CHICAGO — The Cubs dig the long ball.
Tyler Colvin, Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano each homered on a sweltering Friday to back Randy Wells and lead the Cubs to a 5-0 win over the Cardinals for their fifth win in the last eight games.
This is a key series for the Cubs, who inched up one game and now are 10 games behind the Cardinals in the National League Central. Chicago is 17-27 against division rivals and 27-26 against all other teams this season.
Wells (5-7) struck out seven over seven shutout innings, giving up five hits and walking three. In his last four starts, the stingy right-hander has given up four runs over 28 2/3 innings for a 1.26 ERA.
Colvin got things started with his first leadoff homer, hitting a 2-0 pitch from Jeff Suppan (0-6) into the right-field seats. Colvin is the first Cubs left-handed rookie to reach 14 homers since Rafael Palmeiro did so in 1987.
Soto made it 2-0 with his leadoff blast in the fourth, his 14th, and has homered in three straight games for the first time in his career.
With two outs and a runner at first, Soriano launched his 18th home run into the left-field seats. He's now hit three home runs in his last eight games with nine RBIs.
The Cubs added a run in the sixth on the shortest hit of the game, distance-wise. Ryan Theriot was on second with two outs when Starlin Castro popped up. Suppan pointed to it, catcher Jason LaRue camped underneath it, but the ball dropped and Theriot, who took off on contact, scored.