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When Kerry Wood is pitching like this, opposing hitters don't have much of a chance.
Wood struck out nine and allowed just four singles in seven innings Saturday, beating the New York Mets 3-0 and giving the Chicago Cubs their fifth straight win.
Sammy Sosa backed Wood with a homer and finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
``I'm very impressed with Kerry,'' Sosa said. ``He's so relaxed out there, he knows what he's doing.''
Wood (3-1) has given up just four earned runs in his last three starts, a 1.60 ERA. He walked two and hit one in his first scoreless outing of the season, and allowed only three runners in scoring position -- one after the second inning.
He recorded nine
straight outs at one point, starting the run by picking off Kazuo Matsui when
he tried to steal second with no outs in the sixth inning.
``We couldn't muster anything offensively,'' Mets manager Art Howe said. ``He
made great pitches when he had to. Right now, things aren't breaking our way,
but you keep grinding and things turn.''
The Mets, resembling a team from the dead-ball era, have lost seven of nine and have scored only 12 runs in their last eight games. Tyler Yates (1-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings, walking only one while striking out three.
``It's tough to continue to struggle to score runs,'' said Mike Cameron, who was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. ``No matter how much you talk about it, you've got to find a way to get it done.''
That's not easy against Wood, though. Wood still has the sizzling fastball that helped him strike out an NL-record 20 in his fifth career start and invited comparisons with fellow Texan Roger Clemens. But he's learned how to throw more than heat now, and is becoming a more dangerous pitcher with every season.
``As good as he's been, I don't think he's gotten to his best yet,'' catcher Michael Barrett said. ``It's going to be scary when he gets there, because the way he's been pitching lately, he's been making some pretty good hitters look bad.''
On Saturday, it was Wood's sinker that befuddled the Mets. The ball would dive in the dirt and wind up a couple of feet away, and hitters still swung at it. When the Mets had runners at first and third with only one out in the sixth -- the closest they came to threatening -- Wood used the sinker to strike out Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia.
``I just stayed with Michael back there and went after guys,'' Wood said. ``The defense played great, we scored some runs early and kept everything under control.''
AP - Apr 24, 4:52 pm EDT
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LaTroy Hawkins sealed the victory, getting the last four outs for his first
save of the year. Closer Joe Borowski got up briefly to warm up, but Cubs manager
Dusty Baker decided to let Hawkins finish because all three batters in the ninth
-- Spencer, Garcia and Mike Cameron -- are former AL hitters.
``I just went with the matchups,'' Baker said. ``It's no big deal. Don't read anything into it. Joe's my closer.''
Sosa gave Wood an early lead, 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.
``When he first hit it, I didn't think he got it,'' Yates said. ``Then when I saw it land, I thought, `Oh my God he hit it that well.' I'd hate to see it if the wind was blowing out.''
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 Ramon 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. The Cubs added another run in the third when Sosa hustled from second to home to beat Spencer's throw from left.
``We're hitting on all cylinders now,'' Wood said. ``We're just going out and having fun. It's easy to relax when you're putting runs on the board andyou're playing great defense.''
Notes
Wood is 5-1 in eight career starts against the Mets. ... The Cubs have outscored
their opponents 35-4 during their winning streak. ... Cubs SS Alex Gonzalez
was out of the lineup again with a sore right leg. ... Cubs 2B Todd Walker was
called out on interference in the fourth inning. ... Mets 3B Ty Wigginton was
released from a New York hospital Saturday after being treatedfor an ulcer.