If you had to sum up Sunday night's proceedings at Miller Park in a single word, well, it wouldn't be that difficult.

Surreal.

That was by far the most common word bandied among Brewers employees -- even before Chicago Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano etched his name into baseball's book by throwing a no-hitter in a 5-0 victory over Houston.

"I'm a little confused right now," Zambrano said afterward. "I still can't believe it. It's a great feeling, a feeling that you can't describe."

He wasn't alone in that department.

From Earl the home clubhouse security guard to Joyce the elevator operator and all the way up to Brewers vice president Rick Schlesinger, Brewers employees felt strange watching their hated rivals and fans turn this supposedly "neutral" site into a pre-playoff clinching party.

You want to talk about surreal?

Brewers media relations manager John Steinmiller strolled into the home clubhouse at mid-afternoon and found Zambrano, Kerry Wood and other Cubs players lounging on couches usually occupied by Brewers players like J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart.

Like most major-league players on Sunday, Zambrano and friends were watching the National Football League. When Steinmiller walked into the room, attention focused on New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre and he could almost hear the theme from "The Twilight Zone" in the background.

Think about that for a minute: Cubs players in the Brewers' clubhouse watching Favre play for New York.

"If you told me six months ago this would be happening, I'd laugh in your face," Steinmiller said. "It was surreal."

The weirdness shifted into overdrive late Saturday night, when Major League Baseball announced that the Houston Astros, whose home city was ravaged by Hurricane Ivan, would be playing two crucial games against the Cubs in Milwaukee.

Houston, which is battling the Brewers for the National League wild card, was designated as the home team for the games. But, they wore their gray road uniforms, dressed in the visitor's clubhouse (by choice, because they are familiar with the accommodations) and listened to 23,441 fans cheer their lungs out for the Cubs.

"This is not a home game," said Astros manager Cecil Cooper, a former Brewers star. "This is definitely an advantage for the Cubs and that's saying it as mildly as possible."

While the Astros had to deal with the ramifications of the hurricane and a brutal travel day, the Cubs took a short bus ride up I-94, checked into The Pfister hotel (which found rooms for both players) and found plenty of friendly faces at the ballpark.

"I guess we're playing 83 road games this year," one Astros player said.

It was evident early on that Zambrano (14-5) was going to be a handful. The burly right-hander, who had not pitched since Sept. 2 because of shoulder tendinitis, popped the radar gun at 97 mph in the first inning.

He plowed through the first 10 hitters in the lineup before giving up a walk to Michael Bourn, who was erased on a double play. An inning later, Zambrano plunked Hunter Pence in the back with a pitch that got away. That threat ended when David Newhan lined to first.

With the crowd roaring, Zambrano cruised through the seventh and eighth innings. In the ninth, he retired Humberto Quintero and Jose Castillo on grounders to short and struck out Darin Erstad on a 3-2 pitch to wrap up the first no-hitter in Miller Park history, the first in Milwaukee since 1974 (Steve Busby) and the first for the Cubs since Milt Pappas in 1972.

"Pretty exciting stuff," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who had hoped to use Zambrano for 90 pitches and ended up at 110. "This is as good as he's thrown the ball consistently for nine innings.

"You don't expect a masterpiece like this."

The Cubs mobbed Zambrano on the mound, thrilling their fans while the few Astros and Brewers supporters in the house looked on in stunned silence.

"If this is what hell is like, I'm toast," one Brewers fan said.

Thanks to Zambrano's dominance, the Cubs could have gotten by with the one run provided by Alfonso Soriano's leadoff homer in the first inning. But, they scored four runs in the third, with a contribution from Zambrano, who singled and scored on Derrek Lee's double.

Sitting in the interview room, in front of a Brewers backdrop, Zambrano raved about Miller Park.

"I like the mound. This is a beautiful ballpark. I wish we had a new ballpark, with a clubhouse like that."

In deference to the Brewers, whom they will host Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, the Cubs sprayed Zambrano with beer in a back hallway rather than the main portion of the dressing area. In a few more games, the Cubs could be spraying champagne to celebrate a division title.

Chicago leads the Central by 7½ games over the sputtering Brewers, who were swept in a doubleheader in Philadelphia and are now tied with the Phillies for the wild-card lead.