(Sports Network) - It appears that Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano has recovered from a fatigued arm, as he is scheduled to pitch this evening in the second test of a three-game series versus the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field.

Zambrano was scratched from his Sunday afternoon start against Philadelphia because of the problem, and got two extra days rest since Sean Marshall handled pitching duties in the series finale. Zambrano is 1-1 over his last five starts and posted a no-decision on August 26 at Pittsburgh after yielding six runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 14-9 loss.

The tempestuous right-hander, who is 7-1 with a 2.96 ERA at home this season, currently sports a 1-1 record and a 4.05 ERA in two starts against the Astros this season. In 24 career appearances (22 starts) against Houston, Zambrano is 11-7 with a 2.77 earned run average.

Zambrano will try to halt Chicago's three-game losing streak in the second installment of this series. The NL Central-leading Cubs suffered a 3-0 loss to Houston in Monday's opener, as Astros ace Roy Oswalt quieted the home crowd with 8 1/3 shutout innings.

Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Ryan Theriot and Daryle Ward collected the hits for the Cubs, who committed two errors and remained 4 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers in the division standings.

Starter Jason Marquis was saddled with the loss, allowing a pair of runs and five hits in six innings of work. Jeff Samardzija gave up the other run in relief.

Chicago is 2-3 on a seven-game homestand and an NL-best 51-22 as the host.

The Astros have won six straight games and will try to keep the momentum going tonight. They entered this series with Chicago fresh off a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and took advantage off a strong performance from Oswalt on Monday. The righty carried a shutout into the ninth and gave up just four hits and struck out three batters in 8 1/3 innings of work.

Hunter Pence finished with two hits and an RBI for the Astros, who opened a six-game road trip on a positive note and improved to 33-37 away from Minute Maid Park. Miguel Tejada went 2-for-4 with a triple, while Lance Berkman had two hits and two walks in a winning effort.

The Astros sit 13 games behind the Cubs in the Central and 8 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the wild card standings.

Brandon Backe will try for his third straight win when he takes the ball for the Astros this evening. Backe is 3-1 over his previous four trips to the hill and defeated Cincinnati the last time out on Thursday.

Backe held the Reds to a pair of runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. He improved to 9-12 on the season and lowered his earned run average to 5.42 in 28 starts.

The right-hander is 0-2 in three starts against the Cubs in 2008, and 2-3 with a 6.60 ERA in nine career appearances (8 starts) overall in this series.

Houston leads the 2008 season series with Chicago by a 7-6 count.