Cubs like where they stand
A few hours after Cubs general manager Jim Hendry let the trade deadline come and go without a move, saying he had faith in his players, they reminded him why.
Solid starting pitching from Jason Marquis, a big effort from Carlos Marmol out of the bullpen and some timely hits from the bottom of the batting order added up to a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.
"We've played really well with what we have and we'll continue to do so," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said before the game. "We're fine the way we are. We've just got to keep playing and stay healthy."
The Cubs scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, a rally Cliff Floyd and Mark DeRosa started with singles, turning around a 3-2 deficit.
Jacque Jones' double to left scored Floyd with DeRosa coming home when left fielder Pat Burrell juggled the ball. After Jason Kendall sacrificed, Mike Fontenot lined a pinch-hit single to right scoring Jones.
Kendall added a two-out, 2-run single in the eighth.
"We've got guys stepping up and it's going real good now," Jones said. "I don't know about a swagger, but we've got a lot of guys excited in here. We've got a bunch of guys in here who don't think we should lose."
Marquis (8-6) won for just the third time in his last 15 starts. He got a big aid from Marmol, who faced five batters in the seventh and eighth and struck out three of them.
"I just want to pitch; that's what I'm here for," Marmol said.
Piniella put it better regarding what Marmol has meant to the team in the last several weeks. Marmol has allowed just one of 26 inherited runners to score.
"Marmol has done a heck of a job and changed the complexion of our bullpen," Piniella said. "He's one of the big reasons for our surge."
Marquis gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings. He came in with a 5.84 ERA in his last 14 starts.
"We played a good game and picked each other up," Marquis said. "We're confident in ourselves and believe we're capable of doing some goods things."
Marquis was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a run-scoring groundout by Derrek Lee and an RBI double by Aramis Ramirez.
The Phillies chipped away with a run in the second and another in the fifth to make it 2-2. The Phillies were helped in the fifth when Jones lost Tadahito Iguchi's liner in the lights for a double.
"I just didn't see it," Jones said. "If I see it, I'm going to do my best to catch it."
Philadelphia went ahead 3-2 in the sixth on Burrell's leadoff home run -- this after the Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and couldn't score as Lee popped out and Ramirez tapped to second.
Lee and Ramirez were picked up later by the clutch hits from Jones, Fontenot and Kendall.
"We had some big hits from the bottom part of our lineup," Piniella said. "When you start winning with consistency you have to start taking advantage of those opportunities."
Cubs 7, Phillies 3
At the plate: Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-5 and scored a run, but the biggest hits of the night for the Cubs came from Jacque Jones and Mike Fontenot in a 3-run sixth, and Jason Kendall in the seventh. Jones had an RBI double and Fontenot a pinch-hit, run-scoring single; Kendall delivered a two-out, 2-run single. Phillies outfielder Chris Roberson, recalled from Class AAA Ottawa earlier in the day, went 4-for-4.
On the mound: Cubs starter Jason Marquis gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings, leaving with a 5-3 lead. It was only his third victory in his last 15 starts and made him 8-6. Will Ohman, Carlos Marmol and Bob Howry combined to pitch 3 innings of shutout relief.
-- Tim Sassone