Sports

CINCINNATI (AP) ― With their two biggest investments paying off Friday night, the Chicago Cubs are back in the playoffs.

Alfonso Soriano hit another leadoff homer, Carlos Zambrano kept his cool and the Cubs clinched the NL Central with a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Thousands of Chicago fans made the five-hour road trip and cheered every move by the Cubs, who earned their first playoff spot since 2003 when Milwaukee later lost to San Diego 6-3.

Cubs players munched on plates of ribs and green beans in the clubhouse while watching -- and cheering -- the Brewers' defeat.

"This one was very important to me," said Zambrano (18-13), who lost the season opener in Cincinnati. "We started the season here. Before the game, I was thinking: Here we started, and here we finish."

The bar-laden North Side neighborhood around Wrigley Field isn't what you'd call docile even when the beloved Chicago Cubs aren't in town. But add to the mix a trip the playoffs and holy cow!

Long-suffering Cubs fans poured into the streets around the stadium Friday night after the Cubs clinched the NL Central title.

It's the first trip to the playoffs for Chicago since 2003. That was the fateful year they stood so close -- five outs to be exact -- from the World Series.

A lot of money and maneuvering led to the happy ending for the 2007 regular season.

Soriano was the centerpiece of the Cubs' $300 million offseason splurge, a big-budget solution to their last-place finish in 2006. The outfielder got an eight-year, $136 million deal that was the fifth-largest in baseball history.

Down the stretch, first-year manager Lou Piniella's team cashed in.

Since returning from a strained thigh that sidelined him for most of August, Soriano has gone on a tear unsurpassed in Cubs history. He has 13 homers in September, matching Ernie Banks' record of 50 years ago.

"I'm very proud of myself," Soriano said in the clubhouse, where the Cubs finished off plates of ribs while cheering for San Diego to beat Milwaukee. "I've never had a good September. This time, my team needed it."

The Cubs stumbled into town after getting swept in Florida, stalling their quest. Soriano got them back in high spirits by hitting the third pitch from Bronson Arroyo (9-15) into the seats in center field for his 32nd homer.

His six leadoff homers in September are the most by any major leaguer in any month -- and that's wasn't the end of it. The left fielder also threw Joey Votto out at the plate in the fourth inning, matching Hank Sauer's team record of 19 assists for the season.

From Soriano's emphatic opening homer, this one had a playoff atmosphere with all those blue-shirted Cubs fans giving the visitors a home-field advantage.

"I'm not real happy about that," interim Reds manager Pete Mackanin said. "Nobody likes letting the opposition fans raise the roof in your own ballpark. It's a little unsettling. You'd like to quiet them down and make them a little nervous."

Nothing made Zambrano sweat. Keeping his emotions in check, the right-hander allowed six hits in seven innings and strengthened his case to start the first game of the playoffs.

In June, Zambrano was the epitome of Chicago's tumultuous start. He got into a fight with former Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in the dugout and again in the clubhouse, the low point of Chicago's slide to 8 1/2 games out.

The Cubs turned themselves around and popped some corks in the city where their volcanic manager is still revered for blowing his cork and leading the Reds to a World Series championship in 1990.

Piniella had a new look on Friday -- the customary two-day stubble was gone from his face, shaved clean after that stomach-churning visit to Florida. Piniella kept his eyes on the bigger picture: That four-month comeback to win the majors' weakest division.

"We've got some nice talent here," Piniella said. "At the same time, we got into a situation where the team in front of us gave us a chance to get back in the race. We said, 'All right,' and we got after it."

Piniella's top starter had a new way about him, too.

The Cubs gave Zambrano a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension on Aug. 17 despite one glaring flaw. The 26-year-old pitcher has tended to let the big games get to him, imploding in his last three opening day starts.

Could he handle the pressure this time?

He stayed as serene as those 30 cases of Korbel California champagne stored in a room off the visitors' clubhouse. Zambrano kept his cool -- no arm thrusts after big outs, no muttering to himself between innings -- while limiting the Reds' injury-depleted lineup to one infield single over the first three innings.

"I don't think I was too excited," Zambrano said. "I was calm and made my pitches."

Zambrano could relax a little after Derrek Lee's two-run homer off Arroyo made it 4-0 in the fifth inning. Jacque Jones' two-run double, his third hit, made it 6-0 in the eighth inning.

Notes: No team had clinched a playoff spot in Cincinnati since 1999, when the Mets beat the Reds at Cinergy Field to win the NL wild card. ... The Reds are missing all three starting outfielders to injury. Ken Griffey Jr. (groin), Adam Dunn (knee) and Josh Hamilton (hamstring) combined for 89 homers and 246 RBIs. Their replacements on Friday -- Norris Hopper, Buck Coats and Jason Ellison -- had a combined one homer and 18 RBIs. ... Griffey, who played for Piniella in Seattle, poked his head into the manager's pregame session with reporters in the dugout. "You still doing this stuff?" Griffey asked incredulously.

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(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)