MLB

• Cubs aim to continue Giants' home woes

  
  

  (Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs will try to string together back-to-back road wins for the first time in more than two weeks tonight, when they resume a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

  The Cubs had lost four straight overall and six in a row as the guest before handing the Giants a 9-2 setback in Monday's series opener. Mark DeRosa was a huge lift for the NL Central-leading Cubs last night, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a two-run homer.

  Matt Murton had two doubles and two RBI for the Cubs, who haven't won consecutive games as the visitor since taking two straight from Toronto at Rogers Centre from June 14-15. Kosuke Fukudome had the other Chicago RBI, while starter Ted Lilly got the win with eight-plus strong innings. Lilly allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.

  Chicago, which is 2 1/2 games ahead of St. Louis in the Central standings, is 1-3 so far on a 10-game road trip and 17-23 away from Wrigley Field this season.

  The club was without third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Monday, as the slugger is expected to miss the first three games of this series to be with his pregnant wife in the Dominican Republic.

  Jason Marquis will try to run his unbeaten mark against San Francisco to 4-0 when he toes the rubber on Tuesday.

  Marquis is 3-0 with a 2.56 earned run average through five career games (4 starts) against the Giants, and he's 3-1 in seven road starts this season.

  Marquis had won four straight starts and was 5-0 in a string of seven trips to the mound before Thursday's outing versus Baltimore. In an 11-4 loss to the Orioles at Wrigley Field, Marquis allowed seven runs and seven hits in four innings of work.

  The right-hander is 6-4 with a 4.96 ERA in 15 overall starts this season.

  San Francisco had a two-game winning streak halted on Monday, in which Rich Aurilia ended 2-for-4 and drove in both Giant runs.

  Struggling starter Barry Zito took the loss for San Francisco after he was reached for five runs -- four earned -- on six hits with six strikeouts and five walks in five innings of work.

  The Giants are 0-1 on a seven-game homestand and a lowly 14-25 at AT&T Park this season.

  Matt Cain will try to get San Francisco back on track when he toes the rubber this evening against the Cubs.

  Cain has alternated wins and losses over his last nine decisions, but suffered the loss on Thursday at Cleveland. He allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings of a 4-1 loss.

  The big righty, who is 2-3 in eight home starts this season, owns a 3-2 record with a 4.09 earned run average in five career appearances against the Cubs.

  Chicago and San Francisco are meeting for the first time since the Cubs won five of seven matchups with the Giants a year ago. The Cubs won two of three games as the visitor in this series from August 21-23, 2007.

  07/01 11:40:10 ET