Soriano, DeRosa homer as Cubs win 9th straight

[June 04, 2008]  SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer and Mark DeRosa added a two-run shot to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 9-6 win over the San Diego Padres for their ninth straight win Tuesday night.

The Cubs also got a solo homer from rookie Geovany Soto as they battered Padres' pitchers for the second straight night. Chicago, which had 14 hits in Monday night's 7-6 win, had 11 hits.

Soto's leadoff home run in the sixth put the Cubs ahead 4-3. Two batters later, DeRosa hit a two-run homer. Both drives came off Bryan Corey (1-1).

Jason Marquis (3-3) won despite a rough outing, allowing three runs in five innings. Marquis walked five, hit a batter, committed a balk and allowed a run to score on a throwing error when he attempted to pick a runner off first base.

Soriano added to the lead with his 14th homer, in the eighth inning off Carlos Guevara.

The Cubs' streak is their best since winning 12 straight games from May 19-June 2, 2001. The victory also allowed Chicago (38-21) to maintain the best record in the majors.

By taking the first two games of the three-game set, Chicago won a road series for the first time since sweeping three games at Pittsburgh April 7-10. The Cubs had failed to win in seven road series since.

Marquis won for just the second time in eight starts, although he didn't get past the sixth inning for the seventh straight time. Kerry Wood pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 20 chances.

Corey allowed three runs on four hits in 1 1-3 innings.

Adrian Gonzalez, the NL leader in RBIs with 55, drove in one run for the Padres, who lost their third straight. Gonzalez had three hits.

San Diego took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on Khalil Greene's sacrifice fly. The Cubs tied the score in the fifth when Wil Ledezma walked Ryan Theriot with the bases loaded and Derrek Lee drove in a run with an infield single.

San Diego added three runs in the eighth. Kevin Hart walked pinch-hitter Tony Clark with the bases loaded. Neal Cotts then allowed an RBI single to pinch-hitter Edgar Gonzalez before Tadahito Iguchi brought in the final run on a groundout.

Soto's homer tied him with Brian McCann of the Braves and Mike Napoli of the Angels for the major-league lead among catchers.

Ledezma, making his fourth start in place of injured Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy, allowed three runs on three hits in 4 2-3 innings. The lefty walked five and struck out three.

Chicago, which leads the majors in runs, has 44 in the last six games.

Notes: The Cubs have their best record after 59 games since the 1977 team was 39-20. ... Gonzalez has 16 RBIs in his last 10 games. ... Chicago stole a season-high six bases, including two double steals. ... The Cubs recalled right-handed pitcher Kevin Hart from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday and optioned infielder Micah Hoffpauir to Iowa.

[Associated Press; By LARRY LAGE]

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