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Cubs finish off sweep of Pirates

Apr 20, 2008 - 11:44 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs were sorry to see the Pittsburgh Pirates leave Wrigley Field.

Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Theriot paced another offensive outburst with four hits apiece Sunday as the Cubs rolled to a 13-6 victory over the Pirates.

Ramirez also drove in four runs for the Cubs, who scored 13 runs for the second straight day in completing a three-game sweep of the series. Overall, they have won nine straight against Pittsburgh.

The Cubs banged out 18 hits Sunday, with every regular except pitcher Ryan Dempster (3-0) collecting at least one.

"I think our hitting approach today was outstanding," Theriot said. "Sometimes a good approach is something that can catch on with everybody in the lineup."

Dempster got through five innings to record the win, allowing three runs and five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Pirates suffered their fifth straight loss. The Cubs tagged Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke (0-1) for five runs and eight hits in four innings.

"The Cubs very good today and I wasn't," Duke said. "I thought I made some good pitches that they hit very hard. All we can do is come back tomorrow and put a hurting on somebody."

"When you score early, you knock the air out of the other team," added Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, who contributed two hits and two RBI. "If they come back, like Pittsburgh did today, it really helps if you can continue to add on runs."

However, after the Cubs built a 5-0 cushion in the fourth inning, Dempster nearly squandered the lead, giving up three runs in the fifth.

The Pirates were one hit away from tying the contest, but Dempster escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Adam LaRoche to strike out.

"I settled down and made pitches," Dempster said. "It's great to have a gameplan but, if you don't execute it, the plan doesn't work."

The Cubs answered with five runs in the bottom half, extending their lead to 10-3 on Ramirez's two-run homer.

"I think it's a nice combination of offense and defense for us right now," Theriot added. "Last year at this time, the pitchers were carrying us. Right now, both are doing their job."

Ryan Doumit hit two solo homers for the Pirates and Nate McLouth extended his hitting streak to 18 games. McLouth has hit safely in every game this season, but they were overshadowed by another woeful pitching effort.

"The last couple days we have not pitched well," Pirates manager John Russell said. "We need to get more out of our starting pitching."

The Cubs have won their first six games against the Pirates this season. They also posted a three-game sweep in Pittsburgh from April 7-10.

"Some people will say we should beat Pittsburgh," Ramirez said. "But if we were losing to them, everyone would be all over us for not winning those games. You have to play the schedule."