Soriano hearing nothing but cheers

You don't hear too many boos cascading in the direction of Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano these days at Wrigley Field.

And the way staff ace Carlos Zambrano sees it, that's the way it should be for the left fielder who got off to such a slow start -- and heard about it -- but now finds himself in the midst of a record-setting stretch of hitting.

"He can hit; he knows what he's doing," Zambrano said. "Some people think he's a dumb hitter, but he's not. He's a smart hitter.

"At the beginning, some people were booing him and he wasn't doing too good. Look, everybody in baseball can go through a slump, but superstars do what Soriano is doing right now.

"Good for him."

For his part, Soriano never let the negative stuff affect him.

"I'm very confident in myself," he said. "I know I had a bad run in (early) May, but it's a long season."

After his second home run of the day Saturday -- a solo shot in the seventh to tie the game -- the fans forced Soriano out of the dugout for a curtain call, something that would have been unthinkable a few weeks back.

"That's good," Soriano said. "The fans love good plays here. That was a very special moment for me."

And all part of a special homestand that Soriano is experiencing, one in which he has registered a .541 batting average, scored a dozen times and added 15 RBI, all in just nine games.

"It's fun to watch," said Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee. "I don't know if I've ever seen someone as hot as he is. He's carrying us right now."

Just how good has Soriano been?

After the game, Pirates left fielder Jason Bay was asked about the best way to play Soriano.

"In the stands," Bay said.

He probably wasn't kidding.

Soriano by the numbers:

5 straight games he has started with a hit, matching a career high

250 career homers following his solo shot in the fourth

21 career multihomer games (10 at Wrigley Field)

.541 batting average on this homestand

7 home runs over his last six games

12 runs scored on this homestand

15 RBI on this homestand

.350 batting average in his last 24 games