Mets-Cubs Preview

Aggressiveness and intensity on the mound have helped Carlos Zambrano become one of the top pitchers in the majors. They have also served him well at the plate.

The ace hopes to build on an impressive all-around performance and continue his strong play at Wrigley Field on Monday night when the Chicago Cubs open a two-game set against the New York Mets.

Zambrano (2-1, 3.04 ERA) looks to help the Cubs (12-6) maintain their momentum following a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh that included a 13-6 victory in Sunday's series finale.

The right-hander is coming off a strong outing, allowing two runs while scattering eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of a 12-3 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday. He also helped his cause at the plate, recording a career high-tying three hits with a double and one RBI. That performance snapped his season-opening 0-for-8 slump and upped his batting average to .250.

"I've been getting on Zambrano about his hitting," Cubs manager Lou Piniella told the team's official Web site. "I told him he's a (batting-practice) hitter."

Zambrano, a switch-hitter, is one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball, notching 12 career homers -- including a career-high and major league-leading six in 2006. He's even been used as a pinch-hitter in nine career games, including twice this season.

Zambrano hit his lone homer against the Mets (10-7) on July 25, 2006, and he's 3-for-11 (.273) in his last five games against them, while posting a 3-1 record with a 3.41 ERA on the mound in that span.

The two-time All-Star will try to improve on those numbers with another strong effort at Wrigley Field. He's 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three home starts this season after going 6-9 with a 4.96 ERA in 17 games there last year.

Chicago, though, won only two of seven matchups against New York in 2007, including one of three at home. Both of those victories came against John Maine (1-1, 3.78), who had a 10.57 ERA in those contests.

Maine will now try to help the Mets rebound from Sunday's 5-4 loss at Philadelphia, which ended their season-high five-game winning streak.

The right-hander has been solid through three starts this season, but has walked 12 batters in 16 2-3 innings. He was pulled in the seventh inning after allowing two runs, five hits and four walks in a 5-2 win over Washington on Wednesday.

"The walks, they've been up in all these games," Maine said. "To be able to miss that bad -- in the seventh after I got two outs -- it's frustrating."

He'll try to improve on that against the Cubs, who drew 17 walks in their last two games to move them into second in the NL with 81.

New York's David Wright has been on a tear of late, going 16-for-34 (.471) with three homers and 12 RBIs in the last nine games. The All-Star third baseman was even more impressive in this past weekend's series against the Phillies, going 8-for-11 with four doubles, a triple and four RBIs.

Wright, however, is 2-for-11 with four strikeouts against Zambrano.

The Cubs hope to have right fielder Kosuke Fukudome back in the lineup after a small cyst above his right eye sidelined him for Sunday's victory. Piniella claims the condition isn't serious while calling it "only a one-day thing."

Fukudome is off to an impressive start to his major-league career, hitting .317 with nine RBIs.