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Marquis belts grand slam; Cubs down slumping Mets

Sep 23, 2008 - 3:50 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Jason Marquis ensured the Chicago Cubs of many of the comforts of home throughout the National League playoffs while dealing the postseason hopes of the New York Mets another painful blow.

Marquis pitched effectively into the seventh inning, hit his first career grand slam and drove in five runs as the Cubs defeated the Mets, 9-5, in the opener of the final homestand at Shea Stadium on Monday.

Reed Johnson had a pair of RBI singles for the Cubs, who clinched the NL Central Division title on Saturday and have not lost since. Chicago (95-60) won its third straight, clinching the best record in the league and home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.

"It's a step. It's an important step. All of the teams vying to get in have played really well at home," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who plans to give his regulars more time off over the final week of the season. "We'll continue to rest guys now that we've clinched."

David Wright hit a two-run homer for the Mets (86-70), who dropped their third straight game and fell 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (89-68) in the Eastern Division with six games to play.

"There's no doubt we've hit a bump," Wright said. "We need to look at the big picture. There's a sense of urgency, but no panic."

The Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves, 6-2, on Monday night. New York also saw its lead over the idle Milwaukee Brewers (85-71) in the wild card race reduced to one game.

The Mets held a 3 1/2 game lead over Philadelphia entering September. The slide brings back memories of last season, when the Mets squandered a seven-game lead with 17 to play.



"We have to exorcise those demons at some point," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.

The Mets are closing the regular season with seven games at Shea Stadium, their home for the last 45 years that will be demolished in the offseason to make way for Citi Field.

Jerry Manuel's club hopes to postpone the stadium closing for a few more weeks and rested its fortunes Monday on rookie Jonathon Niese (1-1), who was making just his third big league start. He threw eight scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves on September 13.

However, the lefthander could not make it past the third inning in this one. He did not retire any of the five batters he faced in the fourth and was tagged for six runs and seven hits overall.

"I took this game like any other game. Things didn't work out today," Niese said.

The first four hitters reached safely before Marquis belted the first pitch from Niese over the right-field fence to give the Cubs a 6-2 lead. It was the fifth career home run and first career grand slam for Marquis, a New York native who resides in nearby Staten Island.

Marquis became the first Cubs pitcher to hit a grand slam since Kevin Tapani at Atlanta on July 20, 1998.

"Any time you get a chance to help yourself, why not?" said Marquis, who once pitched in a high school championship game at Shea Stadium. "This was really special doing it in front of family and friends and probably the last time at Shea Stadium."

Marquis drove in his fifth run when he grounded into a force play in the fifth, and became the first Cubs pitcher to drive in five runs since Milt Pappas in 1982.

It was the second grand slam by a pitcher against the Mets this season - Felix Hernandez of Seattle connected off Johan Santana on June 23. The last team to allow two grand slams to pitchers in the same season was the 1977 Cubs.

Nelson Figueroa relieved Niese, and one out later allowed a home run to Derrek Lee that capped the six-run inning. Lee's homer gave the Cubs five players with 20 homers for the second time in five seasons.

Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Soto and DeRosa reached the mark before Lee.

Marquis (11-9) allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings and left after allowing a two-run homer in the seventh to Wright that cut the lead to 8-4.

Kerry Wood, the fifth Chicago pitcher, struck out Luis Castillo with two runners on for his 33rd save.

Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran slammed into the center-field wall while running down a fly ball in the seventh. He remained in the game despite jamming his knee, but his status for Tuesday's game is uncertain.



"I'm going to feel sore," Beltran said.