Cubs true Wrigley wonders
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen might hate Wrigley Field, but the Cubs sure are loving the place these days.
The Cubs hit 4 home runs -- 2 by Jim Edmonds -- in a 9-run fourth inning Saturday, pounding the White Sox 11-7 for their 13th straight victory at home.
Now 31-8 at Wrigley, the Cubs can make it 14 in a row with another win and a sweep of the White Sox tonight. The last time the Cubs won 14 straight at Wrigley Field was in 1936.
"There's a lot of energy here," said Cubs starter Jason Marquis, who worked 7 innings to run his record to 6-3. "The fans bring a lot of energy every day, whether it's a noon game or 7 o'clock game. We know we have something special here and we just feed off that.
"Hopefully it can be one of those magical seasons."
For the second day in a row the Cubs came from behind. They trailed Jose Contreras 4-1 before sending 12 men to the plate in the 9-run fourth - the Cubs' biggest inning since they got 10 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.
"They just kicked our (butt)," Guillen said.
Back-to-back homers by Edmonds and Mike Fontenot started the fourth-inning fireworks. Then, after a one-out walk to Ryan Theriot, the Cubs reeled off 6 straight hits, including a 3-run homer by Aramis Ramirez and Edmonds' second of the inning.
Edmonds joined Sammy Sosa and Mark Bellhorn as the only Cubs to hit 2 home runs in one inning.
"It was a great inning," Edmonds said. "It was fun to be part of it."
Rookie Eric Patterson started in left field and had 1 of the 8 hits in the inning. Patterson, recalled from Class AAA Iowa before the game when Carlos Zambrano was put on the disabled list, went 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base and RBI.
"That 9-run inning was special," Patterson said. "We were just patient. Basehit after basehit, we had guys on and just kept plugging away. They always say hitting is contagious, and that inning it was."
Edmonds keeps making it easier for those Cubs fans who still find it difficult to accept him wearing their blue instead of Cardinals red.
"I'm just trying to prove myself and put up some numbers," Edmonds said.
In 25 games since the Cubs signed him May 14, Edmonds is batting .311 with 4 homers, 11 extra-base hits and 16 RBI in 25 games.
"He's a real strong middle-of-the-order guy, and I think he's finding his stroke," Derrek Lee said.
"You know, he's a big key for us," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Hitting in that fifth spot behind our right-hand bats really helps when he produces, and he produced today.
"Remember, he didn't have much of a spring training, and that's what made us think that with some work, the fact that he was healthy and the fact that he's done it before, it was worth a really good gamble."
Guillen left Contreras in the game until Ramirez's 3-run homer made it 9-4. Boone Logan surrendered Edmonds' second homer, the first batter he faced.
It was Contreras' shortest outing of the season.
"He was all right except for one inning that was horrible," said White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. "That's what happens. You get some balls up and the wind's blowing out and they go out and score a lot of runs. We just couldn't find a way to shut it down."