Extended Box

FLORIDA (9) VS CHICAGO CUBS (8) - FINAL IN 11 INNINGS

FLORIDA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Pierre cf             5  2  1  0   1  0   1  .250
L Castillo 2b           5  1  3  0   1  0   0  .364
I Rodriguez c           5  1  2  5   1  1   2  .364
D Lee 1b                5  0  0  0   1  3   4  .190
M Cabrera 3b            6  2  2  1   0  1   5  .300
 B Looper p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
J Encarnacion rf        5  1  2  1   0  1   0  .200
J Conine lf             4  0  1  1   0  0   2  .263
A Gonzalez ss           5  0  0  0   0  0   2  .048
J Beckett p             3  0  1  0   0  1   1  .250
 C Fox p                0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 a-T Hollandsworth ph   1  1  1  0   0  0   0  .500
 U Urbina p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-M Lowell ph-3b       1  1  1  1   0  0   0  .250

Totals                 45  9 14  9   4  7  17

a-doubled to deep center for C Fox in the 9th;  b-homered to center for
U Urbina in the 11th.

BATTING: 2B - L Castillo (4, C Zambrano); T Hollandsworth (1, J Borowski).
3B - J Conine (1, C Zambrano); J Pierre (1, C Zambrano). HR - I Rodriguez (2,
3rd inning off C Zambrano 2 on, 1 Out), M Cabrera (1, 3rd inning off C Zambrano
0 on, 2 Out), J Encarnacion (2, 3rd inning off C Zambrano 0 on, 2 Out), M Lowell (1,
11th inning off M Guthrie 0 on, 0 Out). SF - J Conine. RBI - I Rodriguez 5 (11),
M Cabrera (4), J Encarnacion (2), J Conine (3), M Lowell (1). 2-out RBI - M Cabrera,
J Encarnacion. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Lee 2, A Gonzalez 1,
J Beckett 1, M Cabrera 1. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - L Castillo 2 (2, 2nd base off A Alfonseca/D Miller, 2nd base
off K Farnsworth/D Miller). CS - J Pierre (1, 2nd base by C Zambrano/P Bako).

FIELDING: E - A Gonzalez (2, ground ball). DP: 1 (A Gonzalez-L Castillo-D Lee).


CHICAGO CUBS           ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
K Lofton cf             4  2  1  0   1  0   0  .280
M Grudzielanek 2b       5  1  2  1   0  0   2  .200
S Sosa rf               5  1  1  2   0  1   3  .190
M Alou lf               4  1  1  2   1  0   1  .458
A Ramirez 3b            5  1  1  0   0  0   1  .261
R Simon 1b              5  1  1  0   0  2   2  .333
A Gonzalez ss           5  1  3  3   0  1   0  .353
 M Guthrie p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 A Alfonseca p          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
P Bako c                3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .000
 K Farnsworth p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 a-T Goodwin ph         1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .500
 J Borowski p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 R Martinez ss          1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
C Zambrano p            2  0  0  0   0  2   0  .000
 M Remlinger p          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 D Miller c             3  0  1  0   0  1   0  .143

Totals                 43  8 11  8   2  9  12

a-struck out looking for K Farnsworth in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - A Gonzalez (1, J Beckett); R Simon (2, J Beckett); D Miller (2,
J Beckett); K Lofton (2, U Urbina). 3B - M Grudzielanek (1, J Beckett); A Ramirez (1,
J Beckett). HR - M Alou (1, 1st inning off J Beckett 1 on, 1 Out), A Gonzalez (2,
6th inning off J Beckett 1 on, 2 Out), S Sosa (1, 9th inning off U Urbina 1 on,
2 Out). S - K Lofton. RBI - M Grudzielanek (1), M Alou 2 (5), A Gonzalez 3 (4),
S Sosa 2 (3). 2-out RBI - A Gonzalez 3, S Sosa 2. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - T Goodwin 1, S Sosa 1, P Bako 1. GIDP - M Alou. Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - M Grudzielanek (1, ground ball). PB - P Bako. DP: 1 (R
Martinez-M Grudzielanek).


----------------------------------------------------
    FLORIDA         - 005 001 002 01  --   9
    CHICAGO CUBS    - 400 002 002 00  --   8
----------------------------------------------------

FLORIDA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Beckett                     6 1/3   8   6   6   1   5   2   4.72
C Fox                         1 2/3   1   0   0   1   1   0   1.35
U Urbina (W, 1-0; B, 1)       2       2   2   2   0   2   1   5.40
B Looper (S, 1)               1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00

CHICAGO CUBS                 ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Zambrano                    6       9   6   5   1   3   3   6.17
M Remlinger                     1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
K Farnsworth                  1 2/3   0   0   0   0   3   0   0.00
J Borowski                    2       2   2   1   1   1   0   2.25
M Guthrie (L, 0-1)              1/3   1   1   1   0   0   1  27.00
A Alfonseca                     2/3   1   0   0   2   0   0   0.00

IBB - I Rodriguez (by A Alfonseca). Pitches-strikes: J Beckett 82-52; C Fox 33-20;
U Urbina 28-22; B Looper 10-7; C Zambrano 102-60; M Remlinger 8-7; K Farnsworth 22-15;
J Borowski 36-25; M Guthrie 10-5; A Alfonseca 18-8. Ground balls-fly balls:
J Beckett 10-4; C Fox 2-2; U Urbina 2-2; B Looper 2-0; C Zambrano 4-10; M Remlinger 0-1;
K Farnsworth 2-0; J Borowski 3-3; M Guthrie 1-0; A Alfonseca 0-1. Batters faced:
J Beckett 28; C Fox 7; U Urbina 8; B Looper 3; C Zambrano 27; M Remlinger 2;
K Farnsworth 5; J Borowski 10; M Guthrie 2; A Alfonseca 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Jerry Crawford. 1B--Chuck Meriwether. 2B--Fieldin Culbreth.
3B--Mike Everitt. LF--Larry Poncino. RF--Mike Reilly.

T--3:44. Att--39,567.
Weather: 75 degrees, clear. Wind: 6 mph, out to center.
 

How They Scored

CHICAGO CUBS 1ST:   K Lofton walked.  M Grudzielanek tripled to center,
K Lofton scored.  S Sosa popped out to third.  M Alou homered to left,
M Grudzielanek scored.  A Ramirez tripled to deep center.  R Simon struck out
swinging.  A Gonzalez doubled to left, A Ramirez scored.  P Bako flied out to
left. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)  FLORIDA 0, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

FLORIDA 3RD:   J Beckett lined out to right.  J Pierre tripled to deep right.
L Castillo walked.  I Rodriguez homered to left, J Pierre and L Castillo
scored.  D Lee struck out looking.  M Cabrera homered to left center.
J Encarnacion homered to left.  J Conine flied out to right. (5 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors)  FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

FLORIDA 6TH:   M Cabrera singled to shallow center.  J Encarnacion singled
to center, M Cabrera to second.  M Cabrera to third, J Encarnacion to second
on passed ball by P Bako. J Conine hit sacrifice fly to center, M Cabrera
scored, J Encarnacion to third.  A Gonzalez fouled out to third.  J Beckett
struck out bunting foul. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)  FLORIDA 6, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH:   M Alou grounded out to shortstop.  A Ramirez popped out
to first.  R Simon doubled to right.  A Gonzalez homered to right, R Simon
scored.  P Bako struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)  FLORIDA 6,
CHICAGO CUBS 6.

FLORIDA 9TH:   J Borowski relieved K Farnsworth. A Gonzalez flied out to
center.  T Hollandsworth hit for C Fox. T Hollandsworth doubled to deep center.
J Pierre walked.  L Castillo grounded into fielder's choice to second,
T Hollandsworth to third, J Pierre safe at second on error by second baseman
M Grudzielanek.  I Rodriguez singled to right, T Hollandsworth and J Pierre
scored, L Castillo to third.  D Lee popped out to second.  M Cabrera grounded
into fielder's choice to second, I Rodriguez out at second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
1 Error)  FLORIDA 8, CHICAGO CUBS 6.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH:   U Urbina relieved C Fox. D Miller grounded out to second.
K Lofton doubled to right.  M Grudzielanek grounded out to third.  S Sosa
homered to left, K Lofton scored.  M Alou flied out to right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors)  FLORIDA 8, CHICAGO CUBS 8.

FLORIDA 11TH:   M Guthrie relieved J Borowski. R Martinez at shortstop.
M Lowell hit for U Urbina. M Lowell homered to center.  J Pierre grounded out to
second.  A Alfonseca relieved M Guthrie. L Castillo reached on infield single
to shortstop.  L Castillo stole second. I Rodriguez intentionally walked.
D Lee walked, L Castillo to third, I Rodriguez to second.  M Cabrera lined into
double play, shortstop to second, I Rodriguez doubled off second.(1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors)  FLORIDA 9, CHICAGO CUBS 8.

Game Story

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- On a record-setting offensive night at
Wrigley Field, it was a guy that has hardly swung a bat lately
that made the difference.

Mike Lowell proved his hand is healthy, belting a pinch solo
homer in the top of the 11th inning to give the Florida Marlins
a wild 9-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game One of the
National League Championship Series.

On a night when balls flew all over and out of Wrigley Field,
Lowell provided the decisive blow, sending a 3-2 pitch from Mark
Guthrie (0-1) over the center field wall for his first career
postseason homer.

"Very satisfying," said Lowell, who hit the 14th pinch homer in
LCS history.  "I think that's an understatement."

With the wind blowing out at Wrigley, the teams combined for 17
extra-base hits, including seven homers and four triples - all
LCS records.  The Marlins also established an NLCS mark with
three homers in an inning.

"I don't know, it was a bad day for pitchers," Marlins starter
Josh Beckett said.

Of Chicago's NLCS-record nine extra-base hits, none was bigger
than Sammy Sosa's dramatic two-out, two-run blast in the bottom
of the ninth that tied the game at 8-8 and sent the crowd of
39,567 into hysterics.

"I know they had a plan to pitch me, so I just stayed patient
and waited for the mistake," Sosa said.

But the excitement was short-lived as Lowell put a ball into the
cage that lies atop the ivy-covered wall at Wrigley to lead off
the 11th.  It was his first home run in four career postseason
at-bats.

"It was weird," he said.  "This was an exciting game.  Two outs
in the ninth with Sammy up, he came through for the crowd.  It
was like a boxing match."

It was the sweetest homer of Lowell's career, considering he
missed all but one game in the final month of the season with a
broken left hand and lost his starting third base job to rookie
Miguel Cabrera.

A two-time All-Star, Lowell hit a career-high 32 home runs in
the regular season but was hit with a pitch from Montreal's
Hector Almonte on August 30 and didn't play again until the
final game of the year.

"My goal was to at least see if I could swing that last day and
keep getting better through batting practice," he said.  "I
think things worked out very well."

Red-hot Ivan Rodriguez also homered and collected five RBI for
the Marlins, who stole home field advantage from the Cubs on a
mild night on the North Side and moved a step closer to their
second World Series appearance.

The Marlins earned the wild card in the final week of the
season, then knocked off the heavily favored San Francisco
Giants in four games in the Division Series, despite losing the
opener.

Trying to win their first World Series title since 1908, the NL
Central Division champion Cubs relinquished an early four-run
lead before rallying from a pair of two-run deficits.  They were
hosting their first NLCS game since 1989.

"That was a hell of a game," said Cubs manager Dusty Baker,
whose team hosts Game Two on Wednesday.  "It's sad we came out
on the short end.  Very disheartening, actually."

Ugueth Urbina (1-0) allowed Sosa's homer but pitched a perfect
10th and picked up the win.  Braden Looper fired a flawless 11th
for his first save of the postseason.

Both starters were ineffective.  The Cubs jumped on Beckett in
the bottom of the first, grabbing a 4-0 lead on an RBI triple by
Mark Grudzielanek, a two-run homer from Moises Alou and an RBI
double by Alex Gonzalez.

Making his second career postseason start - and first bad one -
Beckett surrendered six runs and eight hits while walking one
and striking out five in 6 1/3 innings.

"I think in the first inning, I tried to do to much, and they
hit them," the hard-throwing righthander said.

Carlos Zambrano wasn't any better.  He coughed up the four-run
lead in the third, allowing an LCS-record three homers.
Rodriguez started it with a three-run blast and Cabrera and Juan
Encarnacion added back-to-back solo shots.

"It was a huge momentum swing, being down 4-0 and going up 5-4,"
Lowell said.  "And it just kept going back and forth."

Stumbling through his second straight playoff outing, Zambrano
gave up six runs and nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts
in six innings.

"I wasn't very good today," the sinker-balling righthander said.
"They hit a lot of pitches, they made the adjustment and they
hit it out of the ballpark."

Jeff Conine lofted a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth for a
6-4 lead.  Beckett had settled down before surrendering an
opposite-field two-run homer to Gonzalez in the bottom of the
frame, which tied it at 6-6.

Over the next two innings, Florida's Alex Gonzalez made a pair
of dazzling plays at shortstop.  In the seventh, he robbed Sosa
of a go-ahead RBI hit by moving to his left to snare a
one-hopper - going to his knees, spinning and throwing to first.

An inning later, Gonzalez slid on his knees in the hole between
third base and shortstop, fielded the ball and threw a
one-hopper to second base for a forceout while his momentum
carried him toward the outfield grass.

The Marlins loaded the bases in the ninth against Cubs closer
Joe Borowski, who yielded a one-out double to pinch hitter Todd
Hollandsworth and walk to Juan Pierre before controversy struck.

Luis Castillo hit a soft ground ball to second base.  A charging
Mark Grudzielanek appeared to get an out when he fielded and
tagged Juan Pierre in one motion, then threw late to first.

But second base umpire Fieldin Culbreth immediately called
Pierre safe, saying Grudzielanek bobbled the ball while trying
to apply the tag.  Replays appeared to prove Culbreth correct.

"Well, the umpire was correct," Baker said.

Rodriguez followed by belting a 1-2 pitch past a diving
Grudzielanek, allowing two runs to score.  The hit gave
Rodriguez 11 RBI in five games this postseason.

The Cubs worked out of further trouble but were down to their
last out when Sosa stepped to the plate in the ninth.  He swung
through a 1-0 pitch before depositing a hanging slider onto the
middle of Waveland Avenue beyond the left field wall.

"It was full of emotional twists," Baker said.  "I'm sure
everybody is emotionally exhausted at this point."

After both teams went in order in the 10th, Lowell started the
11th with the decisive homer.  McKeon knew he deserved it.

"We knew he was capable of hitting the ball out of the ballpark,
and he did it," McKeon said.  "It couldn't happen to a greater
guy."