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Marlins Lead Cubs 7-5 in NLCS Game 7

Posted on: Wednesday, 15 October 2003, 06:00 CDT

Miguel Cabrera and Ivan Rodriguez don't want to see the Florida Marlins' improbable run come to an end.

Cabrera homered, had four RBIs and made several spectacular catches in right field, while Rodriguez had his record-setting 10th RBI on Wednesday night as Florida took a 7-5 lead after six innings in Game 7 of the NL championship series.

Kerry Wood and Moises Alou both hit two-run homers for the Cubs, who are trying to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945.

Chicago took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and only four teams - one in the NL - have rallied from that deficit to win the series. But just as they have all year, the Marlins, the NL wild card, are showing amazing resiliency.

They had won two straight, including a stunner Tuesday night. Chicago was five outs from the World Series when an overzealous fan deflected a catchable foul fly. Florida went on to score eight runs in the eighth inning, beating the Cubs 8-3 and forcing Game 7.

Wood didn't have his best stuff Wednesday night, and the Marlins took advantage of it in the fifth inning. He walked pinch-hitter Brian Banks and Luis Castillo, and they both wound up scoring.

Rodriguez hit a run-scoring double, giving him a record 10 RBIs in the NLCS. He has 16 RBIs in the postseason, breaking the Florida franchise record of 15 set by Alou in 1997.

Cabrera followed with an RBI groundout to tie the game. And then struggling Derrek Lee singled to right-center, driving in the go-ahead run.

The Marlins added another run with an RBI single by Castillo in the sixth.

Wood lasted only 5 2-3 innings, his shortest outing since Aug. 21, giving up seven runs and seven hits.

The Marlins, meanwhile, were flustering Chicago's bats. Mark Redman, Brad Penny and Josh Beckett combined to retire 11 straight after Alou's homer in the second inning. Mark Grudzielanek and Sammy Sosa both hit fly balls to deep right in the fifth that looked as if they might drop for hits, but Cabrera was there to snag both.

The Cubs have counted on Wood for big games all season. He kept Roger Clemens stuck on career victory No. 299 when the New York Yankees visited Wrigley in June for the first time since the 1938 World Series. And in Game 5 of the division series against Atlanta, Wood held the NL's top-hitting team to one run as the Cubs won their first postseason series since the 1908 World Series.

But he got off to a shaky start Wednesday. After Marlins leadoff hitter Juan Pierre fell behind 1-2, he hit a fly to right that Sosa had to dig out of the ivy as the speedster took third. Rodriguez then worked Wood for a nine-pitch walk.

Cabrera followed with an arcing homer to left-center on a 1-2 pitch. It was the first time the Marlins had scored in the first inning in the NLCS, having been outscored 12-0 in the opening inning over the first six games.

It was Cabrera's third home run in the series, an LCS record for a rookie. No rookie had hit more than one homer in an LCS before.

But Wood gave the Cubs a spark with, of all things, his bat. With one out in the second, Eric Karros singled and Alex Gonzalez doubled to deep center. Damian Miller drove in a run with a groundout, cutting Florida's lead to 3-1.

That brought up Wood, who had sealed his own victory in Game 1 of the division series against Atlanta with a two-run double. He went one better this time, sending Redman's 3-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers.

It was the fourth home run by a pitcher in the NLCS, and first since Chicago's Rick Sutcliffe in Game 1 of the 1984 series against San Diego. It was the seventh homer of Wood's career and he has five RBIs in the postseason.

The home run set off pandemonium in the stands, and the venerable stadium was shaking as Cubs fans jumped up and down, screamed and traded high-fives. One fan on his way back to his seat from the concession stand even set down his two beers so he could hug the closest person to him, a security guard.

Redman hit Sosa with one out in the third, and Alou followed with a monster shot to left that was last seen bouncing into the crowd on Waveland Avenue.

It was Alou's second home run this postseason, and the fifth of his career.

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