Blasts from past

Mark the date: Sept. 21, 2007.

"This was a Wrigley Field game that I read so much about," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Friday, a few minutes after his team outmashed the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-8.

Piniella was named manager last Oct. 17, but it took nearly an entire year for Wrigley Field to live up to its stereotype.

Maybe it's because of global cooling, or maybe it's just that the wind hasn't blown out much this year.

But the old ballyard at Clark and Addison played small Friday, particularly for the Cubs, who hit 4 homers to the Pirates' 1 to improve to 81-73 and knock another day off the schedule as they lead the National League Central.

Aramis Ramirez, who led the Cubs' charge to the 2003 division title, crushed a pair of home runs. Alfonso Soriano set the tone by hitting the first pitch thrown by Pirates starter Paul Maholm for a homer. And catcher Geovany Soto capped a 5-run sixth inning with a 2-run shot as the Cubs turned a 7-7 game into a rout.

Just as impressive was the Cubs' bullpen, which bailed out starting pitcher Jason Marquis, who lasted just 2¿ innings.

"Our bullpen, what a job they did after the second or third inning, I don't remember," Piniella said. "It was nip and tuck there for, what, five or six innings, and we finally scored 5 runs, and our bullpen did the rest."

With game-time temperature of 85 and a southwest breeze blowing out at 8 mph, this figured to be a hitter-friendly day.

After Marquis gave up a run in the top of the first, the Cubs went to work. Soriano hit No. 29 into the left-center field bleachers, wasting no time.

"The hitting coach and the manager didn't say anything to me," Soriano joked about his first-pitch swing. "They threw a first-pitch strike, so I tried to hit it. I'm ready for the first pitch all the time."

After Mark DeRosa was hit by a pitch and Derrek Lee singled, Ramirez launched a 2-1 pitch from Maholm onto Waveland Avenue.

"Actually, the wind doesn't blow out much," said Ramirez, whose second homer gave him 25 for the season to go along with 98 RBI. "You don't know if you want that to happen because the other team has to hit, too. We just hit a bunch today."

Marquis couldn't stand the prosperity. He gave up a run in the second, and the Pirates chased him during a 5-run, 6-hit third during which they belted 2 doubles and a triple.

"Marquis didn't have his good stuff today, and they roughed him up in the third inning," Piniella said. "I thought he was up. I thought his pitches were a little flat. I didn't see much sink on his pitches."

Will Ohman replaced Marquis and allowed an inherited runner to score on Maholm's bunt single that dropped over the mound.

The real star was rookie Kevin Hart, who worked 2 scoreless innings, setting the stage for Scott Eyre (2-1) to pick up the victory with a scoreless sixth. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood threw well, allowing Ryan Dempster to finish.

"I tell you, this kid here has good stuff," Piniella said of Hart, a September call-up. "He comes at you with a good variety of pitches, and I tell you what, he's all business out on the mound."

"I just feel like that, no matter where you are, if you make pitches and think before you throw the ball, you can have some success," Hart said. "It's one of those situations where if runs are going to score like that, you're coming in trying to be the stopper or trying to throw up a zero or trying to get the game back into its normal routine."

Soriano and Lee hit singles in the sixth to get on base for Ramirez's second 3-run homer. A single by Matt Murton set the stage for Soto to hit his third of the year to give the Cubs some room to breathe.

With just over a week to go, team leader Lee likes the combination the Cubs used Friday.

"With only eight games left, we're in the driver's seat, so if we take care of our business we'll get the job done," Lee said. "You've got to give a lot of credit to our bullpen. All year they've just been really good, and on a day like today, when you thought the game was going to get out of hand, our bullpen came in and settled it down."

Cubs 13, Pirates 8

At the plate: The Cubs outhit the Pirates 16-12, outhomering them 4-1. Aramis Ramirez hit his 24th and 25th. He has 98 RBI, a .559 slugging percentage and a .371 on-base percentage. Geovany Soto made a case for more starts as he hit a 2-run homer and a single. Alfonso Soriano led off the game with his 29th homer. He has 10 leadoff homers this year, extending his club record. The 10 game-opening homers rank fifth all time. Soriano holds the record with 13 in 2003, while with the Yankees.

On the mound: Jason Marquis gave up 8 hits and 7 runs in only 22/3 innings. He was bailed out by Kevin Hart, who worked 2 scoreless innings. Scott Eyre picked up the victory with 1 hitless inning. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood kept the Bucs at bay.

-- Bruce Miles