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Jackson leads Diamondbacks past Cubs

Jul 23, 2008 - 7:00 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Conor Jackson had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.

Jackson, who also scored two runs, belted a solo home run in the first inning and added a two-run double during a four-run eighth. Orlando Hudson also launched a solo shot in the seventh but left the game with a right leg injury after being hit by a pitch an inning later.

Yusmeiro Petit (1-1) picked up the win, allowing one run and three hits in five innings. Petit struck out three and issued four walks.

Petit was making his second start of the season in place of Micah Owings, who pitched a scoreless inning of relief on Monday.

"I am used to the different roles," Petit said through an interpreter. "I was feeling good. I was throwing strikes and getting ahead of the count. That was the whole key. It is hard, but last year I did it a couple of times, so this year it is easier to make the adjustment."

Jon Rauch, who was acquired earlier in the day in a trade with Washington, tossed a scoreless ninth for the Diamondbacks, who improved to .500 (50-50).

"We have to concentrate on that particular game and not get caught up on where we are," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "We need to string some wins together. We have had trouble stringing three, four wins in a row. We win one or two and it looks like we are off to the races again, but we haven't put together a win streak in a while."

The struggling Cubs have now lost five of their last six games and are 1-4 since the All-Star break. They had scored only 11 runs in the four games since the break entering Tuesday, with nine of those coming in a victory over Houston on Sunday.

"The middle part of our lineup, we are getting people on, but we are not getting them in," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "It is only July, so they should not be pressing. We are just not hitting with men on base. When the middle part of your lineup is not driving in runs, it becomes a bit of a scuffle, and that is what has happened."

Chicago was unable to break out of its slump at the plate against Petit, scoring its lone run against him in the fourth

inning on an RBI triple by Mike Fontenot that cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Diamondbacks were clinging to a 3-2 lead until the seventh, when they added a pair of insurance runs, including Hudson's homer. They broke open the game in the eighth, which was highlighted by Jackson's two-run double and a pair of errors by the Cubs.

"It was nice to get the runs late. Even in the Dodgers series, except for the first game, we put up early then kind of shut down the last six or seven innings," Jackson said. "It was nice to give the bullpen a little breath."

Jason Marquis (6-6) took the loss, yielding three runs and five hits in six innings.

"I made a few mistakes (to) Conor Jackson and Stephen Drew, but for the most part, I executed the way I wanted. I feel positive and hopefully we get out of our own way and play good baseball," Marquis said. "We have enough talent here to win, but we can't just throw our gloves on the field and expect to win. We have to go back to executing and get back to the basics and play good fundamental baseball."