Zambrano's gem eases potential Piniella problem

MILWAUKEE - Cubs manager Lou Piniella had quite the problem on his hands Sunday.

After telling the media that he'd limit Carlos Zambrano to "90, 95, 100 pitches," Piniella watched as Zambrano mowed down the Houston Astros inning after inning.

Zambrano made things a little easier by holding his pitch count down. By the time the eighth inning ended, Zambrano had thrown 99 pitches.

The only problem was that the Astros hadn't gotten a hit. So Piniella turned to bench coach Alan Trammell.

"We were talking before the ballgame about 90 pitches," Piniella said with a chuckle. "I told Alan, 'If he's got to come out of the game, you go get him. I'm not.' "

There was no need for anybody to go get Zambrano. He worked a quick 1-2-3 ninth to record the first no-hitter of his career as the Cubs beat the Houston Astros 5-0.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the performance was that Zambrano hadn't pitched since Sept. 2, when he removed himself from his start against the Astros at Wrigley Field because of shoulder problems.

Piniella hearkened to conversations with pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

"Larry has told me the last few times that he's thrown, he's gotten sharper and sharper in his bullpen sessions," Piniella said. "Quite frankly, Larry was expecting... a good game from him, and he gave him just an excellent, excellent game. He had everything going. From the first few pitches of the ballgame, you knew that his arm was live and the ball was coming out really easy. It had good movement on it. He located, for the most part, the whole ballgame, and his used his split-finger and his slider to keep the hitters honest."

Catcher Geovany Soto had the best seat in the house.

"I've seen him throw the ball like that, and that's the Zambrano we know," Soto said. "Obviously, he was struggling with his shoulder. It was kind of sad. I was there when it happened in Tampa (the first bout of shoulder woes, in June). I was there at home. It's rewarding coming out and seeing him do the stuff he did today. He worked hard on his shoulder and kept his head high. He proved that he's the ace."

Zambrano might have raised a few eyebrows in his postgame news conference after he raised his lifetime record at Miller Park to 7-5.

"Every time I come to Miller Park, I feel good," he said. "I like the mound. This is a beautiful ballpark. Gosh, I wish we could have a new ballpark. A clubhouse like that, I'm impressed."

Because of Hurricane Ike, the Astros were the home team, but Zambrano took over the joint. So what are his favorite parks?

"Here and L.A. and San Diego," he said. "Great clubhouse."

But seriously, where did the newfound velocity on his fastball come from? The scoreboard clock recorded 3 pitches at 98 mph in the first inning.

"I guess I'm back," he said. "My arm is back. It's good."