Casey Coleman held Florida to just four hits in his 5 2/3 innings, while the Cubs offense hit the Marlins pitching staff early and often as Chicago swept the two game road series, 5-1. Coleman also struck out a season high seven batters on the night.
Marlon Byrd hit his third home run of the season in the fourth inning off of Chris Volstad, while four other Cubs collected doubles, and Starlin Castro knocked in a pair of RBIs. The team was only 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position, but they managed to extend their scoring throughout the game, tallying runs in the second, fourth, and ninth innings.
The lone Marlins run came in the eighth inning when Florida’s young slugger Mike Stanton took Kerry Wood deep for Stanton’s ninth home run of the year.
The Cubs will begin interleague play on Friday as they travel to Fenway Park in Boston to take on the Red Sox. First pitch in that game will be at 6:10 P.M., CDT.