Cubs Lead Marlins, 12-2 (6 Innings)

The Chicago Cubs took 95 years of frustration out on the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night, homering four times as they took a 12-2 lead after six innings in Game 2 of the NL championship series.

Sammy Sosa hit a monster two-run shot off Brad Penny in the second inning that almost cleared the camera booth in the second tier of bleachers in center field, and Alex Gonzalez homered twice. He has homered in three straight postseason games.

Aramis Ramirez also had a solo shot for the Cubs, who have gone deep seven times in the first two games of the NLCS.

The Marlins have one of the top young pitching staffs in the league, but the Cubs tormented them Wednesday. They had 14 hits after six innings, and they knocked Penny out of the game before he could retire a batter in the third.

By the end of the sixth, every Chicago starter but Moises Alou and Mark Prior had at least one hit and one RBI.

And with Prior pitching, the Marlins could put up little response.

Prior is 11-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 12 starts since returning from the disabled list on Aug. 4, including a two-hit complete game against Atlanta in Game 3 of the division series last Friday.

He scattered eight hits and two runs in the first six innings, and had five strikeouts.

Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back solo homers in the sixth inning to spoil Prior’s shutout, but any hope of a rally died quickly when Jeff Conine couldn’t get back to first base fast enough on pinch-hitter Mike Lowell’s deep fly to left.

The Marlins threatened only one other time, putting runners at second and third with no outs in the second inning. But Prior struck out Florida’s Alex Gonzalez and Penny.

Then, with Cubs fans on their feet, Prior retired Juan Pierre on a popup to second. As the ball settled into Mark Grudzielanek’s glove, the crowd roared and Prior punched the air with his right fist.

The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and haven’t been to one since 1945, and the city is in a frenzy at the possibility of baseball’s lovable losers ending nearly a century of futility.

Sosa elated Wrigley Field fans Tuesday night when he homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 8. The Marlins went on to win that game, 9-8 in 11 innings, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

But it didn’t take Sosa long to get the park rocking again Wednesday. With two outs in the second and the Cubs already up 3-0, Sosa sent a 1-1 pitch from Penny high into the center field bleachers. It hit the back of the camera booth and dropped into the stands, setting off a mad scramble for the ball.

Fans started chanting, “SAM-MY! SAM-MY!” and many bowed to him. The cheers grew louder until Sosa popped his head out of the dugout for a curtain call, waving his helmet at the fans.

And that was just the start of the party. Penny, pitching on three days’ rest after working 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief Saturday, gave up seven runs and seven hits in two-plus innings.

When Florida manager Jack McKeon pulled him after he gave up the homer to Ramirez and a single to Randall Simon, the crowd of 39,562 gave a loud cheer. Penny’s outing matched the shortest by a Marlins starter in the postseason.

But Florida’s bullpen didn’t fare much better. Nate Bump gave up two two-out runs before the third inning was over, and Rick Helling served up both of Gonzalez’s homers.

Gonzalez hit a two-run shot in the fifth inning, and a solo homer in the sixth.