Wood's Winless Streak Continues As Cubs Lose In 10
SEATTLE (AP) — Travis Wood seemed to do everything he had to in order to pick up his first win in nearly a month. His teammates didn't fill their end of the bargain.
Wood left with a lead in the seventh inning before the Cubs' bullpen gave up the lead and then Seattle's Mike Zunino hit a game-ending single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Mariners to a 5-4 win Friday night.
Wood ended up with a no-decision, extending his winless streak to five starts, despite allowing two runs and three hits and striking out six in 6 1-3 innings. His last victory came on May 30.
"We're out there giving everything we've got," Wood said. "Things are going to turn around at some point, and we are going to start winning these games and not falling short."
Alfonso Soriano and Dioner Navarro homered for the Cubs, who ended a two-game winning streak.
Reliever Blake Parker (0-1) gave up back-to-back walks to Michael Saunders and Raul Ibanez to lead off the 10th before being pulled in favor of Shawn Camp. Jason Bay advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt, and Justin Smoak was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Zunino then worked the count full against Camp before singling up the middle.
Yoervis Medina (3-2) pitched the 10th to earn the win. Oliver Perez struck out the side in the ninth, his 12 consecutive scoreless inning pitched.
Bay hit his ninth home run and Nick Franklin had two doubles among his three hits for the Mariners, who had lost two in a row.
Wood has now gotten no decisions his last two times out, despite strong performances.
"Travis pitched another heck of a ballgame," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "About as snakebit as it can get, giving up his wins."
The Cubs had a 4-2 lead going into the eighth with James Russell on the mound. Franklin led off with a double and Kendrys Morales drove him home with a one-out double.
Ibanez followed with a run-scoring triple on a line drive that got past sliding left fielder Brian Bogusevic and rolled to the wall, tying the score at 4.
Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight innings, with four runs and six hits allowed. He struck out five. It was the fourth time this season Iwakuma has completed eight innings, and all four times he has come away with a no decision.
The Cubs led 2-1 going into the seventh and added to their lead with a pair of home runs, both coming on the first pitch. Soriano — who had been out of the lineup the last two games — led off with a drive just inside the left field foul pole, his eighth.
"These two days refreshed my mind and my legs so I feel good at home plate today," Soriano said. "Those two days helped me a lot to do my job at home plate."
With two outs Novarro also hit his eighth homer to right-center.
The Cubs took advantage of a throwing error by Franklin, Seattle's second baseman, in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Soriano led off the inning with a single, and with one out Ryan Sweeney hit a hard grounder down the first-base line that got into the deep right-field corner for a triple. Soriano scored and second baseman Franklin's relay throw home got past catcher Zunino, allowing Sweeney to score on the error and giving the Cubs a 2-0 lead.
The Mariners didn't get a hit until the fourth inning when Franklin led off with a double and didn't score until Bay homered to lead off the fifth. Seattle scored again in the seventh. Brad Miller — making his major league debut after being called up from Triple-A Tacoma before the game — drove in Bay with a fielder's choice.
"The outcome is the outcome," Wood said. "They played a good game, so did we. We battled, they battled, battled and battled and ended up coming back and winning the game."
NOTES: The Cubs have homered in a season-high eight straight games. ... Chicago started a stretch where the Cubs will play nine of 12 games against American League teams. ... Backup C Dioner Navarro started for the second straight game, and Sveum said he may see time at DH.
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