(Courtesy of The Sports Xchange) REPLAY: Greg Maddux gave his overworked bullpen a break when he threw seven shutout innings in Sunday's 7-3 victory over St. Louis at Busch Stadium.

While the other four starters in the Cubs rotation have combined to go 2-6 with a 5.74 ERA, Maddux established himself as the staff ace after going 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA in his first four starts.

Slumping Jacque Jones and Aramis Ramirez homered off Jason Marquis while, Todd Walker (.408) drove in three runs, including his 500th career RBI.

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NOTES

 --RHP Angel Guzman was promoted from Triple-A Iowa to the parent club Sunday and for now will serve as a long reliever. However, he could get a start when the Cubs host Florida on Wednesday.

--RHP Kerry Wood, who aborted a three-inning stint in a Rookie League game in Arizona on Thursday because of tightness under his right armpit, will try it again Wednesday. Wood is coming off shoulder and knee surgery.

--LHP Glendon Rusch, who was hoping to keep up the momentum after his April 16 victory over Pittsburgh, retired 14 of the first 16 St. Louis batters he faced Saturday. But he walked eighth-place hitter So Taguchi and pinch hitter John Rodriguez and eventually gave up three runs in the inning en route to a 4-1 loss.

--RF Jacque Jones homered and raised his average to .200 Sunday, but he knows he needs to use better judgment on pitch selection if he is to break out of his slump. "They are trying to walk me and I won't let them," he said. "The bottom line is they are throwing everything off the plate. They are not throwing strikes, and I'm not letting them walk me. It would be good to take some walks if they're not throwing strikes.

--LHP Scott Eyre, who suffered a contusion to his right knee Wednesday on the play that led to 1B Derrek Lee's injury, made his first appearance since that night when he pitched Saturday afternoon against St. Louis. He threw 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball.

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