Cubs find losing formula
Team overcomes early struggles by Zambrano, but Eyre blows lead
Instead, Carlos Zambrano had another rough outing, exhausting so many pitches in the first three innings that he needed 113 to get through six. That wasn't enough to help the Cubs when they needed it most in the late innings of an 8-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
''What did us in was a real tired bullpen, and we didn't get the real good performance we were looking for from Zambrano,'' manager Lou Piniella said after the Cubs came back from an early deficit to take the lead in the seventh, only to give it back in the bottom of the inning.
One day after the Cubs made the tough decision to send out reliever Angel Guzman to make room for center fielder Felix Pie, then played a 14-inning game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field, Zambrano gave up four two-out runs in the first inning.
Then he walked back-to-back batters in the second and escaped damage only because of a spectacular double play started by shortstop Cesar Izturis from his stomach and turned on a barehanded relay by second baseman Mark DeRosa.
Zambrano then walked the leadoff man and plunked a hitter in a six-batter third.
Zambrano said he had trouble with his command early and started fighting himself, but he said it wasn't caused by distractions about such things as his shelved contract negotiations or his 7.77 ERA out of the gate this season.
''Nothing,'' he said. ''I guarantee I won't finish like this. I've said it many times: It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Last year, I started the same way [0-2, 5.35 ERA in the first month], but that's not an excuse.''
Even after he settled down and the Cubs came back to take a 6-5 lead in the seventh, Zambrano couldn't go another inning, and there were few bullpen options.
Left-hander Scott Eyre, the closest thing to a rested Cubs reliever (one batter faced Tuesday), got the first two outs of the seventh and might have started the eighth if he could have gotten another quick out.
Instead, he walked Scott Thorman, and pinch hitter Matt Diaz beat out what looked like a routine grounder to short -- until Izturis played it a little too routinely for Diaz' speed. Another walk was followed by back-to-back singles, and the Braves led 8-6.
If there was a bright spot, it was Pie again. For the second time in as many days in the big leagues, he scored the tying run in a Cubs comeback, this time drawing a one-out walk in the seventh and scoring from first on a two-out double by Derrek Lee.