St. Louis, MO -- (Sports Network) - Chicago Cubs' ace Carlos Zambrano started Friday's 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals after a two-week stint on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.

Zambrano, who returned from his first trip to the DL, improved his record to 9-3 as he threw six shutout innings and yielded just four hits while striking out five and walking just two.

The 27-year-old Zambrano has 90 wins and a 3.39 ERA in eight years in the big leagues. He has also pitched 200 or more innings and had 150 strikeouts in each of the past five seasons.