Randy Wells was as sharp as he’s been all season, and the Cubs put up just enough offense to support him as they took game three of a four game set against the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field on Wednesday Night.
Wells had one of his best starts of the year, throwing 6.2 innings, giving up just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out six. Derek Lowe, of the Braves, was good but not quite as solid in his own start, throwing 7.0 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks, while striking out six.
The one mistake Wells made came in the top of the seventh, when he gave up a home run to Chipper Jones to center field, Jones’ 13th of the season.
By then, the Cubs had already built a three run lead off of Derek Lowe. They scored all of their runs in the bottom of the second inning. After Tyler Colvin led off the inning with a walk, Alfonso Soriano blasted his 22nd home run of the season to center field, putting the Cubs up 2-0.
The Cubs added another run on a bizarre sequence of events. Tony Campana reached base on an error by Atlanta’s Dan Uggla. He then successfully stole second and advanced to third on a balk. A soft groundout by Randy Wells would send him home to give the Cubs their three run lead.
Kerry Wood made things interesting for the Cubs in the top of the 8th, giving up a leadoff home run to Alex Gonzalez, his 12th, which pulled the Braves within one run. But he settled down after that and combined with Carlos Marmol to quell the threat. Marmol finished the night with his 30th save of the year.