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(Sports Network) - Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano will try to rebound from his last outing when he takes the mound this evening in the first of three straight games against the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium.

Zambrano was unbeaten (2-0) in three starts before running into the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday at Wrigley Field. He was pummeled for a season-high nine runs on 10 hits in just 4 1/3 innings of work to fall to 12-5 with a 3.22 ERA in 23 starts this season.

The fiery right-hander, though, has enjoyed success throughout his career against the Marlins, sporting a 4-1 mark and a 2.56 earned run average over eight career meetings. Zambrano beat the Fish on July 24 this season in the Windy City after holding the Marlins to a pair of runs and six hits in seven innings of a 6-3 victory.

Chicago currently leads the NL Central by 4 1/2 games over the Milwaukee Brewers, and will need Zambrano's best stuff to keep it that way. The Cubs just swept Atlanta in three games and won for the 14th time in 17 tries with an 11-7 triumph in Thursday's series finale.

Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez both homered and combined for five RBI, while rookie All-Star catcher Geovany Soto added two RBI and two runs scored for the Cubs. Derrek Lee, Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa each had two hits in the victory.

Cubs starter Ted Lilly pitched six solid innings and allowed four runs and eight hits. The lefty struck out eight and walked two to give Chicago its eighth straight road victory. The Cubs are 29-30 away from Wrigley.

Florida has lost two straight and five of its last seven games to fall 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets for the top spot in the National League East. Philadelphia is just a game off the pace in second.

The Marlins suffered a 3-0 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday in the finale of a four-game series in South Beach. Luis Gonzalez, Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla and Wes Helms had the four Florida hits, while starter Scott Olsen gave up three runs on 10 hits in seven frames to absorb the loss. Florida dropped to 1-3 on a seven-game homestand and 34-29 at Dolphin Stadium.

Josh Johnson will try to win his fourth straight start when he takes the ball for the Marlins on Friday. Johnson is 3-0 with a 3.19 earned run average in six outings after missing the first three-plus months of the season recovering from elbow surgery.

Johnson last pitched on August 10 at the New York Mets and beat them with seven strong innings of two-run ball. Tonight, the right-hander will try for his first-career win over the Cubs as he sports an 0-1 mark and an 8.53 ERA in two career meetings, one of which was a start, against them.

The 2008 season series between Chicago and Florida is tied at two games apiece, with all four meetings having been played at Wrigley Field. Florida went 6-0 in the 2007 season series and swept a three-game set in South Beach from September 25 - 27.