Cubs prevail as Soriano returns

PHOENIX - It was pretty easy to tell that Alfonso Soriano was back in the Cubs lineup Wednesday night. The Cubs' leadoff hitter swung hard at the first pitch he saw from the Diamondbacks' Doug Davis before striking out on a 3-2 pitch. In his second at-bat, Soriano swung at the first pitch and flied out.

Actually, Soriano had little to do with the Cubs' 10-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the Cubs remained in first place by 1 game over Milwaukee.

The big hitter was center fielder Reed Johnson, who hit a grand slam to key the Cubs' 6-run eighth inning, as they blew open a 4-3 game.

But if nothing else, Soriano provided a psychological lift, not to mention restoring some equilibrium to the lineup.

"I think so, yeah," said starting pitcher Ted Lilly, who gutted out 6 innings to improve to 10-6. "Soriano's fun. He brings a special kind of energy."

Soriano, who missed six weeks because of a broken left hand, went 1-for-5, including an eighth-inning double. He seemed to appreciate his teammates' feelings.

"Oh, man, I like to play, and I think those teammates know that I like to play, and they're very excited to see me play because they know I love the game and I play with a lot of energy," Soriano said.

The Cubs (59-42) finished the road trip with a disappointing 2-4 record, but they finally found some offense.

First baseman Derrek Lee, who entered the game 3-for-21 on the trip, homered in the first inning to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. It was Lee's 16th homer of the season, but his first since June 20.

Lilly turned in scoreless work over the first three innings, but he threw 28 pitches in the third. The Diamondbacks scored twice in the fourth, with Chris Young leading off with a double and Tony Clark following immediately with a homer.

The Cubs scored 3 in the fifth, with the bottom of the order getting things started. DeRosa led off with a single and had to stop at third when Johnson's double bounced over the wall in deep left-center.

Lilly then chopped one over the head of third baseman Mark Reynolds for an RBI single. Soriano's groundout to third got Johnson home. Lilly then stole third base, perhaps as an answer to the Diamondbacks stealing third twice off him earlier in the game. Ryan Theriot's groundout up the middle scored Lilly to make it 4-2 Cubs.

The Diamondbacks came within a run in the fifth, but Lilly bore down and made it through 6, throwing 115 pitches.

"My stuff was good, but I was very erratic," Lilly said.

The Cubs sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth, With Geovany Soto getting an RBI single and Mark DeRosa walking with the bases loaded before Johnson's second career grand slam.

"Obviously, the big blow was the grand slam, but Lilly did his part, with a little base hit, and then he acted like Maury Wills stealing third," said manager Lou Piniella. "He had the amber light. He pitched well, gave us 6 good innings. Our offense woke up tonight and scored some runs."

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