Nats get nasty, wipe out Cubs 13-5

This one had blowout written all over it, and it turned out that way.

Only it wasn't the blowout the Cubs were dreaming about long about Friday's sixth inning.

At that time, they were leading the woeful Washington Nationals 4-0, and starting pitcher Jason Marquis looked to be on cruise control.

But a few minutes later, Marquis was out of gas, and the Nationals passed the Cubs by on their way to a 13-5 victory. Marquis put four of the five batters he faced in the sixth inning on base. Neal Cotts came in and gave up a grand slam to Willie Harris.

The Nats scored in every inning from the sixth through the ninth, taking the first of this three-game series.

"Yeah, from my perspective, it was a pretty good ballgame for five innings," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose team is 2-2 on this homestand against losing teams Cincinnati and Washington.

Instead of making hay, the Cubs had a haymaker thrown at them, and Piniella knew why.

"You can't walk three people there in the (sixth) inning with leads," he said. "They're going to score, and that's exactly what happened."

So much, also, for Piniella's plan to give Marquis extra rest - Marquis' last start was Aug. 13 - to keep his arm "fresh." Marquis didn't give up a hit until the fourth, but he allowed 2 hits and 2 walks in the sixth.

"I don't have an explanation," Piniella said, not wanting to go any further.

Marquis wound up with a no-decision, but his ERA went up from 4.67 to 4.72.

"I just let it get away from me in that sixth inning," he said. "Pitch selection was a big part... Obviously, I wasn't making some of the adjustments."

The Cubs (78-50) went ahead of the Nats (46-83) with a run in the first, as Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee executed a perfect double steal, with Soriano scoring from third. Lee homered in the third, and Mark DeRosa hit a 2-run shot in the fourth.

Marquis wasn't the only one who played a hand in this one getting away. Piniella brought Cotts (0-2) in to bail Marquis out in the sixth, but Cotts walked pinch hitter Austin Kearns to set up Harris' slam.

"Today, I didn't have it," said Cotts, who had pitched well of late. "I walked the first guy. I put myself in an even bigger jam than what we were in. I put one over the plate. He put a good swing on it."

Bob Howry gave up a run in the seventh, and Chad Gaudin absorbed a 3-run eighth and a 3-run ninth, including a 2-run homer by Harris, as the Cubs bullpen had a rare off-day.

"It wasn't good today," Piniella said of his relief corps.

After shutting out the Reds to open this homestand, the Cubs have been outscored 17-9, and that's just as big a problem as pitching, as DeRosa saw it.

"Bottom line is we have to start hitting better," DeRosa said. "We had the 4-0 lead. We want to tack on in that situation, especially the way the flags were blowing (out). It was a day where we're going to have to put up some runs to win this game. It didn't matter who was on the mound."

Nationals 13, Cubs 5

At the plate: Derrek Lee homered with one out in the third. Mark DeRosa hit a 2-run homer in the fouth. Lee and DeRosa each had 2 hits.

On the mound: Jason Marquis pitched shutout ball through 5 innings but lasted only 5, giving up 4 hits and 4 runs as the Nats rallied from a 4-0 deficit. Neal Cotts gve up a grand slam to Willie Harris, who also homered off Chad Gaudin.

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