ESPN.com Chicago Cubs/San Francisco recap

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Friday, Apr. 27 10:05pm ET
Wood's strikeout total the most since his surgery

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Kerry Wood looked like the pitcher who was one of baseball's best three years ago.


	Kerry Wood picks up his first victory since September.

Wood struck out 14 – his highest total since elbow surgery – as the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 on Friday night.

Rondell White hit a three-run homer for the Cubs, who won their second straight following a season-high three-game losing streak.

Wood (1-1) allowed three runs and two hits in six innings, retiring his final 10 batters – eight by strikeout. It was the most strikeouts for Wood since he fanned 16 on Aug. 26, 1998, against Cincinnati.

"I had good stuff. I had four pitches working tonight," Wood said. "I had good life on my fastball and I was spotting it."

Cubs manager Don Baylor was even more effusive in his praise.

"He's an amazing athlete," Baylor said. "He had no-hit stuff that just kind of disappeared for a while. I was trying to sit on my hands, not to make a move to the bullpen."

Wood, who had reconstructive elbow surgery in April 1999, recorded his 14th career 10-plus strikeout game and set a Pacific Bell Park strikeout record. Randy Johnson and Russ Ortiz shared the previous high at 11.

"His breaking ball wasn't as sharp as it's been, but his fastball was electric when it was in the zone," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "He came up with a changeup and that makes him even more dangerous."

Jeff Kent drove in two runs and J.T. Snow hit a home run for the Giants, who lost their season-high fourth straight.

Wood survived a shaky third to gain his first win since last Sept. 27 against Philadelphia. All three of his walks and his hit batter (Barry Bonds) occurred in the inning, but he limited the damage to Kent's two-run single.

"That one inning I just kind of lost everything," Wood said. "I tried all my pitches and I couldn't get anything close. I was fortunate to get out of it with just the two runs."

Mark Gardner (0-3) allowed five runs, four hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out three as he lowered his season ERA to 9.78.

"Except for the one inning, Gardy threw well," Baker said. "We had Wood on the ropes a couple of times, but again we were one hit away."

Four of the first five batters scored for the Cubs in the first against Gardner. Eric Young led off with a ground-rule double. One out later, Sammy Sosa walked and Todd Hundley singled off Gardner's glove to drive in Young. White followed with his fourth homer.

"I like coming out here," White said. "I feel comfortable out here."

Snow's second home run of the season, which bounced off the right-field bleachers and into McCovey Cove, cut the lead to 4-1.

Matt Stairs had an RBI double in the third, and Young singled home a run in the eighth.

Bill Mueller added a home run off Tim Worrell, the player he was traded for in the offseason, to lead off the seventh.

Game notes
Giants INF Russ Davis returned to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension for a spring training altercation with Cubs RHP Julian Tavarez. ... Hundley matched his career-high nine-game hitting streak with his single in the first. ... Kent is 7-for-14 (.500) with three home runs and eight RBI career against Wood. ... White is a career .351 hitter (72-for-205) against the Giants, his best against any team. His eight home runs in San Francisco is also the most with the exception of the 41 he's hit in Montreal, where he spent parts of nine seasons. ... The Cubs' dugout emptied after a fan threw peanuts and cursed at Kyle Farnsworth, who was warming up in the bullpen along the right-field line during the top of the eighth inning.