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Blanco, Jones power Cubs past Brewers

Sep 27, 2006 - 4:22 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs had their bats going against the Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff.

Jacque Jones and Henry Blanco combined to drive in seven runs on seven hits as the Cubs posted a 14-6 pasting of the Brewers.

Jones had three hits and scored three times, and Blanco had a season-high four hits for Chicago, which snapped Milwaukee's five-game winning streak.

"It's always disappointing (ending a winning streak)," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "We just didn't pitch very well tonight and they took advantage of it."

John Mabry hit a three-run home run for the Cubs, whose first five hitters had 14 hits and scored 12 runs. Chicago's 14 runs were two shy of its season-high 16 against Cincinnati in its first game of the season.

"It was a great to see Mabry hit the ball out," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "John has had a tough year with injuries. We all know he is better than he has played."

Sean Marshall (6-9) allowed three runs and six hits over six innings to earn his first win in almost 12 weeks. The rookie lefthander had been 0-1 since returning from the disabled list on September 2. His last win was on July 5.

"It's been a while since I notched one in the win column," Marshall said. "It feels good to win my final start of the year and hopefully I can carry this into next season."

Chicago scored two runs in the first inning on a base-loaded single by Blanco, and twice in the third on a two-run blast by Jones. It was the outfielder's 27th homer of the year and gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead. Chicago scored again in the fifth, when Blanco drove in his third run to make the score, 5-3.

"The reason I am hitting better is the fact that I have gotten more playing time since (Michael) Barrett got hurt," Blanco said. "I feel like I am in a pretty good groove with the bat."

Carlos Villanueva (1-2) gave up the five runs and eight hits while walking one in five innings. The rookie had been impressive in his first two starts, surrendering just one run on five hits in 13 innings.

"I struggled with the command on my fastball," Villanueva said. "I left some balls up and I couldn't put them away with two outs. You can't live on your off-speed pitches alone."

The Cubs scored five times in the sixth, with Mabry's fifth home run providing most of the damage. Blanco drove in his fourth run with an RBI double in the eighth, part of four runs scored in the frame.

"We don't give up when we have a game to play," Baker said. "Guys still want to do their thing. We had a lot of two-out hits tonight."

Bill Hall had three hits for the Brewers, including his 33rd homer in the second inning that gave Milwaukee its first run.