SAN DIEGO -- It's back to the road for the Padres, who had no soon settled in at PETCO Park after a nine-game road trip -- a trip that ended with a 2-7 record after visiting Philadelphia, Florida and Atlanta.

The Padres play four games in Chicago against the Cubs starting Monday with Randy Wolf on the mound against Carlos Zambrano.

The Padres then play three games in Seattle to give them 16 of 19 road games.

Wolf had been one of the Padres' most consistent starting pitchers before struggling in his last outing in Atlanta.

Wolf, who had allowed two runs over the first six innings, was charged with five earned runs and left with a far worse fate than he likely deserved, even if -- as he said afterward -- he wasn't nearly as in command as he was in Philadelphia last week when he struck out nine and allowed two runs.

"I felt like I was battling all day," Wolf said. "I didn't have my good stuff, my good command. In the seventh, it got away from me. It kind of snowballed."

Pitching matchup
SD: LHP Randy Wolf (2-2, 4.14 ERA)
Wolf pitched well at times in his last start on Wednesday in Atlanta, needing 78 pitches to get through six innings. Better still, Wolf got the Braves to hit into four double plays in the first six innings alone before loading the bases with no outs in a tie game in the seventh inning. Reliever Joe Thatcher allowed those three runs to score. Wolf, who had four walks, struggled with his command early, but soon got the Braves to hit ground ball after ground ball.

CHC: RHP Carlos Zambrano (5-1, 1.80 ERA)
Zambrano was scheduled to throw Sunday, but steady rain pushed him back a day. Zambrano threw eight innings in a 3-0 win over Cincinnati. He was strangely symmetrical in his pitching line, giving up three hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Zambrano is 1-2 with a 4.88 ERA in four starts against the Diamondbacks.

Tidbits
The Padres likely aren't done making moves to improve their roster. On Saturday, the team jettisoned left-handed pitcher Glendon Rusch. There will likely be more moves in the next week, though it's not clear when left fielder Chase Headley, considered the Padres top prospect, will be recalled from Triple-A Portland. ... San Diego radio broadcaster Andy Masur, in his second season with the team, celebrated his birthday on Saturday. ... The Padres going wild on the bases? It happened Saturday as the team stole four bases for the first time since Aug. 10 against the Reds. ... Greg Maddux, who earned career victory No. 350 on Saturday, will go for No. 351 on Thursday against his former team, the Cubs, at Wrigley Field. Another former Cub, Shawn Estes, will start Tuesday's game for the Padres.

Tickets
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On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
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•  Official game notes

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On radio
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Up next
• Tuesday: Padres (Shawn Estes, 0-0, 0.00) at Cubs (Jason Marquis, 1-2, 5.08) , 5:05 p.m. PT
• Wednesday: Padres (Jake Peavy, 4-2, 2.47) at Cubs (Ted Lilly, 3-4, 5.24), 5:05 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Padres (Greg Maddux, 3-3, 3.60) at Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 4-1, 2.76), 11:20 a.m. PT