News
Big Z returns to open critical homestand
Chicago (62-60) vs. Washington (44-81), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
08/23/09 7:40 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- The next 10 games are critical for the Cubs. "We've got a 10-game homestand and we need to get hot," manager Lou Piniella said. "We need to have a really, really good homestand." Carlos Zambrano, who has faced more Class A hitters than big league batters in August, will get things started Tuesday. Zambrano returns to the Cubs rotation to face the Washington Nationals and kick off the homestand, which includes a makeup game Sept. 3 against the White Sox. In a rehab start last Thursday for Class A Peoria, Zambrano gave up five hits and struck out five over five innings. He threw 76 pitches, and did not walk a batter in his first game action since coming out of an Aug. 1 start against Florida because of back spasms. Since then, he missed a scheduled start Aug. 7 against Colorado because his back flared up again. He's also admitted to being "lazy" as far as his workouts go. Can the new, improved, more dedicated Zambrano give the Cubs the boost they need in the National League Central race? We'll see. St. Louis has its largest lead since the last day of the 2005 season, when they were 11 games up. "It says we're staying consistent -- we're keeping our urgency in the way we compete," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. St. Louis will open a nine-game homestand on Tuesday, facing Houston, Washington and Milwaukee. "We hope St. Louis has a tough week because that's the only chance we have," Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano said. "We have to have a good homestand and they can have a bad homestand. Hopefully, we can have a good combination and get close. That's the only chance we have." The problem is, the Cardinals have been playing very well, and they're 13-4 in their past 17 games. "I know," Soriano said. "That's a problem. The whole year, they've struggled for maybe one week and that's it. We've struggled almost the whole year. I hope in September, that's the time they struggle and we get hot." The Cubs' pitching has kept them in games. During this seven-game road trip west, the starters have given up 10 earned runs over 44 2/3 innings for a 2.01 ERA. That should be good enough to get more than two wins. Optimists can point to what the Rockies did in 2007 when they rallied from six games back on Sept. 1 to go 20-8 in the final month and win the Wild Card. The Cubs are 35-22 at home and have hit better there, averaging five runs per game and batting .269 at Wrigley. "I've seen it done before," said infielder Jeff Baker, who was part of the 2007 Rockies. "What that team did is hard to do. The one thing we can do, which that team did, was get everybody to do what they can do and not worry about trying to pick somebody else up or try to do more or go outside of the box. If everyone can get on the same page, it can happen." Which means, not trying to hit five-run homers each at-bat. "When you're struggling, guys try to do more than they can do and there's a snowball effect," Baker said. "Even in Colorado, we had that going on early in the year and that's why we were in the position we were in. It can definitely be done, but we have to get that mind-set and mentality and get it going soon." Was there a team meeting or a pep talk that made a difference? "It kind of just clicked," Baker said. "The only thing that stands out for me is we were going to San Diego and we didn't play very well on the road that year. We got smoked by L.A. all year. We went to San Diego and we beat [Jake] Peavy, [Chris] Young and [Greg Maddux]. We came to L.A., and swept L.A., and the confidence was going because it was two road trips we don't play well on and against guys like Peavy. "I don't know how that ball got rolling but it did get rolling and it didn't stop," Baker said. "We rode it all the way to the World Series." The Cubs have the talent, Baker said. "There's talent in this room to do it," he said. "We just need to do it." Pitching matchupCHC: RHP Carlos Zambrano (7-4, 3.35 ERA)
The Cubs need Zambrano, who has made one start this month, lasting three innings on Aug. 1. He hasn't been as dominating at home, posting a 2-2 record in nine starts with a 3.55 ERA. Zambrano is 5-2 with a 3.17 ERA on the road. WSH: RHP Garrett Mock (2-5, 5.10 ERA)
Mock continues to get better as a pitcher, but he had some bad luck on Thursday night as the Nationals lost to the Rockies, 4-1, at Nationals Park. Mock cruised through the first four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six batters. In the fifth inning, however, the Rockies scored two runs, and Mock became the losing pitcher. Tidbits
X-rays showed Reed Johnson's foot has not healed as quickly as expected, and he most likely will not be activated until early in September. ... Soriano did not start Sunday because of a sore left knee that bothers him when he runs. ... The Cubs still have one more trip west against San Francisco, Sept. 24-27. ... The Cubs and Pirates will play a day-night doubleheader Sept. 30 to make up the Aug. 16 game postponed by rain. All tickets for the postponed game will be honored for the 1:05 p.m. CT game on Sept. 30 and fans do not need to exchange their tickets. Fans unable to attend the Sept. 30 game can request a refund. Tickets
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• Wednesday: Cubs (Rich Harden, 8-7, 4.04) vs. Nationals (J.D. Martin, 2-3, 4.76), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Cubs (Randy Wells, 9-6, 2.84) vs. Nationals (TBD), 1:20 p.m. CT
• Friday: Cubs (Ted Lilly, 9-8, 3.40) vs. Mets (TBD), 1:20 p.m. CT
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
