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Lee, DeRosa power Cubs past Reds

Apr 16, 2008 - 5:55 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Ken Griffey Jr. took another step toward history, but ultimately, the Chicago Cubs spoiled Dusty Baker's return to the Windy City.

Derrek Lee and Mark DeRosa each homered and drove in three runs to lead the Cubs to a 9-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.

Lee finished with three hits and Ryan Theriot scored two runs and drove in a pair for the Cubs, who pounded out 14 hits.

DeRosa, a veteran utilityman who moved out to left field when Alfonso Soriano left the game in the first inning, hit his first blast while playing the position since 2003 when he was with Atlanta.

"I've played the position before," DeRosa said. "But I'm definitely going to need some work out there. It was good to see the bats come alive tonight. We knew with the wind blowing out during batting practice that it could be one of those good offensive nights."

Griffey blasted a two-run shot in the second inning, giving the Reds a brief 3-2 lead and himself 595 for his career - just five homers shy of becoming the sixth player in history to reach 600.

"It was a nice tribute to Jackie (Robinson), especially wearing his number and then hitting a home run on Jackie's day," Baker said of Griffey's blast, which came as Major League Baseball celebrated the 61st anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier. "But in general, it's just nice to have Junior swinging the bat well."

The perennial All-Star has two homers so far this season.

But the Cubs got to Reds ace Aaron Harang in the fifth inning, when Mike Fontenot clubbed a one-out double to deep left-center field. Theriot followed with a walk before Lee deposited Harang's 1-0 offering deep over the center field wall to give Chicago a 5-3 advantage.

"He battled them a bit early on," Baker said of Harang. "But he wasn't feeling well tonight. The one thing that was apparent that his velocity was down. It was also a very tough night to pitch with the wind blowing out."

The Reds fought back with a run in the seventh, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

"It was just one of those days when I didn't have it," Harang said. "I was feeling kind of sick even warming up in the bullpen. I guess I have some kind of bug from all those days in bad weather condition. Give the Cubs credit. They did their thing. I just didn't do mine."

But Lee and DeRosa drove in a run apiece in the bottom of the frame to push the lead to 7-4. Theriot added a two-run blast in the eighth to cap the scoring.

Cincinnati's manager, Baker guided the Cubs for four seasons before being fired by the after a lackluster 2006 campaign. After spending a year doing television work, Baker was hired by the Reds in the offseason.

Soriano left the game in the first inning due to a strained right calf.

"As he was catching the ball, he goes up after it," Cubs manager Lou Piniella. "He strained his calf. He catches the ball that way (with a hop). It seems like a natural move for him. I can't remember (anyone else catching the ball that way). It's his unique style."

"He went for an MRI (Tuesday night). We will know more (Wednesday) morning. But it appears it might be a while."