Padres-Cubs Preview

5/11/2008 11:09 PM

By MIKE VOTTA
STATS Senior Writer

The Chicago Cubs pulled off a series sweep over the weekend - and they didn't even have to use their ace.

One day after being scratched from his start, Carlos Zambrano will try to guide the NL Central-leading Cubs to a fourth straight win as they open a four-game series with the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs (22-15) swept three games from NL West-leading Arizona, capped by Sunday's 6-4 win. Chicago outscored the Diamondbacks 16-7 while getting a measure of revenge against the team that swept them in the NLDS last season.

"Pitching, defense, everything clicked well this weekend," manager Lou Piniella told the Cubs' official team Web site. "We started out the (10-game) homestand the right way."

Daryle Ward had a pinch-hit, two-run double in the eighth inning Sunday, one day after coming through with a pinch-hit RBI single in Chicago's 7-2 victory. Reed Johnson, in a 4-for-34 slump over the previous 11 games, added his first homer of the season.

"The last week or so, we really haven't been playing that well so I think this was a good confidence boost," said Johnson, whose team had dropped 9 of 13 coming into the Diamondbacks series.

Zambrano (5-1, 1.80 ERA) was slated to start Sunday's game opposite Randy Johnson, but both pitchers were both scratched when the start of the game was delayed by nearly an hour by rain. However, the one-day respite might be a blessing in disguise for Zambrano and the Cubs, as the 26-year-old righty is 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA in seven career starts against the Padres - his lowest ERA against any NL team.

Zambrano won his fourth straight decision Tuesday at Cincinnati, limiting the Reds to three hits and three walks in eight innings of Chicago's 3-0 win. He has yielded only four runs in 35 1-3 innings during his winning streak, which spans five starts.

Zambrano will be up against a Padres team with a newfound sense of confidence despite the worst record in baseball. San Diego (14-24) won the last two games of their three-game set with Colorado over the weekend, ending a string of eight straight series losses.

"It was good to see," manager Bud Black said. "We think it's in there. The players do. The staff does, so it's good to see it showing. Hopefully we can continue it. It was more like we expect to play baseball. Good pitching, good bullpen work, solid defense, a couple homers."

The Padres' two-game winning streak matches its season high. San Diego, nine games out of first in the NL West, has failed in two previous tries at a third straight win.

"The last two games are what we expect," Black said. "We've got to do more of that, obviously, to climb out of this hole and get back to where we think we should be. But it's good."

Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene homered for the Padres, who will hand the ball to Randy Wolf (2-2, 4.14) in Monday's opener. Wolf is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA over his last three starts and was charged with five runs in six innings of Wednesday's 5-2 loss in Atlanta.

"I never felt like I was in control of the game," he said. "I never had my good command. I just battled through."

Wolf is 2-5 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cubs.