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Cubs conclude series with LA at Wrigley Field

Apr 24, 2011 - 3:47 PM (Sports Network) - Two teams gets a chance to climb back over the .500 mark today when the Chicago Cubs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the finale of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs moved to 10-10 on the strength of Saturday's win in the middle game of the series, which came when Jeff Baker hit a two-run double to cap the Cubs' five-run eighth inning in a 10-8 triumph.

The Dodgers had climbed a game above .500 with a 12-2 win Friday.

Chicago faced an 8-5 deficit entering the eighth, but got a two-run single from Starlin Castro and an RBI from Darwin Barney to tie the game. After Baker delivered the key hit, Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his fifth save.

Castro and Barney both drove in three for the Cubs. Castro ended with four hits, while Barney had three to set the tone at the top of Chicago's lineup.

The Cubs' late rally prevented starter Ryan Dempster from taking the loss. The right-hander allowed seven runs on nine hits -- three of them homers -- and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Jeff Samardzija (2-0) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless frames to pick up the win.

Casey Blake hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who had won their last three, while Matt Kemp and Rod Barajas added solo shots. Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to an MLB-best 20 games this season with a double. He is hitting .408 with two home runs and 12 RBI during the streak.

Los Angeles starter Ted Lilly allowed five runs on 11 hits and a walk in 4 1/3 frames, and scoreless appearances by Dodgers relievers Mike MacDougal and Vicente Padilla got them through the sixth.

Venezuelan righty Carlos Zambrano comes off his best outing of the season for the Cubs and seeks his third win without a loss today.

The 29-year-old got a no-decision in the Cubs' 1-0 defeat of San Diego on April 18 after tossing eight innings of scoreless three-hit ball with one walk and 10 strikeouts.

He's allowed 12 runs on 22 hits in 25 2/3 innings across four starts.

Zambrano is 2-3 in 12 career meetings with Los Angeles.

The Dodgers start Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda, who has split a pair of career starts against the Cubs.

He's posted a stingy 0.59 earned run average in 15 1/3 combined innings in the two outings, allowing a single earned run on 11 hits with 14 strikeouts.

Kuroda was 2-0 after defeat San Diego and San Francisco, but has since fallen to 2-2 with home losses to St. Louis and Atlanta.

In the first two starts, he gave up 13 hits and three runs in 15 2/3 innings. In the second two, he's allowed 15 hits and eight runs in 11 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers have won nine of 14 against the Cubs, but did lose two of three at Wrigley Field a season ago.