CHICAGO -- Scott Hairston and Matt Garza kept the Chicago Cubs on a roll. Hairston hit a grand slam and Garza got his first victory of the season and the Cubs extended their winning streak to five games by defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 on Friday. Alfonso Soriano had a two-run homer and Cody Ransom added a solo shot for the Cubs, who scored all their runs on homers and have won five straight for the first time since winning seven in a row from July 31-Aug. 6, 2011. The Cubs are still in fourth place in the NL Central, but theyve shown signs of a turnaround. Starting with a comeback 5-4 win last Sunday at Cincinnati that ended a six-game skid, Chicago has outscored opponents 36-12 and has a plus-11 run differential, which is seventh-best in the National League. "Were playing catch-up to everyone else but the fact of the matter is its still a long season," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "Youve seen it before when teams can win 15 in a row, 14 out of 16 something like that and all of a sudden before you know it youre right back in it and starting to have a lot of fun." The Cubs had plenty of fun Friday, and the win looked similar to their three victories over the White Sox when they outscored their rivals 24-6. Hairstons grand slam was the second in two games for the Cubs and was the highlight of a five-run third off Arizona starter Wade Miley (3-5). Pitcher Travis Wood hit one on Thursday in a win over the White Sox. It also gave them grand slams in consecutive games at Wrigley Field for the first time since Jim Hickman and Burt Hooton did it Sept. 15-16, 1972, against the Mets. "I think confidence has a lot to do with it," Hairston said. "The weathers getting warmer and the winds blowing out. It makes you feel better as a hitter." Garza (1-0), who was also making his first home start of the season, bounced back from his previous start, when he gave up four runs in four innings last Sunday in Cincinnati. In his third start of the season since coming off the disabled list with a strained back muscle, Garza pitched seven innings and allowed two runs and six hits while striking out four for his first victory since July 15 of last season. "Im pumped to get it out of the way. Yeah, its huge," Garza said. "But just glad I kept this thing rolling." Things didnt go nearly as well for Miley and the Diamondbacks. Soriano gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run home run. On a 1-1 pitch, Soriano hit a high drive that was helped by the wind blowing out. The homer was Sorianos 378th of his career, tying him with Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams for 66th all time. The Cubs then scored five runs in the third on Hairstons grand slam and Ransoms solo homer to cap the inning, which equaled their fourth inning against Texas on May 6 as Chicagos biggest of the year. One year after winning 16 games and finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, Miley continued to struggle, going seven innings and allowing seven runs and seven hits. Hes lost four straight decisions and has given up 22 earned runs over his past four starts. "Pretty frustrated. But you gotta take those four innings, I feel like thats more me. I gotta move on from there," Miley said. "Throw the other stuff behind me, quit thinking, get the mental stuff out of my head and just go pitch, you know, compete." Mileys tough start was the second in a row for Arizona, which has lost four straight on the road. On Thursday, Brandon McCarthy lasted 2 2-3 innings and allowed nine hits and six runs in a 9-5 loss to the Rangers. Arizona manager Kirk Gibson wasnt focusing on how Miley helped save a taxed bullpen, just the seven early runs. "Well, were not here to save our bullpen, were here to win games," Gibson said. "He didnt throw the ball very good, made some mistakes." The Cubs capitalized. Combining the offence with the effective starting pitching and a defence that helped Garza, including a catch by Hairston against the ivy on a Paul Goldschmidt drive in the first, Chicago had another easy win. "It was a great team effort today, through and through," Hairston said. NOTES: Sorianos home run was his 18th in his 145th career at-bat against Arizona. ... Garza went 0 for 3 at the plate to keeping Cubs pitchers at 19 RBIs in May, the most by a pitching staff during one month in NL history. ... The announced attendance of 24,645 was the smallest of the season at Wrigley Field. ... The umpiring crew at Wrigley Field also worked Thursdays Royals-Cardinals game in St. Louis that ended at 3:14 a.m. Friday. ... Before Fridays game the Diamondbacks placed 3B Eric Chavez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique he suffered Thursday at Texas. Arizona also activated utility man Willie Bloomquist from the DL after missing two months with an oblique strain. ... Saturdays pitching matchup is the Diamondbacks Ian Kennedy (2-3, 4.70) against the Cubs Jeff Samardzija (3-6, 2.85). Justin Anderson Angels Jersey . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Brian Downing Jersey .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. https://www.cheapangels.com/ .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Jake Jewell Angels Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Don Baylor Angels Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. METZ, France -- Second-seeded David Goffin of Belgium beat Germanys Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Moselle Open.The 14th-ranked Goffin, who won this tournament in 2014, had four aces and did not face a single break point on his serve.Third-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille -- a U.S. Open quarterfinalist earlier this month -- also reached the last eight by beating his Davis Cup teammate Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-7 (6) 6-4 in their first ever meeting. Herbert saved a match point in the second set.They were both on the losing side against Croatia in last weekends Davis Cup semifinals.ddddddddddddoffin plays eighth-seeded Nicolas Mahut, who downed Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4 while Pouille next faces Julien Benneteau.No. 4 Frenchman Gilles Simon beat Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for the sixth time in as many meetings, winning 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.Simon, a two-time champion in Metz, next faces Tunisian Malek Jaziri, who beat qualifier Vincent Millot 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. ' ' '
