Wood shows he's triple threat Contributes at bat, on mound, in field in victory for Cubs

Cubs 6

Expos 4

MONTREAL--Superstar pitchers aren't supposed to run first-to-third and get their jerseys dirty making headfirst slides to be safe.Neither are they advised to try stopping hard-hit hoppers back to themound with their glove-hand elbows.

Kerry Wood did both Monday night against Montreal, using everypart of his body that he could get involved in trying to end hisExpos jinx. After going 0-2 at Olympic Stadium in three games, andsaddled with an 0-3 lifetime mark against Montreal with a 8.18 ERA,Wood was prepared to do whatever it took.

Wood allowed the Expos no runs on three hits and three walks insix innings, but closer Antonio Alfonseca stole the show with a two-inning save and a two-run, ninth-inning single in the Cubs' 6-4victory over the Expos. The hit was Alfonseca's first in the majorsafter going 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts.

"It hit the base," said Alfonseca, who didn't realize the balljumped over first baseman Lee Stevens off the dirt.

"Oh, really?" Alfonsecsa replied when told that. "Well, good oneanyway. When I see the ball, I say 'Oh, I got to run.' [Pitching twoinnings] is no problem for me."

Manager Don Baylor would have been second-guessed for replacingthe cruising Carlos Zambrano with Jeff Fassero in the seventh afterFassero gave up two runs in the seventh and another run in theeighth. But Baylor defended his move and it all turned all right.

"It's time things turned our way," Wood said.

Sammy Sosa (six homers, five solo) and Fred McGriff hadconsecutive homers in the fifth, while Moises Alou made a quiet Cubsdebut--hitless in four at-bats. But pitching has superseded hittingall season for the Cubs, and that again was the case.

"They came out swinging the bat, and I didn't get too deep intotoo many counts," Wood (2-0) said. "It was pretty much fastball andcutter tonight. The breaking ball wasn't consistent, and they wereswinging if the fastball was a strike."

Wood tried to knock down consecutive grounders back to the moundin the fifth by spinning his body and seeking to deflect the ballwith his left elbow. The right-hander missed connecting with CarlPavano's bouncer, which was eventually fielded by second basemanDelino DeShields. But Peter Bergeron's hopper hit him above the leftelbow and left seam marks. It sent the ball high into the air for aninfield single. Wood was removed after throwing just 74 pitchesbecause of left arm pain.

"I was really having trouble getting that left arm up to deliverthe pitch," Wood said. "That's why they took me out. They didn't wantanything to throw off my mechanics."

Wood knows the Cubs' offense has been sparing with its productionagain this season. So after he began the third with a single offPavano, he never hesitated rounding second on Corey Patterson's one-out single to right.

As it turned out, Wood didn't score until consecutive walks toSammy Sosa and Fred McGriff forced him home. Alou grounded into adouble-play to end the bases-full threat, illustrating why Wood wasready to run as far as possible.

"Just because I'm a pitcher doesn't mean I can't go first-to-third," Wood said.

Baylor was going against a good friend and former mentor in Exposmanager Frank Robinson. Robinson was a veteran with the BaltimoreOrioles when Baylor broke into the majors with that club. Robinsoneven turned down Baylor's offer two years ago to be his bench coachin Chicago.

Asked if managing against Robinson would be special, Baylorreplied: "Yeah, if I beat him."

But he continued after that: "Yeah, it is [special]. The guy thathelped me through my entire career as a young player and things isFrank. ... I could always talk to him about the game. To manageagainst him, he probably knows I have a few of his tricks up mysleeve."