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Glaus, Cardinals rough up Zambrano, Cubs

Aug 10, 2008 - 1:09 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Troy Glaus broke an 0-for-29 slump against the Chicago Cubs with a pair of home runs as the St. Louis Cardinals handed Carlos Zambrano his first home loss of the season with a 9-2 victory on Saturday.

Glaus, who had been hitless with 12 strikeouts in seven games against the Cubs this season, blasted a two-run homer in the fourth and added a three-run shot an inning later to put the game out of reach.

"Today, (Zambrano) left a couple balls up and we were able to take advantage, and take advantage with some guys on base," Glaus said. "We had opportunities, and off a guy like that, you're not going to get many chances like that."

For the first time in 12 starts at Wrigley Field in 2008, Zambrano found himself on the losing end of the result.

The Cardinals pounded the three-time All-Star for a career-worst nine runs and 10 hits - including four homers - in just 4 1/3 innings. The four blasts were the most the righthander has given up in a game during his eight-year career.

"His location wasn't good at all. That's the hardest I've seen (Zambrano) get hit in the last two years I've been here," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "I thought he'd throw the ball better, actually. (He) pitched five innings the time before and it was his sixth day, but it happens to anybody."

Zambrano's outing was his shortest since a four-inning stint on May 17 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With the game tied at 1-1 after two innings, Skip Schumaker and Albert Pujols tagged Zambrano (12-5) for solo home runs, giving the Cardinals a two-run advantage.

The Cubs starter produced at the plate, however. He led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot of his own off Todd Wellemeyer (9-4), who won for the first time in four starts, to halve the deficit.

But Zambrano's homer did not help him put a positive spin on his performance.

"My job is pitching. I go to the mound and go six, seven, eight innings," he said. "But today, I didn't do my job. To hit a home run is not a good feeling when you have a bad outing. I didn't enjoy that home run like I enjoy the day that I win."

The 29-year-old Wellemeyer, who spent three seasons in Chicago from 2003-05, allowed three runs, six hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. The win improved his record to 3-0 with a 3.36 ERA in 11 road starts.

"Today, the two-seamer was working and I was just keeping it down," Wellemeyer said. "Showed them the changeup, and had that working."

Glaus followed a leadoff single by Felipe Lopez in the fourth inning with his first home run of the day, a shot into the left field seats that gave the Cardinals a 5-2 edge.

An inning later, Pujols drew a one-out walk before Ryan Ludwick and Lopez hit back-to-back singles to plate the slugger. That set the stage for Glaus, who blasted an opposite-field homer to stretch St. Louis' lead to 9-2 and chase Zambrano.

With the win, the Cardinals (65-54) moved within six games of the first-place Cubs (70-47) in the National League Central.

"At this point, we're just trying to tally wins regardless of who we're playing or when we're playing," Glaus said. "We're trying to get as many wins as we possibly can. We can't worry about what other teams are doing. We can't worry about that at all. All we can worry about is going out there and trying to win the game that we're playing."

Ron Villone, Russ Springer and Brad Thompson combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Cardinals.

Ludwick and Yadier Molina each had two hits and drove in a pair of runs. In total, six St. Louis starters had at least two hits.