Cubs confident they can endure stretch run

With each passing day, the expectations on the Cubs to do something special come October only increase.

The franchise that hasn't won a World Series in 100 years has the best record in the National League at 77-48 and is showing no signs of slowing down. The Cubs have won seven of their last eight, counting Tuesday's 5-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, and are 17-4 in the last 21 games.

Veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds makes no attempt to hide the feeling that is building in the Cubs' clubhouse.

"Unfortunately, the thing now is only a championship will do, and it's really tough to do," Edmonds said before Tuesday's win. "I've been on some really good teams and I've won only one championship. That's the dreaded fallback."

There's still plenty of work to do, of course, before the Cubs can even think about the playoffs and whether they match up better with the Dodgers or Diamondbacks, likely first-round opponents should the North Siders win the division.

The Cubs need to hold off Milwaukee and St. Louis down the stretch with a tough road schedule waiting for them in September. But the win over Cincinnati, coupled with Milwaukee's loss at home to Houston, put the Cubs a season-high 6 games ahead of the Brewers.

"I don't like to look too far ahead," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We're only concerned about winning series.

"We need to play hard, stay focused, not take anything for granted and take each opponent seriously. That's our job."

Edmonds sees a team that shouldn't have any problems staying focused on the task at hand, which is first winning the division.

"We're talented, we have a lot of good guys and a lot of guys that have been around," Edmonds said. "I just think we're talented enough to keep our heads above water."

The Cubs can win in a variety of ways and proved it again Tuesday, beating the Reds behind a terrific effort from starter Rich Harden and a heads-up baserunning play by catcher Geovany Soto, of all people, that resulted in the game's first run in the fifth.

"We're confident we can win all kinds of games," Alfonso Soriano said. "We didn't hit a home run today, but we scored 5 runs. I think we have a very good team."

The game with the Reds started a stretch of 13 of 16 at home for the Cubs. After that, the schedule won't be as favorable with 16 of the final 22 games away from Wrigley Field.

But the Cubs are a much improved road team, having won 10 of their last 11 since July 23.

"It's gotten a lot better for us (on the road) and hopefully we can continue it through the next month," Edmonds said.