Zambrano no longer the joker in Cubs' deck

Let's face it, if the Cubs' pitching staff were a deck of cards, there'd be about 42 cards instead of 52.

You'd also be hard pressed to find an ace in the bunch, but Carlos Zambrano is starting to show signs that he can regain that title.

Zambrano won his second straight decision Wednesday as he tossed 8 strong innings in the Cubs' 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

For years, Zambrano was the Cubs' horse, the ace. But last year, he had a lot of people call him a horse's a—, oh never mind, after some bad behavior and anger-management treatment.

But since he came back late last season, Zambrano has been the model of deportment for the most part. He's also been the Cubs' best pitcher. He even got into the happy spirit of “throwback” day at Dodger Stadium, beginning the bottom of the first with an old-fashioned windmill windup and later doing in a little dancing to some swing music in the dugout.

Wednesday's victory was his 10th straight on the road and improved his record for this season to 4-1 with a 4.23 ERA. Of the Cubs' 10 quality starts this season, Zambrano has 4.

Zambrano was efficient, throwing 107 pitches (70 strikes) while walking just one and giving up 5 hits and striking out four.

“He was Big Z today, he wasn't Carlos,” center fielder Marlon Byrd told reporters. Byrd played a big part in the victory, as well. “I saw 92, 94 (mph) on the board today. He's a power pitcher, and that's what he has to do to win.”

Zambrano outpitched Ted Lilly, the former Cubs lefty.

“Every time I face a good guy, an ace, I know I have to have my ‘A' game because the other guy is good,” Zambrano told the media. “It felt weird, too. Sometimes you see him pitching when he was with us, you know what to expect. I was just trying to do my job and pitch my game. My delivery was nice and easy today, and when it got to the plate, it was exploding.”

A couple of other guys appear to be resurfacing, and that will be important if the Cubs (14-16) are going to climb above .500, especially with a tough schedule coming up, beginning with the defending NL Central champion Reds this weekend at Wrigley Field.

Carlos Pena, who found April the cruelest month, with no homers, hit his second in two days. Byrd, who had not homered since Sept. 6, 2010, hit a 3-run blast in the sixth inning.

Geovany Soto's homer gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Pena's homer came with two outs in the sixth and was the 10th straight solo homer hit by the Cubs. Whatever, the last two days have been welcome relief for Pena.

“In theory, (hitting the first homer) doesn't really matter, but it does help,” Pena told reporters. “It helps my confidence, it helps me to know, ‘Hey, you're right there, and things are coming.' I was glad to get that first one out of the way. Look at that, I was able to hit another one and score a run for the ballclub.”

Byrd was another guy who's emerged of late. His homer was his first since Sept. 6, 2010, and it came after the Cubs had hit 10 solo homers in row.

“I just wanted to find my swing and contribute, and especially hit with runners in scoring position,” Byrd said.