Phillies rout Cubs, clinch ninth straight win

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Raul Ibanez set the tone with a three-run homer in the first inning as the Philadelphia Phillies streaked to their ninth consecutive victory, a 10-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

Carlos Ruiz added a home run and double as the Phillies retained their 6 1/2-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.

The nine-game winning streak is the club's longest since 2006.

Ibanez crushed a two-strike fastball down the middle of the plate for his 25th home run of the season. Only St. Louis's Albert Pujols has more (34).

"I felt like it was the big hit of the game," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told reporters.

Philadelphia grabbed a 5-0 lead off Ruiz's two-run homer in the second inning and made it 9-0 with four runs in the fourth. Ruiz's double accounted for the opening run in the inning.

"I was here early and taking swings in the (batting) cage and extra swings on the field, and I feel good," Ruiz said. "Not every time, but when you feel good at the plate, you can look for one pitch especially, and then you can hit."

With that kind of offense, Rodrigo Lopez (2-0) had an easy time collecting the win. The right-hander struck out five and walked three while allowing five hits and one run over six innings.

Lopez, who missed nearly two years recovering from ligament replacement surgery before returning this month, said he hoped the win would help him stay in the starting rotation even when recently signed Pedro Martinez joins the team.

"As long as I'm doing my job and everything, I think there's going to be a spot open for me," Lopez said. "I'm just going to try to work on that, be more consistent. I can't control what can happen in the future."

Philadelphia pounded Chicago starter Ted Lilly (9-7) for eight hits and nine runs in four innings. He struck out six and walked two, but gave five runs on the homers by Ibanez and Ruiz.

The Cubs, who had won four in a row, collected their only run in the fifth on Ryan Theriot's single.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina. Editing by N. Ananthanarayanan)