With trade deadline approaching, Cubs use 4 HRs to beat Reds
Maybe Cubs manager Lou Piniella will hold off on that request for "two bats" at the trading deadline.
After Friday's 8-5 win over the Reds at Wrigley Field, the feeling was that those bats, however many, reside with the Cubs right now.
On a day when the wind was blowing straight out, the Cubs got homers from Mike Fontenot, Aramis Ramirez, Jeff Baker and Derrek Lee as they posted their second straight victory and improved to 49-45.
Ramirez, who is slowly rounding into form after missing two months with a shoulder injury, hit what proved to be the game-winner when he connected with a solo homer in the sixth.
"Obviously, we've got some players that are really capable of getting hot and carrying you," said Piniella, who in a moment of frustration on the last trip said the Cubs may have to trade for two hitters. "There's nothing wrong with adding a little bit if you can."
The Cubs' attack, which culminated in a 4-run eighth, made a winner of Randy Wells (6-4). The only real mistake by Wells was a hanging slider to his counterpart, Aaron Harang, who hit his first career homer with two on and two outs in the second.
"Yeah, I made a bad pitch," Wells said. "Kind of tough there, too. The team jumps out on top (1-0 in the first) and you come right back out and give up 3."
Wells lasted 6 innings, with the Cubs holding on to a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, Baker pinch hit for Fontenot, who had homered in the second. Baker hit his first homer of the season, taking a 2-0 pitch from Daniel Ray Herrera and putting it into the left-center-field bleachers.
Ryan Theriot later had an RBI single, and Lee capped it with his 19th homer, a drive to center that rode the jet stream.
The Cubs haven't been getting consistent production across the board, and ears perked up when the St. Louis Cardinals dealt for Matt Holliday earlier in the day. The players seemed to think the Cubs could counter in-house.
"Sometimes, there's always a lot of hoopla with those deadline trades," Lee said. "I don't recall those trades ever working out or see it happening. Holliday's a great player. He's a great addition to the lineup. I feel if we take care of our business, we're going to be fine."
Piniella cited both Ramirez and catcher Geovany Soto, who is rehabbing an oblique-muscle strain in Arizona and who could be back in early August.
Ramirez tied his career best with 4 hits, including a pair of doubles. If the Cubs are going to make a run, they'll need their run-producing third baseman.
"We have a good team; we just haven't put it together," he said. "We can't play the way we have in the first half, especially not scoring enough runs. There's still a long ways to go. We just have to win series."
Bruce Miles' game tracker
Well, well Wells: Randy Wells picked up his sixth victory and ninth quality start of the year by going 6 innings and giving up 7 hits and 3 runs. He has won 6 of his last 7 starts.
Leading man: Center fielder Kosuke Fukudome extended his hitting streak to seven games, tying his season high. In 12 games as the leadoff hitter, Fukudome is batting .333 (15-for-45). Fukudome's OBP is .376.
Baker's bash: Jeff Baker's pinch homer in the eighth was his first home run since Sept. 24, when he was with the Rockies. Before Friday, his last pinch homer was April 21, 2007.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=309299">Ramirez (4 hits, 3 RBI) rounding into form<span class="date"> [7/24/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=309288">Sore shoulder to send Lilly to DL<span class="date"> [7/24/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>