Rare mound failure

It was inevitable that the starting pitching was going to have another clunker one of these days -- Carlos Zambrano in the rotation or not.

That's what makes all those low-scoring one-run losses -- and all five of those losses when the other guys scored three or fewer -- so costly and damaging to that quick start the Cubs' talked about in spring training.

''We need to stabilize this thing now,'' manager Lou Piniella said after a 13-5 loss Thursday to the Arizona Diamondbacks assured a losing record in April. ''We're only a few games under .500. We need a nice stretch.''

For the first time in two weeks, the Cubs didn't get a strong starting pitching performance, with Ted Lilly (1-1) victimized by a strong outbound wind and uncharacteristic command issues in his second start back from the disabled list.

But the wind wasn't blowing out for just one team -- even if it looked like it. The Cubs' bats were silent again for much of the favorable-hitting day against Ian Kennedy -- managing just two singles and a run through six and four singles through seven.

The fact they couldn't hit in such hitter-friendly conditions just underscored the wrenching series against Washington this week -- with just one hit in 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position in 3-1 and 3-2 losses Tuesday and Wednesday.

On this day, that wasn't a problem considering they rarely got runners into scoring position until they trailed by 12.

''It was ugly. They just beat up on us,'' said .193-hitting Derrek Lee, who struck out twice in an 0-for-4 day and wasn't willing to spend the rest of his afternoon tipping his hat to all the pitchers who have handled this team in the early going.

''When you go this long without scoring runs, the blame is on ourselves,'' he said.

So what's the problem?

''I don't know what's going on,'' said .159-hitting Aramis Ramirez, whose average actually went up after a 1-for-4 game.

It probably starts with those 3-4 hitters in the order. Most of the hitters around them have hit more consistently, including leadoff hitter Ryan Theriot, who had two hits, and Kosuke Fukudome, who hit a too-little, too-late grand slam in the eighth to tap into a 13-1 lead.

''We need to get production [from the middle of the order],'' Piniella said. ''If we could do that, everything else will settle down.''

In the scheme of things, those are probably the two guys to worry least about turning it around. It's just a matter of when.

''My swing is just off,'' said Lee, who's just 5-for-49 (.102) in his last 12 games. ''I'm getting my pitch, and I'm rolling over it or popping up. I've got to figure out a way to get out of that.

But, he said, ''In this game you can't let yourself get frustrated. That's the worst thing you can do. ... You just keep going, and you've got to keep reminding yourself it's a long season. And that hopefully you can't keep going this bad for too much longer.''

Lee started slowly last year, too, but was one of the top hitters in the league after the first five weeks.

''You're talking about guys that can really hit and have hit in the past,'' Theriot said, ''and who will hit in the future.''

Ramirez, who was hitting .127 this time last week, has at least had a hit a day in six games since then, along with two walks, but still hasn't looked anything close to the fearsome hitter he has been the last few years.

''I actually feel a lot better now,'' he said. ''But I haven't gotten the results that I want. What can I do? Just put it in the past and look forward.''

And know that All-Star veteran hitters will start hitting again.

''I look at it that way,'' Piniella said. ''But we've got to have a little urgency with it, too.''

Especially with a schedule that appears to get a lot tougher in about two more weeks.

''You want to win as many games as you can; it doesn't matter if you're at the beginning, the middle of the season or September,'' Ramirez said of the urgency level. ''We've wasted a lot of good outings for the starting pitchers. We've just got to hit, man. ... Everybody, including myself, we've all got to start swinging.''

LaROCHE-CLIPPED

In his second start since returning from shoulder rehab, Ted Lilly (1-1) added three more scoreless innings to his six-inning effort Saturday, then gave up two quick walks and a three-run Adam LaRoche homer in the fourth. He gave up a two-run shot to Chris Snyder later in the inning and a solo to LaRoche in the fifth before exiting.

WHAT WIND?

With the wind blowing out on the first warm day of the homestand, the Diamondbacks hit four home runs and scored 13. But where were the hitting conditions for the Cubs? They were down 13-1 before they got their third hit of the game. And didn't get one for extra bases until Kosuke Fukudome's first career grand slam in the eighth.

DID YOU KNOW?

For all the shock and uproar over the bold move of using Carlos Zambrano to get the ball in Carlos Marmol's hands, the Cubs' closer hasn't had a save opportunity since he blew one April 18 -- three days before the Big Z move was announced. In fact, neither Carlos has pitched since Monday.

BOX SCORE

Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

K.Johnson 2b 5 1 4 3 0 0 .320

S.Drew ss 5 1 2 0 0 2 .291

J.Upton rf 3 2 0 0 2 2 .214

G.Parra rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239

M.Reynolds 3b 3 1 0 0 1 2 .227

Ojeda 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Ad.LaRoche 1b 4 3 3 5 0 0 .299

b-Ryal ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .286

C.Young cf 5 1 0 0 0 1 .281

Gillespie lf 5 2 2 1 0 1 .263

Snyder c 5 2 2 3 0 1 .278

I.Kennedy p 3 0 1 1 0 1 .222

d-T.Abreu ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .323

Stange p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --

Totals 41 13 14 13 3 11

CUBS AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Theriot ss 4 1 2 1 0 1 .340

Fukudome rf 4 1 1 4 0 0 .328

D.Lee 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .193

Ar.Ramirez 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .159

Byrd cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .333

Berg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --

c-Nady ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .194

Marshall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --

A.Soriano lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .275

Fontenot 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 .309

Soto c 3 1 0 0 1 1 .340

Lilly p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

a-Tracy ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .133

Gray p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --

J.Russell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --

Colvin cf 1 1 0 0 0 0 .317

Totals 32 5 6 5 1 6

Arizona 000 510 700 -- 13 14 1

CUBS 001 000 040 -- 5 6 1

a-popped out for Lilly in the 5th. b-grounded out for Ad.LaRoche in the 8th. c-lined out for Berg in the 8th. d-struck out for I.Kennedy in the 9th.

E--Ryal (1), Ar.Ramirez (2). LOB--Arizona 5, CUBS 3. 2B--Ad.LaRoche (7), Gillespie (3). HR--Ad.LaRoche 2 (4), off Lilly 2; Snyder (3), off Lilly; K.Johnson (9), off J.Russell; Fukudome (4), off I.Kennedy. RBI--K.Johnson 3 (18), Ad.LaRoche 5 (17), Gillespie (1), Snyder 3 (12), I.Kennedy (1), Theriot (12), Fukudome 4 (15). S--Lilly. SF--I.Kennedy. RLSP--CUBS 1 (Fukudome). DP--Arizona 1 (K.Johnson).

Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

I.Kennedy W, 1-1 8 6 5 4 1 6 110 4.45

Stange 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 0.00

CUBS IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Lilly L, 1-1 5 7 6 6 2 6 98 4.91

Gray 1.1 2 2 2 1 2 23 7.11

J.Russell 0.2 5 5 1 0 1 32 3.86

Berg 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 3.60

Marshall 1 0 0 0 0 2 10 3.00

Inherited runners-scored--J.Russell 2-2. HBP--by I.Kennedy (Fontenot). WP--I.Kennedy. PB--Soto.

Umpires--Home, Mike DiMuro; First, Tim Welke; Second, Sam Holbrook; Third, D.J. Reyburn. T--2:40. A--36,850 (41,210).

HOW THEY SCORED

Cubs THIRD Fontenot was hit by a pitch. Soto struck out. Lilly sacrificed, Fontenot to second. Theriot singled, Fontenot scored. One run. Cubs 1, Diamondbacks 0.

Diamondbacks fourth J.Upton walked. Reynolds walked, J.Upton to second. Ad.LaRoche homered to center on a 3-1 count, J.Upton scored, Reynolds scored. C.Young flied out. Gillespie doubled. Snyder homered to left on a 2-1 count, Gillespie scored. Five runs. Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 1.

Diamondbacks fifth J.Upton grounded out. Reynolds struck out. Ad.LaRoche homered to right on a 1-1 count. One run. Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 1.

Diamondbacks seventh S.Drew singled. J.Upton walked, S.Drew to second. Reynolds struck out. J.Russell pitching. Ad.LaRoche doubled, S.Drew scored, J.Upton to third. C.Young safe at first on Ar.Ramirez's error. Gillespie singled, J.Upton scored, Ad.LaRoche to third, C.Young to second. Snyder singled, Ad.LaRoche scored, C.Young to third, Gillespie to second. I.Kennedy hit a sacrifice fly, C.Young scored. On Soto's passed ball, Gillespie to third, Snyder to second. K.Johnson homered to right on a 2-0 count, Gillespie scored, Snyder scored. Seven runs. Diamondbacks 13, Cubs 1.

Cubs eighth Ryal in as first baseman. Soto walked. Colvin safe on fielder's choice and Ryal's error, Soto to second. Theriot singled, Soto to third, Colvin to second. Fukudome homered to left on a 0-0 count, Soto scored, Colvin scored, Theriot scored. Four runs. Diamondbacks 13, Cubs 5.

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images / Derrek Lee, 5-for-49 in his last 12 games, takes the long walk back to the dugout after striking out on Thursday.