07/25/2007 1:33 AM ET Zambrano strong in Cubs win Goes 6 1/3 innings to get 13th victory of season By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com ST. LOUIS -- Jason Kendall remembers a few at-bats he had against Carlos Zambrano. Kendall likes it much better when he's catching him. "He's good," said Kendall, who caught his new Cubs teammate for the first time on Tuesday night. "It doesn't matter what you put down -- everything moves, and everything's hard, and he hits his spots. He's fun to catch. He's definitely a lot easier to catch than he is to hit." The St. Louis Cardinals know how tough Zambrano is to hit, too. Aramis Ramirez hit a tie-breaking RBI single with two outs in the seventh to help Zambrano win his National League-leading 13th game and lift the Cubs to a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night over the Cardinals. Derrek Lee, back after serving a five-game suspension, hit a key two-out RBI single in the ninth and Ryan Dempster picked up his first save since coming off the disabled list, as the Cubs kept pace with the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee beat Cincinnati, 5-3, and maintained a three-game lead over the Cubs in the National League Central Division. Chicago improved to 30-15 since June 3, the best record in the NL for that stretch. "This game was a struggle and we got it done," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. Zambrano (13-7) struck out five and gave up two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. Since June 6, the animated right-hander is 8-2 with a 1.56 ERA, serving up 12 earned runs over 69 1/3 innings while striking out 71. "I had to use all my pitches today," Zambrano said. He improved to 7-4 with a 2.45 ERA lifetime against the Cardinals, including a 2-0 mark this season. Zambrano escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, although not without some dramatics. After Scott Rolen walked to load the bases, Zambrano came off the mound toward home, and then walked around the infield as pitching coach Larry Rothschild came out to talk. Aaron Miles flew out to end the inning. Zambrano wasn't mad at the umpires. His right foot hurt. "I have a blister in my foot," Zambrano said. "I tried to stick around with it. At some point, I was a little upset with myself. I think I'm old enough and I consider myself a veteran, and I shouldn't be fighting with the umpires. The umpires can't affect me." Zambrano had thrown 73 pitches after four innings, and the Cubs weren't sure how deep he could go. "He made them put the ball in play more," Piniella said. "I've seen him have better, pure stuff. But he pitched [well] tonight." And the Cubs backed him up with some clutch, two-out hits. They took a 1-0 lead in the second on Jacque Jones' two-out RBI single. Zambrano entered the game with a 15 2/3 scoreless inning streak dating back to July 8 vs. Pittsburgh. That ended at 20 in the Cardinals' fifth, when Kip Wells (4-13) and Adam Kennedy each singled, and both scored on Skip Schumaker's triple to go ahead, 2-1. In the Chicago sixth, Lee and Ramirez each singled, and advanced on Cliff Floyd's sharply hit groundout to first baseman Albert Pujols, who made a diving stop. Ronny Cedeno, called up from Triple-A Iowa Tuesday, slapped a single to left to tie the game at 2. Ryan Theriot reached on a fielding error by Rolen with two outs in the Chicago seventh, Lee walked, and Ramirez singled to left to put the Cubs ahead, 3-2. Ramirez now has 26 RBIs in 24 games since returning from the disabled list on June 22. He finished with four hits, tying a career high, now done 14 times, most recently on Sept. 18, 2006. "That's how you win games, by taking advantage of the other team's mistakes," Ramirez said. "This guy is a Gold Glover every year. He made an error, and we made him pay for it." Ramirez said he doesn't notice a difference in the pitches he gets when Lee is back in the lineup. "It's nice to have him back," Ramirez said. "That run he knocked in in the ninth proved to be the winning run. Having him back is a big lift for the team." Lee was back but Mark DeRosa made an early exit. DeRosa was lifted defensively because of tendinitis in his left hamstring. He had one at-bat in the second, grounding out to second, and did not take the field in the third. DeRosa felt something during his swing, and was to be examined Wednesday. Chicago now is 14-16 in one-run games, and has won seven of its last eight one-run games. "We started the season miserably in one-run games, and we've really picked it up," Piniella said. "It's coincided with our play. You've got to win close ballgames." --

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