• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Cubs complete sweep of Braves

Aug 14, 2008 - 3:16 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs keep on piling up the wins of late away from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

Kosuke Fukudome emerged from an August slump by smashing two hits and plating two runs to help the Cubs to an easy 8-0 win over the listless Atlanta Braves and a sweep of a split-admission doubleheader Wednesday.

Aramis Ramirez plated two runs and Jim Edmonds drove in a run in a four-run first inning for Chicago, which has won seven straight road games.

"Let's not talk about that," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Let's just hope it continues."

Until their recent success, wins have been hard to come by away from Chicago for the Cubs, who have won 45 of 62 at their home ballpark, but entered the nightcap of the twin-bill here three games under .500 on the road.

However, bolstered by the throngs of Cubs fans who have descended upon Milwaukee and Atlanta, the Cubs have figured out a way to win away from their cozy ballpark on West Addison.

"Everywhere we go, there are a lot of Cubs fans," Ramirez said. "It's crazy. We're very proud of our fans."

A long-lost player led Chicago's way to victory in this one in a ballpark that sounded more and more like Wrigley Field as the game went on.

Fukudome, who was mired in a miserable .097 (3-for-32) slump in August, showed signs of finally breaking out of his summer daze. The 31-year-old Japanese rookie capped a four-run first with a two-run single down the left field line off Atlanta starter Jorge Campillo (7-5) to stake the Cubs to an early lead. He also collected a single in the sixth.

"That was good for him," Ramirez said. "He's been struggling with runners in scoring position lately. That (single) pretty much put the game away."

The runs were more than enough for Rich Harden (2-1) and four Chicago relievers, who combined to three-hit the woeful Braves, losers of 16 of their last 21 at Turner Field.

"We struggled from the first pitch of the game," Brian McCann said. "It's frustrating to play so poorly today. We didn't do anything good."

Harden rebounded from his mediocre performance against Houston in his last start - when he allowed five runs over 5 2/3 frames - by scattering two hits while walking five and striking out two over five frames.

"(The four-run lead) was nice," Harden said. "You want to go back out there and shut them down. ... I didn't have good stuff. I had to throw a lot of pitches."

Alfonso Soriano, who drew the ire of the legion of Cubs fans here for turning an extra-base hit into a single after admiring a towering blast to left field that bounced off the wall in the eighth inning of the opening game of the doubleheader, plated a run with an RBI double in the fifth.

But the time Soriano walked to the plate in the ninth the boos were long forgotten, replaced by chants of "Let's Go Cubbies" from the Chicago fans.

The Cubs pounded out 18 runs and 24 hits over the day-night doubleheader en route to notching their first doubleheader sweep on the road since June 8, 1992, at St. Louis.

"It was a long day, but a productive one," Piniella said. "We won a couple of ball games."

Atlanta's fans, who were mostly gone by the conclusion of the nightcap, had little reason to cheer all day.

On a night in which the Braves honored long-time announcer Skip Caray, who passed away last Sunday at the age of 68, the club looked like the inept team that the 33-year announcer witnessed in Atlanta's lean years during the 1970s and '80s.

The Braves had a runner at third base with two outs in the third, fourth and fifth, but could not plate a run in any frame.

"I think Skip had a better night than the Braves tonight," deadpanned Braves manager Bobby Cox. "Much better. We scored two runs in 18 innings. We were behind 4-0 by the (third) inning both games."

Campillo allowed five runs and seven hits while walking two and striking out five over five innings.