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Lee, Cubs drub Pirates

Apr 19, 2008 - 9:25 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Early in the season, Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee is displaying the power that he lacked for most of last season.

Lee belted his major league-leading seventh home run Saturday, a two-run shot in the first inning that started the Cubs on their way to a 13-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Last season, Lee did not hit his seventh homer until mid-June and finished with just 22.

"People ask me about getting off to a good start this year," said Lee, who hit a career-high 46 homers for the Cubs in 2005. "But I really liked where my swing was last year. The only difference was the home runs. I'm getting more lift on my swing now."

For the second time this season, the Cubs pounded Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (1-2), who has an ERA of 25.20 in his two outings against Chicago. Each time, he surrendered seven runs and was knocked out in the third inning.

"I have a few mechanical things to work on that I need to get past before my next start," Gorzelanny said. "I've been giving the hitters too many good pitches to hit."

Cubs starter Jason Marquis cruised to his first win of the season, yielding one run and six hits in six innings. Marquis (1-0) walked one and struck out seven.

"I felt like I had good control and good command today," Marquis said. "It's a good win for both me and the team."

The Cubs put away the contest early. After Geovany Soto delivered an RBI double in the second, Chicago tacked on four more runs in the third to make it 7-0 and knock out Gorzelanny.

"He didn't really have good stuff today," Pirates manager John Russell said. "His command was off. And the Cubs made him pay for it."

The Cubs put together another four-run inning in the sixth, then completed their scoring in the seventh on a two-run shot by Daryle Ward, Lee's replacement at first.

While the Cubs were feasting on Pirates' pitching to win their eighth straight game against Pittsburgh, Marquis became the second Chicago starter in as many days to win his first game of the season. Rich Hill got his initial victory on Friday.

"Getting back-to-back wins from Hill and Marquis is a real plus for us," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We've had the second-most innings in the league pitched by our bullpen. So, we needed out starters to step up."

Pirates center fielder Nate McLouth extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He has hit safely in every contest this season.

Pittsburgh got its only run on Freddy Sanchez's RBI double in the fifth. The Pirates have scored only six runs during a four-game losing streak.

"We got beat, and we got beat good," Russell added. "Things just seemed to get away from us early."

The Cubs won their 11th game Saturday - a mark they did not reach last season until May 1.

"The difference this year is that I think our players believe in themselves and their ability," Piniella said. "Last season, they were coming off a 66-win year and needed some time to feel like they could win."