Recap: Pittsburgh vs. Chicago Cubs

By Sports Network

Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Geovany Soto drove in seven runs and the Chicago Cubs used a seven-run eighth inning to rally past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 14-9, in the middle test of a three-game series at PNC Park.

Soto finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three runs scored for the Cubs, who are 12-3 over their last 15 games. Derrek Lee knocked in two runs, while Alfonso Soriano had three hits and scored twice in the win.

Chicago leads the majors with 82 wins and is five games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central.

Carlos Zambrano lasted only 4 1/3 frames and was tagged for six runs on eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts. The comeback made a winner out of Sean Marshall (3-3), who tossed a scoreless seventh.

Adam LaRoche, Doug Mientkiewicz and Jack Wilson each drove in two runs for Pittsburgh, which has dropped six straight games and 10 of their last 12 overall. Nyjer Morgan went 3-for-5 with an RBI in the loss.

Pittsburgh starter Ian Snell was roughed up for five runs on five hits in four innings of work. Craig Hansen (0-2) took the loss after he gave up four runs on one hit and did not retire a batter in the troublesome eighth.

Trailing 6-4, the Pirates evened the score in the fifth. Mientkiewicz singled and Freddy Sanchez walked before Wilson doubled in a run. Jeff Samardzija came on in relief and pinch-hitter Jason Michaels grounded out to force in the tying run.

Chicago regained the lead when Soto led off the sixth with a blast to the seats in left. The homer gave him 20 on the season, breaking the club rookie record by a catcher. Randy Hundley slugged 19 in 1966. However, the see-saw battled continued as the Pirates forged ahead in the bottom half.

Ryan Doumit singled to begin the home sixth and Soriano dropped a fly ball off the bat of LaRoche in left. One out later, Mientkiewicz laced a triple to the gap in right-center to give the Pirates an 8-7 lead.

In the eighth, 11 Cubs went to bat as they exploded for seven runs. Mike Fontenot singled off John Grabow to open the frame. Hansen entered from the Pittsburgh bullpen and had a difficult time locating the strike zone. After Soriano singled, Hansen issued three consecutive walks to Ryan Theriot, Lee and Aramis Ramirez to force in a pair of runs.

Sean Burnett took over on the mound, but didn't fare any better, giving up an RBI single to Reed Johnson. After pinch-hitter Henry Blanco flied out and Kosuke Fukudome went down swinging, Soto doubled off the scoreboard in right field, plating three more runners, and scored on Fontenot's two-bagger.

The Pirates jumped on Zambrano for three runs in the opening frame. Morgan struck out to begin the inning, but reached first on a wild pitch. Nate McLouth then walked and Zambrano's throwing error on a pickoff attempt at second put runners on second and third for LaRoche, who lined a two-run double into right field and later scored on a Sanchez base hit.

Chicago got on the board in the third on Lee's RBI groundout, then put up a four-spot in the next inning to grab a 5-3 lead. The Cubs loaded the bases with no outs on walks to Jim Edmonds and Fukudome sandwiched around a single by Mark DeRosa. Soto followed with a bases-clearing double and Zambrano capped the surge with a run-scoring single.

Pittsburgh picked up a run in the home half on Doumit's RBI single, but the Cubs widened their advantage in the fifth on a two-out, RBI double by DeRosa.