Harden excited about matchup with Blanton

PITTSBURGH - A big smile crossed Rich Harden's face Wednesday when he heard he'd be facing an old friend Friday.

Harden will take on the Phillies' Joe Blanton in the second game of the Cubs' series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Until last month, Harden and Blanton were teammates with the Oakland Athletics and key members of the A's rotation.

"I'm matched up with Blanton? Are you serious? Oh, that's great," Harden said.

The Athletics cleaned house last month, trading Harden to the Cubs and Blanton to the Phillies. Both pitchers have been assets to their new clubs. Harden is 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA with the Cubs. Blanton is 1-0 with a 4.03 ERA with the Phillies.

Harden said it will be special to face his old friend.

"I was hoping for that matchup," he said. "I figured it probably wouldn't work out so I really wasn't looking into it. Things like that never kind of work out. But yeah, a matchup against a friend I used to play with? Joe was always one of my favorite guys with the team. To get a chance to face him is very exciting."

Harden's numbers with the Cubs have been scary good. Even scarier is that members of the Cubs staff feel Harden hasn't shown everything yet as he regains his strength from an early-season shoulder ailment.

With the Cubs, Harden has pitched 49 innings, giving up 28 hits and 8 earned runs while walking 14 and striking out 70. His WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) is a microscopic 0.86.

Soto fountain: Geovany Soto became the fourth major-league rookie catcher to have 7 RBI in a game. Soto drove in 7 Tuesday night with a pair of doubles and a homer. He's the first Cubs rookie catcher to do so. Soto's homer Tuesday was his 20th of the season, breaking the Cubs' rookie record for catchers he shared with Randy Hundley, who hit 19 in 1966. Billy Williams holds the Cubs' rookie record for homers, with 25 in 1961.

Not all bad: Despite a rocky outing on the mound Tuesday, pitcher Carlos Zambrano continues to swing the bat. According to the Cubs and the Elias Sports Bureau, Zambrano became the first major-league pitcher with an RBI in 8 consecutive starts. He has hit safely in 13 straight starts.

Zambrano is 27-for-74 (.365) after opening the season 0-for-9. His OPS (on-base plus slugging) since the 0-for-9 is 1.107, which puts him in power-hitter territory.

This and that: Carlos Marmol earned his 25th hold of the season, tying the club single-season record held by Bob Scanlan (1993) and Jeff Fassero (2001). ... Mark DeRosa extended his hitting streak to nine games. He's 15-for-34 during the streak. ... Left fielder Alfonso Soriano committed his second error in two games when he let Jack Wilson's first-inning single get under his glove.