Fontenot's homer in eighth lifts Cubs past Giants

SAN FRANCISCO - Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster was shooting the breeze with reporters the other day talking about how nice it would be if he could make the National League all-star team.

Dempster pitched well enough to earn his 10th victory Wednesday night, but he was not around to earn a decision in the Cubs' 6-5 victory over the Giants. Manager Lou Piniella yanked Dempster after the Cubs batted in the seventh, taking a 5-2 lead.

But setup man Carlos Marmol suffered a blown save when he allowed a 3-run homer to Ray Durham in the bottom half.

Mike Fontenot rescued the Cubs in the eighth with a solo homer that proved to be the winner. Kerry Wood worked out of two-out trouble in the ninth to earn his 21st save.

"That's all that matters," Dempster said. "Good win for us. They come back and tie it, and the next thing, we turn around and score a run and come away with a W, and Woody came in and nailed it down."

Dempster batted in the seventh and seemed a bit surprised to come out, but Piniella had his reason.

"I thought Dempster pitched very well," Piniella said. "It was a long seventh inning. We decided to take him out. Marmol comes in and gets two outs on 6 strikes, 6 pitches. He walks the hitter, and before you know it, they've got 3 runs on the board. His stuff is good. He's just not locating. I'm going to have a little talk with him tomorrow about locating some of these pitches."

Jim Edmonds put the Cubs up 3-0 in the sixth with a 2-run homer. Jim Bowker hit a 2-run homer into McCovey Cove in the bottom half.

With balloting for the All-Star Game ending Wednesday night, the Cubs were in good position to send several players to Yankee Stadium July 15. Left Fielder Alfonso Soriano was leading NL outfielders, and right fielder Kosuke Fukudome was trying to hold off the Brewers' Ryan Braun.

Catcher Geovany Soto is all but certain to be voted in as the starting catcher. From there, the Cubs are hopeful of getting at least one pitcher invited.

"We've got a handful of players who are having really solid seasons and deserve serious consideration," Piniella said. "I've had a talk with (NL manager) Clint Hurdle about some of the players that are not going to voted in by the fans."

Piniella concluded his night by saying he had all the excitement he could take in one game.