Another save blown as Cubs lose 4-3

As he sat quietly at his locker, nibbling on a sandwich before Thursday's series finale against Milwaukee, Alfonso Soriano admitted it.

"I'm a little nervous," he said between bites.

He had reason to be. After all, this was Soriano's first game back since coming off the disabled list after nursing a strained calf.

He was rejoining a team that had done pretty well without him (tied for first). And he was playing in front of a growing constituency of fans starting to question his worth.

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Then Soriano went out and played like the nerves had followed him onto the field. He went 0-for-4 at the plate and heard about it from the crowd at Wrigley Field after popping up to first in his final at-bat.

But it was his defense -- or lack thereof -- while tracking down Gabe Kapler's double in the key ninth inning that will be remembered following a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Milwaukee, one that came after the Cubs went into the inning up by a pair of runs.

Soriano won't be alone on any list, though. Some will point at right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, who couldn't track down Ryan Braun's 2-run double to right-center. And then there's closer Kerry Wood, who blew the save and picked up the loss, dropping the Cubs one-half game behind St. Louis heading into this weekend's showdown series with the Cardinals.

"Sometimes you're not perfect; that's part of the game," said a reflective Carlos Zambrano, who watched his chances for a fifth victory go down the tubes in that fateful ninth. "There's nothing you can do about this. We have a good defense. We have a good bullpen."

They didn't on Thursday.

Afterward, Wood and Soriano took different approaches when asked about their own play.

Said Soriano: "I think I had a very good jump (on Kapler's double). I think the wind got that ball because he hit a line drive off balance and the ball go like one bounce to the left-field wall. I think, like I said, the wind got that ball."

Said Wood: "It would have been a big win for us if we get it, had a chance to win the series. 'Z' pitched great today and the guys scored runs when we needed it. I didn't get it done."

With the Cubs up 3-1 thanks to a homer by Zambrano and RBI from Fukudome and Geovany Soto, Wood hit Craig Counsell to start the ninth.

"I was just trying to go in, try to get in strike one and didn't make the pitch," said Wood, who has blown 3 of his 7 save opportunities. "It's never good when you start off first pitch of the inning getting a guy on base."

Things went downhill from there. Kapler doubled to left, Jason Kendall singled in a run, and three batters later, Braun drove one that eluded Fukudome.

"When I hit it I was pretty sure it was going to (go over Fukodome's head)," Braun said of the decisive blow.

The Cubs had no answer for closer Eric Gagne, who picked up his ninth save of the season.

"It has to be right up there at the top with the way Zambrano was throwing the ball and the (19-5) loss," Braun said. "I think it speaks volumes to our character and resiliency as a team. It's a huge win and huge win of the series as well."

As for the Cubs?

"We have to keep our heads up and keep playing baseball," Zambrano said. "Move on."