Well-rested Harden 1-hits Padres through 7; Cubs win 7-1

Posted August 19, 2009 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

When it comes to playing in San Diego, Wednesday night's performance by the Cubs was a case of better late than never.

And they know it's getting late.

After scoring a grand total of 7 runs in their first five games at Petco Park this year, the Cubs had 7 by the sixth inning to stake right-hander Rich Harden to a 7-0 lead. Meanwhile, Harden left after 7 shutout innings, having allowed only 1 hit.

The Padres picked up a run in the ninth against reliever Sean Marshall but had only 3 hits all night as the Cubs won 7-1.

"We swung the bats really well tonight," manager Lou Piniella told reporters afterward. "We swung them aggressively, we hit the ball for power. That's what our team is built for. Tonight we did it, and we won a ballgame rather convincingly."

The Cubs remained 6 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, a division many conceded to the Cubs before the season even started.

"I think when you look at teams, you don't look at what looks good on paper, you look at how it plays on the field and how it functions on the field," Piniella told reporters in the dugout before the game. "We've had a lot of adversity, injury-wise, and that hasn't helped us, and we've had some people who haven't had the year they've had in the past.

"At the same time, could we be better than what we are? I think we could be better."

The Cubs jumped out on Padres starter Mat Latos in the second, when Jeff Baker doubled with two outs and scored sliding on Koyie Hill's single.

The Cubs got 3 in the third, with Aramis Ramirez hitting a 2-run double and Kosuke Fukudome adding a run-scoring single.

Derrek Lee made it 5-0 in the fourth on an RBI double after Ryan Theriot and Milton Bradley each walked after two were out. Lee's double chased Matos.

Bradley and Ramirez hit solo homers in the sixth to make it 7-0. Harden cruised after giving up a two-out single to Adrian Gonzalez in the first. He struck out eight, including four in a row in the fifth and sixth.

"I felt all right," Harden said. "Really, I was getting behind a lot of hitters, kind of felt a lot better later in the game. I got locked in and started finally getting ahead. That's kind of where I want to be, just getting that feeling."

Bruce Miles' game tracker Long time coming: Milton Bradley's solo home run in the sixth inning was his ninth of the season and his first since July 30. Bradley walked his first 3 times up. Longer time coming: Alfonso Soriano tripled to the gap in right-center in the fifth. It was his first triple of the season and his first since 2007. Baker's the man: Jeff Baker extended his hitting streak to nine games with a second-inning double. During the previous eight games, Baker was 16-for-32. Cubs scouting report Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium TV: Channel 9 today and Sunday; Comcast SportsNet Plus (CLTV) Friday; Channel 32 (Fox) Saturday Radio: WGN 720-AM Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Tom Gorzelanny (5-2) vs. Jeff Weaver (5-4) today at 9:10 p.m.; Randy Wells (9-5) vs. Randy Wolf (7-6) Friday at 9:10 p.m.; Ted Lilly (9-7) vs. Charlie Haeger (0-1) Saturday at 3:10 p.m.; Ryan Dempster (6-7) vs. Chad Billingsley (12-6) Sunday at 3:10 p.m. At a glance: The Cubs and Dodgers split four games at Wrigley Field at the end of May, with Wolf besting Wells in the opener. The Dodgers are trying to hold off the Rockies and Giants in the NL West. The Dodgers entered Wednesday third in NL runs scored and first in OBP, at .351. The Cubs were 10th in runs and ninth in OBP, at .331. The Dodgers were second in ERA, at 3.61; the Cubs were fifth, at .395. Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee was 10th in OPS, at .930. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers entered Wednesday ninth in batting average (. 312). Next: Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field, Tuesday-Thursday

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