Big Z's big funk

Elation, frustration, anticipation and, in the end, deflation.

Almost every "ation" Cubs Nation could ration was doled out Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Just another typical day at the Friendly Confines.

From Carlos Zambrano finally snapping to Alfonso Soriano's continued thwapping, it was all on display in the Cubs' 7-6 loss to Pittsburgh, their first loss to the Pirates in eight meetings this season.

For a while there it looked like the Cubs might go a perfect 8-for-8 after taking a 3-1 lead early thanks to a homer, a single and 2 RBI from the red-hot Soriano (5-for-5), but Zambrano then snapped -- literally and figuratively.

Big Z, as he had said he would in spring training, had kept his emotions in check for the most part this season. So much so that manager Lou Piniella had praised him before the game, saying, "He's found a good medium, and I think it's really helped his pitching. He's all business out there."

Then Zambrano came to the plate in the fourth inning.

After striking out swinging he eventually was thrown out at first base on the dropped third strike. As he jogged to first with lumber still in hand, Zambrano stopped halfway up the line, took his bat, and snapped it in half over his left leg.

That marked the beginning of the end for Zambrano, who faced five batters in the fifth, failed to register an out, and promptly was given the hook by a riled-up Piniella.

"I don't see the need to break the bat over your knee when you've got a 4-2 lead in a ballgame," the Cubs skipper growled.

After initially denying that his bat-snap boogie was born of frustration, Zambrano finally fessed up.

"I was (ticked) off," he said. "It was rough today, obviously not a good game."

And that's a rarity for Zambrano, who came into the contest sporting a 6-1 record and 2.03 ERA. But he knew before the game even started that this might be a tough one.

"(I knew) since I was warming up in the bullpen," he said of what was in store.

"It wasn't very good; it wasn't sharp," Piniella said. "I don't know if it was concentration or what, but it certainly wasn't near his best."

On the other end of the spectrum was Soriano, who is only hitting .541 on the homestand, with 15 RBI and a whopping 7 home runs in his last six games. He added 2 Saturday, including a solo shot that tied the game in the seventh.

"I feel very hot right now," Soriano said. "I say to myself, if I see strikes, I'm going to hit the ball very hard."

After a rare mistake by Carlos Marmol resulted in Nate McLouth's 2-run homer in the ninth, Soriano led yet another charge with a two-out double. He scored on Ryan Theriot's single, but the rally came up just short.

"Look, these guys play," Piniella said of the first-place Cubs (26-17). "Give them all the credit in the world. We get after it. Today we just fell short."

Pirates 7, Cubs 6

At the plate: Two words: Alfonso Soriano. The hottest hitter on the planet turned the temperature up even more, going 5-for-5 with a pair of home runs. Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa each had 2 hits.

On the mound: Carlos Zambrano struggled from the get-go and eventually left with the bases loaded and no one out in the fifth. Zambrano threw 73 pitches, just 40 for strikes. Carlos Marmol (1-1) came on in the ninth and gave up just his second home run of the year, a 2-run blast by Nate McLouth that proved to be the game-winner.

-- Mike Spellman