Archive for the 'Chicago' Category

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

Cubs’ Gallagher shuts down Dodgers!

Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano, left, Jim Edmonds, center, and Kosuke Fukudome celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 during a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, May 27, 2008.

A few more starts like this and those minor league T-shirts Sean Gallagher distributed to his teammates will become relics.

Gallagher had his best start, and Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome capped a three-run seventh with run-scoring hits to lead the Chicago Cubs to their second straight 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on a bone-chilling, windy Tuesday night.

“Definitely with the wind blowing, you go out there with a little less fear,” Gallagher said after allowing one run and four hits in a career-high seven innings while striking out three and walking two.

The rookie (2-1) started the season in the minors after making eight relief appearances for the Cubs last season. If he keeps pitching like this, he’ll remain in the rotation.

“He’s still got a couple things to work on, but he’s telling us that he wants to stay in the rotation,” manager Lou Piniella said.

The Dodgers got an RBI single from Blake DeWitt in the fourth, but the third baseman’s error in the seventh allowed the tying run to score and helped turn what looked like a win for Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) into a loss.

The right-hander, who won his previous start, was charged with two runs (one earned) and seven hits while striking out three and walking three. He left with a 1-0 lead after Alfonso Soriano, his teammate with the Hiroshima Carp in 1997, lined a single to left with one out in the seventh, putting runners on first and third.

Jonathan Broxton came in, and DeWitt booted Mike Fontenot’s slow roller, allowing Ryan Theriot to score the tying run from third.

“I should have made the play but didn’t,” DeWitt said. “I had no chance at him at home. You need to get the guy out at first base there.”

After Derrek Lee flied to right, Ramirez drove in Soriano with a single to center and Fukodome followed with a double down the left-field line that drove in Fontenot.

The Dodgers loaded the bases against Carlos Marmol in the eighth but stranded the runners after coming up empty twice in similar situations during Monday’s loss to Chicago. Marmol struck out James Loney and Matt Kemp grounded into a force to end the threat, and the Dodgers stranded eight runners after leaving 12 the previous day.

Kerry Wood then pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 16 chances, the crowd chanting “Kerry! Kerry!” before Russell Martin grounded out to end the game.

The game featured two of the biggest names to move from Japan in the offseason—Kuroda and Fukudome—and both came up big.

Kuroda dismissed the matchup with Fukudome, saying through an interpreter, “It was any other hitter. This is a team game and I can’t be facing individuals.”

With the game-time temperature at 42—a 33-degree drop from Monday—Kuroda froze a team that was second in the majors with a .283 average entering the game for six innings. The exception was Fukudome.

A .330 hitter with four homers against Kuroda in Japan, Fukudome had a single and walk in three trips to the plate against his countryman before doubling against Broxton. He also raced in for a diving catch on Andre Ethier’s liner to right in the sixth.

“I’m just throwing the ball over the plate, trying to throw strikes, and to have my defense like that making plays … it makes it easier,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher made it look easy for much of the night.

He distributed a box of T-shirts with his name that the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate shipped but, otherwise, bore little resemblance to a minor leaguer. There was a scare in the first, when he deflected Ethier’s infield single with his bare hand, but Gallagher shook that off. Then, he shooed away the Dodgers.



Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

White Sox Win in 12 Innings!

Chicago White Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks reacts after striking out Cleveland Indians' Franklin Gutierrez for the last out in the twelfth inning during a baseball game Monday May 26, 2008, in Cleveland. Jenks picked up the save and the White Sox won 6-3.

Alexei Ramirez ignored Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen’s bunt sign and it helped the White Sox win the game.

Ramirez swung away for a key single, setting up Orlando Cabrera’s fourth hit that drove in the go-ahead run in the 12th inning and the White Sox beat Cleveland 6-3 on Monday night, handing the Indians their ninth loss in 10 games.

“He went from two seconds from being in (Triple-A) Charlotte to being a hero,” Guillen said of Ramirez. “He did that on his own. I was surprised but (bench coach) Joey Cora told me he’s been working on that in batting practice.”

Boone Logan (2-1) pitched a perfect 1 1-3 innings for the win and Bobby Jenks got the final three outs for his 13th save in 15 chances.

Jenks allowed two singles, then got Jhonny Peralta to hit into a double play and struck out Franklin Gutierrez to become the second-fastest reliever to notch 100 career saves, doing so in 187 games. Kazuhiro Sasaki did it in 160 for Seattle in 2000-02.

“It’s an honor to get there,” said Jenks, who then joked: “I think I only have 500 more to catch (Trevor) Hoffman

San Diego’s Hoffman is the all-time leader with 533 saves.

The White Sox won for the 10th time in 12 games and moved 5 1-2 games ahead of the third-place Indians in the AL Central.

Nick Swisher opened the 12th with a single off right-hander Scott Elarton (0-1). Pinch-runner DeWayne Wise went to third on Ramirez’s single through the right side and scored on another single to right by Cabrera, who was then caught in a rundown trying for second.

After A.J. Pierzynski was intentionally walked, Ramirez scored on a groundout by Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye got another intentional walk. Brian Anderson then slapped an RBI double just inside the first-base line to make it 6-3.

Elarton, called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, was making his first relief appearance in the majors since Sept. 6, 2003, with Colorado. He had started 154 times in 155 outings since 1999.

“It’s not the way I had it written up,” Elarton said. “I just didn’t make pitches—though I was thinking dead bunt with that second hitter and threw it up and away, never thinking for a moment he’d be slashing there.”

David Dellucci and Jhonny Peralta hit solo homers in the first and fifth innings for Cleveland, but the Indians’ offense continued to struggle. Cleveland came in last in the AL with a .232 average, and stranded 13 baserunners while going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Indians are 2-for-25 with RISP in their last two games—both extra-inning losses.

“Things are not going our way right now,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “That’s why we play six months and we’ve got four-plus to go.

“We’ll come out of this stronger. We have to be competitive in this division.”

The White Sox, next-to-last in hitting with a .243 mark entering the game, weren’t much better until their winning rally.

They opened the game with three straight hits off Paul Byrd, but scored only once, on a groundout by Jim Thome.

Dellucci’s fifth homer in the bottom half tied it and the Indians copied Chicago’s early effort in the third when their first three batters all reached safely, but only one run scored on a single by Victor Martinez to make it 2-1.

Peralta hit his 10th homer with one out in the fifth and Thome hit his 10th — and fifth of the year against his former team—in the sixth to get Chicago within 3-2. It was Thome’s 517th career homer, three behind Oakland’s Frank Thomas for 18th all-time.

Byrd gave up 10 hits and three runs over 6 2-3 innings.

“I pitched OK, not great,” Byrd said. “There’s no use denying it by just talking positive. We’re losing. We don’t like it, especially with a chance to make up some ground against the White Sox.”

Chicago had only two hits in its previous 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position until Pierzynski singled to center off reliever Rafael Perez with two outs in the seventh to tie it at 3.

White Sox starter Javier Vazquez gave up three runs and nine hits over six innings.



Friday, May 23rd, 2008

White Sox Continues to Roll and Sweep the Indians!

Chicago White Sox's Carlos Quentin, heads for home scoring off a hit by Jermaine Dye during the eight inning of their 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians in Chicago, Thursday, May 22, 2008. Quentin accounted for two RBI's and scored one run in the final game of the series sweep of the Indians.

You won’t find Carlos Quentin’s name on an All-Star ballot, but he’s right where he belongs in the middle of a first-place lineup.

The White Sox weren’t positive their new outfielder would even make the roster out of spring training because of a bum shoulder, yet the Arizona castoff is turning his surprise start into a starring role.

Quentin hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 Thursday night for its eighth straight victory.

“That’s the reason he’s batting third,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Quentin had two RBIs, giving him 40 this season, and Jermaine Dye added a run-scoring single in the eighth to finish off a three-game sweep of the punchless Indians, who have scored only 13 runs during their six-game losing streak.

“It’s fun today,” Guillen said. “But I take it one day at a time. You can’t get too high, you can’t get low. We’ve got a good thing going. When you have a run like this you can’t wait to get back to the ballpark.”

The Indians, 4 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Chicago, return home after a winless road trip and in a profound hitting slump. They had just two hits: Grady Sizemore’s RBI double in the third and Ben Francisco’s bunt single in the sixth.

“You can’t give into it,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said of the team’s slugging woes. “I know the results aren’t there. I’m not happy about it. They’re not happy about it. But you’ve got to keep fighting.”

Scott Linebrink (1-0) got the win, striking out two in the eighth. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 12th save for the White Sox, who own a 3 1/2 -game lead over second-place Minnesota.

White Sox starter Mark Buehrle didn’t get a decision, but pitched one of his best games of the season, allowing one run and two hits with four walks in seven innings. Buehrle had been struggling, but has given up just two runs in his last 13 2-3 innings.

“Any starting pitcher wants to win,” Buehrle said. “But I’ve always said I can go 0-0 and if they win all my starts we’ll be in the right place at the end of the year.”



Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

White Sox Prolong Winning Streak!

Chicago White Sox's Jermaine Dye, right, is greeted at home plate by teammate Jim Thome after Dye hit his second home run of the game,  a solo shot during the seventh inning of their baseball game, against the Cleveland Indians in Chicago, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.

Jermaine Dye watched A.J Pierzynski go hard into second base to help break up a double play. Dye then delivered big shot of his own.

Dye hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning, and added solo shot in the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox won their seventh straight game with a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.

Michael Aubrey hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Indians, who have lost a season-high five straight games.

With a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, Indians starter Paul Byrd (2-4) allowed a leadoff single to Orlando Cabrera and walked Pierzynski.

Carlos Quentin followed with a sharp grounder to third baseman Casey Blake. Blake started what could have been a 5-4-3 double play, but Pierzynski slid hard at second, putting pressure on second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cabrera got off an accurate throw, but first base umpire Paul Schrieber called Quentin safe. After Indians manager Eric Wedge argued the call, Dye hit a 2-1 pitch into the left field seats, putting the White Sox ahead.

“You can’t teach hustle. No matter if you’re hitting good or you’re struggling you can still go out and hustle. Certain plays are the key in the ballgame,” said Dye. “It definitely was a big play. Anytime you break up a double play with the middle of the lineup coming up, you never know what can happen.”

Byrd saw the play differently.

“Instead of letting Jermaine Dye hit a sacrifice fly or making my pitch, I tried to strike him out,” said Byrd. “The play definitely changed the game but I can’t cry about it or blame anybody else. The umpire made a mistake but I have to adapt and overcome that and make the pitch.”

Javier Vazquez (5-3) overpowered a struggling Indians lineup with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and ended his outing by striking out Jhonny Peralta.

“He seemed to get better as the game was going on. He didn’t have a real good breaking ball tonight, but he battled through it,” Pierzynski said.



Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Bulls Hit the Jackpot! ROSE OR BEASLEY?

Derrick Rose - Memphis Tigers Derrick Rose

Michael Beasley - Kansas State Wildcats Michael Beasley 

 Suddenly, a coaching search isn’t the only big decision facing the Chicago Bulls.

Now they have to figure out what to do with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Bulls were the surprise winners of the draft lottery Tuesday night, giving them the right to choose between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

Hiring a new coach and deciding what to do in free agency already figured to take up plenty of general manager John Paxson’s time. He never figured one of college basketball’s stud freshmen could land in his lap.

“I try to stay realistic through all these things for the odds,” Paxson said on a conference call. “Tonight for some reason that ball popped up for us and we were there. Now it’s my job to make the most of it.”

Coming off a miserable season and still without a coach, the Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot, where they had a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top choice

“After this season, we needed a break and I think we just got one tonight,” said Steve Schanwald, the Bulls’ executive vice president of business operations who represented them on the podium.

Chicago will almost certainly choose between Beasley, the Kansas State forward who averaged 26.2 points and an NCAA-best 12.4 rebounds, or Rose, the point guard who carried Memphis within minutes of the national title.

“We’ll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We’ll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team,” Paxson said. “Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better.”

The Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick thanks to their NBA-worst 15-67 record, fell to second. The Minnesota Timberwolves will go third.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who moved up to No. 2 last year to pick Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, fell from second to fourth. Memphis will pick fifth, followed by New York, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey.

Indiana has the 11th pick, followed by Sacramento, Portland and Golden State. The lottery settled the top three spots. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined inverse order of their record.

The NBA draft will be held June 26 in New York.

Chicago came into the season with high expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. But the Bulls never recovered from a dismal start and finished 33-49. They fired coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve and have already decided not to retain interim coach Jim Boylan.

The Bulls failed to land the coach they wanted, Mike D’Antoni, but the position became much more appealing Tuesday, giving them a chance to draft first for only the second time. The Bulls, who took Elton Brand No. 1 in 1999, could turn this time to hometown star Rose, who D’Antoni said was like Jason Kidd with a jump shot.

“Everybody was picking us to go to the conference finals last year, actually to the NBA finals because we won 49 games the year before and pushed the Detroit Pistons to six games in the second round last year and we have a very exciting good corps of young players, and we added Joakim Noah to that mix,” Schanwald said. “Now we will get a chance to add another great player, a really great player. So it is very exciting for us.”

Schanwald gave a fist pump early on when he realized he would move up, then took a deep breath and pumped both fists after beating out the Heat, represented by All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.

Only twice have teams with the worst record won the lottery since the current format began in 1994. Though the lottery is weighted to give teams with the poorest records the best chance to win, the longshots keep finding a way.

Last year, Portland and Seattle moved up to grab the top spots, taking Greg Oden and Durant. Again, two star freshmen are the top prizes.

“Obviously the lottery as a precursor to the draft is a time of great hope,” commissioner David Stern said.

The Bulls already had a busy offseason planned. Besides hiring a coach, they have to make contract offers to restricted free agents Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.

Now they’ve got another decision: Beasley or Rose?

“As I sit here tonight, what I think is again you’ve got two players who are different and unique,” Paxson said. “One is point guard. The point guard is a natural leadership position on a team. It’s something every team covets. And the other … just has the unique ability to put the ball in the basket, just will be a go-to scorer.

“I’m certainly not going to throw myself into this thing and do something quickly.”

Nor will the Heat. President Pat Riley likes both players, but implied the pick could even be traded.

“Based on their performance and what they did in one season, both of them showed that they can help their team win,” Riley said. “Both showed enough physical maturity to be dominant at times as a 19-year-old. All of the intangibles when it comes to competitive desire and when it comes to leadership and character and all of those things, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of a lot of players in the draft.”

The Bulls’ surprising victory should quickly restore interest in the underachieving team. Interviewed immediately following the result, Schanwald read the number for callers to buy season tickets.

“I thought it was a waste of time. I thought coming here was an absolute waste of time. I knew I would get a great meal out of it, but I thought it was a waste of time,” Schanwald said of the Bulls’ chances.

“I’m on top of the world. I feel great. It’s the most exciting day of my life,” he added



Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

Cubs Win and Soto Goes Yard!!! Well……sort of!

Chicago Cubs Aramis Ramirez (16), Geovany Soto (18) and Kosuke Fukudome  head to the dugout after scoring on Soto's three-run homer in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros in a baseball game Monday, May 19, 2008 in Houston.

Geovany Soto didn’t get the automatic home run he deserved. Cubs manager Lou Piniella thinks he probably likes it that way.

Soto was credited with an inside-the-park three-run homer in the fourth inning despite replays showing that it should have been an automatic home run in Chicago’s 7-2 win over Houston on Monday night.

The ball bounced just to the right of the yellow line on the wall in left-center field.

“It was a home run, but I think he’d probably rather have the inside-the-park home run anyway,” Piniella said.

Astros center fielder Michael Bourn scooped it up and threw it home, but Soto scored easily before the throw got there.

“Never in my whole life had I had an inside-the-park home run,” Soto said. “I didn’t think it was out. It’s so big that left-center area I didn’t think I hit it over it. I thought double, maybe triple if they misplayed it.”



Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Cubs get to Peavy!

Chicago Cubs' Geovany Soto, right, celebrates with teammate Kosuke Fukudome, left, of Japan, after hitting a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres during the fifth inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, in Chicago.

Ted Lilly has located his strikeout pitch, and Alfonso Soriano has found his batting eye and power.

It was a strong combination Wednesday night, one that led the Chicago Cubs over the San Diego Padres 8-5.

Lilly fanned 11 in six innings to get his third straight win and Soriano had his second leadoff homer in as many nights.

“I don’t think I just stand out there and try to throw fastballs by guys,” said Lilly, who has consecutive double-digit strikeout games for the first time in his career.

“I have to mix my pitches and change speeds and locate the ball and things like that,” he said. “And at times, when I got my curveball going, I’m going to get some strikeouts on it. But I’m not going to say I’m a power pitcher.”

Backed by three RBIs apiece from Soriano and Geovany Soto, who also homered, Lilly (4-4) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings. After striking out 10 against Arizona in his previous start, he fanned eight in the first four innings. He left after throwing 102 pitches on a 46-degree night.

Cubs pitchers combined to strike out 15 against the Padres, whose 308 strikeouts are second in the major leagues behind Florida’s 326.

Soriano, who has three homers in as many games, is 10-for-19 over the last five games after a slow start that included a trip to the disabled list. He also had a key two-run single in the second inning after a wild pitch by Jake Peavy on a third strike to Lilly allowed the pitcher to reach. The single gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead.

“I feel great. I’m swinging the bat really well,” said Soriano, who was booed early in the 10-game homestand. “That’s part of the game. It motivates me to try to make myself a better player.”

Peavy (4-3) needed 87 pitches to make it through four innings. He gave up four runs and seven hits, struck out eight and walked two.

The wild pitch was costly.

“It would have been a different game. I still had the chance to make some pitches to Soriano there,” Peavy said. “I’d much rather get Ted Lilly out there than have to face Soriano, but I didn’t. I have to make better pitches. I’m obviously just frustrated. I have to do better than that. Having to get pulled after four is embarrassing.”



Thursday, May 15th, 2008

White Sox Win on Grand Slam by Quinton!

Chicago White Sox's Carlos Quentin hits a grand slam in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Carlos Quentin did what he does every day—checked the lineup card to see if he was playing. This time, he was batting third for the first time this season.

Quentin made White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen look smart when he broke an eighth-inning tie with his first career grand slam in Chicago’s 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.

He also matched his career high with five RBIs and helped spoil John Lackey’s long-awaited return to the Angels’ rotation.

A.J. Pierzynski hit second—one of five players who batted in an unfamiliar slot for the first time this season. The others were Jim Thome (fifth), Paul Konerko (sixth) and Nick Swisher (eighth). Thome came in hitting .209, Konerko .213 and Swisher .206.

“You hit where you hit and you move on. I mean, you can’t really try to over think it,” Pierzynski said. “The two hole is probably the highest I’ve ever hit. It’s something different. Ozzie shook it up and it worked, so I’m sure we’ll probably have the same one tomorrow.”



Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

White Sox Offense is still Offensive!

Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez reacts after striking out the Chicago White Sox's Jermaine Dye for the last out of the ninth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday May 13, 2008. Angels won, 2-0.

Jered Weaver looked nothing like a pitcher who had a 7.02 ERA over his previous six starts.

Weaver allowed one hit over seven innings, combining with two relievers on a three-hitter, and Mike Napoli hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

“I just went out there and tried to pitch like the old Jered, and it came out all right,” Weaver said. “It was just adjustments with mechanics in the bullpen between starts. Me and (pitching coach Mike) Butcher were able to clean some stuff up.

“The arm strength’s coming along,” he added. “The more innings I get, the better my arm strength is going to get. That’s the way it’s always been. I always seem to get stronger as the season went along. I guess the six days rest kind of helped, too.”

Manager Mike Scioscia couldn’t have been more pleased with the right-hander’s dramatic turnaround.

“That’s the best stuff Jered’s had in two years,” Scioscia said. “He maintained it and he finished strong. His pitch count got a little high, but the last couple of innings he regrouped and finished hitters off better. You can’t throw the ball much better than Weave did tonight. It’s very encouraging.”

A.J. Pierzynski’s leadoff single in the fifth was the only hit off Weaver, who pitched seven innings. He struck out six and walked one, coming out of the game after 109 pitches. He came in 1-4 since pitching seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball in a 2-1 win over Texas on April 5.

“He just missed our bats,” Jermaine Dye said. “I mean, he threw a lot of breaking pitches, a lot of changeups in hitter’s counts, and was able to get ground balls and flyballs.”

Chicago starter John Danks had a hard-luck no-decision, although he had to work hard for it. Pitching against the Angels for the first time in his career, he scattered seven hits and two walks over 6 1-3 innings, struck out five and never retired the side in order.

Danks departed with one out and the bases loaded in the seventh after walking Gary Matthews Jr. with his 99th and final pitch. Octavio Dotel struck out Erick Aybar and Vladimir Guerrero to escape the jam.

But Dotel (1-2) gave up a leadoff single in the eighth to Torii Hunter, who took third when Garret Anderson got the green light on a 3-0 pitch from Matt Thornton and singled to right field. Napoli’s delivered Hunter with a flyout to center, with Anderson alertly tagging up, and Robb Quinlan drove in the second run with a two-out single against Scott Linebrink.

Scot Shields (2-0) pitched one inning for the win and Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his major league-leading 16th save.

The Angels stranded a runner in scoring position in four of the first five innings. Hunter grounded out with a man on third base to end the first, Guerrero hit into a double play to end the third, Casey Kotchman flied out to end the fourth, and Aybar grounded out to end the fifth.

“We left way too many runners in scoring position,” Scioscia said. “We stranded a lot of guys and were 1-for-12 with guys in scoring position. So it was a night we needed to pitch well, and we did. We scratched out a couple of runs late and held on.”

Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen flip-flopped Paul Konerko and Dye in his lineup, dropping the slumping Konerko to fifth and putting Dye in the cleanup spot for the fourth time this season following his four-hit performance on Monday night. But they didn’t get a runner past first base until Carlos Quentin doubled off the center fence with one out in the ninth.

“We haven’t been scoring too many runs lately, but our pitchers have been going out there and giving us a chance,” Dye said. “We just have to try and bear down a little bit more and get some runs across for them early.”



Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Cubs win 4th in a Row! Carlos Improves to 6-1!

Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano, and Carlos Zambrano celebrate after Soriano's two run home run against the San Diego Padres' during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 12, 2008, in Chicago.

Carlos Zambrano switched to longer sleeves after three innings, not so much to combat the cold—as would be expected—but to cover a scab on his pitching arm.

Big Z was plenty ready for the elements on a 41-degree night in mid-May and showed his sense of humor Monday night after pitching and batting the Chicago Cubs to a 12-3 win over the San Diego Padres.

“It’s OK for me. I’m from Alaska,” Zambrano said, drawing laughs at his postgame news conference.

“No, it’s tough man, especially for me. I’m from South America, Venezuela. It is not this cold. Not even close,” he said.

“As a starting pitcher … don’t worry about the cold factor, just try to hit your spots and try to do the best you can to keep the inning quick.”

But the Cubs made sure the Padres couldn’t get off the field soon enough, scoring six runs in the fifth—started by Zambrano’s double—and adding five more in the sixth, when he added a single. They had 13 hits and made the most of nine walks issued by the Padres.

Pitching with an extra day’s rest after his start Sunday was scratched because of rainy conditions, Zambrano (6-1) allowed six hits and three runs in seven innings. And he was part of a batting order that was on base all night.

“I think we have a very good lineup, very balanced,” said Alfonso Soriano, who homered in the fifth and is 7-for-14 during the Cubs’ four-game winning streak. “Be more aggressive and, at the same time, selective at home plate. That’s what I try to do because I know when I swing at a strike, I know that I hit the ball very hard.”

The Cubs’ first eight batters reached in the fifth on six hits and two walks. Randy Wolf (2-3) didn’t retire a batter in the inning and in four-plus innings, he gave up eight hits, seven runs and five walks.

“In the fifth inning, there is really no way to candy coat it,” Wolf said. “I was bad. I didn’t make the pitches I needed to. They capitalized on it. You get behind and you don’t locate. Those are two recipes for something bad to happen.”

Jody Gerut’s first homer in nearly three years gave the Padres a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth, but the Cubs quickly responded.

Zambrano drove a ball off the wall in right-center for a leadoff double and Soriano followed with a drive to left-center that just cleared the fence for his fourth homer, putting Chicago up 3-2.

Ryan Theriot walked, Derrek Lee singled and Aramis Ramirez had an RBI single before Kosuke Fukudome worked a walk to load the bases. Geovany Soto’s two-run single through the middle made it 6-2 and finished Wolf. Mark DeRosa then greeted reliever Sean Henn with an RBI single.

“He couldn’t make a pitch to get himself out of it,” Padres manager Bud Black said of Wolf.

In the sixth, the Cubs batted around again. They loaded the bases for the third time in the game on Soriano’s double and walks to Theriot and Ramirez before Fukudome drew his third walk of the game to force in a run.

It got worse for the Padres, who have the worst record in the majors at 14-25.

When DeRosa hit a grounder to third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, he tried to race to the bag for a force, but Ramirez beat him there. Kouzmanoff then threw wildly to first for an error and three runs ended up scoring on the play as the Cubs went up 11-2. Reed Johnson later added an RBI single.

Fukudome’s three walks were a big part of the Cubs’ offense.

“The guy knows how to play baseball,” Zambrano said. “He came to the U.S. ready to play. One thing I see in Fukudome is he can handle it with all the media and all the fans.”

Lee’s double into the right-field corner scored Theriot, who singled, in the first to put the Cubs ahead 1-0. Tadahito Iguchi hit an RBI single in the third to tie it.