Mon May 12 17:12:38 2008

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Cubs send clear message with sweep

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(Sports Network) - It's not too often when a major league baseball team circles its calendars in early May, but you can bet the Chicago Cubs had a little extra motivation for their recent series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Not only did Arizona bring the majors' best overall record into Wrigley Field this past weekend, but this was the same team that ended Chicago's promising 2007 campaign with a one-sided sweep during last October's National League Division Series. And with the Cubs entering the set having lost nine times in a 13-game span, the three contests took on a heightened level of magnitude for Lou Piniella's squad.

And Chicago certainly managed to rise to the occasion, as the Northsiders outscored the powerful Diamondbacks by a convincing 16-7 margin in completing a much-needed series sweep of the defending NL West champions.

"It was a little bit of payback," said reserve first baseman Daryle Ward, who delivered a go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning to spur the Cubs to victory in Sunday's finale.

Even more impressive was the way the Cubs managed to overcome early deficits to win all three clashes.

In Friday's opener, Chicago strung together a pair of fifth-inning runs to back seven determined innings from the resurgent Ted Lilly and post a 3-1 decision. The following day, the Cubs erupted for six runs in the bottom of the seventh against Arizona's well-regarded bullpen to rally for a 7-2 triumph.

The clutch hitting continued on Sunday, as Chicago scored twice in both the seventh and eighth frames to record a 6-4 come-from-behind victory in the finale. Reed Johnson knotted the score with a two-run homer in the seventh, and Ward later broke the deadlock with his pinch-hit two-bagger off Arizona reliever Tony Pena.

The series also provided a chance for redemption for two of the Cubs' goats during last year's forgettable NLDS, both of whom cashed in on the opportunity.

Lilly, who was shelled for six runs over just 3 1/3 innings during Chicago's 8-4 loss to Arizona in Game 2 of the playoffs, put forth his best effort of the year on Friday. The hard-nosed left-hander yielded just one run and three hits while racking up a season-high 10 strikeouts on the mound, and also drove in the Cubs' first run with a key single in the fifth inning.

"I don't want to admit to (thinking about the playoff loss) too much," Lilly told the Cubs' official web site following the game. "You try to let it go but don't forget, and at the same time not try to come out of your game and do anything crazy."

Left fielder Alfonso Soriano, who mustered just a pair of singles in 14 at- bats in the NLDS, followed Lilly's hit with an RBI double that put the Cubs ahead to stay. The slumping slugger then had a breakout day in Saturday's win, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and keying Chicago's huge seventh inning with an RBI double that snapped a 2-2 tie.

A CHANGE IN PLANS

It seems like the weather is about the only thing that can slow Carlos Zambrano down these days.

The Cubs' excitable ace was scratched from his scheduled start in Sunday's finale because of a rain storm that pushed back the game's first pitch for nearly an hour. The wet conditions also prompted Piniella to take Soriano, who recently returned from a stint on the disabled list due to a strained right calf, out of the starting lineup.

Piniella's decision to hold out Zambrano probably wasn't well received by the San Diego Padres, who will now have to face the red-hot right-hander on Monday. Through eight starts in 2008, Zambrano has amassed a 5-1 record and a stellar 1.80 earned run average, and the hard-throwing Venezuelan has surrendered one run or less in each of his last four outings.

The recently-recalled Sean Gallagher started in Zambrano's place and held Arizona to one run over the first four innings. The young right-hander was then touched for three runs in the fifth, and finished with a line of four runs and five hits allowed in 4 1/3 innings of work.

LIEBER ON SHORT LEASH

Gallagher, who also struck out a career-high six Diamondbacks on Sunday, showed enough in his first major league start to conceivably get an extended look in such a role. Following the game, Piniella hinted that the 22-year-old would remain in the rotation for the time being and probably would start Friday's opener of a three-game series with visiting Pittsburgh.

The Cubs currently have a void at the fifth starter's position after the club shipped the erratic Rich Hill to Triple-A Iowa on May 3. Veteran Jon Lieber got the first crack at the job, but he was tagged for five runs and seven hits in just two innings of a 9-0 shellacking at Cincinnati on Wednesday.

In that game, Lieber served up four home runs in the second inning to tie a franchise record set by the immortal Phil Norton, who allowed four gopher balls in the fourth frame at Dodger Stadium on August 8, 2000.

Gallagher had been working as a starter at Iowa prior to taking Hill's roster spot and posted a 2-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in five appearances with the I- Cubs.

WHO'S HOT

Lilly has turned around his early-year struggles, with the steady southpaw having compiled a 3-1 record and a 2.42 ERA over his four most recent starts. He had an 0-3 mark along with an unwanted 9.16 ERA through his first four outings of the season.

Ryan Theriot's excellent start to the season continues, as the scrappy shortstop has gone 8-for-21 (.381) over his last six games to raise his average to a robust .326. He also leads the Cubs with eight stolen bases while producing an excellent .404 on-base percentage from the No. 2 spot in the batting order.

WHO'S NOT

Starting pitcher Jason Marquis has lost back-to-back starts and surrendered 10 runs along with 17 hits in 10 1/3 innings over that span. The right-hander also issued five walks in 5 1/3 innings during his latest mound trip, a 5-3 loss at St. Louis on May 4.

Although he was one of the heroes in Sunday's win, Johnson is batting a paltry .138 (4-for-29) in 10 games during the month of May.

ON DECK

Chicago continues its 10-game homestand with four consecutive tilts against the struggling San Diego Padres beginning Monday night. Zambrano (5-1, 1.80) will go head-to-head with Randy Wolf (2-2, 4.14) in the opener, while Marquis (1-2, 5.08) opposes veteran Shawn Estes (0-0, 0.00) on Tuesday. Lilly (3-4, 5.24) and Ryan Dempster (4-1, 2.76) are set to go for Chicago in the final two games, with Padres ace Jake Peavy (4-2, 2.47) and ex-Cub Greg Maddux (3-3, 3.60) slated to pitch for the visitors.

The Cubs will then conclude their Wrigley Field stay with three games against fellow NL Central member Pittsburgh.