ATLANTA -- Carlos Zambrano had a rough night, serving up five home runs and trailing 8-1 in the fifth before being ejected by plate umpire Tim Timmons for allegedly throwing at Chipper Jones.
The Cubs lost 10-4.
After the game, Zambrano's locker was already cleaned out and the pitcher told a team trainer that he had retired.
According to STATS Inc., Zambrano became the third Cubs pitcher since 1955 to serve up five homers in a game, joining Ismael Valdez ('00) & Steve Stone ('74). Warren Hacker also gave up five homers in a game in 1954.
Dan Uggla homered leading off the second, extending his hit streak to 32 games, an Atlanta record. The Braves added another run in the inning on an RBI grounder to first by Jose Constanza, who was ruled out for running outside of the baseline.
The Cubs scored in the third on Reed Johnson's RBI single. But after Zambrano retired the first two men in the third, he gave up a single, hit Uggla with a pitch and served up a three-run home run to Jones.
In the fifth, Zambrano gave up back-to-back home runs to Freddie Freeman and Uggla, before throwing inside to Jones on a 1-1 pitch. Several Braves players came onto the field after Zambrano was ejected, but there was no incident.
Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run double in the sixth after jogging out of the box thinking it was a home run, but the Braves came back in the bottom of the inning, scoring two more off John Grabow to make it 10-3.
The Braves had a long Pre-Game ceremony honoring former manager Bobby Cox, retiring his No. 6. Greg Maddux was one of the speakers, along with Jones, John Smoltz andTom Glavine.
In Zambrano's last start against the Braves in Atlanta, he gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings in a 16-5 loss on Opening Day of the 2010 season. He's won his only two starts in August, and is 3-1 with a 2.92 earned-run average since July 22.
The Cubs lost 10-4.
After the game, Zambrano's locker was already cleaned out and the pitcher told a team trainer that he had retired.
According to STATS Inc., Zambrano became the third Cubs pitcher since 1955 to serve up five homers in a game, joining Ismael Valdez ('00) & Steve Stone ('74). Warren Hacker also gave up five homers in a game in 1954.
Dan Uggla homered leading off the second, extending his hit streak to 32 games, an Atlanta record. The Braves added another run in the inning on an RBI grounder to first by Jose Constanza, who was ruled out for running outside of the baseline.
The Cubs scored in the third on Reed Johnson's RBI single. But after Zambrano retired the first two men in the third, he gave up a single, hit Uggla with a pitch and served up a three-run home run to Jones.
In the fifth, Zambrano gave up back-to-back home runs to Freddie Freeman and Uggla, before throwing inside to Jones on a 1-1 pitch. Several Braves players came onto the field after Zambrano was ejected, but there was no incident.
Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run double in the sixth after jogging out of the box thinking it was a home run, but the Braves came back in the bottom of the inning, scoring two more off John Grabow to make it 10-3.
The Braves had a long Pre-Game ceremony honoring former manager Bobby Cox, retiring his No. 6. Greg Maddux was one of the speakers, along with Jones, John Smoltz andTom Glavine.
In Zambrano's last start against the Braves in Atlanta, he gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings in a 16-5 loss on Opening Day of the 2010 season. He's won his only two starts in August, and is 3-1 with a 2.92 earned-run average since July 22.
