The Cubs continued their dominance at Wrigley Field, improving their home record to 41-15, and continued their dominance of the Pirates, winning 2 of 3. They also improved their National League leading record to 67-45. At 22 games above .500, Chicago has hit a new high-water mark thus far in the season. Triple Play looks at the weekend series:

1. The Maturity of Carlos Zambrano
Big Z threw 5 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run. Rarely does he pitch only 5 innings when he’s having a day like that. In his previous two starts, Zambrano threw 125 and 118 pitches, respectively. Sunday, he threw only 82 and was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying, “…it was my idea…I was mentally prepared to go 5 or 6 innings.” The Carlos Zambrano of old would most likely never suggest to be taken out early, and be visibly upset if he was. This is a different Carlos Zambrano. One who has curtailed his negative emotional outbursts. One who realizes he can’t throw 100 pitches and go 7 or 8 innings every start. And one who is aware of the ramifications if he were to get injured. We are seeing a Zambrano who has matured as a player, and as a teammate, and is preparing himself to be in top form for the stretch run.

2. Marmol’s Return
Carlos Marmol threw a scoreless 9th inning Sunday, recording his 6th save of the season and 3rd since the All-Star break in as many chances. In 8 appearances since the midsummer classic, Marmol has given up only 2 hits in 9 innings, fanning 15, with no runs allowed. It appears the break served him well now that he is pitching with the same effectiveness as the first 2 months of the season. Part of his return to success is his pitch selection. He has gone back to making his fastball his dominant pitch and is using his slider more selectively, which, in turn, means using it more effectively.

3. Creating Distance from the Cardinals
After winning 2 of the 3 games against the Pirates, and the Cardinals losing 2 of 3 to the Phillies, the Cubs extended their lead over the Redbirds to 6 games. It’s still early August, but if Chicago can win this next series with Houston, and then do it again against St. Louis, they will have pretty much pushed the Cardinals out of contention for a Central Division title. Let’s say the Cubs sweep Houston, but St. Louis sweeps the Dodgers at the same time. If the Cubs then sweep St. Louis, they will push them to 9 games back. If they win 2 of 3 it puts them 7 back. It is optimistic thinking, but with all of these games at Wrigley Field (where they’ve been almost automatic) it’s not out of the question.

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