One big inning goes Cubs' way for once as 11-3 win leads to sweep
Yes, we know, the Washington Nationals are a really, really bad baseball team.
But they are a professional team, sanctioned by the Commissioner's office and playing in the National League, so a victory over them counts the same as a victory over any other team.
As does a four-game sweep, which the Cubs completed Sunday in Washington courtesy of an 11-3 shellacking of the lowly Nationals (26-65).
The win was the fourth straight for the Cubs (47-43) coming off the all-star break and their fifth straight road win. They are now alone in second place in the NL Central, 2 games back of St. Louis.
A day after hitting his first home run in nearly a month-and-a-half to spark a Cubs rally, Alfonso Soriano made it 2 in two days with a 2-run blast to kickstart a 7-hit, 7-run fourth inning that put the game out of reach. It was Soriano's 16th homer of the season.
After the Cubs had sent a dozen batters to the plate and turned a 2-1 deficit into an 8-2 lead, the Nationals put up about as much fight as Michael Spinks when he faced Mike Tyson.
"When you get ahead of them, that's where you want to be because it seems like it kind of takes the wind out of their sails," said third baseman Jake Fox, who had a big day with 3 hits, including a 3-run homer and for a career-high 4 RBI. "That home run put us ahead of them and we stayed ahead of them all day."
Fox, Micah Hoffpauir and Mike Fontenot each had 3 hits Sunday as the Cubs rapped out a season-high 16 hits against a bevy of Nationals pitchers.
"Today was a step backward," interim Nationals manager Jim Riggleman told reporters. "It was a breakdown all the way around."
Now, after playing the worst team in baseball the last four days, the Cubs get a reality check starting today when they go up against the defending World Series champion Phillies and their eight-game winning streak.
"We'll go into Philly with some momentum, playing better on the road," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "They're hot as heck, so we'll see."
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