Wells pitches in as Cubs roll over Astros

After a pair of bullpen-busting games, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said starting pitcher Randy Wells would have to "go some" Wednesday afternoon.

Wells went some.

And then some.

The 27-year-old right-hander pitched a career-best 8 shutout innings and won for the seventh time in 8 starts as he and the Cubs crushed the Houston Astros 12-0 at Wrigley Field.

On a day when a cool wind blew in at 15 mph, Cubs batters scored 6 runs in the first inning against lefty Mike Hampton, and Wells settled in kept the ball down all day.

Wells struck out only one, but a good sinker enabled him to record 17 outs on the ground as he improved to 7-4 with a 2.84 ERA.

"You can't really control how it goes," said Wells, who threw 110 pitches. "You can go out there and pitch well and get quick innings, but ultimately, the pitch count in the game determines how deep you go."

Piniella had to burn through his bullpen in Monday's 13-inning marathon and also Tuesday, when starter Ryan Dempster wasn't sharp.

"We needed 8 innings," Piniella said. "Our bullpen was pretty used up, and we were able to rest it. I think the 6 runs we scored in the first inning really helped our starting pitcher, and he pitched a heck of a ballgame."

The Cubs sent 10 men to the plate in the first, picking up 5 hits. Alfonso Soriano had the big blow with a 3-run homer to left.

For the day, the Cubs pounded out 14 hits. In addition to Soriano, they got homers from Aramis Ramirez and Andres Blanco, who hit the first of his career in the eighth inning.

"I'm very happy because we didn't play a very good game last night, and we came back with a lot of energy," said Soriano, who has 19 homers.

Ramirez, who is rounding into form after missing two months with a dislocated shoulder, hit his ninth of the season in the second inning.

"Everything," Ramirez said of the Cubs' recent offensive surge. "We're winning games right now because of our lineup. It's not just myself. D-Lee (Derrek Lee), (Milton) Bradley. Sori's been hot the second half. Everybody's doing the job, and that's why we're winning games."

Wells got help from his defense, too. The Cubs turned 3 groundball double plays while Wells was on the mound. He walked only two batters, and the Astros didn't put anybody into scoring position until the eighth.

Wells credited catcher Koyie Hill with coming up with a good game plan and helping him execute it throughout the ballgame.

"Koyie just said, 'Keep it simple and execute your pitches and we'll be all right,'" Wells said. "He was right. He did a great job. I can't remember what inning it was. They got a couple runners on, and he came out and said, 'Hey, look, you're a groundball away. Let's get your legs under you, make some pitches here and get back there and regroup.' That's all it took."

Bruce Miles' Cubs tracker

All's Wells: Randy Wells turned in his 11th quality start, working 8 shutout innings. The Cubs are 40-22 in quality-start games, with the starters having an ERA of 2.27 in those games. Wells has won 3 straight decisions and 7 of 8.

First-timers: Andres Blanco hit his first big-league homer, a solo drive inside the foul pole in right to lead off the eighth inning. Micah Hoffpauir followed immediately with his first big-league triple, to the right-field corner.

Here he comes: Aramis Ramirez extended his hitting streak to seven games. He has recorded at least 1 extra-base hit in each of those games. He has 5 doubles, 4 homers and 12 RBI during the stretch.

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