After losing 2 of 3 in Houston the Cubs saw their lead in the Central slip to 2 games over the Cardinals, and 3 games over the Brewers. Let’s take a look back at the weekend’s action in Triple Play:

1.Can’t Harness the Horse
“El Caballo” Carlos Lee continued beating up on the Cubs, batting .364 (4-11) in the series. He also drove in 2 runs, including a solo home run in the 7th inning of game 1 that turned out to be a game winner. He is now batting .322 for his career against Chicago, and .323 on the season, with a 1.021 OPS (On Base plus Slugging) percentage. For whatever reason, Lee feasts on Cubs pitching like it’s a bodily function and the Northsiders cannot pull the reigns on this horse.

2. Heartless out of the Gates
The heart of the Cubs order (Lee-Ramirez-Soto) hit a mediocre .083 (2-24) in the first 2 games of the series. Consequently, the Cubs raised an L flag back home after both. Heading into the series the team talked about starting out strong to set the pace for the second half, but it turned out to be just talk. Chicago now heads to Arizona where they will face Randy Johnson in game 1, who is 12-0 in his lifetime against them. Although they busted out for 9 runs on Sunday, it is becoming evident the team needs Alfonso Soriano more than ever and this final week before his return may end up being a very long one if the bats don’t produce.

3. Move over, Fergie!
On Saturday Carlos Zambrano hit a solo home run to right field, surpassing Fergie Jenkins and setting a club record 14 home runs for a pitcher. It took 19 seasons for Jenkins to hit 13 long balls. It has taken just 7 ½ for Zambrano to hit one more. Big Z has proven time and time again that he is a force to be reckoned with at the plate, and Saturday’s display adds to his resume. It is a special thing when fans stop what they’re doing to watch a pitcher hit--Carlos is making his claim as the best hitting pitcher of this era.

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