GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: CHICAGO CUBS (40-40) at WASHINGTON (33-48)

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - PITCHING CHANGE
CHN: BOBBY HOWRY (5-4, 4.19) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R ZIMMERMAN (.246, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Howry relieved B Petrick.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 7
WASHINGTON 1 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Zimmerman (.246, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY AUSTIN KEARNS SCORED RYAN ZIMMERMAN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A KEARNS ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 7
WASHINGTON 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R CHURCH (.254, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 11 2
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 5 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - TED LILLY, BILLY PETRICK (8TH), BOBBY HOWRY (9TH) AND ROB
BOWEN

WAS - JASON SIMONTACCHI, BILLY TRABER (4TH), CHRIS
SCHRODER (6TH), RAY KING (9TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

WAS - NONE</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 11 2
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 5 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - TED LILLY, BILLY PETRICK (8TH), BOBBY HOWRY (9TH) AND ROB
BOWEN

WAS - JASON SIMONTACCHI, BILLY TRABER (4TH), CHRIS
SCHRODER (6TH), RAY KING (9TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER


WP - TED LILLY (7-4)
LP - JASON SIMONTACCHI (5-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

WAS - NONE


TIME: 2:59 ATT: 24,015

PROBABLES: CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (9-6, 4.20)
WAS - MICAH BOWIE (4-3, 4.39)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (7) VS WASHINGTON (2) - FINAL

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 .305
R Theriot ss 4 1 1 0 1 0 2 .266
D Lee 1b 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 .342
A Ramirez 3b 5 1 3 2 0 0 0 .312
C Floyd rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .295
F Pie cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .219
M DeRosa 2b 5 0 2 3 0 0 1 .286
A Pagan cf-rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 3 .281
R Bowen c 3 1 0 1 0 1 4 .225
T Lilly p 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .118
a-J Jones ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .227
B Petrick p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 37 7 11 7 2 5 16

a-struck out looking for T Lilly in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - A Ramirez (13, J Simontacchi). S - T Lilly. SF - R Bowen. RBI - A
Ramirez 2 (49), A Soriano (31), M DeRosa 3 (46), R Bowen (13). 2-out RBI - A
Soriano, M DeRosa 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Bowen 1, M
DeRosa 1, T Lilly 1, R Theriot 1, A Pagan 1. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Soriano (11, 2nd base off B Traber/B Schneider).

FIELDING: E - D Lee 2 (3, ground ball, throw). DP: 2 (M DeRosa-R Theriot-D
Lee, A Ramirez-M DeRosa-D Lee).


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Logan cf 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .224
R Belliard 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .290
R Zimmerman 3b 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 .248
D Young 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .335
A Kearns rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .254
R Church lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253
F Lopez ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .232
B Schneider c 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .242
J Simontacchi p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-J Flores ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .215
B Traber p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-D Jimenez ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .056
C Schroder p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-R Fick ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222
R King p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 2 5 2 4 6 13

a-struck out swinging for J Simontacchi in the 3rd; b-walked for B Traber in
the 5th; c-struck out looking for C Schroder in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - B Schneider (10, T Lilly); N Logan (6, T Lilly); R Zimmerman (19,
B Howry). RBI - N Logan (6), A Kearns (27). 2-out RBI - N Logan. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - R Belliard 2, A Kearns 1. GIDP - D Young, B
Schneider. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - N Logan (7, 2nd base off T Lilly/R Bowen).

FIELDING: E - D Young (8, catch).


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 212 200 000 -- 7
WASHINGTON - 000 010 001 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
T Lilly (W, 7-4) 7 3 1 1 3 5 0 3.84
B Petrick 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.86
B Howry 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 4.31

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Simontacchi (L, 5-6) 3 7 5 5 1 0 0 6.27
B Traber 2 3 2 2 1 2 0 5.09
C Schroder 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 2.16
R King 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.85

HBP - D Lee (by J Simontacchi). Pitches-strikes: T Lilly 115-72; B Petrick
15-8; B Howry 19-9; J Simontacchi 59-38; B Traber 50-30; C Schroder 40-30; R
King 8-6. Ground balls-fly balls: T Lilly 11-5; B Petrick 2-0; B Howry 2-1; J
Simontacchi 6-3; B Traber 1-3; C Schroder 0-6; R King 2-1. Batters faced: T
Lilly 26; B Petrick 3; B Howry 6; J Simontacchi 18; B Traber 10; C Schroder 11;
R King 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Scott Barry. 1B--Andy Fletcher. 2B--Mike Reilly. 3B--Jeff
Kellogg.
EJECTIONS: WASHINGTON's Fick by Barry (8th).
T--2:59. Att--24,015.
Weather: 78 degrees, clear. Wind: 4 mph, in from
center.</div>

 

Ramirez, Lilly lead Cubs past Nationals

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 2</h3>WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Aramis Ramirez helped make AlfonsoSoriano's return to the nation's capital a successful one as theChicago Cubs posted a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationalson Monday night.

Ramirez had three hits and two RBI and Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly(7-4) also did his part by pitching 4 1/3 hitless innings tostart the game and winning for the third time in his last fourstarts.

Soriano became the fourth member of the 40-40 club with 46homers and 41 steals for the Nationals last season but signed aneight-year deal with the Cubs as a free agent during theoffseason.

He was warmly greeted by Washington's crowd of 24,015 - whichincluded more than a fair share of Cubs' fans - during his firstthree at-bats. After collecting two singles, an RBI and his11th steal of the season, Soriano heard the boo birds during hisfourth plate appearance.

None of that mattered to the Cubs, who scored in each of thefirst four innings against Nationals righthander JasonSimontacchi (5-6).

With one out in the fifth, Mark DeRosa kept Lilly's no-hit bidintact with a leaping grab of a line drive by Felipe Lopez.Brian Schneider followed with a double off the right-field wallthat barely cleared the glove of Cliff Floyd.

Nook Logan's RBI double to left scored Schneider for theNationals' only run.

The Cubs, on the other hand, made everything look easy. Lillypitched seven innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Hestruck out five and walked three.

Ramirez's broken bat single to left - his third hit of the game- loaded the bases for Chicago with one out in the fourthagainst lefthander Billy Traber. After Floyd struck out, DeRosadrilled a two-run single off Traber's glove that trickled intoright field, scoring Soriano and Derrek Lee for a 7-0 lead.

DeRosa's RBI single to left off the glove of Nationals leapingshortstop Felipe Lopez scored Ramirez and gave the Cubs a 4-0lead in the third. After Angel Pagan singled to right to loadthe bases with one out, Rob Bowen's sacrifice fly scored Floydand gave Chicago a 5-0 lead.

Chicago scored two runs in the first when Ryan Theriot walked,Lee was hit by a pitch, and Ramirez delivered a two-run doubledown the third-base line and into the left-field corner.

The Cubs added a run in the second when Bowen reached on afielder's choice, advanced to second on Lilly's sacrifice, andscored on Soriano's RBI single to left.

Simontacchi was tagged for five runs on seven hits in threeinnings, matching his shortest start of the season.

The Detroit Tigers roughed up Simontacchi for 10 runs on 10 hitsin three innings on June 19. He is one of only two major leaguepitchers to make at least 10 starts this season and have adecision in every outing. Boston's Tim Wakefield (8-8) is theother.

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
CHICAGO CUBS 7
WASHINGTON 2 FINAL</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (7) AT WASHINGTON (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano flied out to center. R Theriot walked. D Lee
hit by pitch, R Theriot to second. A Ramirez doubled to left, R Theriot and
D Lee scored. C Floyd grounded out to second, A Ramirez to third. M DeRosa
grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: A Pagan singled to right. R Bowen grounded into
fielder's choice to pitcher, A Pagan out at second. T Lilly sacrificed to
third, R Bowen to second. A Soriano singled to left center, R Bowen scored,
A Soriano to second advancing on throw. R Theriot grounded out to second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 3, WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: D Lee grounded out to third. A Ramirez singled to left.
C Floyd reached on infield single to shortstop, A Ramirez to second. M DeRosa
singled to left center, A Ramirez scored, C Floyd to second. A Pagan singled
to right, C Floyd to third, M DeRosa to second. R Bowen hit sacrifice fly to
left, C Floyd scored. T Lilly popped out to first. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 5, WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: B Traber relieved J Simontacchi. A Soriano singled to
left. R Theriot flied out to center. A Soriano stole second. D Lee walked.
A Ramirez singled to left, A Soriano to third, D Lee to second. C Floyd struck
out looking. M DeRosa singled to right, A Soriano and D Lee scored, A Ramirez
to third. A Pagan popped out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 5TH: R Church grounded out to second. F Lopez lined out to
second. B Schneider doubled to deep right. D Jimenez hit for B Traber.
D Jimenez walked. N Logan doubled to left, B Schneider scored, D Jimenez to
third. R Belliard grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 9TH: B Howry relieved B Petrick. R Zimmerman doubled to deep
left. D Young fouled out to third. A Kearns singled to center, R Zimmerman
scored. R Church safe at first on error by first baseman D Lee, A Kearns to
second. F Lopez walked, A Kearns to third, R Church to second. B Schneider
grounded into double play, third to second to first, F Lopez out at second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 2.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 11 2
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 5 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - TED LILLY, BILLY PETRICK (8TH), BOBBY HOWRY (9TH) AND ROB
BOWEN

WAS - JASON SIMONTACCHI, BILLY TRABER (4TH), CHRIS
SCHRODER (6TH), RAY KING (9TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER


WP - TED LILLY (7-4)
LP - JASON SIMONTACCHI (5-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

WAS - NONE


TIME: 2:59 ATT: 24,015

PROBABLES: CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (9-6, 4.20)
WAS - TIM REDDING (NR)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (7) AT WASHINGTON (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicago Cubs Starting Lineups -- A Soriano LF, R Theriot SS, D Lee 1B,
A Ramirez 3B, C Floyd RF, M DeRosa 2B, A Pagan CF, R Bowen C, T Lilly LHP.

Washington Starting Lineups -- N Logan CF, R Belliard 2B, R Zimmerman 3B,
D Young 1B, A Kearns RF, R Church LF, F Lopez SS, B Schneider C, J Simontacchi RHP.

Umpires -- Scott Barry (HP), Andy Fletcher (1B), Mike Reilly (2B), Jeff Kellogg (3B).

Gametime Weather: 78 degrees, Clear, wind in from center at 4 mph.


CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano flied out to center. R Theriot walked. D Lee
hit by pitch, R Theriot to second. A Ramirez doubled to left, R Theriot and
D Lee scored. C Floyd grounded out to second, A Ramirez to third. M DeRosa
grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 1ST: N Logan walked. N Logan stole second. N Logan safe at
third on throwing error by first baseman D Lee. R Belliard walked. R Zimmerman
struck out looking. D Young struck out swinging. A Kearns grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, R Belliard out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 2, WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: A Pagan singled to right. R Bowen grounded into
fielder's choice to pitcher, A Pagan out at second. T Lilly sacrificed to
third, R Bowen to second. A Soriano singled to left center, R Bowen scored,
A Soriano to second advancing on throw. R Theriot grounded out to second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 3, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 2ND: R Church flied out to left. F Lopez struck out swinging.
B Schneider popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 3,
WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: D Lee grounded out to third. A Ramirez singled to left.
C Floyd reached on infield single to shortstop, A Ramirez to second. M DeRosa
singled to left center, A Ramirez scored, C Floyd to second. A Pagan singled
to right, C Floyd to third, M DeRosa to second. R Bowen hit sacrifice fly to
left, C Floyd scored. T Lilly popped out to first. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 5, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 3RD: J Flores hit for J Simontacchi. J Flores struck out
swinging. N Logan struck out swinging. R Belliard grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 5, WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: B Traber relieved J Simontacchi. A Soriano singled to
left. R Theriot flied out to center. A Soriano stole second. D Lee walked.
A Ramirez singled to left, A Soriano to third, D Lee to second. C Floyd struck
out looking. M DeRosa singled to right, A Soriano and D Lee scored, A Ramirez
to third. A Pagan popped out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 4TH: R Zimmerman grounded out to first. D Young grounded out to
third. A Kearns grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: R Bowen flied out to right. T Lilly struck out swinging.
A Soriano grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7,
WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 5TH: R Church grounded out to second. F Lopez lined out to
second. B Schneider doubled to deep right. D Jimenez hit for B Traber.
D Jimenez walked. N Logan doubled to left, B Schneider scored, D Jimenez to
third. R Belliard grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: C Schroder relieved B Traber. R Theriot popped out to
second. D Lee lined out to right. A Ramirez lined out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 6TH: R Zimmerman singled to left. D Young grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, R Zimmerman out at second. A Kearns popped
out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: C Floyd popped out to second. M DeRosa safe at second on
error by first baseman D Young. A Pagan struck out looking. R Bowen struck
out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 7TH: F Pie in center field. A Pagan in right field. R Church
flied out to left. F Lopez grounded out to shortstop. B Schneider grounded
out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: J Jones hit for T Lilly. J Jones struck out looking.
A Soriano flied out to right. R Theriot singled to center. D Lee fouled out to
first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 8TH: B Petrick relieved T Lilly. R Fick hit for C Schroder.
R Fick struck out looking. Washington's R Fick ejected by S Barry. N Logan
grounded out to shortstop. R Belliard grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH: R King relieved C Schroder. A Ramirez grounded out to
third. F Pie flied out to left. M DeRosa grounded out to third. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 9TH: B Howry relieved B Petrick. R Zimmerman doubled to deep
left. D Young fouled out to third. A Kearns singled to center, R Zimmerman
scored. R Church safe at first on error by first baseman D Lee, A Kearns to
second. F Lopez walked, A Kearns to third, R Church to second. B Schneider
grounded into double play, third to second to first, F Lopez out at second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 2.</div>

 

Ramirez, Lilly lead Cubs past Nationals

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 7, WASHINGTON 2</h3>WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Aramis Ramirez helped make AlfonsoSoriano's return to the nation's capital a successful one as theChicago Cubs posted a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationalson Monday night.

Ramirez had three hits and two RBI and Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly(7-4) also did his part by pitching 4 1/3 hitless innings tostart the game and winning for the third time in his last fourstarts.

Soriano became the fourth member of the 40-40 club with 46homers and 41 steals for the Nationals last season but signed aneight-year deal with the Cubs as a free agent during theoffseason.

"He had a great year here - Soriano's a player," Cubs managerLou Piniella said. "Let me tell you, he's an enjoyable young manto manage. He plays with enthusiasm. He plays with confidence.He plays to win. He plays hard. And he's productive. We movedhim over to left field, and he's thrown out about nine or tenbaserunners. I like the kid, I really do. He brings a lot to thetable."

Soriano was warmly greeted by Washington's crowd of 24,015 -which included more than a fair share of Cubs' fans - during hisfirst three at-bats. After collecting two singles, an RBI andhis 11th steal of the season, Soriano heard the boo birds duringhis fourth plate appearance.

"It's a little weird, but I try to do my job and do the best Ican for my team," Soriano said of facing his former team. "Ifeel very good, so that's what matters. I feel comfortable nowthat we won this game. It's very important for the team to playgood like we're playing now."

The Cubs played well enough to score in each of the first fourinnings against Nationals righthander Jason Simontacchi (5-6).

With one out in the fifth, Mark DeRosa kept Lilly's no-hit bidintact with a leaping grab of a line drive by Felipe Lopez.Brian Schneider followed with a double off the right-field wallthat barely cleared the glove of Cliff Floyd.

Nook Logan's RBI double to left scored Schneider for theNationals' only run.

"Those guys are pressing a little bit instead of letting thegame come to them," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "It'shuman nature."

The Cubs, on the other hand, made everything look easy. Lillypitched seven innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Hestruck out five and walked three, including the first twobatters he faced.

"I didn't feel like I was totally in control of the game becauseI had some walks and I worked out of a jam in the first," Lillysaid. "Then I came up to hit, and one of the fans was yellingat me to make sure I knew about it.

"Regardless of whether I have a no-hitter in the fourth or fifthor eighth, it's not something I think about. I can't let thataffect the way I pitch."

Piniella liked what he saw.

"He started out very unassuming with two walks, and then he gotit together," Piniella said. "He had a no-hitter through four orfive and it was the quietest no-hitter I've seen, but that'sbeen his pattern. If we can find out how to get him started outof the gate a little quicker - but no complaints. The guypitched really, really well."

Ramirez's broken bat single to left - his third hit of the game- loaded the bases for Chicago with one out in the fourthagainst lefthander Billy Traber. After Floyd struck out, DeRosadrilled a two-run single off Traber's leg that trickled intoright field, scoring Soriano and Derrek Lee for a 7-0 lead.

DeRosa's RBI single to left off the glove of Nationals leapingshortstop Felipe Lopez scored Ramirez and gave the Cubs a 4-0lead in the third. After Angel Pagan singled to right to loadthe bases with one out, Rob Bowen's sacrifice fly scored Floydand gave Chicago a 5-0 lead.

"Oh, man, when I hit the first one I knew Felipe had a shot atit and I was glad it got by him to get that extra run," DeRosasaid. "On the second one, I worked myself into a good count andwith the bases loaded it forced him to throw a fastball. I wasjust happy it didn't bounce right to the first baseman or thesecond baseman.

"If that happened in April, it probably would've bounced rightto Dmitri Young and he would've stepped on first base for thelast out, but the baseball gods have been with us for a littlebit now."

Chicago scored two runs in the first when Ryan Theriot walked,Lee was hit by a pitch, and Ramirez delivered a two-run doubledown the third-base line and into the left-field corner.

Ramirez was delighted to make the night easier for Soriano.

"He's a good player," Ramirez said. "It doesn't matter where hegoes or how he plays. Everybody knows what he can do. He did agreat job here last year, so I'm pretty sure the fans appreciatehim."

Likewise, Piniella appreciates having Ramirez on Chicago's side.

"He's playing real well and I'm going to give him a resttomorrow because we've got the day game on Thursday. So I'llhave DeRosa at third base," Piniella said. "But Ramirez hasreally, really been playing. ... It's a shame, really, that hewasn't picked on the All-Star Team. Rami can play."

The Cubs added a run in the second when Bowen reached on afielder's choice, advanced to second on Lilly's sacrifice, andscored on Soriano's RBI single to left.

"We came from nine under (.500) so it's an improvement,"Piniella said. "These kids are playing hard, there's noquestion. And they're playing with confidence, that's the bigreason."

Simontacchi was tagged for five runs on seven hits in threeinnings, matching his shortest start of the season.

"I need to execute pitches better," he said. "I just didn't getthe ball down."

The Detroit Tigers roughed up Simontacchi for 10 runs on 10 hitsin three innings on June 19. He is one of only two major leaguepitchers to make at least 10 starts this season and have adecision in every outing. Boston's Tim Wakefield (8-8) is theother.