ST. LOUIS - Jacque Jones hit a bases-loaded triple in Chicago's seven-run fifth and Carlos Zambrano pitched seven innings in the Cubs' 8-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
Zambrano (2-2) is unbeaten against the Cardinals in his last eight starts, going 5-0 with a 1.54 ERA (58 2-3 innings) over that stretch. He ended a three-game winless streak by allowing one run and seven hits with two strikeouts.
Jones had two hits in the fifth and went 3-for-4 overall with four RBIs. Derrek Lee continued his hot start for the Cubs, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lee has reached safely in all 23 games he's played and is batting .391 (36-for-92).
Albert Pujols led off the seventh with his sixth homer of the season for St. Louis. It was the 256th of his career, moving him ahead of Ken Boyer and into second place on the Cardinals' career home run list behind only Stan Musial (475).
Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright (1-2) struggled for the third consecutive start. Wainwright, who gave up seven runs in 5 1-3 innings Sunday in Chicago, lasted just 4 1-3 innings against the Cubs on Saturday. He gave up six runs and seven hits, walked three and struck out two.
The Cubs got to Wainwright and reliever Tyler Johnson in the fifth inning, sending 11 men to the plate.
Jones started the inning with a double to the wall in left, and Henry Blanco followed with another double to make it 1-0. After a sacrifice by Zambrano and a walk to Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot drove in Blanco with a single to left, and Lee made it 3-0 when he doubled in Soriano.
After an intentional walk to Aramis Ramirez, Johnson relieved Wainwright and got Cliff Floyd hit a run-scoring fielder's choice to first. Mark DeRosa's infield single loaded the bases, and Jones cleared them with a triple off the wall in center that gave Chicago a 7-0 lead.
Jones also singled in a run in the seventh against Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock.
Notes: Jones is the first Cubs player to get two hits in an inning since Jerry Hairston accomplished the feat in the seventh inning against Florida on Aug. 20, 2005. … The Cardinals fell to 3-9 at home this year. … Soriano extended his hitting streak to nine games; he has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games. … In his last three starts, Wainwright has allowed 17 earned runs in 15 2-3 innings (9.20 ERA). … The Cubs have won three in a row for the first time since Sept. 16-18 of last season. … Pujols extended his hitting streak to eight games with his home run.
