MILWAUKEE -- The Cubs have a little more breathing room in the National League Central.
Ryan Theriot had three hits and three RBIs, and Alfonso Soriano had three hits and scored twice to back Ryan Dempster and lead the Cubs to a 7-2 victory Wednesday night over the Milwaukee Brewers.
With the win, the Cubs opened a four-game lead over the Brewers in the Central, and they can complete a sweep with a win Thursday in the series finale.
"These guys have a good team and great pitching, and we anticipate them being there the whole year and being on our heels," Theriot said of the Brewers. "We have to continue to play well, because we know they will."
The Brewers know that, too.
"They're the better team in July," Milwaukee's Corey Hart said of the Cubs. "That doesn't make them World Champs yet."
It says a lot that the Cubs can win despite stranding 15 on the bases and having their Nos. 3-4 hitters go hitless.
"It says a lot about the guys in here," Dempster said. "The only two guys who didn't get hits were [Aramis Ramirez] and [Derrek Lee] and that just shows you that everybody in the lineup is chipping in."
Dempster is, too. Now 12-4, the right-hander struck out nine to notch his second straight win on the road after beginning the year 0-3 in eight starts away from Wrigley Field. Miller Park is 90 miles north of Chicago, and with the large contingent of Cubs fans in the raucous crowd of 44,871, it must have felt like home. Dempster gave up five hits and one walk over seven innings.
He is making the Cubs look like geniuses for switching him from closer to starter.
"He's more relaxed," Piniella said. "He's got starting experience. He did that in the past. He's a better pitcher now than he was then. He's got a good split-finger, a good slider, two-seam, four-seam fastball, and he seems just more relaxed as a starter. I really felt that coming into Spring Training he would win a spot in the rotation, and he did that quite easily, to his credit. He came in with a great frame of mind and in great shape."
He also fooled the Brewers.
"They both come out basically the same," Hart said of Dempster's fastball and slider. "Half the time, it's too late before you decide what it is."
Soriano has shown this series how valuable he is on top of the Cubs' lineup. Now 6-for-12 in the three games, he singled to lead off the game, advanced on a sacrifice and stole third. Lee walked, and one out later, Soriano scored on a wild pitch by Manny Parra (9-4) on strike three to Reed Johnson. Mark DeRosa made it 2-0 with an RBI single.
"I didn't know where the ball was," Johnson said of the play. "I think I heard it hit the facing of the backstop, and I started running. I saw Prince Fielder hold up his hands and say, 'Don't throw it.' It ended up working out. Any way we can score runs, we'll take it."
Ray Durham answered in the Brewers' first, leading off with a double and scoring two outs later on a wild pitch by Dempster on an 0-2 count to Hart.
With one out in the Chicago sixth, Dempster and Soriano both singled, and both tallied on Theriot's triple to right-center to put the Cubs ahead, 4-1. Parra departed, and two batters later, Johnson hit an RBI single off Carlos Villanueva.
"It was a big hit at that point," Theriot said of his triple, "but 'Demp' threw the ball well and we felt good going into that inning with the lead we had. He was throwing well tonight and had command of all his pitches."
The Brewers put up a fight. In the third, Parra doubled to lead off and reached third, but Dempster was able to escape. Parra then tripled with one out in the fifth, and was stranded again.
"I tried to simplify it," Dempster said. "I tried to stay aggressive and make them get it over, get 'em in, and you find yourself in a good situation because you're ahead in the count."
The Cubs added two runs in the ninth, and Fielder connected on his 21st homer with one out in the Milwaukee ninth off Neal Cotts.
There have been no signs in this series of the offensive funk the Cubs were immediately after the All-Star break. They've been retired in order only three times in 27 innings in the three games.
"We're starting to swing the bat better as a team," Johnson said. "A week ago, we were talking about whether we were going to come out of this thing. We didn't know when it was going to be, but just the emotions and adrenaline of the series just locked us back in and got everybody swinging the bats well."
Thursday is the Trade Deadline, but Dempster doesn't see any holes that need filling.
"I love our club -- it's cool," Dempster said. "I love everybody in here. Who knows what will happen?"
Dynamic Dempster drops Crew
Dynamic Dempster drops Crew
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