CHICAGO -- Carlos Zambrano was excited to rock his pink spikes, in honor of Mother's Day, against Randy Johnson on Sunday. But a steady rainfall forced Cubs manager Lou Piniella's hand and by noon, he yanked his ace in favor of young Sean Gallagher.

With some clutch hits in the last two innings, the Cubs managed to pull out another comeback win against Arizona, 6-4, improving their home record to 14-6.

"We had some tough road series and to come back home and get a sweep like that -- we feel really good going into the next series," said Daryle Ward, who had the game-winning hit Sunday. "We're playing great at home and the fans are responding."

So that means San Diego, with the fewest wins in baseball and the worst team batting average in the National League (.231), gets to face Zambrano on five days' rest to start a four-game series. That's not a recipe for success, especially with Zambrano off to the best start of his career.

Padres hitters have limited experience against Zambrano. Veterans Brian Giles, Khalil Greene and Tadahito Iguchi are a combined 4-for-36 against the right-hander, who is 4-1 with a 1.94 lifetime ERA against the franchise.

Jason Marquis (1-2, 5.08 ERA) will go Tuesday, replacing Jon Lieber, who is likely heading back to the bullpen.

The Cubs are riding high after a three-game sweep of NL West leading-Arizona and looking to make some hay at home against the struggling Padres and NL Central rival Pittsburgh, whom the Cubs have beaten six straight times this season.

Piniella said he likes how different players are contributing right now, from bench players to superstars.

"It's a team," he said. "We're doing different things well and being successful."

Pitching matchup
RHP Carlos Zambrano (5-1, 1.80 ERA)
Zambrano was scheduled to throw Sunday, but steady rain pushed him back a day. Zambrano threw eight innings in a 3-0 win over Cincinnati. He was strangely symmetrical in his pitching line, giving up three hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Zambrano is 1-2 with a 4.88 ERA in four starts against the Diamondbacks.

SD: LHP Randy Wolf (2-2, 4.14 ERA)
Wolf needed 78 pitches to get through six innings in his last start. He induced the Braves to hit into four double plays in that span before loading the bases with no outs in a 2-2 game in the seventh inning. Reliever Joe Thatcher allowed all three runs to score in the loss. The veteran lefty has had decent success against the Cubs who have faced him. Derrek Lee is 6-for-29 lifetime, Aramis Ramirez 3-for-13 and Mark DeRosa is 5-for-25.

Tidbits
Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo missed his third straight game with a cold. ... Rich Hill threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 3-0 win for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on Sunday after his start was rained out the day before. Hill (1-1) gave up three hits and struck out eight. He also walked four. "We're watching Hill's progress real carefully," Piniella said Saturday. "He's a kid we were counting on and we'd like to get him back to the rotation as soon as possible." ... Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, a product of Eastern Illinois University, threw out one of the first pitches and was booed lustily by the rain-soaked crowd. He also sang the seventh-inning stretch. On his press bio it was noted that he is dating singer Jessica Simpson, for those who don't read US Weekly. ... Lee's hitting streak is up to 10 games. ... Carlos Marmol struck out two and got the win Sunday, pushing his scoreless innings streak to 11 2/3. ... Ramirez's steal in the eighth Sunday was his first since Aug. 22, 2006.

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On the Internet
 MLB.TV
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On radio
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Up next
• Tuesday: Cubs (Jason Marquis, 1-2, 5.08) vs. Padres (Shawn Estes, 0-0, 0.00), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Cubs (Ted Lilly, 3-4, 5.24) vs. Padres (Jake Peavy, 4-2, 2.47), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 4-1, 2.76) vs. Padres (Greg Maddux, 3-3, 3.60), 1:20 p.m. CT