• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Ramirez helps Marlins complete three-game sweep of Cubs

Sep 28, 2007 - 2:43 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Hanley Ramirez helped the Florida Marlins sock it to the Chicago Cubs.

Ramirez homered, drove in two runs and scored twice as the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the Cubs with a 6-4 victory on Thursday afternoon.

Scott Olsen pitched 5 1/3 effective innings and Mike Jacobs and rookie Alejandro De Aza each had an RBI for Florida, which has beaten Chicago 10 straight times - the longest active winning streak by one major league club over another.

"We haven't figured out how to beat them yet," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We've got three games to play, we've got a 1 1/2 game lead. We're in the driver's seat. There shouldn't be any uneasiness." Yet, that's not how the Marlins saw things. "You could see them panicking in the dugout," Marlins outfielder Cody Ross said. "If you're not going to be in the playoffs, you might as well spoil it for someone else."

The loss by the Cubs (83-76) dropped their lead to 1 1/2 games over the Milwaukee Brewers (81-77) in the National League Central Division with three games left.

"Believe it or not, as bad as it was we still have confidence in ourselves," Cubs closer Ryan Dempster said.

Milwaukee plays Thursday night in the first of a four-game series with the San Diego Padres.

"We don't want to rely on Milwaukee," Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. "We control our own destiny."

Chicago next travels to Cincinnati for a three-game season-ending set with the Reds.

"The only message I have is we better play better in Cincinnati than we have here," Piniella said.

After the Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Aramis Ramirez, the Marlins began to take control.

Hanley Ramirez led off with a double off the wall in left-center field before moving to third on a single by Jeremy Hermida, who advanced to second when no one covered the base. After Miguel Cabrera was walked intentionally to load the bases, Jacobs lofted a pitch by Cubs starter Steve Trachsel into right field for a sacrifice fly, scoring Hanley Ramirez and tying the game at 1-1.

Miguel Olivo led off the bottom of the second with a single and De Aza drilled a run-scoring double to left-center to give Florida the lead. De Aza moved to third on a sacrifice by Olsen before a sacrifice fly by Hanley Ramirez increased the Marlins' advantage to 3-1.

With one out in the fifth, Hanley Ramirez deposited an 0-1 pitch from Trachsel over the center field wall to give Florida a three-run lead.

"We need to start thinking about next year because I want to be in the playoffs," Ramirez said.

An RBI double by Cabrera off rookie reliever Kevin Hart later in the frame made it 5-1.

Trachsel (1-3) allowed five runs, five hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings en route to his first loss in his last four starts against the Marlins.

Olsen (10-15) cruised before running into trouble in the sixth.

Aramis Ramirez led off the inning with a base hit and, one out later, moved to second on a single by rookie Geovany Soto. Aramis Ramirez scored when a grounder to third by Craig Monroe was thrown away by Cabrera, cutting Chicago's deficit to 5-2.

A run-scoring single by Jacque Jones up the middle knocked Olsen out of the game and an RBI double by Alfonso Soriano off reliever Matt Lindstrom later in the frame drew the Cubs within 5-4.

However, an RBI double by pinch hitter Cody Ross in the eighth added an insurance run for Florida.

Olsen allowed four runs - two earned - and seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts in snapping a career-high six-game losing streak. It was just the second time in seven outings the lefthander yielded less than five runs.

Lindstrom and Justin Miller each recorded two outs before Renyel Pinto struck out Jones with the bases loaded in the seventh to get out of a jam. Lee Gardner worked around a one-out single by Soriano in the eighth before Kevin Gregg pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 31st save in 35 opportunities.

"That's the kind of baseball we needed to play all year long," Gregg said. "It's the way a baseball game is supposed to be scripted."

Aramis Ramirez went 4-for-5 for the Cubs, who have lost three straight and have not beaten the Marlins since April 25, 2006.

"These guys have our number," said Lee, who won a World Series with the Marlins in 2003. "They outplayed us. They just came out (this series) and flat out beat us. ... We didn't envision a sweep."