Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Geovany Soto and Starlin Castro drove in two runs each, and Alfonso Soriano added a late two-run homer to surpass 800 career RBI, as the Cubs defeated Arizona, 9-4, to kick off a three-game set at Chase Field.
Kosuke Fukudome also homered and finished 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and runs scored for Chicago, which has won two of the last three games.
Tom Gorzelanny (3-5) got the win for lasting five innings and permitting three runs on five hits.
Arizona's Ian Kennedy (3-7) saw his losing streak extended to four consecutive starts after surrendering nine hits and seven runs over 5 2/3 frames. Kelly Johnson knocked in two in the loss.
The club has now dropped three in a row after winning in Kirk Gibson's managerial debut last Friday. The D'Backs cleared house with the firing of manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes a day earlier.
Fukudome set the tone with a home run to lead off the game, his seventh of the year, and Adam LaRoche struck out with the bases loaded to end the bottom of the first.
The Cubs tacked on three more runs in the second. Xavier Nady and Aramis Ramirez began the frame with back-to-back singles, and Castro tripled to make it 3-0. Soto then doubled in Castro.
The D'Backs loaded the bases with nobody out in the third, but managed only Miguel Montero's sacrifice fly. Mark Reynolds grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
LaRoche came back with a leadoff homer to right in the fourth, but Chicago got the run back an inning later as Marlon Byrd hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice with runners at the corners.
Chris Young started the Arizona fifth with a base hit and scored on Johnson's triple, but LaRoche ended the inning with a groundout with two aboard.
The Cubs extended their lead in the sixth on Soto's run-scoring double and a pinch-hit RBI single from Mike Fontenot.
Arizona again loaded the bases in its sixth-inning at-bat with two walks and a single against Andrew Cashner. James Russell came on and yielded a sacrifice fly to Johnson, and Justin Berg got Justin Upton looking at strike three to end the frame.
The hosts couldn't get a runner past first base the rest of the way and Soriano launched a pinch-hit, two-run blast to left-center in the ninth to help assure the outcome.
Soriano now has 801 career RBI. It was his 14th home of the season...LaRoche now has 13 homers on the year...Berg was recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to the game as Chicago optioned pitcher Jeff Stevens back to Iowa...Soto ended 3- for-4, while Young collected two hits, scored twice and stole his 15th and 16th bases of the seasons for the Diamondbacks...Gorzelanny walked a season- high six batters and struck out four...Kennedy did not walk a batter after issuing a career-high nine his last time out. He fanned six in the loss...Arizona left nine men on base.