The Cubs haven't been able to score many runs lately, so they decided to try a different tactic Friday night: Outrun the other team. Cubs manager Dusty Baker shuffled the lineup in the first game of a four-game series against the San Diego Padres, starting Freddie Bynum Jr. in left and Neifi Perez at short to give Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno a night off.

"It looked like they were wearing down a little bit in Arizona," Baker said of Cedeno and Murton. "We're trying to get some speed guys in there -- get a speed team. If we're not scoring runs, and you're not hitting the ball out of the ballpark, you might as well see if we can run."

The Cubs definitely haven't been scoring, getting shut out in three of their last five games. They've been outscored, 45-5, over the last six games and have been held homerless in that stretch. The last time the Cubs had a homerless streak of six or more games was when they went homerless over eight games April 25-May 3, 1999. In those eight games, the Cubs were 6-2.

The homerless stretch didn't really surprise Baker.

"At this point, we don't have but three or four guys who can go deep," Baker said.

The last time the Cubs scored five runs or less over six games was when they scored five April 25-May 1, 1992, scoring all five on April 26. The last time the Cubs scored less than five runs over six games was June 16-22, 1968, when they scored only four in six games.

Aramis Ramirez is definitely scuffling. He was batting .250 (4-for-16) in May after .197 in April, and was hitting .171 with runners on. Last year, Ramirez batted .327 with runners on.

"He's having a tough time dealing with not hitting," Baker said. "He's not used to not hitting, not for this long a period of time."

But Ramirez isn't alone.

"It's certainly not all him," Baker said. "When you don't have a bunch of opportunities, then that's what puts pressure on you more. You feel like you have to come through in that situation versus you know you have to come through. There's a difference between the feeling that you know you're going to come through and that you have to come through. You don't have to do nothing but breathe."

Homecoming: Jacque Jones is hoping some home cooking helps. The outfielder grew up in San Diego, and had plenty of friends and family at Friday's game.

Jones was 8-for-23 over his last seven games with two doubles, a homer and two RBIs, so he's starting to find his groove. Asked if he'd checked in with hitting guru Tony Gwynn, Jones said no.

"Right now, I can only help myself," Jones said. "He can just tell me the same thing everybody else tells me, which is relax and go play hard. I feel more and more comfortable, and feel better."

Jones, 31, also has seen teams go through collective funks.

"I told Michael [Barrett] last night that next season, it's going to happen again," Jones said. "And the next season, it's going to happen again. Everybody goes through it. You can't put a finger on it. It's just something we're going through right now. Everybody's trying. Every year you play this game, the whole team is going to not play well, they're going to play great, and the good teams will hang on and maintain.

"We just need to score a run or two to get something to clap about and get excited about and go from there," he said. "We haven't had too much to be excited about in the last couple days."

Slow start: Did pitching in the World Baseball Classic help Carlos Zambrano or hurt him? Baker said he still isn't sure.

"We're looking for clues," Baker said.

Zambrano, who started Friday night against the Padres, was winless in six April starts. He pitched for the Venezuelan team in the World Baseball Classic.

"We had to get ready quicker than normal," Baker said of Zambrano's spring. "Spring Training is basically a buildup of everything. It's like training for a marathon.

"I'm not coming down on the [World Baseball Classic]," Baker said. "I'm just looking for some answers here."

Last year, Zambrano was 2-0 with a 4.31 ERA in April. In 2004, he was 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA; and in 2003, he was 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA. He did not get a win in April, May or June in 2002 but he also was a reliever during those months.

Penmanship: The Cubs rank seventh in the National League in the number of times they've used their relievers but have to be careful not to overwork them.

"With the youngsters that we have and the pitchers we don't have, I was just hoping we didn't put too much strain on our bullpen," Baker said. "We've used the bullpen a lot of times as damage control for the next few days or the next week."

And there are a few games when things have gone exactly as planned -- the starter goes deep, and either Bob Howry or Scott Eyre set up Ryan Dempster for the save.

Baker admits he feels as if the 'pen has been overworked.

"Blowout games didn't help, early exits [by starters] didn't help," he said. "We're doing what we can to win games. You don't like to manage to win games and preserve at the same time, but you've got to do what you've got to do."

Cinco de Mayo: Friday was the Cubs' 100th game on Cinco de Mayo. The team is 53-44-2 in the first 99 games (the ties were in 1890 and 1898). The Cubs have lost the last three games on May 5, and six of the last eight. Last year, the Cubs lost, 6-5, in Milwaukee despite home runs by Ramirez, Barrett and Cedeno. That was Cedeno's first Major League home run.

The Cubs' last win on Cinco de Mayo was a 3-0 victory over the Dodgers in 2002. Five Chicago pitchers combined on a four-hitter.

Here's another note: Only six players born in Mexico have played for the Cubs. They include Jesse Flores, 1942; Marcelino Solis, 1958; Hector Torres, 1971; Horacio Pina, 1974; Daniel Garibay, 2000; and Ismael Valdez, 2000.

Minor matters: Jae Kuk Ryu gave up two runs on nine hits over six innings and struck out seven in Triple-A Iowa's 3-2 loss to Nashville on Thursday. ... Chris Shaver was charged with one run on three hits over six innings and struck out eight in Double-A West Tenn's 9-1 win over Huntsville. Micah Hoffpauir had three hits, and Luis Montanez and Gary Cates each had two hits. ... Sean Gallagher gave up two runs, one earned, on six hits over six innings in Class A Daytona's 3-2 win over Vero Beach in the first game of a doubleheader. Jake Fox slugged two solo home runs. In the second game, Matt Weber gave up five runs, four earned, on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 5-3 loss. ... Todd Blackford gave up one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings in Class A Peoria's 5-3 win over Lansing. Ryan Norwood and Jonathan Mota each had two hits.

Sing along: When the Cubs return home on May 12, Ernie Banks will lead the crowd in the seventh-inning stretch. On May 13, Banks, Ron Santo and Billy Williams will share the honors in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." On May 14, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder will take the mic, followed on May 16 by University of Illinois basketball players James Augustine and Dee Brown. On May 18, Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson, will sing.

On deck: Rookie lefty Sean Marshall will start the second game of this four-game series on Saturday, facing Padres right-hander Jake Peavy. Marshall gave up one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings in his last start against Pittsburgh. The game will be broadcast on WGN-TV.