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Soriano leads Cubs to fifth straight win, defeat Rockies

Jun 27, 2007 - 4:53 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Following his heroics the previous night, Alfonso Soriano was the initiator for the Chicago Cubs.

Soriano had two hits and scored twice and Cliff Floyd hit a two-run homer as the Cubs posted an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

Ted Lilly pitched six solid innings and Koyie Hill drove in two for Chicago, which matched its season-high of five straight wins.

"Were getting there, were starting to play good baseball," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We knew we would start hitting the ball sooner or later. As a team we are starting to gel."

Colorado (38-39) dropped its season-high fifth consecutive game to fall one game under .500. It's the Rockies' longest skid since losing six in a row from August 18-24.

"We came up a little bit short tonight," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "We had some chances but we didn't get it done."

Soriano, who won Monday's game vs. Colorado with a two-run single in the ninth in a 10-9 victory, ignited the Cubs offense early in this game.

The 31-year-old Dominican, who signed a seven-year, $136 million dollar contract in the offseason, led off the first with a single off Rodrigo Lopez before stealing second base.

"I feel I am very locked in with my swing right now," Soriano said.

After taking third on a groundout, Soriano was plated by a two-out double by Aramis Ramirez. Floyd then belted a two-run homer into the right field seats to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.

"Things are coming together for us right now," Floyd said. "I am hoping that good fortune sticks around for a while, and that we continue to play well as a team."

With Chicago leading, 3-1, in the third, Soriano led off with a double and scored on a double by rookie Mike Fontenot to make it 4-1.

After Colorado cut the lead to 4-3 on a two-run double by Garrett Atkins in the fourth, the Cubs put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth. A two-run double by Hill surrounded by RBI singles by Mark DeRosa and Felix Pie gave Chicago an 8-3 lead.

That was enough support for Lilly (6-4), who allowed four runs, six hits and five walks.

"The guys have been putting up some big numbers for me," Lilly said. "Earlier in the year when I was pitching well and getting beat, that wasn't the case. Thing have a way of evening out."

Cubs reliever Michael Wuertz pitched two innings and Carlos Marmol worked two-thirds of the ninth before Will Ohman came on to record his first save of the season and fourth of his career.

Lopez (4-1) surrendered eight runs, nine hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings to suffer his first loss in 2007.

"I left some pitches up, especially to Ramirez and Floyd in the first inning," Lopez said. "I could have pitched better."

Willy Taveras had three hits as did Jamey Carroll, who also homered for the Rockies, who have been tagged for 43 runs during their slide.