Padres On Deck vs. Cubs, Game 1 of 3

Chicago Cubs (36-21) at San Diego Padres (23-35), 10:05 pm, 4SD/1090/105.7

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Owners of the best record in the major leagues due largely to their success at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs will look to improve their road mark when they visit the San Diego Padres on Monday.

The Cubs swept a four-game series from the Colorado Rockies over the weekend to complete a perfect 7-0 homestand and run their record to a sparkling 26-8 at Wrigley Field. The road has not been nearly as kind, however, as Chicago sits below .500 at 10-13 away from the friendly confines. Rookie right fielder Kosuke Fukudome is batting .391 at home and just .207 on the road and slugger Alfonso Soriano is hitting .337 with 10 homers at Wrigley and .231 with three blasts on the road.

The Padres took two out of three from the San Francisco Giants over the weekend and have won five of seven overall. Carlos Zambrano (7-1, 2.33 ERA) will try to push the winning streak to eight games. The burly righthander has not absorbed a loss since April 11 and allowed just one run in eight innings Wednesday against the Dodgers, though he did not factor in the decision. He earned a win over San Diego on May 12, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings. He is 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA in eight career starts against the Padres.

San Diego will counter with newcomer Cha Seung Baek (1-0, 0.00). The Padres picked up the righthander last week after he was designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners and picked up a win in with a scoreless inning of relief on Friday.