Marquis tosses 7 innings as Cubs sweep Pirates

[August 28, 2008]  PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jason Marquis shut down Pittsburgh's batters, and the Chicago Cubs turned two well-placed bunts into two runs in the seventh inning and swept yet another three-game series from the Pirates with a 2-0 victory Wednesday.

After scoring 26 runs -- 12 on Monday, 14 on Tuesday -- in the first two games, the Cubs turned to pitching and defense for their third three-game sweep this season of the NL Central rival Pirates. The Cubs won the season series 14-4, the most victories they've have against Pittsburgh since going 15-7 in 1954.

Chicago, a major league-best 83-50, won its fifth in a row and 13th in 16 games. The Cubs are 33 games over .500 for the first time since they were 98-56 at the end of the 1945 season.

The Pirates lost their season-high seventh in a row and 11th in 13 games despite one of Zach Duke's few effective starts since the All-Star break. Pittsburgh is 7-18 since trading leading run producer Jason Bay to Boston on July 31.

Duke (4-13), who lost his ninth consecutive decision, took a shutout into the seventh before Reed Johnson beat out a bunt single to third. Mark DeRosa, hitting .441 (15-for-34) during a nine-game hitting streak, doubled down the left-field line to put runners on second and third.

After Johnson scored on Ronny Cedeno's grounder to third, catcher Henry Blanco put down a perfectly placed squeeze bunt that stayed fair along the first-base line by inches to score DeRosa standing up and make it 2-0.

Blanco started a night after catcher Geovany Soto drove in seven runs in a 14-9 Cubs victory keyed by a seven-run eighth inning.

Those were all the runs Marquis (9-7) needed in his best start since he pitched seven shutout innings against the Giants on July 11. A winner only twice in nine starts since June 26, Marquis limited the Pirates to five hits and walked none in seven innings while twice stranding runners at third.

Duke, winless in 14 starts since beating Arizona 5-3 on June 9, gave up seven hits in eight innings -- the longest of his 27 starts this season. The left-hander went 0-3 against the Cubs in five starts this year.

Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Kerry Wood finished for his 27th save in 32 attempts. The three Cubs pitchers combined for a five-hitter and Chicago's seventh shutout of the season. Chicago did not allow a hit following Raul Chavez's leadoff single in the fifth.

Notes: The Cubs have won 13 of their last 14 road games. ... All four of Duke's victories are at home, but he has lost his last six decisions there. Duke is winless in his last nine starts against the Cubs. ... The Pirates (57-76), fast approaching the 82nd loss that would ensure a major league record-tying 16th consecutive losing season, have fallen behind last season's pace, when they were 68-94. They were 59-74 at this point last year.

[Associated Press; By ALAN ROBINSON]

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