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Major League Baseball

May 17, 2008  Wrigley Field-Attendance: 41,686 (41,160)  Time: 2:44
 
Pittsburgh 7 Chicago Cubs 6
 FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
 Pirates  0 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 2 7 11 2
 Cubs  0 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 6 11 0
W: D. Marte (W, 3-0); L: C. Marmol (L, 1-1); S: M. Capps (S, 10)
HR: PIT: N. McLouth (12). CHC: A. Soriano (9, 10).

Batting
Pittsburgh
Name AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
F Sanchez 2B 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 .254
N McLouth CF 5 2 3 3 0 1 1 .312
J Bay LF 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .264
A LaRoche 1B 5 1 2 1 0 1 2 .199
X Nady RF 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 .316
D Mientkiewicz 3B 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 .242
R Paulino C 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .227
B Bixler SS 4 0 1 1 0 2 2 .181
Z Duke P 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 .105
   T Yates P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
   D Marte P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
   J Michaels PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
   M Capps P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Team totals: 36 7 11 7 3 10 6  

Individual Batting:
Doubles: A LaRoche (6), F Sanchez (10)
Home runs: N McLouth (12, 9th inning off C Marmol with 1 on, 1 outs)
RBI: D Mientkiewicz (8), X Nady (36), A LaRoche (17), N McLouth 3 (36), B Bixler (2)
Sacrifice flies: X Nady (1)
Left in scoring position: R Paulino (1), D Mientkiewicz (1), A LaRoche (2), N McLouth (1), Z Duke (1), J Bay (1)

Team Batting:
Left on base: 6
Left in scoring position: 4
Hits with runners in scoring position: 12 at-bats, 4 hits

Fielding:
Errors: B Bixler (6), J Bay (1)
Double plays: 1: (#1: Z Duke, B Bixler, A LaRoche)

Batting
Chicago Cubs
Name AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
A Soriano LF 5 3 5 3 0 0 0 .295
R Theriot SS 5 0 2 1 0 0 1 .331
D Lee 1B 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .294
A Ramirez 3B 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .280
K Fukudome RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .314
G Soto C 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .328
M DeRosa 2B 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .299
   C Marmol P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Johnson CF 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 .258
C Zambrano P 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .267
   M Wuertz P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
   S Eyre P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
   R Cedeno PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .328
   J Lieber P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
   M Fontenot 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
Team totals: 37 6 11 5 2 5 6  

Individual Batting:
Doubles: M DeRosa (9), G Soto (14), A Soriano (7)
Home runs: A Soriano 2 (10, 4th inning off Z Duke with 0 on, 2 outs) (7th inning off T Yates with 0 on, 1 outs)
RBI: R Theriot (12), R Johnson (18), A Soriano 3 (25)
Grounded into double play: R Theriot (1)
Left in scoring position: C Zambrano (1), D Lee (1)

Team Batting:
Left on base: 6
Left in scoring position: 2
Hits with runners in scoring position: 7 at-bats, 5 hits

Fielding:
Passed balls: G Soto (1)
Double plays: 1: (#1: D Lee)

Pitching
Pittsburgh
Name IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Z Duke 6.1 8 4 4 1 4 4.23
T Yates (B, 2) 0.2 1 1 1 1 0 3.38
D Marte (W, 3-0) 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.15
M Capps (S, 10) 1 2 1 1 0 1 2.75

Pitching
Chicago Cubs
Name IP H R ER BB SO ERA
C Zambrano 4 7 5 4 3 3 2.45
M Wuertz 2.2 1 0 0 0 1 3.18
S Eyre 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
J Lieber 1 1 0 0 0 3 3.63
C Marmol (L, 1-1) 1 2 2 2 0 2 1.67

Individual Pitching
Pittsburgh
Name Batters Faced Pitches Strikes Ground Balls Fly Balls
Z Duke 27 106 69 11 4
T Yates 4 13 7 2 1
D Marte 3 7 4 1 1
M Capps 5 22 16 0 0

Chicago Cubs
Name Batters Faced Pitches Strikes Ground Balls Fly Balls
C Zambrano 22 73 40 6 6
M Wuertz 8 23 18 3 2
S Eyre 1 4 3 0 0
J Lieber 4 20 14 1 0
C Marmol 5 15 12 1 2

Officials
Umpires
Name  Position
Jim Wolf HP
Ed Montague 1B
Jerry Layne 2B
Phil Cuzzi 3B

Game Highlights
NL Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano's 4th inning strikeout of Ronny Paulino was the 1,087th of his Cubs career, passing Larry Corcoran for 7th all-time.
NL Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs Cubs Alfonso Soriano has 4 hits.
NL Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs Cubs Alfonso Soriano has 5 hits.

Play-By-Play
Top of the 1st
Hit: Sanchez hits a double to RF.   0 out.
Out: McLouth strikes out. F Sanchez holds on second.  1 out.
Out: Bay flies out to LF.  F Sanchez holds on second.  2 outs.
Out: LaRoche flies out to 2B. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 1st
Hit: Soriano hits a single to CF.   0 out.
Out: Theriot hits into double play. 2 outs.
Play: Lee - error.  2 outs.
Out: Ramirez grounds out to 2B. 3 outs.
Top of the 2nd
Out: Nady flies out to SS. 1 out.
Play: Mientkiewicz walks. 1 out.
Advanced base:  D Mientkiewicz to second.  1 out.
Out: Paulino flies out to RF.  D Mientkiewicz holds on second.  2 outs.
Run scored: 1 run, single by Brian Bixler. Doug Mientkiewicz scores from 2nd.
Advanced base: B Bixler to second.  2 outs.
Hit: Duke hits a single to 2B.   B Bixler holds on second.  2 outs.
Bottom of the 2nd
Out: Fukudome grounds out to 2B. 1 out.
Hit: Soto hits a double to LF.   1 out.
Hit: DeRosa hits a single to CF.   G Soto to third.  1 out.
Run scored: 1 run, single by Reed Johnson. Geovany Soto scores from 3rd.
Out: Zambrano flies out to P.  R Johnson holds on first.  M DeRosa holds on second.  2 outs.
Run scored: 1 run, error by Jason Bay. Reed Johnson scores from 2nd.
Hit: Theriot hits a single to RF.   A Soriano to third.  2 outs.
Out: Lee hits a fielders-choice to 2B. 3 outs.
Top of the 3rd
Out: Sanchez flies out to 2B. 1 out.
Out: McLouth grounds out to SS. 2 outs.
Out: Bay flies out to LF. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 2nd
Run scored: 1 run, single by Alfonso Soriano. Mark DeRosa scores from 2nd.
Out: Ramirez flies out to RF. 1 out.
Out: Fukudome grounds out to 1B. 2 outs.
Play: Soto walks. 2 outs.
Hit: DeRosa hits a double to LF.   G Soto to third.  2 outs.
Advanced base: M DeRosa holds on second.  G Soto out.  3 outs.
Top of the 4th
Hit: LaRoche hits a double to CF.   0 out.
Out: Nady grounds out to 2B.  A LaRoche to third.  1 out.
Run scored: 1 run, single by Doug Mientkiewicz. Adam LaRoche scores from 3rd.
Out: Paulino strikes out. D Mientkiewicz holds on first.  2 outs.
Out: Bixler strikes out. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 4th
Out: Johnson grounds out to 3B. 1 out.
Out: Zambrano strikes out. 2 outs.
Run scored: 1 run, home run by Alfonso Soriano (9).
Out: Theriot grounds out to 2B. 3 outs.
Top of the 5th
Play: Duke walks. 0 out.
Hit: Sanchez hits a single to 2B.   Z Duke to second.  0 out.
Run scored: 1 run, single by Nate McLouth. Zach Duke scores from 2nd.
Play: Bay walks. N McLouth to second.  F Sanchez holds on third.  0 out.
Run scored: 1 run, single by Adam LaRoche. Freddy Sanchez scores from 3rd.
Pitching Change: (P) Zambrano replaced by (P) Wuertz
Run scored: 1 run, Xavier Nady hits a sacrifice fly. Nate McLouth scores from 3rd.
Out: Mientkiewicz hits into double play. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 5th
Out: Lee grounds out to SS. 1 out.
Out: Ramirez strikes out. 2 outs.
Out: Fukudome grounds out to 2B. 3 outs.
Top of the 6th
Out: Paulino strikes out. 1 out.
Out: Bixler grounds out to P. 2 outs.
Out: Duke grounds out to 2B. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 6th
Out: Soto strikes out. 1 out.
Out: DeRosa strikes out. 2 outs.
Out: Johnson flies out to 3B. 3 outs.
Top of the 7th
Out: Sanchez grounds out to 2B. 1 out.
Hit: McLouth hits a single to 1B.   1 out.
Out: Bay flies out to CF.  N McLouth holds on first.  2 outs.
Pitching Change: (P) Wuertz replaced by (P) Eyre
Advanced base:  N McLouth to second.  2 outs.
Out: LaRoche strikes out. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 7th
Offensive Substitution: (P) Eyre replaced by (PH) Cedeno
Out: Cedeno flies out to RF. 1 out.
Pitching Change: (P) Duke replaced by (P) Yates
Run scored: 1 run, home run by Alfonso Soriano (10).
Out: Theriot grounds out to 1B. 2 outs.
Out: Lee grounds out to SS. 3 outs.
Top of the 8th
Pitching Change: (P) Eyre replaced by (P) Lieber
Out: Nady strikes out. 1 out.
Out: Mientkiewicz strikes out. 2 outs.
Hit: Paulino hits a single to LF.   2 outs.
Out: Bixler strikes out. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 8th
Play: Ramirez walks. 0 out.
Pitching Change: (P) Yates replaced by (P) Marte
Out: Fukudome hits a fielders-choice to P.   A Ramirez out.  1 out.
Out: Soto flies out to CF.  K Fukudome holds on first.  2 outs.
Out: DeRosa grounds out to P. 3 outs.
Top of the 9th
Defensive Substitution: (P) Lieber replaced by (2B) Fontenot
Pitching Change: (P) Lieber replaced by (P) Marmol
Offensive Substitution: (P) Marte replaced by (PH) Michaels
Out: Michaels strikes out. 1 out.
Hit: Sanchez hits a single to SS.   1 out.
Run scored: 2 runs, home run by Nate McLouth (12). Freddy Sanchez scores from 1st.
Out: Bay strikes out. 2 outs.
Out: LaRoche flies out to 1B. 3 outs.
Bottom of the 9th
Pitching Change: (P) Marte replaced by (P) Capps
Out: Johnson strikes out. 1 out.
Out: Fontenot flies out to RF. 2 outs.
Hit: Soriano hits a double to LF.   2 outs.
Run scored: 1 run, single by Ryan Theriot. Alfonso Soriano scores from 2nd.
Out: Lee flies out to RF. 3 outs.

McLouth's two-run homer lifts Pirates over Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) -Alfonso Soriano went deep again. And again. Nate McLouth's homer was the decisive one, though.

He hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Carlos Marmol in the ninth to help the Pittsburgh Pirates overcome Soriano's shots for a 7-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

The Pirates had lost 10 straight to the Cubs and were 0-7 against them this year before McLouth came through with the big hit.

Freddy Sanchez beat shortstop Ryan Theriot's throw to first on a grounder up the middle with one out before McLouth's drive off Marmol (1-1) to the basket above the right-field wall. Pittsburgh won for the ninth time in 12 games.

''Against a guy like that who has electric stuff as he has, you don't try to do too much,'' McLouth said. ''You just try to put the ball in play because he's got incredible stuff.''

He got a fastball and drilled his 12th homer and his second off Marmol, who had pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings.

''You're not perfect,'' said Marmol, who has allowed two homers. ''You're going to make mistakes.''

Matt Capps gave up a two-out RBI single to Ryan Theriot after Soriano doubled for his fifth hit of the game, but retired Derrek Lee on a fly to right for his 10th save in as many chances.

Damaso Marte (3-0) retired all three batters he faced in the eighth after Tyler Yates walked Aramis Ramirez.

Soriano has 20 hits in his last 37 at-bats, raising his average to .295 after a brutal start.

He tied a career high by leading off his fifth straight game with a hit when he lined a single to center and added an RBI single during a three-run second that gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead.

His solo shot to left off Zach Duke in the fourth made it 4-2, and he greeted Yates with another one that tied it at 5 in the seventh. That gave him seven homers in the week and 10 for the season. It was the second time he hit two homers in back-to-back games, the first coming for Texas against Cleveland on May 6-7, 2005. And he became the first Cubs player with back-to-back multihomer games since Ramirez at Washington on July 21-22, 2006.

The five-hit game was Soriano's first since June 4 against Milwaukee, and his career-high is six for Texas against Detroit on May 8, 2004.

''I'm very confident in myself,'' said Soriano, who spent the last two weeks in April on the disabled list with a strained right calf. ''I had a bad month in April. I said when I come back, I want to come back strong.''

And that's exactly what he did.

''Some people think he's a dumb hitter but he's not,'' Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano said. ''He's a smart hitter and at the beginning, people booing him were doing no good. Everybody in baseball can go through slumps, bad times. Superstars do what Sori's doing right now.''

Duke, who won his previous two starts, gave up four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

He left after Nady made a diving catch near the right-field warning track to rob pinch hitter Ronny Cedeno. Then, Soriano went deep off Yates.

''He's locked in right now,'' Duke said. ''It seems like you can throw him a pitch in any location and he's going to hit it hard.''

Zambrano was in line for his second loss of the season before Soriano's second homer. After going 5-0 in his previous six starts he simply didn't have it. He left with none out in the fifth and the game tied at 4 after lasting at least six innings in his first nine outings.

Duke led off with a walk, and Sanchez and McLouth singled to make it 4-3. Zambrano then walked Jason Bay to load the bases before Adam LaRoche chased him with an RBI single off his glove that tied it. Nady then made it 5-4 with a sacrifice fly to foul territory in right off Michael Wuertz, before Doug Mientkiewicz lined a double play to first baseman Derrek Lee.

Besides struggling on the mound, Zambrano popped out while trying to lay down a bunt in the second and broke his bat over his left leg after striking out in the fourth.

''My team is in first place and I have a good record,'' said Zambrano, who's still 6-1 after being charged with a season-high five runs on seven hits. ''What do I have to be frustrated?''

Notes: The Cubs were not sure how serious LHP Rich Hill's back injury was after it stiffened during Friday's start for Triple-A Iowa. Sent to the minors two weeks ago because of control problems, Hill allowed three runs and walked three batters in 2 2-3 innings at Round Rock. ... Manager Lou Piniella said the Cubs will call up 1B Micah Hoffpauir before Monday's game at Houston, after Daryle Ward goes on the disabled list with a bulging disc in his lower back. Ward was available to pinch hit.