Zambrano's pitching, hitting lead Cubs over Padres

[June 03, 2008]  SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Carlos Zambrano was as animated as he was good, helping Chicago to a 7-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, the Cubs' eighth straight win.

Zambrano (8-1) allowed three runs in the first inning before settling down. He legged out three hits to tie his career-high and raise his average to .366. He hit a standup RBI triple that tied the game in the fourth, his third career triple.

The best team in baseball, the Cubs (37-21) held on to win the opener of a seven-game swing through San Diego and Los Angeles. They were coming off a 7-0 stretch at Wrigley Field, their first unbeaten homestand of at least six games since 1970. It's their first eight-game winning streak since 2001, when they won 12 straight between May 19-June 2.

After playing 17 of 23 at Wrigley, the Cubs began a stretch in which they play 23 of 32 on the road, where they have lost five straight series.

The Cubs entered June with the best record in baseball for the first time since 1908, when they last won a World Series.

Jim Edmonds, released by the Padres on May 9 after his batting average had fallen to .178 -- more than 100 points below his lifetime mark -- hit two RBI doubles and scored one run for the Cubs.

San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer off Carlos Marmol with one out in the ninth, his 17th. Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Zambrano left after five innings, having allowed three runs and five hits, walking four and striking out two.

He was erratic early, falling behind 3-0 in the first inning after putting four of the first five batters on base. Gonzalez hit an RBI single to right with one out, and Kevin Kouzmanoff followed with a two-run triple to right-center, the deepest part of Petco Park.

He was entertaining in the second inning.

After missing badly outside to walk Tadahito Iguchi with two outs, the big right-hander leaped in the air in frustration and tucked his legs underneath him as he came down.

When he missed with a pitch to Brian Giles, Zambrano snatched the ball out of the air with his bare hand on the throwback from catcher Henry Blanco.

Blanco's next throwback deflected off Zambrano's glove and rolled a few feet to his right. He picked it up, got back on the rubber, turned and threw to shortstop Ryan Theriot to pick off Jody Gerut, who had walked ahead of Iguchi.

Kerry Wood got the final two outs for his 15th save in 19 chances.

The Cubs pulled to 3-1 in the second when Aramis Ramirez reached on a leadoff single, advanced on a single by Kosuke Fukudome -- whom the Padres tried to sign in the offseason -- and scored on Cha Seung Baek's wild pitch.

Fukudome walked opening the fourth and scored on Edmonds' double down the right-field line. With two outs, Zambrano tripled to right-center to bring in Edmonds and tie the game. Zambrano singled leading off the third and beat out a bunt single in the sixth to load the bases, but was stranded both times.

The Cubs went ahead 4-3 in the fifth on Fukudome's sacrifice fly. They added on in the sixth with Alfonso Soriano's sac fly and Theriot's RBI single, before Edmonds hit a run-scoring double in the seventh.

Baek (1-1) was starting in place of Shawn Estes, who broke his left thumb on Friday night when he fell on the tunnel stairs between the team's clubhouse and dugout Friday night in San Francisco.

Baek allowed four runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings, struck out two and walked one. He lasted only 4 2-3 in his other start this year, April 13 against Anaheim while with Seattle.

Notes: Padres ace Jake Peavy, on the DL with a swollen right elbow, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday or Wednesday, after which the Padres will decide the next course of action. Manager Bud Black said Peavy threw fastballs and changeups in his last bullpen, and will add his slider during the next one. ... Estes won't need surgery on his left thumb. He expects the bone to take six to eight weeks to heal. "Hopefully I can heal fast," said Estes, who missed most of the last two seasons after having reconstructive elbow surgery. He hopes to be able to play catch by the All-Star break.

[Associated Press; By BERNIE WILSON]

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