This time, Soriano a hero
Alfonso Soriano may have been blinded by the sunlight Sunday in Pittsburgh.
But he was the brightest star on a cool and clear Chicago night Wednesday.
Soriano poked a one-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Mike Fontenot with the winning run, capping a big Cubs comeback and giving them a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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The comeback began in the ninth, when the Cubs scored a run off L.A. closer Takashi Saito.
The homestand began Monday with Soriano hearing boos from the Wrigley Field crowd, but those boos were washed away by cheers Wednesday as Soriano's teammates rushed out of the dugout to embrace him.
"Oh, man it feels great, especially (after we) battled for 1 run in the ninth inning and came back and won this game," Soriano said. "So I think it's better for me and the team.
"It's great because they (his teammates) know I'm working very hard every day to be better and better. Anything can happen in this game. I play this game, and something happens. I'm ready to play, and I love the game."
The Cubs' $136 million man was the subject of much scrutiny earlier this week after his misplay of a flyball in Pittsburgh led to the Cubs losing a game.
"Soriano is a pro," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose team swept the Dodgers in three straight and improved to 32-21. "He's a battler. He has that ability just to stay up and keep on trucking, performing. Tonight, I was happy for him. Big clutch hit and got us a win."
Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano engaged the Dodgers' Derek Lowe in a classic duel. The Dodgers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a spate of wildness by Zambrano, who walked Blake DeWitt with the bases loaded.
Zambrano lasted 8 innings, throwing a whopping 130 pitches for his biggest pitch count since going 136 on May 8, 2005.
"I felt good," he said. "I felt strong to finish the eighth inning. The most important thing was we won the game and we are happy to continue in first place and to have a good performance at home so far."
Zambrano threw 27 pitches in the eighth, and Piniella came out to talk to him after the Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs on an error by shortstop Ryan Theriot.
"I let the fans make that decision," Piniella said. "I talked to Larry Bowa (the Dodgers' third-base coach). I know how to make decisions that please the fans. I wasn't going to take him out unless he told me he was tired. It was a cool night, and we watch his pitch counts very carefully all year."
The Cubs' ninth opened with Theriot taking a walk against closer Saito. Derrek Lee flied out, but Aramis Ramirez drew his third walk of the game. Fukudome grounded to first base, but Saito missed the bag covering, and the hit loaded the bases.
Geovany Soto lifted a flyball deep enough to right to score Theriot with the game-tying run.
Bob Howry (1-2) held the Dodgers in the 10th before the heroics by Fontenot and Soriano.
"It was an exciting game and an exciting win," Piniella said. "Well played on both sides, and we came out on top."
Cubs 2, Dodgers 1 (10)
At the plate: Alfonso Soriano hit a game-winning single to score Mike Fontenot with the winning run in the 10th. The Cubs tied the game at 1-1 in the ninth on Geovany Soto's sacrifice fly. Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome each had 2 hits.
On the mound: Carlos Zambrano threw 130 pitches in 8 innings as he gave up 6 hits and 1 run. He walked four and struck out three.
-- Bruce Miles