Can Cubs Come Home .500?

If only this Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Marmol could show up every time they pitch, the Chicago Cubs might be contenders for a title. If only...

Big Z rebounds from the putrid start on Monday versus the Atlanta Braves with a good start today vs the Cincinnati Reds. Z went 7 innings, striking out nine and walking two. He did give up one big blast in the 3rd to Brandon Phillips to give the Reds a 3-0 lead and in the past, that might have been the breaking point for Z. Zambrano settled down and held the Reds scoreless from that point on. Zambrano lowered his ERA from 54 to 11.88, still double digits like I said, but a lot lower than even I expected.

Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano and Jeff Baker all hit their 1st homers of the season today as well to power the Cubs, with Baker's coming in the 8th off 97 year-old Arthur Rhodes to give the Cubs the 4-3 lead. John Grabow pitched an uneventful 8th except for a Derek Lee leaping grab to end it and Carlos Marmol struck out the side in the 9th, without putting anyone on too, to close out the win for Zambrano.

Geovanny Soto is still struggling at the plate, going 0-3 with two strikeouts. I anticipate Koyie Hill and his monstrous .167 batting average to get the start on Sunday. Marlon Byrd continues to struggle despite having two homers, going 0-3 and dropping his batting average to .133. I guess it can't be all sunshine.