All's right in Cubs' world

ST. LOUIS - The normal order of the Cubs' universe looked like it might be starting to right itself Friday night.

Ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano returned and gave the Cubs everything they wanted with 6 innings of shutout ball.

The Cubs got home runs from Kosuke Fukudome and Geovany Soto.

The relief pitching survived a homer by Albert Pujols in the eighth.

And the strangest of all sights: Fireworks greeted the Cubs' important 2-1 victory over the Cardinals as Kerry Wood got Ryan Ludwick to end the game and earn his 22nd save.

Actually, the Fourth of July fireworks along the Mississippi River started in the top of the inning and continued until after the game ended, providing a colorful and noisy backdrop.

"I've never seen it in the bottom half of the ninth inning," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose team improved to 52-35 and increased its first-place lead over the Cardinals to 3 games. "It had to be a little distracting to the players out there."

More important, the Cubs took the first game of this NL Central showdown series after coming into town having lost seven of 10. And they did it with their ace back on the mound after a two-week stint on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.

"It is important, especially here at St. Louis," said Zambrano, who improved to 9-3 and lowered his ERA from 3.13 to 2.96 with his eighth straight victory over the Cardinals. "It is good to take a little advantage and win this first one."

The Cubs wanted Zambrano to go 90 pitches, and he breezed through 87 over his 6 innings, stranding two runners in the second and again in the sixth. He gave up 4 singles, 2 of them infield hits.

"Thank God that everything went good today, and I felt good," he said. "No more problem in my arm."

"He had a great tempo," Soto said. "He came out, and I think he was throwing harder than he was when he started the year. He had a good tempo, good quick innings. That's why he's the ace of the team. He likes big games. Whenever we have big games, he's the guy who wants them. He's made for those types of situations."

Bob Howry relieved Zambrano and worked a 1-2-3 seventh. He got the first two outs of the eighth before Pujols hit career homer No. 300, a shot down the left-field line. Piniella then went to lefty Neal Cotts, who struck out Rick Ankiel. Wood got two quick outs in the ninth before Yadier Molina singled, but pinch hitter Ludwick grounded out to end it.

Before the game, Piniella talked of regaining the Cubs' waning momentum. Afterward, he tried to downplay the difference between being 1 ahead and 3 up.

"It's early in the season to get too caught up in 1 or 3, but it is important to win the first game of a big series like this," he said. "It gives us a chance to go out there tomorrow and increase our lead."