were on the road, MLB decided Saturday night to switch these games to Milwaukee. There were only a few fans in the upper deck, which originally was supposed to be closed, but the two lower decks were filled.

Zambrano also gave local fans a chance to see something they really wanted two weeks ago - a no-hitter.
Brewers newcomer CC Sabathia pitched a one-hitter on Aug. 31 at Pittsburgh, and team officials asked a scoring review committee to take a further look at the little trickler that was ruled a hit. The call stood.
The win could be yet another sign of good things to come for the NL Central-leading Cubs MLB team, whose fans have gotten used to doing more crying than cheering in September during 100 years' worth of World Series frustration.