Carlos Zambrano Mows Your Hitters Down

A game that was merely a whisper this morning has turned into a primal scream from the massive Cubs ace, Carlos Zambrano. Awash in a sea of Cubs blue at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Zambrano roared back tonight from a forced vacation due to rotator cuff soreness and an August well under his best to secure the first Chicago Cubs no-hitter since 1972 and perhaps the first to occur in a third-party ballpark. Drayton McLane's boys in alternate home red (as they were the putative home team) fairly well laid down, providing Zambrano with 13 ground balls and 10 strikeouts in a contest Houston management had no taste for as long as it was in Milwaukee. However, the Astros bowed to external pressure (aka Lord Selig) and accepted the Milwaukee location, much to the chagrin of Astros fans and every email we received on the topic today from Cubs and Astros fans alike. Alfonso Soriano's leadoff homer provided all the offense Zambrano would require. The Cubs pounded on Randy Wolf in the third like Randall Simon-on-oversized-sausage in the third for good measure, though. For Houston, a six-game winning streak collapses in exile and a day game awaits in just a few hours. For the Cubs, their magic number shrinks to seven with the dual Brewers losses in Philadelphia Sunday. And for Zambrano, concerns about overworking a rather hefty man just coming off desperately needed rest may still arise, but he never seemed to labor for any of his 110 pitches and only walked one.