Harden enjoys Wrigley conditions as Cubs jump 30 games above .500

The capricious nature of Wrigley Field worked for the Cubs on Sunday, and not only in ways you might expect.

Pitcher Rich Harden took advantage of a cool day with the wind howling in as he tamed the Washington Nationals over 7 innings as the Cubs moved to 30 games over .500 at 80-50 with a 6-1 victory.

Harden allowed only 2 hits and reached double digits in strikeouts for the fifth time as a Cub as he tied a career best by fanning 11 Nationals, using his overpowering fastball and a wicked changeup.

Although he allowed a leadoff homer to Austin Kearns in the third, Harden also let the breeze do its work, recording 4 flyball outs.

"Man, it was a beautiful day," said Harden, who moved to 4-1 as a Cub with a 1.47 ERA in 8 starts and to 9-2 overall, factoring in his 5-1 mark with Oakland. "Compared with yesterday with the heat and humidity, I was talking to (pitcher Ryan) Dempster about that.

"He said that was worse than pitching in Florida during the day. It was perfect conditions, the wind kind of blowing in a little bit, too. It was a good day to pitch."

The Cubs hitters also made interesting use of the elements, hitting a surprising total of 3 homers.

Two came in the second inning, when Mark DeRosa led off with his 18th of the year and fourth in four games. After Jim Edmonds walked, Geovany Soto crushed one to left, and the ball fought through the teeth of the wind before settling into the bleachers, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead against Nats starter Jason Bergmann (2-10).

"I was trying to put good wood on the ball," Soto said. "I was trying to hit a line drive. I always go up there trying to hit line drives hard in the gap. I kind of got it good.

"Actually, that's all I've got. I hit it the best I could right there."

The capricious nature of Wrigley Field fans also made itself known Sunday.

With the Cubs holding a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Mike Fontenot hit a one-out double. Manager Lou Piniella sent Kosuke Fukudome up as a pinch hitter.

Fukudome heard a few boos from the crowd of 40,682, no doubt because of a prolonged slump. After spending a pregame film session with Piniella and hitting in the cage with batting coach Gerald Perry, Fukudome pulled a pitch down the line for a 2-run homer to help put the game out of reach and win the fans back to his side.

"I think the biggest thing today, obviously Rich Harden, but Fukudome," DeRosa said. "He did a lot of working this morning. It's nice to see."

Fukudome, who is batting .264 with 9 homers, seemed heartened by the way his teammates rallied around him.

"I really appreciate all their support, and because of that it makes me want to succeed even more," he said.

The bullpen worked the final 2 innings for Harden, who has made the Cubs' rotation the top one in the NL since general manager Jim Hendry obtained him from Oakland on July 8. Harden and his catcher bounced credit off each other.

"I've definitely got to give a lot of credit to Soto," Harden said. "We've been working pretty well together. I feel really comfortable with him behind the plate. Really, it comes down to mixing up pitches and keeping hitters off balance, keeping them guessing. He's done a great job with that."

"With him, it seems like we're on the same page after the first or second hitter," Soto said. "It seems like we fall into a good rhythm. He had really good stuff today. It was down. The fastball seemed like it was overpowering."

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