Through 8 innings tonight, Carlos Zambrano has held the Arizona Diamonbacks to ONE hit and no runs. He's also only walked a single batter while striking out four. He has so far lowered his ERA to 2.91, which is second only to Mark Prior's 2.54 ERA for Cubs starters. What a gem of a pitcher this guy is. Prior to this game, Zambrano is 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA this August, a complete game shutout, 23 K's, 8 walks, in 22 innings. Wow.
The really amazing part about it is that Zambrano has done this with 72 pitches, 49 of which were strikes (68%). Talk about working fast. Someone find out what they've been feeding this guy and give a double serving to Kerry Wood.
Oh, and that "other guy" Zambrano is pitching against tonight? That Curt Schilling guy? He's got 14 strikeouts through 8 innings. Unfortunately for him, when they're not striking out, they're hitting them out. Sosa has 2 home runs and Aramis Ramirez has one as well.
[UPDATE:] With 2 outs in the 9th, Zambrano walked pinch hitter Carlos Baerga, gave up a single to Luis Gonzalez, then a double to Raul Mondesi to lose his 2nd career shutout (and 2nd one this month). Alex Cintron then grounded out for the third out giving the Cubs a 4-1 win. Houston lost to Cincinnati 4-3, which means the Cubs are 1/2 game back of the NL Central lead. St. Louis also lost, so they remain 1 game back.