The Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 7-0 on Saturday evening from Nationals Park thanks to a strong outing by ace Carlos Zambrano & some early offensive power.

Chicago immediately got a rally going in the top of the 1st inning after Washington starter Matt Chico allowed back-to-back singles to Reed Johnson & Ryan Theriot.

Derrek Lee then followed with an RBI single, scoring Johnson from 2nd base to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

2 batters later, Mark DeRosa hit an RBI single to score both Lee & Theriot to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.

Washington’s 1st scoring chance came in the bottom of the 1st inning after Cristian Guzman hit a 1-out double off Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano.

After Guzman advanced to 3rd on Zambrano’s throwing error (he tried to pick-off Guzman at 2nd base), he got Ryan Zimmerman to strike out looking before hitting Nick Johnson with a pitch, putting runners at the corners with 2 outs.

The rally ended with Lasting Milledge’s swinging strikeout.

The Cubs put up 2 more runs in the top of the 2nd inning after Reed Johnson & Ryan Theriot connected for back-to-back singles off Matt Chico.

Derrek Lee then hit a 2-run double, scoring both Johnson & Theriot to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead. Chicago had a chance to add on 1 more run, but Lee was caught stealing 3rd base by Washington catcher Johnny Estrada.

The Nationals had another scoring chance after Ryan Zimmerman’s fielder’s choice & Nick Johnson’s 2-out walk put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs.

However, Zambrano would once again get Lastings Milledge to strike out, ending the threat.

It would remain a 5-0 game until the top of the 8th inning, when Felix Pie started a rally after being hit by a pitch from Nationals reliever Jesus Colome.

After Derrek Lee drew a 2-out walk, Aramis Ramirez delivered with a 2-run double which scored both Pie & Lee to give the Cubs a 7-0 lead & their first shutout win of the season.

Carlos Zambrano (4-1) gets the win for the Cubs after pitching 7 strong innings of shutout ball & allowing just 5 hits.

Matt Chico (0-5) takes the loss for the Nationals after surrending 5 runs in the first 2 innings. Chico is now tied with the Giants’ Barry Zito for the major-league lead in losses by a starting pitcher.

The Cubs will look to win this series tomorrow afternoon at 12:35 PM CST as lefty Ted Lilly (1-3, 7.30) will be opposed by Nationals lefty John Lannan (1-2, 3.42).

Lilly is 3-2 in his career in 6 starts against Washington with a 2.06 ERA (lowest among all MLB teams). He did beat the Nationals in each of his last 2 starts while getting 13 runs of offensive support.

Lannan will make his 1st career start against the Cubs on Sunday. So far, he has an 13.50 ERA at home this season & a 6.75 ERA during day games.

Signing off for now,