ZEROING IN

The Cubs' lack of run-scoring is driving their fans batty andstatisticians to the record books. For example: Wednesday's 8-0 loss to the Braves made the Cubs 0-for-Atlanta. TheBraves won the first two games 5-0 and 1-0. The Cubs' three straight games shut out is the longest club stringsince 1968, when they were shut out four straight to tie themajor-league record they share with three other clubs. The Cubs last scored in the 10th inning of Sunday's 5-4 victory overPittsburgh, the game before the Atlanta trip. Their consecutivescoreless inning string is 27. The club record is 48 straight setduring that 1968 string of futility. The Cubs failed to score in thelast eight innings of the game on June 15, 1968, and did not scoreagain until the third inning on June 21. The Cubs could tie the major-league record for consecutive timesshut out tomorrow in Cincinnati. It might be too early to be thinking about full-season marks, butfor the record the Cubs' .2130 batting average is worse than the.2131 record Brooklyn set for the National League's lowest seasonbatting average. That was in the dead-ball era of 1908. The Cubs last finished with the league's worst batting average(.236) in the 1981 strike-shortened season. The Cubs' futility in Atlanta helped Braves pitchers set a franchiserecord of 33 consecutive scoreless innings. The previous longest was30, set by the 1959 and 1963 Milwaukee Braves.