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Zambrano's arm, Lee's bat help Cubs trounce Nationals

Apr 27, 2008 - 3:43 AM By Rich Dubroff PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Carlos Zambrano gave the Chicago Cubs what they needed.

Zambrano threw seven scoreless innings and Derrek Lee drove in three runs to lead the Cubs to a 7-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.

Mark DeRosa had a pair of RBI for the Cubs, who had lost two straight following a six-game winning streak.

Zambrano (4-1) allowed five hits and four walks with five strikeouts, throwing 69 of his 114 pitches for strikes.

"Zambrano's a wonder," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We needed seven or eight innings from him, and that's exactly what we got. We needed to swing the bats a little bit, and we did."

Zambrano, who stranded nine baserunners, left after striking out Ryan Zimmerman in the seventh with runners on second and third, pumping his fist as he walked off the mound.

"I'm really excited," Zambrano said. "I've worked hard this year. Today, I really went out there and tried to do my job, tried to locate my pitches. Everything worked good for me today."

Michael Wuertz and Jon Lieber each tossed a scoreless frame to finish off the combined six-hitter.

Chicago avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season by jumping all over Washington starter Matt Chico (0-5) early.

Lee stroked an RBI single to left field and DeRosa added a two-run base hit during a three-run first inning. Lee was at it again in the second, roping a two-run double to left for a 5-0 lead.

"I couldn't buy a break," Chico said. "The one to Lee - a double - I threw a slider over the middle, and you can't throw that pitch to him."

The Cubs added two runs in the eighth on a double by Aramis Ramirez off Jesus Colome. Ramirez, who had two doubles and a walk, has reached base in 23 of 24 games this season.

"We played good enough. We pitched good enough," Ramirez said. "We're doing everything right."

Washington, which had its two-game winning streak snapped, has lost 17 of its last 22.

Chico allowed five runs and eight hits in four innings. The lefthander struck out five and walked two.

"He was hit around by a very good lineup," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "They have a lineup where almost everybody's hitting over .300 right now, and he flat-out just got hit around."

One player who did not contribute to the Cubs' offense was catcher Geovany Soto. Soto struck out five times after fanning on three occasions in his previous game.

Piniella was able to make light of Soto's struggles at the plate.

"He caught a shutout, and he was shut out also," Piniella joked. "We teach our catchers here to carry the pitching staff first. Hitting is second, and he worked that to a tee today."