Lead up to 6, but schedule gets tougher

Results: the Cubs completed a three-game sweep of hapless Pittsburgh, clubbing their way to a 14-9 win on Tuesday, and shutting out the Bucs 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals rallied by Milwaukee 5-3 on Wednesday, increasing the Cubs' lead over the Brewers to six games.

What happened: Tuesday -- Carlos Zambrano struggled but Geovany Soto helped bail him out with a homer and seven RBIs. The Cubs fell into an early 3-0 hole, but battled back with four runs in the fourth. The game see-sawed back and forth several times before the Cubs blew it open with a seven-run eighth, capped by Soto's second three-run double of the game. Alfonso Soriano added three hits, while Derrek Lee drove in two and scored twice. Sean Marshall got the win with a scoreless relief inning. Zambrano continues to struggle in August, though he claims to be fine, physically. On Tuesday, he allowedsix earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. Wednesday -- Jason Marquis shut out the Pirates over seven innings, and the Cubs played small ball to scratch out a pair of runs. Reed Johnson started the Cubs' rally in the seventh with a leadoff bunt single. Mark DeRosa followed with a double to left, and Ronny Cedeno brought home Johnson with a soft grounder. Backup catcher Henry Blanco made it 2-0, getting down a suicide squeeze bunt. Marquis had his best start of the season, allowing five hits and walking NONE in seven scoreless innings. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood closed it out with scoreless frames.

Up next: Phillies at Cubs tonight at 7. The Phils are neck and neck with the Mets in the NL East and will provide a stern test for the Cubs over four games this weekend. Tonight, the Phillies send Cole Hamels to the mound against Ryan Dempster. The Cubs play 26 of their final 29 games against teams with winning records.