Sports > Zambrano Pitches, Hits Cubs Past Pirates

Carlos Zambrano Beats the Pirates for the 7th Straight Time As Cubs Win 9-5 on the Road

Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano walks to the dugout following the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Zambrano (12-5) went 5-0 against the Pirates last season the first pitcher to beat them five times in season since Tom Seaver in 1973 and is 2-0 in three starts against them this year. He gave up Craig Wilson's RBI single in the first, then allowed only more two hits until he gave up three runs in the eighth.

Pitching 7 2-3 innings, Zambrano won his fourth in a row overall and his fifth in six decisions, though he failed for the first time in 13 starts to allow three or fewer runs. He gave up five runs and five hits, striking out nine and walking four.

The Cubs are five games under .500 and out of postseason contention, but at least they can count on beating the Pirates, who are two losses from a 13th consecutive losing season. Chicago is 10-3 against Pittsburgh this season and 23-8 over the last two seasons.

Chicago is assured of its fifth consecutive winning season against the Pirates, the first time that has occurred in one of the NL's oldest rivalries since 1913-19, when the Cubs had winning records in seven consecutive seasons. They have won six in a row in Pittsburgh, where they have played .500 or better every season since PNC Park opened in 2001.

The Pirates, who have lost 50 of 85 since they were 30-30 on June 11, lost their eighth in nine games and their 11th in 13 games the kind of late-season slump that can get a manager fired. The Pirates have not exercised their 2006 club option on Lloyd McClendon, who has yet to have a winning season since taking over in 2001.

Backed by hundreds of chanting fans in town for Saturday night's Notre Dame-Pitt football game, the Cubs chased Dave Williams (10-11) by scoring twice in each of the first two innings. Jeromy Burnitz had a run-scoring double in the first and Henry Blanco doubled ahead of RBI doubles by Jerry Hairston and Ronny Cedeno in the second.

Williams skipped a start after losing 6-3 to the Cardinals on Aug. 25 with what McClendon called shoulder fatigue, but struggled again at home, where he is 3-7 with a 6.68 ERA. On the road, he is 7-4 with a 2.65 ERA.

The Cubs kept adding runs after getting four runs and five hits against Williams in two innings, with Zambrano starting a two-run fourth with a single and hitting an RBI double in the fifth. Matt Murton hit his second career homer and Blanco added his fifth of the season in the seventh against Mike Gonzalez.

Notes:@ The Pirates lost their seventh in a row at home, where they are 0-2 on a six-game homestand after going 1-6 during their previous homestand Aug. 22-28. They have never lost eight in a row at PNC Park. ... The Pirates are 3-12 at home since July 24. ... Zambrano is 7-2 in his career against Pittsburgh.

2005-09-04