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Harang, Zambrano to duel on Tuesday

May 6, 2008 - 1:01 PM Chicago Cubs (18-14) at Cincinnati (13-20) 7:10 pm EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) - Carlos Zambrano hopes to record his fourth straight win Tuesday when the Chicago Cubs face the Cincinnati Reds in the middle game of a three-game set.

Chicago opened the season with a 15-6 record to match its best 21-game start since 1907 in large part because of an offense that averaged 6.3 runs over that time.

The team has dropped eight of 11 games since, however, as the offense has averaged nearly a run less. Excluding their 19-run outburst on Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, the Cubs have averaged 4.0 runs in their other 10 games.

Still, the Cubs lead the league with 192 runs.

With the way Zambrano (4-1, 2.11 ERA) has been pitching this season, that may be enough run support for him to post his fourth straight win. The righthander has allowed only four runs over his last four starts - spanning 27 1/3 innings.

Zambrano did more than enough to win his fourth straight start on Thursday vs. Milwaukee, allowing one run over 6 1/3 innings. But closer Kerry Wood surrendered three runs in the ninth as the Cubs lost, 4-3.

He'll likely will receive a challenge from Aaron Harang (1-4, 2.98), who has been provided with just 15 runs of support over his seven starts. The Reds' ace turned in a fair performance on Wednesday - yielding three runs over six frames - but the offense sputtered again in a 5-2 loss at St. Louis.