Johnson's homer gives Cubs win; Zambrano tossed

Cubs manager Lou Piniella did his best to hold back the laughter after his team beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 Wednesday at Wrigley Field.

Chances are, though, that Major League Baseball won't deem Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano's antics a laughing matter, no matter how the Cubs try to put the story into a different light.

When the investigations are done and the tapes are watched, Zambrano could be facing a suspension that forces him to miss 1 and perhaps 2 starts.

Another Zambrano explosion occurred in the top of the seventh inning. With the Cubs ahead 2-1, Zambrano gave up a leadoff single to Nyjer Morgan, who advanced to third on a fielding error by left fielder Alfonso Soriano.

Delwyn Young popped out before Zambrano uncorked a wild pitch on his second delivery to Nate McLouth. Cubs catcher Geovany Soto quickly retrieved the ball and tossed it to Zambrano, who tagged Morgan.

However, umpire Mark Carlson ruled Morgan safe. Zambrano argued vehemently with Carlson before the two men made contact near their shoulders. Zambrano was ejected immediately, and then he went on a rampage. He pretended to thumb Carlson from the game. After that, Zambrano tossed the ball into left-center field. He threw his glove against the dugout fence before finally taking a bat to the Gatorade fountain in the dugout.

The umpires did not wish to comment, but the Cubs will assert that Carlson stepped into Zambrano, thus initiating the contact. It may not matter in the end. MLB may view the tape differently, and Zambrano's spree afterward probably won't play well.

"Carlos, I'm going to have a talk with him," said a chuckling Piniella, who couldn't help himself. "I know he was spirited today, but we got to calm him down a little bit. He thought the runners was, obviously, out at home plate. It was a real close play. The umpire said he got his hand around the tag.

"He's got to tone it down. I'm the only calm, cool and collect one around here, it seems. I'm just kidding, obviously."

Piniella saw the argument this way: "If you look at the film, the umpire sort of walks in (toward Zambrano) a little bit. But the league makes that determination. You have to be more careful than that."

Zambrano was apologetic, but only for his actions after getting tossed.

"I'm a competitor," he said. "I think he was out. It's his call. I exaggerated after that play, just to throw the ball and to do the other things. Hopefully, MLB will view the play. We'll see what happens."

How did Zambrano view the issue of contact?

"I will wait for MLB to see the replay," he said.

Zambrano seemed to direct an apology of sorts to Carlson.

"I apologize to him because after he kicked me out," he said. "I should have gone to the clubhouse and just keep watching the game. I apologize for throwing the ball and doing the other things."

Until the fireworks, the game was a nice duel between Zambrano and Pirates lefty Zach Duke, who lasted 7 innings. The Cubs got to reliever Jesse Chavez in the eighth, when Reed Johnson broke the 2-2 tie with a solo homer.

Later, a pair of players called up Wednesday from the minor leagues put it out of reach. Andres Blanco and Jake Fox hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and the Cubs improved to 1 game over .500 at 23-22.

At least one unexpected person had a sense of humor about the whole Zambrano contretemps.

"That was pretty impressive," said Milton Bradley, who already has served a suspension for an umpire confrontation. "It was on a Bradley level."

But seriously, the Cubs are going to be careful lest they get a reputation as being confrontational with umpires. Pitcher Ted Lilly was tossed out of Monday night's game after he jumped onto the field to argue balls and strikes in a game he was not playing. He faces possible disciplinary action.

"We've had a few, haven't we?" Piniella asked, sheepishly. "I've talked to all the individuals about it. I will talk to Zambrano about this tomorrow at length, I really will. The Lilly thing came out of the clear blue sky. No, we can't have that, and we'll take care of it."

Bruce Miles' game tracker

He's back: After slumping badly on the recent road trip, shortstop Ryan Theriot was 3-for-3, all singles. He was 7-for-11 against the Pirates.

Pitch counting: Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano threw 114 pitches before getting kicked out of the game in the seventh. He threw 26 in the second inning but still managed a quality start, going 61/3 innings, giving up 7 hits and 2 runs, 1 earned.

He's also back: Carlos Marmol returned to the team after his wife gave birth to a daughter this week. Marmol earned his first win of the season and enjoyed his fourth straight scoreless outing.

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