--LHP Scott Eyre set a franchise record by working his 32nd consecutive scoreless game. Eyre, who has not given up an run this year, had shared the club mark with RHP Ryan Dempster. Eyre's streak, which covers 22 2/3 innings, dates to Aug. 16, 2007. Eyre has stranded all 14 runners he has inherited this year.
--C Geovany Soto has rebounded nicely from a slump that dogged him on the recent West Coast trip. Soto was 3-for-5 Thursday, making him 6-for-14 with a homer and three RBIs on the three-game homestand against Atlanta. Soto had been bothered on the trip by a sore left hand. --3B Aramis Ramirez drew two walks Thursday, giving him 40 for the season. Ramirez's career best in walks is 50, set two years ago. Ramirez has been noticeably more patient at home plate this year.
--RHP Carlos Zambrano turned in his 11th quality start. The Cubs have 33 quality starts this year, and the team has gone 25-8 in those games, with the starters sporting a 1.84 ERA.
--1B Derrek Lee extended his hitting streak to six games by going 1-for-5. Lee has slumped this month, but he did have two extra-base hits on the homestand after picking up just four singles on the recent road trip.
BY THE NUMBERS: 3.99 -- ERA of the Cubs' starting pitchers entering the week. Quality starts had been few and far between lately, and the bullpen had been carrying the pitching, with a 3.12 ERA through June 8.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "These guys are competitors, and they want to do well, and they want to win. I'd rather have a guy who gets upset than a guy that does it with a smile, like he doesn't care." -- Manager Lou Piniella, after Carlos Zambrano's dugout tirade last Saturday in Los Angeles, where Zambrano took out his anger on a pair of Gatorade jugs.
