CHICAGO (AP) Kerry Wood struck out nine and allowed only four singles in seven innings, and Sammy Sosa backed him with a home run Saturday to give the Chicago Cubs a 3-0 victory over the New York Mets.
It was the Cubs' fifth straight win, their longest streak of the year. They've allowed only four runs during the stretch, outscoring opponents 35-4. The Mets lost for the seventh time in nine games, and have scored only 12 runs in their last eight games.
Wood (3-1) walked two and hit one in his first shutout this season. He's now 5-1 in eight career starts against the Mets.
Ramon Martinez and Aramis Ramirez also drove in runs for the Cubs, and Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his fourth save in as many chances.
Tyler Yates (1-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings, walking only one while striking out three.
Wood allowed only three runners in scoring position, and just one after the second inning. The closest the Mets came to threatening was in the sixth, when Kazuo Matsui got to third with only one out. But Wood quickly struck out Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia.
Wood also kept the Mets off base for almost three innings. Matsui led off the third with a single, but Wood caught him stealing and then retired his next eight batters. New York finally got on base again with Matsui's leadoff single in the sixth.
Sosa gave Wood all the offense he needed in the first inning, homering off Yates on a 2-2 pitch. Though the wind was blowing in at 15 mph, Sosa knew the ball was gone almost as soon as it left his bat, doing his trademark home run hop.
The Cubs added a run in the second, and Yates was lucky they didn't get more. With two outs, Yates gave up an RBI single to Martinez, a single to Wood and then walked Todd Walker to load the bases. But Yates escaped the jam when Corey Patterson grounded into a double play.
It was the Cubs' fifth straight win, their longest streak of the year. They've allowed only four runs during the stretch, outscoring opponents 35-4. The Mets lost for the seventh time in nine games, and have scored only 12 runs in their last eight games.
Wood (3-1) walked two and hit one in his first shutout this season. He's now 5-1 in eight career starts against the Mets.
Ramon Martinez and Aramis Ramirez also drove in runs for the Cubs, and Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his fourth save in as many chances.
Tyler Yates (1-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings, walking only one while striking out three.
Wood allowed only three runners in scoring position, and just one after the second inning. The closest the Mets came to threatening was in the sixth, when Kazuo Matsui got to third with only one out. But Wood quickly struck out Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia.
Wood also kept the Mets off base for almost three innings. Matsui led off the third with a single, but Wood caught him stealing and then retired his next eight batters. New York finally got on base again with Matsui's leadoff single in the sixth.
Sosa gave Wood all the offense he needed in the first inning, homering off Yates on a 2-2 pitch. Though the wind was blowing in at 15 mph, Sosa knew the ball was gone almost as soon as it left his bat, doing his trademark home run hop.
The Cubs added a run in the second, and Yates was lucky they didn't get more. With two outs, Yates gave up an RBI single to Martinez, a single to Wood and then walked Todd Walker to load the bases. But Yates escaped the jam when Corey Patterson grounded into a double play.
Mark Prior threw 50 pitches off the mound Saturday without problems and could pitch a simulated game as early as next week.Chicago Cubs right-hander will have two days off before another mound session Tuesday in Arizona, where the Cubs play the Diamondbacks.
If that goes well, pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Prior will throw simulated games at the Cubs' minor-league complex in Mesa, Ariz.
"We'll build him up from there if everything goes right," Rothschild said. "We'll just go an inning at a time. It'll be every four days until he gets up to four or five days."
The Cubs are being cautious with Prior, who is recovering from a sore Achilles' tendon and tender elbow. They hope to have him back by mid-May but have not set a timetable for his return.
Prior was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA last season, when the Cubs came within five outs of the World Series. He was an All-Star and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting.
AP NEWS
wil.
btw. D2 is right Hawkins got the save.
If that goes well, pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Prior will throw simulated games at the Cubs' minor-league complex in Mesa, Ariz.
"We'll build him up from there if everything goes right," Rothschild said. "We'll just go an inning at a time. It'll be every four days until he gets up to four or five days."
The Cubs are being cautious with Prior, who is recovering from a sore Achilles' tendon and tender elbow. They hope to have him back by mid-May but have not set a timetable for his return.
Prior was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA last season, when the Cubs came within five outs of the World Series. He was an All-Star and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting.
AP NEWS
wil.
btw. D2 is right Hawkins got the save.
