Cards Pummel Zambrano, Cubs

YES!  You know him.  You hate him.  The ace of the Chicago staff, Carlos Zambrano, and all of his cockiness, were at the center of some extremely entertaining television this afternoon when the Cardinals’ offense put on a hitting clinic.

After losing game one of the series with a subpar showing from the offense, the Redbirds showed up at Wrigley today ready for redemption.  Facing Zambrano in Chicago is no easy task.  Before today’s game, he was unbeaten at home in ’08.  The Cards were able to chase him out of the game after only 4.1 innings, in which he gave up 9 runs on 10 hits.  Yep.  9 runs!  Let’s count them:

•  1st inning:  Ludwick singles in Schumaker from second
•  3rd inning:  Schumaker hits a solo home run
•  3rd inning:  Pujols hits a solo home run
•  4th inning:  Glaus hits a two run homer
•  5th inning:  Lopez singles in Pujols
•  5th inning:  Glaus hits a three run home run

And Big Z was done.  His nine earned runs were the most he’s ever allowed.  The Cards continued to pile on, winning the game 12-3.

With all of the thunder from the Cardinal bats, it’s easy to forget just how important the strong outing from Todd Wellemeyer was.  Making his first career start at Wrigley against his former team, the Colonel was impressive.  With excellent command, Wellemeyer lasted 6.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, while striking out 5.  The bullpen was able to get the final seven outs without incident, which is an accomplishment in itself.  Here’s the complete box score.

Game three of the series is tomorrow night, with Chris Carpenter facing off against Ryan Dempster.  A win would certainly add some momentum heading into the four game set in Miami.