Cubs warming up, beat Oakland

CHICAGO -- Moises Alou hit a two-run homer and Carlos Zambrano won his fourth straight decision, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 5-3 win over the Oakland Athletics, Sunday.\nZambrano (8-2) outpitched Oakland starter Barry Zito, giving up one run on five hits and striking out eight in 6 2-3 innings. The 23-year-old left to a standing ovation and lowered his ERA to 2.25 -- second-best in the National League behind Tom Glavine.\nKent Merker got one out in the seventh, Kyle Farnsworth threw a scoreless eighth and LaTroy Hawkins allowed Eric Byrnes' RBI single and Mark McLemore's run-scoring double in the ninth.\nThe Cubs took two of three from Oakland in the first regular-season meeting between the clubs. Chicago has won eight of nine to move two games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.\nAlou connected on a 2-0 fastball from Zito in the first inning, hitting it just inside the left-field pole to score Todd Walker for a 2-0 Cubs lead. It was Alou's 17th home run, just five fewer than he had all of last season.\nAramis Ramirez drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Derrek Lee went 3-for-3 with a homer in the eighth for Chicago. Lee has 11 hits in his last 14 at-bats.\nThe Cubs added another run on Corey Patterson's RBI double to right in a rough first inning for Zito. The Oakland left-hander needed 39 pitches to get out of the first.\nZito (4-4) lasted just five innings and was taken out after throwing 110 pitches. He allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out two and hitting a batter.\nThe Athletics cut the deficit to 3-1 when Jermaine Dye led off the second with a double down the right-field line and scored on Scott Hatteberg's double. Hatteberg advanced to third with one out, but Zambrano struck out Adam Melhuse and Marco Scutaro swinging to end the threat.\nZambrano struggled with his control. He walked consecutive batters in the third inning, walked the leadoff man in the fourth and hit the leadoff batter with a fastball in fifth. He managed to get out of every jam without any damage, though.\nThe Athletics threatened in the fourth with runners on first and second and one out when Zambrano got Scutaro to pop out to right. He then struck out Zito looking with an outside fastball.\nZambrano has allowed two or fewer runs in 11 of 14 starts this season.