Come to Think of it...Big Z No Ace Against Bucs

Alfonso Soriano continued his torrid hitting, slugging two more home runs in a 7-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Soriano has 20 hits in his last 37 at bats, raising his average to .295 after a miserable start. But it wasn't enough to stave off the Bucs in front of 41,686 fans at Wrigley Field.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano just didn't have it, allowing five runs in only four innings of work after going at least six in all of his previous starts.

Soriano led off with his career-tying fifth-straight game with a hit when he lined a single to center, and he added an RBI single during a three-run second, giving the Cubs a 3-1 lead. He continued to be a one-man wrecking crew when his first homer of the game staked the Cubs to a 4-2 lead in the fourth, and tied the game at five with his second shot in the seventh.

Besides struggling on the mound, Zambrano continued his risky habit of breaking his bat over his leg after striking out in the fourth. He also botched a bunt attempt in the second inning.

Soriano now has hit seven homers in the week and has 10 on the season. He became the first Cub to have back-to-back multi-homer games since Aramis Ramirez at Washington on July 21-22, 2006.

For all of you who have been clamoring for Carlos Marmol to take over the closer role, beware. He gave up a tie-breaking two-run homer in the ninth to give the Pirates the victory. Marmol fell to 1-1 on the season.

Pittsburgh won for the ninth time in 12 games.

Ryan Theriot had a RBI single in the bottom half of the ninth, scoring Soriano who had doubled for his fifth hit of the game. But Derrek Lee was retired on a lazy fly to right for the final out of the game, with Matt Capps earning his 10th save.

The Cubs 3-4-5 hitters, D-Lee, Ramirez, and Fukudome, combined to go 0 for 12 in the game.

The Pirates had lost 10 straight to the Cubs, and were 0-7 against them this year before Nate McLouth hit his 11th home run of the season against Marmol.

The Cubs wrap up the series against the Bucs Sunday at 1:20pm CST. Come to think of it, the game could be for a share of first place in the Central if the suddenly resurgent Astros win tonight vs. Texas.