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Cubs-Brewers Preview

Jun 9, 2010 - 5:15 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Chicago (26-31) at Milwaukee (23-34), 8:10 p.m. EDT

Carlos Zambrano said he was a little rusty when he made his return to the Chicago Cubs' rotation last week.

Back to his usual schedule, he'll try to benefit from pitching in perhaps his favorite opposing ballpark Wednesday night.

Zambrano will attempt to win his fifth straight decision at Miller Park and help his team bounce back from a disappointing series-opening loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Zambrano had five days off between his final relief appearance and his first start in more than a month Friday night in Houston. The $91.5 million right-hander was moved to the bullpen after going 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA in his first four starts of the season. He was 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA over 13 relief appearances, the last on May 29.

The time off didn't seem to help Zambrano (1-4, 6.14 ERA) in his return to the rotation. He made 34 of his 84 pitches in the first inning and allowed three runs, six hits and three walks in 4 1-3 innings as the Cubs (26-32) fell 3-1 to the Astros.

"It's a little tough to be consistent with the strike zone (after a layoff)," he told the Cubs' official website. "Not even (Carlos) Silva, who is a strike machine, or Greg Maddux could be consistent. If Maddux went to the bullpen and tried to pitch in seven, eight days, I think he would have some location problems."

Over the past three years, Zambrano has had few problems staying in control at Miller Park. He's 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his last five starts there, including his no-hitter against Houston on Sept. 14, 2008, in a game relocated because of hurricane damage in Texas.

Zambrano, however, has a 7.20 ERA in his last two overall starts against the Brewers - both at Wrigley Field. He gave up four runs over five innings against Milwaukee on April 15 but did not get saddled with the decision in Chicago's 8-6 defeat.

Until the opener of this series, that was the Cubs' only loss in six games against their NL Central rivals.

Former Chicago prospect Casey McGehee gave the Brewers another victory against the Cubs with a two-run, two-out single in the ninth inning Tuesday night. The 3-2 win was Milwaukee's seventh in 21 home games against Chicago since June 5, 2007.

"Going into a lead in the ninth inning, you feel good about it with your closer, but it didn't happen," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Milwaukee (24-34) hasn't won back-to-back home games over Chicago in one season since 2006, and Randy Wolf (4-5, 4.66) will try to deliver that with another strong outing against the Cubs, losers in six of eight overall.

The left-hander is 5-7 with a 4.22 ERA in 17 career starts versus Chicago but has gone 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in his last four. Wolf, though, is 2-4 with a 5.71 ERA in his last seven overall starts after giving up five runs over 6 2-3 innings in Friday's 8-0 loss in St. Louis.