Cubs connect against Danks, Sox

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Baseball's best pitching staff - OK, one of baseball's best pitching staffs - got roughed up Friday afternoon at Camelback Ranch.

The Cubs mistreated and disrespected the host White Sox staff, especially stalwart starter John Danks, for 5 earned runs on 6 hits over 5 innings in an 8-4 win over their crosstown rivals in front of a Cactus League-record house of 13,413 at Camelback Ranch.

Derrick Lee and Marlon Byrd crushed long homers, Lee driving in 3 runs and helping save a run or 2 with a nice scoop of a Jeff Baker peg to escape a bases-loaded, no-outs situation in the fourth for starter and winner Randy Wells (42/3 innings, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts), who moved to 2-0.

The Cubs improved to the second-best record in the Cactus League at 10-6.

Alfonso Soriano managed his first spring training homer, a long 2-run shot to left off Scott Linebrink in the sixth to make it 7-2. Xavier Nady, for whom manager Lou Piniella is trying to generate more at-bats, slugged a long solo homer in the eighth to make it 8-3.

Danks was not happy, but neither was he distraught either about his performance. Working deliberately on selected pitches, he made mistakes that he sort of saw coming anyway after throwing five straight curveballs to Byrd and four straight chaneups to Soriano.

"The two of them were looking at me, like, 'What the (heck) is he doing?" Danks said.

"First and foremost, we did get our work in. Hopefully we'll have better results next time."

The Sox squandered scoring opportunities, getting 1 run out of no-out, bases-loaded situations in the fourth and seventh, scoring only in the latter frame on an A.J. Pierzynski groundout before the Sox pulled the bulk of their starters.

Newly converted second baseman Gordon Beckham continued to connect at the plate, collecting 2 hits, driving in 1 run and scoring another.

The Sox slipped to 6-8 for the preseason as Danks (0-1) got his first decision.