Kennedy, LaRoche lead Diamondbacks past Cubs 13-5

Maybe nobody advised the Cubs about the wind advisory that was in effect Thursday.

The Arizona Diamondbacks got the message.

They were the only one of the two teams at Wrigley Field to take advantage of a 27-mph crosswind howling out to left field as they crushed the reeling Cubs 13-5.

It was the Cubs' third straight loss and dropped their record to 10-13, putting them 51/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.

The D'Backs roughed up Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly and the bullpen. They got a pair of home runs from Adam LaRoche, 1 from Chris Snyder and another from Kelly Johnson.

All the Cubs could manage was an eighth-inning grand slam by Kosuke Fukudome after the game was well out of hand.

"It was nice out there today, the wind blowing out, can't get any runs across until that grand slam," said third baseman Aramis Ramirez, a key Cubs hitter who is not hitting.

Manager Lou Piniella, who was fired up after Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, was trying to be the voice of calm after Thursday's blowout.

"We've got to stabilize now," Piniella said. "We're only a few games under .500. Look, we need a nice stretch. We had one here for four games, and now we're on the other side of it again.

"We just need to stabilize this thing and win some games and get above .500. That's what our job is, and that's what we're going to try to do."

The Cubs broke on top in this one as Ryan Theriot hit an RBI single in the third.

It all came crashing down on Lilly in the fourth, as the D'Backs batted around and scored 5, with LaRoche hitting a 3-run homer and Snyder adding a 2-run shot. LaRoche hit a solo homer in the fifth.

The big fourth started with a pair of walks.

"I was doing OK," Lilly said. "Obviously, when you start off that inning and you walk two guys and don't make them put the ball in play, and then when you get to the middle of the order with guys on base, having not thrown strikes, you put yourself in a bad position."

This was Lilly's second start of the season after he rehabbed from shoulder surgery. He said health is not the issue at hand.

"That's not my concern; my concern is winning the game," he said. "I'm not thinking about that (being healthy). That's the only thing that's important to me right now, is getting the job done."

The Cubs did nothing with Arizona starting pitcher Ian Kennedy, whom they were facing for the first time. Kennedy (1-1) worked 8 innings.

The Diamondbacks added 7 runs in the seventh inning, with relievers Jeff Gray and James Russell getting hit hard. Johnson hit his 3-run homer off Russell.

Although Piniella said it's still early and that the talent is there, the subject of "urgency" came up.

"I look at it that way, but we've got to have a little urgency with this, too," he said. "I'm talking about in terms of wins and losses. That's the way that I use that phrase. No, they're trying, believe me. Nobody wants to go up there and make outs."