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Nationals-Cubs Preview

Aug 25, 2009 - 3:09 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Washington (44-80) at Chicago (62-60), 8:05 p.m. EDT

If the Chicago Cubs are to remain a serious postseason contender, they must take advantage of the opportunity facing them on their upcoming homestand.

With Carlos Zambrano returning to the mound, the Cubs look to bounce back from a rough road swing when they face the lowly Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.

Chicago (62-60) won 3-1 over Los Angeles on Sunday to conclude a 2-5 road trip. The Cubs, who have lost 12 of 17, are eight games behind NL Central-leading St. Louis and fifth in the wild-card race.

While the Cubs won't have an easy task trying to reach the postseason for a third straight year, they have a chance to at least string some wins together during a 10-game home stretch.

Chicago hosts Washington (44-81), the New York Mets and Houston - all teams with losing records - before closing with a makeup game against the crosstown rival White Sox.

The Cubs are 35-22 and averaging 5.0 runs per game at Wrigley Field, where they've won seven of nine over Washington. Chicago's won six straight overall against the Nationals, sweeping a four-game road set July 16-19.

"We've got a 10-game homestand and we need to get hot," manager Lou Piniella told the Cubs' official Web site.

Despite batting .218 and scoring 17 runs during the trip, the Cubs hope Sunday's win over the NL West-leading Dodgers will provide a spark.

"If we come out and play with the same intensity we had, I think you'll like what you see down the stretch," said rookie Chad Fox, who went 4 for 4 with a homer. "We're not out of it. We're not laying down and folding."

Though Fox is batting .305 with nine homers in 58 games, Piniella will likely insert Alfonso Soriano back in the lineup after the struggling slugger didn't start the past two games because of a sore knee.

Soriano is batting .128 in his last 13 games and hasn't homered since July 29. He is 4 for 10 with two homers and five RBIs against Washington this season.

"I said I was going to play my veteran players," Piniella said. "I'm going to lean as much as I can on my veteran players to see what they can do and how far we can go."

Zambrano (7-4, 3.35 ERA) comes off the disabled list to make his first start since leaving with back spasms at Florida on Aug. 1.

The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA in his last five starts and 7-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 10 against Washington.

"Hopefully (Zambrano will) give us a really good finishing kick," Piniella said.

Washington leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan is 6 for 15 against Zambrano and batting .441 versus the Cubs this season. Morgan, though, went 0 for 4 in the Nationals' 7-1 loss to Milwaukee on Monday to conclude their 1-6 homestand.

The Nationals' Adam Dunn, who's hit two of his 33 homers in the last four contests, has 23 in 60 games at Wrigley.

Looking to bounce back from a loss, Garrett Mock (2-5, 5.10) takes the ball for Washington. The right-hander allowed two runs and struck out a season-high eight in five innings of a 4-1 defeat to Colorado on Thursday.

Mock, who is 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA since Aug. 8, gave up seven runs - four earned - in 3 1-3 innings to lose his first start of the season 11-3 to Chicago on July 19.