Gorzelanny stars in Cubs' 6-3 win over Reds

[August 05, 2009]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- Left-hander Tom Gorzelanny turned his first appearance for the Cubs into his best of the season, allowing only three hits and driving in a run Tuesday night for a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that kept Chicago in first place for another day.

The Cubs have inched ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central with a 14-5 spurt since the All-Star break, the best in the league

The Cubs got Gorzelanny (4-1) and reliever John Grabow from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a five-player deal Thursday. He dominated a struggling lineup during his 7 1-3 innings, giving up one run. Wladimir Balentien hit a two-run homer off Angel Guzman in the ninth.

Gorzelanny also had an RBI single off Johnny Cueto (8-9), setting the Reds on course for their 14th loss in 15 games. Cincinnati has dropped eight straight -- all at home -- for its longest losing streak in four years.

Kosuke Fukudome and Derrek Lee had solo homers for the Cubs. Fukudome opened the game with his first career leadoff homer, and Lee hit his 150th with Chicago.

Gorzelanny's hit knocked Cueto out of the game in the sixth. The 23-year-old Cueto has gone 0-5 in six starts with a 9.85 ERA, the deepest slump of his two-year career. He fired his glove down the dugout walkway as he left the field after giving up Gorzelanny's first hit of the season.

After drifting through the first half of the season, the Cubs have found direction behind a pitching staff that makes the most out of the minimum. The Cubs are 54-15 when they score at least three runs, the best record in the majors. They reached the mark in the sixth.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Koyie Hill hit a sinking liner that eluded diving center fielder Willy Taveras and rolled for a double, making it 3-0. With catcher Geovany Soto disabled by strained muscles in his left side, Hill has become the Cubs' everyday catcher. He has started the last 25 games, the longest such streak by a Cubs catcher since Damon Berryhill started 25 in a row in 1989.

The newcomer was the Cubs' star. Gorzelanny hadn't started for the Pirates since last September, and spent most of this season in the minors. The Cubs plan to keep him in the rotation for a few starts until Ted Lilly returns from a sore left shoulder later this month.

The majority of the crowd of 17,992 wore Cubs gear, and gave Gorzelanny a standing ovation when he left the game in the eighth. He tipped his cap.

NOTES: Chicago has won six straight against Cincinnati, improving to 8-3 against the Reds this season. ... The Cubs put INF Andres Blanco on the DL with a strained left calf, opening a roster spot for Gorzelanny. ... Reds 3B Scott Rolen had a CT scan that was normal. He was beaned by a pitch on Sunday and has missed two games. ... Taveras snapped an 0-for-18 slump with a single, one of his two hits off Gorzelanny.

[Associated Press; By JOE KAY]

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