6/2/08 @ Padres; W 7-6; (37-21)

Carlos Zambrano got off to a rough start giving up three runs in the first inning. But in the fourth he tripled to drive in Jim Edmonds and tie the game. The Cubs scored again in the fifth to take the lead. Carlos finished off the fifth inning, putting himself in position for the win.

The Cub half of the sixth inning was big. DeRosa and Blanco singled. Zambrano was called upon to bunt, but hustled to first turning it into a base hit. Soriano hit a sac fly to right, and then Theriot reached on an infield single, scoring another Cub run making it 6-3.

Jim Edmonds...love him or hate him...drove in the Cubs seventh run in the seventh inning. Kosuke walked and stole second before Edmonds double to right scored him. Earlier Edmonds had hit a sharp ball past Gonzalez at first. Bob Brenly commented that seeing Edmonds pull the ball indicates him getting more comfortable and getting better as a hitter.

Regardless, it proved to be an important run, as the bullpen didn't exactly shut them down. Zambrano left in the fifth and ended up being the winning pitcher. Lieber, Wuertz, Cotts, and Marmol worked the 6th, 7th, and 8th without allowing a run. The ninth was a different story.

Marmol walked the leadoff batter. After inducing a pop up from Iguchi, Giles singled. That brought up Adrian Gonzalez who homered to make it a one run game. Kerry Wood came in and picked up the last two outs to earn his fifteenth save.

Theriot and Zambrano led the way for the offense with three hits apiece. Jim Edmonds added two hits, two rbis, and a run scored. Kosuke Fukudome reached base three times, scored two runs, and drove in a run with a sac fly.

That makes eight in a row now for the Chicago Cubs. They have opened up a 3.5 game lead on the Cardinals. The next five games are against teams with a below .500 record. Let’s stretch both the winning streak and the NL Central lead.