Ramirez, Zambrano Lead Cubs Past White Sox

Jun 22, 07:15 PM

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Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Aramis Ramirez went 2-for-3, homered and drove in a pair and Carlos Zambrano allowed one run and three hits over eight innings, as the Cubs edged the White Sox, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game interleague set between the clubs at U.S. Cellular Field.

Zambrano (8-6) tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts, and threw 113 pitches in the start. He recovered nicely from his previous outing, where he held the Padres hitless through 7 1/3 innings only to lose the no-hitter and the game.

Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-4 with a solo home run for the Cubs, who stopped a two-game slide. Felix Pie added a two-run single.

Mark Buehrle (4-4) was the hard-luck loser, allowing only four hits and two runs over seven innings with four strikeouts. Paul Konerko went deep for the White Sox, who have dropped four of their last five.

Ahead by a run, the Cubs iced the game with three runs in the ninth. Mike Fontenot led off with a single, moved to second on a Carlos Lee walk, and scored on a Ramirez base hit. Mark DeRosa sacrificed himself to move both runners up, and Rob Bowen walked to load the bases. Angel Pagan grounded into a force at home, then Pie squeaked a ball through the hole to make it 5-1.

Ryan Dempster retired the Sox in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the victory.

Soriano nailed a 3-2 pitch into the left-field seats to give the Cubs a 1-0 advantage with a lead-off home run. Three batters later, Ramirez celebrated his return from the disabled list with a solo shot to right.

Tadahito Iguchi's single with one out in the fourth was the first hit and baserunner of the game for the Sox, then Jim Thome followed with a walk. Zambrano worked out of the jam by fanning Konerko and inducing a ground out by A.J. Pierzynski.

Konerko broke the shutout in a big way with one down in the seventh on a solo homer to left-center -- his 250th home run with the Pale Hose -- which brought the Sox within 2-1. Pierzynski followed with a single, but Zambrano once again worked out of trouble when he got Jermaine Dye to ground into a 5-4-3 inning- ending double play.

Game Notes

The Cubs have taken three of for games this season, but the Sox had won seven of 12 meetings the previous two seasons...Prior to the game, the Cubs activated Ramirez from the 15-day disabled list, and the White Sox activated outfielder Darin Erstad, only to see Erstad leave the game in the bottom of the first inning after re-injuring his left ankle...The Sox also fired their long-time scouting director Duane Shaffer ...Zambrano last fanned 12 batters on April 24, 2006 against St. Louis.

06/22 19:08:36 ET