With Soriano sitting, Fuld sets tone and Lee buries Brewers
Amazing things happen when a baseball team's leadoff man gets on base.
That team tends to score runs, and the "RBI guys" tend to get RBI.
Enter Sam Fuld.
Exit baseballs, courtesy of Derrek Lee.
For the second straight night, Cubs manager Lou Piniella benched left fielder Alfonso Soriano in favor of Fuld.
Fuld reached base three times, riding home in the first inning on Lee's 3-run homer and in the fourth on Lee's grand slam as the Cubs beat the first-place Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 Thursday at raucous Wrigley Field.
It might not be a good idea get used to it, though. Piniella promised before the game that Soriano and his .296 on-base percentage would be back in the leadoff spot today. But for one cool summer evening, the Cubs got a glorious glimpse of what might be with a "leadoff hitter" batting leadoff.
"Let's see what we do," Piniella said after the game of making changes. The manager has wanted little to do with this subject.
As for Lee, he knows it's a whole lot easier running your RBI total from 41 to 48 with men on base.
"Guys in front of me did a great job," said Lee, who has 14 homers. "It makes it fun to hit. When everyone's swinging the bats well, guys are on base."
Fuld led off the first with a walk, and after Ryan Theriot singled, Lee crushed a homer to left field off Seth McClung. Jake Fox followed two batters later with a homer. In the fourth, Geovany Soto opened with a homer. Mike Fontenot and Fuld singled, and Ryan Theriot walked against reliever Chris Smith.
Lee hit a 3-1 pitch over the left-field bleachers and onto Waveland Avenue. That helped the Cubs rebuild a comfortable lead after Mike Cameron had hit a 2-run homer in the second against Ryan Dempster (5-5).
Fuld seemed to enjoy being the sparkplug, but as a rookie, he was leaving the lineup card to Piniella.
"It was great; that first at-bat, I got to see a lot of pitches," said Fuld, who saw 9 pitches en route to the walk. "Everybody else sees some pitches from the dugout. It's great to be able to get on base.
"I'm happy just helping out wherever I can. If I'm hitting one or eighth or ninth, it doesn't matter."
The Cubs got enough out of Dempster, who won for the first time since May 30.
"There was something about the guys," Dempster said. "They really came out fired up. It was a feeling of one of those days where we were going to score a bunch of runs."
The Cubs' homecoming from a 3-7 road trip began with questions for Piniella about whether this 11-game homestand is "the season" for the Cubs.
Right now, they're 38-38 and just 21/2 games behind the Brewers and Cardinals.
"It's not our season, but certainly, 11 important games at home against two of the teams that are directly in front of us and Atlanta, which has got a good ballclub," Piniella said. "These are 11 tough games. We've got a chance to pick up some ground. We'll see."
Bruce Miles' game tracker
Cubs 9, Brewers 5
Grand old time: Derrek Lee's fourth-inning grand slam was his second this year and the 10th of his career. He hit one May 3 against the Marlins. Lee piled up a career-best 7 RBI, as he hit a 3-run homer in the first. Lee has 6 grand slams with the Cubs.
Dempster doings: Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster won for the first time since May 30. He worked 62/3 innings, giving up 8 hits and 4 runs, 3 earned. It was the Cubs' 49th quality start, tops in the majors.
Extra, extra: Geovany Soto led off the fourth with a homer, his eighth. Of his last 5 hits, 3 have gone for extra bases.
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