Chi Cubs (15-8) at Washington (8-16)

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chc

Soto's feet key to improved throws

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Catcher Geovany Soto has thrown out five of 17 runners trying to steal this year and has been practicing his footwork to improve his throws.
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Cubs probable pitcher

Carlos Zambrano

  • RHP
  • (3-1) 2.67 ERA
Cubs: Zambrano may want to only pitch at home. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA in four starts at Wrigley Field this season. In his only road game April 11 in Philadelphia, he took the loss. Big Z is coming off a win over the New York Mets on Monday in which he gave up one run on five hits over seven innings while striking out four. Zambrano is showing signs that he's maturing. Instead of trying to overpower batters, he's focusing more on locating his pitches. Zambrano said he learned that lesson from Greg Maddux. That's a good teacher.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 85-56 3.39 1227.0 553 1069 .226
Season 3-1 2.67 33.2 5 27 .256
April 3-1 3.33 27.0 4 22 .282

Series at a Glance

Standings - 04/26/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 15 8 .652 - 10-4 5-4
Washington Nationals (NL East) 8 16 .333 6.5 4-6 4-10
Stats - 04/26/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
CHC .283 138 27 128 18 153 3.89 215.1 195 79 161
WSH .233 93 14 87 6 153 4.64 213.1 224 98 171
was

Benching does wonders for Milledge

Bill Ladson / MLB.com
Since getting benched for Thursday's game after arriving to the ballpark late, Lastings Milledge is 2-for-2 with three walks and an RBI.
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Nationals probable pitcher

Matt Chico

  • LHP
  • (0-4) 6.04 ERA
Nationals: In his last start, Chico lasted four innings and gave up six runs on eight hits against the Braves. He walked three batters and struck out none. In his last two starts, Chico has given up 11 runs in nine innings. On Monday, Chico acknowledged he had nothing in the tank. He had a tough time throwing his pitches for strikes. It got so bad in the third inning that Chico walked Tim Hudson with the bases loaded.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 7-13 4.84 195.1 84 111 .285
Season 0-4 6.04 28.1 10 17 .312
April 0-4 6.26 23.0 9 13 .311

Cubs hitters vs Matt Chico

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Baker, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike - - - - .000 3 0 0
Fox, Jake - - - - .000 3 0 0
Fukudome, Kosuke - - - - .000 1 0 0
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - - - - -
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - - - - -
Lee, Derrek - - - - .333 6 0 3
Miles, Aaron - - - - .000 4 0 0
Ramirez, Aramis - - - - .250 4 0 0
Soriano, Alfonso - - - - .000 3 0 0
Soto, Geovany - - - - .000 2 0 0
Theriot, Ryan - - - - .545 11 0 2

Nationals hitters vs Carlos Zambrano

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Bard, Josh - - - - .000 6 0 0
Bernadina, Roger - - - - - - - -
Desmond, Ian - - - - - - - -
Dukes, Elijah - - - - - - - -
Dunn, Adam .500 2 0 0 .271 48 7 11
Flores, Jesus - - - - - - - -
Gonzalez, Alberto - - - - - - - -
Guzman, Cristian - - - - .333 6 0 1
Harris, Willie - - - - .211 19 0 0
Kearns, Austin - - - - .179 28 1 4
Maxwell, Justin - - - - - - - -
Morgan, Nyjer - - - - .125 8 0 0
Morse, Mike - - - - - - - -
Nieves, Wil - - - - - - - -
Willingham, Josh - - - - .714 7 0 2
Zimmerman, Ryan - - - - .182 11 0 0

Clean slate: Cubs pitch shutout (16-8) (8-17)

Cubs 7, Nationals 0

Lee, Big Z too much

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Derrek Lee drove in three runs, good for 21 RBIs on the season, and Carlos Zambrano blanked the Nationals on five hits over seven to help snap a two-game losing streak. Mark DeRosa and Aramis Ramirez added two RBIs apiece and were among six Cubs to record at least two hits.

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Series at a Glance

 
Carlos Zambrano improved to 4-1 on the season. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Chico struggles on

Bill Ladson / MLB.com
Matt Chico put the Nationals in a deep hole from the start, allowing five runs on eight hits in four innings, and he fell to 0-5 as a result in a loss to the Cubs. Meanwhile, the bats were unable to figure out Chicago's pitchers, managing just six hits, two of which came from Felipe Lopez.
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Cubs 7, Nationals 0

Chi CubsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Johnson, R, CF3220010.324
  a-Pie, PH-CF1100011.231
Theriot, SS4220101.337
Lee, 1B3223210.366
Ramirez, A, 3B4022105.293
Fukudome, RF4000123.329
DeRosa, LF5022001.284
Soto, C5000054.316
Cedeno, 2B5030013.375
Zambrano, C, P3000012.176
  b-Fontenot, PH1000000.200
  Wuertz, P0000000.000
  c-Ward, PH1000001.071
  Lieber, P0000000.000
Totals39713751221 

a-Struck out for Johnson, R in the 6th. b-Flied out for Zambrano, C in the 8th. c-Flied out for Wuertz in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Lee (8, Chico), Cedeno 2 (5, Chico, Hanrahan), Ramirez, A 2 (8, Hanrahan, Colome).
TB: Johnson, R 2; Theriot 2; Lee 3; Ramirez, A 4; DeRosa 2; Cedeno 5.
RBI: Lee 3 (21), DeRosa 2 (17), Ramirez, A 2 (19).
2-out RBI: Ramirez, A 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cedeno; Zambrano, C; Soto; Ramirez, A 2; Fukudome.
Team LOB: 11.

BASERUNNING
SB: Theriot (6, 2nd base off Hanrahan/Estrada).
CS: Lee (1, 3rd base by Chico/Estrada).

FIELDING
E: Zambrano, C (1, pickoff), Theriot (3, fielding).
Outfield assists: Pie (Milledge at 3rd base).
DP: 2 (Cedeno-Theriot-Lee, Theriot-Lee).
 
WashingtonABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Lopez, F, 2B4020111.269
Guzman, SS4010004.311
Zimmerman, R, 3B4010024.231
Johnson, 1B1000201.208
Milledge, CF4010025.286
Kearns, RF4000011.193
Estrada, C4010010.219
Pena, LF2000211.159
Chico, P1000001.091
  a-Mackowiak, PH1000001.063
  Hanrahan, P0000000.000
  Cordero, P0000000.000
  b-Harris, PH1000001.152
  Colome, P0000000.000
  c-Boone, PH1000001.269
Totals310605821 

a-Grounded out for Chico in the 4th. b-Popped out for Cordero in the 7th. c-Popped out for Colome in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Guzman (7, Zambrano, C).
TB: Lopez, F 2; Guzman 2; Zimmerman, R; Milledge; Estrada.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Milledge 2; Zimmerman, R 2.
GIDP: Guzman; Milledge.
Team LOB: 10.
 
Chi CubsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Zambrano, C (W, 4-1)7.05004502.21
Wuertz 1.00001105.56
Lieber 1.01000201.98
 
WashingtonIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Chico (L, 0-5)4.08552506.68
Hanrahan 2.02002305.28
Cordero 1.01000200.00
Colome 2.02221203.45

WP: Zambrano, C.
HBP: Johnson (by Zambrano, C), Pie (by Colome).
Pitches-strikes: Zambrano, C 114-69, Wuertz 16-6, Lieber 14-10, Chico 85-51, Hanrahan 49-30, Cordero 17-11, Colome 30-20.
Groundouts-flyouts: Zambrano, C 9-6, Wuertz 2-0, Lieber 0-1, Chico 3-3, Hanrahan 3-0, Cordero 0-1, Colome 0-4.
Batters faced: Zambrano, C 30, Wuertz 3, Lieber 4, Chico 21, Hanrahan 10, Cordero 4, Colome 10.
Umpires: HP: Jim Wolf. 1B: Ed Montague. 2B: Jerry Layne. 3B: Phil Cuzzi.
Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 16 mph, R to L.
T: 2:52.
Att: 35,188.
April 26, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner