Zambrano, As Advertised

I was all set to write about Carlos Zambrano nearly duplicating his one-hit performance, and right after I typed in the headline, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a solo home run to trim the Cubs' lead to 4-1. Still, back-to-back dominant outings is a good sign, and for all the talk about Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, Zambrano keeps proving he's the real horse of the rotation.

Big Z allowed a run and four hits over 7-2/3, with Griffey's homer ending a 15 inning string over two starts allowing no runs and three hits. Still, within moments of his departure the threat of a no-decision loomed as a walk and a wild pitch by Bobby Howry put runners at second and third, but he got David Ross swinging to keep the inherited runner from scoring and end the 8th inning.

Ryan Dempster allowed a run in the ninth, but earned his 11th save in the 4-2 win.

Zambrano has now dropped his ERA to 2.93 with a 5-3 record after ending April at 0-2 and 5.35.