The rookies got a bit of redemption, and Carlos Zambrano picked up where he left off prior to his DL stint, as the Cubs beat the Cardinals  2-1 Friday night in St. Louis. The victory puts them 3.5 games ahead of St. Louis, and ensures that the Cubs will stay in 1st place for at least the weekend.

I came across a piece written by Chris DeLuca at the Sun-Times a few days ago that I found curious then, and even more curious now. In particular was the blurb:

The story is drastically different on the North Side. Thanks to the giant question mark hanging over ace Carlos Zambrano's shoulder, the Cubs have made finding another veteran starter priority one this month.

Giant? Really? Well, I think after last night, even Chris has put his concerns to rest, and Carlos dazzled in his six scoreless innings of work. Honestly, he could have easily gone at least an inning more from look of it, with his early hook appearing precautionary. His velocity was impressive -- hitting 96 on a few occasions -- and his breaking ball was knee-bending at times. Welcome back Carlos.

Really though, this was a team effort; everyone did what they had to do to get this win. The bullpen -- sans Carlos Marmol -- who went four innings of one-run ball in relief. Even Bob Howry, who gave up the Cardinals' only run on a Albert Pujols shot, was pretty good. You can't dodge Albert forever though. The lineup, who supplied all the runs that were needed on a pair of solo home runs; Kosuke Fukudome in the first inning, and Geovany Soto in the fourth. There were even a few good defensive moments, with Aramis Ramirez making a number of fine plays. I will quibble a bit with Ryan Theriot, who dropped yet another good throw to second, allowing Skip Schumaker to steal the base in the 2nd. But those who regularly read this blog know my feelings on Ryan, so I won't beat the dead horse.

And congratulations to Jim Edmonds. You can't go home again, but the reception that he received from fans last night during his first plate appearance was probably the warmest and most sustained standing ovation that I've personally ever seen an athlete received.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to catch last night's Florida-Colorado football baseball game on MLB.tv. 18-17? Wow. Just...wow.