Kennedy, LaRoche lead Diamondbacks past Cubs

[April 30, 2010]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Ian Kennedy pitched eight strong innings for his first victory in 2 1/2 years and Adam LaRoche drove in five runs with two homers and a double as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Chicago Cubs 13-5 on Thursday.

Kelly Johnson and Chris Snyder also connected for Arizona, which leads the majors with 33 homers. Johnson, who has an NL-high nine homers and has gone deep six times in the last seven games, also had three singles.

Kennedy (1-1) allowed only one run in the first seven innings as the Diamondbacks built a 13-1 lead before giving up Kosuke Fukudome's grand slam in the eighth. He ended up allowing six hits, one walk and four earned runs while striking out six.

Once a top New York Yankees prospect, Kennedy hadn't won since he beat Tampa Bay in his big league debut on Sept. 1, 2007. The right-hander's next two seasons were filled with ineffectiveness and injuries -- including an aneurysm near his right shoulder that required surgery last May.

Acquired on Dec. 9 in the three-team trade that sent Curtis Granderson from Detroit to New York, Kennedy allowed nine runs in 9 1-3 innings in his first two Arizona starts. In his last three, however, he gave up only six earned runs in 21 innings.

Ted Lilly (1-1) surrendered six runs on seven hits in five innings in his second start since coming off the disabled list while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery). He became the first Chicago starter since April 15 to allow more than three earned runs in a game. Lilly pitched six shutout innings Saturday in his first outing.

Lilly began the fourth by walking Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds and then fell behind 3-1 to LaRoche, who hit the ball into the left-field bleachers. After Cole Gillespie doubled, Snyder homered for a 5-1 lead.

In the fifth, LaRoche pulled a Lilly pitch through a 27 mph wind for a solo shot that cleared the right-field bleachers and landed on Sheffield Avenue. It was his 13th career multihomer game.

LaRoche doubled off the center-field wall to drive home the first of seven runs in a seventh inning that made it 13-1. The inning also featured Johnson's three-run homer, Kennedy's sacrifice fly and RBI singles by Gillespie and Snyder.

NOTES: The five RBIs tied LaRoche's career high, last accomplished Sept. 17, 2008, when he was with Pittsburgh. ... The Diamondbacks are 53-36 against the Cubs since their inception in 1998, including 24-21 at Wrigley Field. ... Arizona is 8-0 when homering at least twice, 0-6 when failing to go deep. ... Diamondbacks RHP Daniel Stange made his major league debut, pitching a perfect ninth. ... Cubs SS Ryan Theriot, who singled home the team's first run, has a nine-game hitting streak that includes eight multi-hit games. ... Cubs No. 3 batter Derrek Lee has five hits in his last 49 at-bats.

[Associated Press]

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