Soriano leads surging Cubs past Pirates, 7-4

His three-run homer gave Chicago an early 6-0 lead.

CHICAGO (AP) — Alfonso Soriano got booed and jeered during a slow start. Now he’s showing again that he can carry a team.

Soriano homered in his first two at-bats, Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa went deep and the surging Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 Friday for their seventh win in eight games.

Soriano connected on the first pitch from Tom Gorzelanny for his third leadoff home run in four games.

Soriano launched a three-run shot in the second inning that made it 6-0, giving him five homers this week and eight this season. He has 15 hits in his last 32 at-bats.

“That’s where I want to be,” he said. “I got a big salary. That’s why they signed me. That’s what they expect.”

Soto capped a three-run first with a solo homer, and DeRosa added one in the sixth inning. Chicago won its 10th straight overall against the Pirates, including 7-0 this year.

Sean Gallagher (1-0) earned his first major league win in his second start for Chicago. He allowed one run and four hits before pitcher Carlos Zambrano pinch-hit for him in the sixth.

After making eight relief appearances last season, the 22-year-old Gallagher was a late fill-in for Zambrano against Arizona on Sunday after rain delayed the start. Gallagher pitched well enough to earn another turn, and manager Lou Piniella said he’ll stay in the rotation for now even though Piniella would like to add a left-hander.

Kerry Wood pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 12 opportunities.

Gorzelanny (3-4), from the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, pitched poorly against the Cubs for the third time this season. He gave up a career-high four homers and seven runs in six innings after getting chased in the third inning of his previous two outings against Chicago.

And when asked what he’ll do differently the next time he faces the Cubs, Gorzelanny quickly responded: “Let’s hope I don’t face them again.”

The Pirates had won eight of 10, but they continued to struggle against Chicago.

“We just never really gave ourselves a chance against a club that’s playing good baseball and has a good team,” manager John Russell said. “It’s tough to get down that big early.”

Pittsburgh got three runs off reliever Bob Howry in the eighth, when Jason Bay hit a solo homer and Doug Mientkiewicz added a two-run shot. Otherwise, it was a one-sided game.

Soriano was hitting .175 when he hobbled onto the disabled list last month with a strained right calf. While he recovered, fans called for Piniella to drop him from the leadoff spot and questioned the Cubs’ decision to sign him to that eight-year, $136 million contract in November 2006.