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Cubs rally past Marlins to reclaim first place

Jul 27, 2008 - 11:29 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Alfonso Soriano and the Chicago Cubs will be back in first place when they take on the Milwaukee Brewers.

Soriano homered and Mike Fontenot capped a four-run seventh inning with a three-run double as the Cubs reclaimed first place in the National League Central Division courtesy of Sunday's thrilling 9-6 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Chicago (61-44) entered this matinee contest tied with the Brewers (60-45) atop the division standings. But thanks to their come-from-behind win and Milwaukee's 11-6 loss at Houston, the Cubs will take a one-game lead into the upcoming series against the Brewers.

"It's a big win for us," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "This gives us some momentum going up to Milwaukee for a series that should be exciting."

Chicago visits Milwaukee on Monday in the opener of their highly anticipated four-game series. The Cubs figure to carry some momentum into that contest after rallying from a five-run deficit Sunday to avoid their first three-game home losing streak in nearly a year.

With the score tied at 6-6 in the seventh, Chicago sent the red-hot Fontenot to the plate as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and two outs. Fontenot, who entered with a .227 average as a pinch hitter this season, belted a long double into left field to make it 9-6.

"The good thing about today that we got the offense going again," Piniella said. "Give those guys in the clubhouse all the credit for that, we needed a victory like this."

Mike Jacobs homered in his first two at-bats to give the Marlins a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the third. But after scoring twice in the third, the Cubs forged a 5-5 tie on Soriano's three-run homer the following inning.

It was Soriano's 16th homer this season and his first since returning from a six-week stint on the disabled list. Soriano, who was activated from the DL last Wednesday, had not homered since June 7.

"In batting practice before the game, I tried an approach to just hit the ball where it was pitched," Soriano said. "It worked out well during the game, especially on the pitch for the home run. My timing is close to coming back."

Florida went ahead, 6-5, on Dan Uggla's mammoth homer in the fifth, but Chicago took the lead for good in the seventh.

Derrek Lee led off the inning with a homer off lefthander Mark Hendrickson (7-8), who recorded a pair of outs but also allowed a single and a walk. Hendrickson was replaced by righthander Joe Nelson, who intentionally walked pinch hitter Daryle Ward to load the bases.

That set the stage for Fontenot, who lofted a ball over the head of left fielder Josh Willingham to plate Jim Edmonds, Mark DeRosa and Ward.

"It was a pitch that I could handle and lift it over the left fielder's head," said Fontenot, who is batting .362 with four homers and 17 RBI in his last 18 games. "With just a couple of months left, all the games are big now - and it's great to contribute to a win."

Chad Gaudin (1-1) worked the seventh to record the win and rookie Jeff Samardzija logged two perfect innings to notch his first career save.

"My goal is to be consistent so (Piniella) and the coaching staff will have faith in me in important situations," said Samardzija, a former star wide receiver at Notre Dame.

Neither starter pitched well in this contest; Chicago's Jason Marquis allowed six runs in six innings while Florida's Rick VandenHurk lasted just 3 2/3 frames, yielding five runs and eight hits.

Jacobs recorded his third multi-homer game this season and his fourth career. All-Star Hanley Ramirez had two hits for the Marlins (55-50), who fell two games behind the first-place New York Mets (57-48) in the NL East.

The Marlins host the Mets on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.

"We jumped out nice with the five runs, but we could not get the shutdown innings we needed from our bullpen," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "It's tough holding a one-run lead in this ballpark when the wind is blowing out."