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Cubs use two-run ninth to beat Arizona

May 1, 2011 - 3:58 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro delivered two-out RBI singles in the ninth inning, lifting Chicago to a 5-3 victory over Arizona and giving Matt Garza his first win in a Cubs uniform.

Garza (1-3) struck out 10 batters in eight innings and Carlos Marmol worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to earn his seventh save.

After Ryan Roberts drew the walk to bring the tying run to the plate, Russell Branyan drove a fastball all the way to the centerfield warning track for the second out. Castro then scurried up the middle to field Miguel Montero's grounder, getting him by a step at first base to end the game.

Alfonso Soriano homered and knocked in two runs for the Cubs, who have won the last two games of this four-game series after dropping four in a row.

Their go-ahead rally in the ninth came against J.J. Putz (0-1). Barney's base hit scored Geovany Soto and Castro singled under Putz's glove and into center, scoring Kosuke Fukudome to make it 5-3.

The Diamondbacks had a chance to escape the inning, but shortstop Stephen Drew double-cluched while trying to turn a double play and Fukudome beat the throw to first.

"We had a chance to end it right there," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. "Fukudome hustled down there and just barely beat it out. The call could have went either way."

The Diamondbacks have lost three of their last four, the only win coming in the first game of this set.

Arizona starter Ian Kennedy, after pitching his first career shutout Monday to beat the Phillies, didn't factor in this decision. He yielded three runs on six hits and a walk, striking out six.

Garza, who was acquired from Tampa Bay in an eight-player trade in January, surrendered six hits and two walks and threw 70 of his 104 pitches for strikes.

"I'm just trying to go deep, just trying to get people out, three pitches or less," said Garza. "When I get in trouble my pitch count rises and I want to stay away from three-ball counts. I still walked two guys and one of them came around to score."

After giving up a two-out run in the first inning -- Justin Upton doubled, then came home on Drew's ground ball single up the middle -- Garza faced the minimum in each of the next four innings.

Meanwhile, Chicago took the lead.

The Cubs tied the game with two outs in the top of the second when Soriano walloped his 10th homer of the season high off the batter's eye in center field. It was his third home run of the series.

Soriano gave the Cubs a 2-1 edge in the fourth with a two-out single to center, scoring Castro after he led off with a double and moved to third on a fly ball.

Yet another two-out run came in the fifth when Aramis Ramirez lined a double down the line and to the left field wall, allowing Barney to score from first base without a throw and giving Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Arizona tied the game with two runs in the sixth. After Chris Young drew a leadoff walk, Gerardo Parra tripled over Soriano's head and off the wall in left field. Drew hit a one-out single to score Parra, making it 3-3.

Game Notes

Garza had 51 strikeouts in April, a new Cubs record...Putz suffered his first loss since August 15, 2010 -- a stretch of 21 games...Chicago manager Mike Quade was ejected in the ninth inning for arguing a force play at second base. He looked at the replay afterward and said he was wrong...The Diamondbacks have scored in the first inning in three straight games. They have 10 runs in those innings after plating a National League-low nine first-inning runs in the first 23 games of the season...Arizona fell to 3-3 on its 10-game homestand.