Young excels with glove and bat, Arizona beats Cubs

[April 07, 2011]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Chris Young wanted to give the Diamondbacks a little momentum heading into their home opener.

He did, with his bat and glove Wednesday as Arizona beat Chicago 6-4 to end a three-game skid. Young doubled, tripled and drove in two runs to help his team snap an eight-game losing streak against the Cubs.

"You just want to go out there and play good baseball and get the wins to back up your effort," he said.

Young also got very acquainted with the Wrigley Field outfield, making a diving catch in the first inning to rob Kosuke Fukudome of an extra-base hit, then successfully chasing down Tyler Colvin's flyball into the outfield wall in the fourth.

"(The ivy) is kind of dead out there right now but that kind of makes it worse. It's all twigs," the centerfielder said of his fourth inning grab. "It's completely worth it if you catch it, but if you drop it you'll be mad at yourself for even going after it."

Armando Galarraga (1-0) won in his first NL start, giving up five hits and four runs in 7 1-3 innings. J.J. Putz pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

Gerardo Parra had three hits and scored a run and Miguel Montero hit his second homer of the season for the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson met with his players early Wednesday to alleviate some of the pressure he thought they were feeling.

"I just kind of reaffirmed some of the things we worked on play the way they're capable of," he said of his pregame speech. "Go out and play loose, play aggressively. Have fun playing the game, that's what we did."

Alfonso Soriano hit his third homer of the season and Aramis Ramirez hit his second for Chicago.

Ryan Dempster (0-2) gave up five runs -- four earned -- and 10 hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and didn't walk a batter.

"I made a lot of good pitches today," Dempster said. "For the most part, I like the way I was throwing the ball."

After the Cubs tied it in the fourth, Arizona scored three times in the fifth.

Willie Bloomquist singled to drive home Parra, who led off the inning with a double to right. Bloomquist scored on a defensive lapse by Soriano.

Young lifted a flyball into the left-field corner, which Soriano tracked to the wall. But the ball glanced off his glove as he reached the yet-to-bloom ivy. The play was scored a double. Young went to third when a relay throw got away from Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, who was charged with an error on the play, and scored on Kelly Johnson's double.

The Cubs committed three errors.

"We don't play well at times, but we still gave ourselves a chance," Cubs manager Mike Quade said. "We just didn't do enough things well today to win a ballgame."

Trailing 6-3 in the eighth, the Cubs loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. Colvin bounced out to first base, scoring a run. With two outs and runners on second and third, Arizona reliever Juan Gutierrez struck out Soriano, spurring another round of boos for the embattled slugger.

Galarraga made his debut for Arizona after being acquired in the offseason from Detroit. He retired the first nine Cubs, then gave up a single to Byrd leading off the fourth.

Ramirez then turned on the first pitch he saw from Galarraga and lofted it into the basket in left-center for his first homer of the season, tying the game at 2.

The Diamondbacks broke on top in a third inning defined by aggressive play by both teams, with varying results.

Parra led off the frame with a looping drive that landed just beyond the glove of Cubs second baseman Blake DeWitt, who recovered to throw out Parra trying to stretch the hit into a double.

One batter later, Bloomquist singled and stole second. It was Arizona's eighth stolen base of the season in five games, the fastest the Diamondbacks have reached that mark in franchise history.

Young then followed with a sinking drive to center. Cubs centerfielder Marlon Byrd, in an effort to save the run, raced in and reached for a shoestring catch. He came up short and the ball rolled well behind him.

Soriano bobbled the ball while backing up Byrd. That allowed Young to score. The play was scored a triple. An error was charged to Soriano.

Montero added an insurance run for the Diamondbacks with a solo homer in the eighth off Cubs reliever John Grabow.

NOTES: Cubs starting pitchers Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner were placed on the 15-day disabled list with arm-related injuries. Wells has a mild muscule strain in his right forearm, while Cashner has a slight strain at the back of his right rotator cuff. No timetable has been established for their return. ... Diamondbacks manger Kirk Gibson said shortstop Stephen Drew (lower abdominal strain) may be able to start in Arizona's home opener on Friday against Cincinnati. Drew has been relegated to pinch-hitting duty so far this season. Also relegated to pinch-hitting is Chicago first baseman Carlos Pena, who has a right thumb strain. Cubs manager Mike Quade said Pena is "feeling better" and is getting close to returning to full-time duty.

[Associated Press]

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