7/22 Extra bases

With Friday’s win over the Astros, Carlos Zambrano now is 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA in his last eight starts against Houston at Wrigley. He has 16 wins against the Astros.

* Aramis Ramirez is batting .378 with 25 runs, eight doubles, 13 homers and 27 RBIs in his last 26 games since June 24. He has 247 doubles, seven shy of tying Wildfire Schulte for 14th on the team’s all-time list. He also hit his 231st homer, and now is tied for sixth on the team’s all-time list with Gabby Hartnett.

* Alfonso Soriano’s homer was his 15th and ended a 0-for-18 skid. It was his first since June 19. Has he been pressing?

“Not really,” Soriano said. “I’ve been thinking too much about the situation. We expected to play better and I think I was playing with a little frustration. It’s good we had a day off yesterday and I tried to not think about the situation and tried to do my job.”

* The Cubs should top 2 million fans on Saturday. They have drawn 1,993,067 so far to Wrigley Field in 54 home dates.

– Carrie Muskat