Singles Night a Hit in Arizona

Arizona had a club-record seven consecutive hits in a seven-run second inning Wednesday night as the Diamondbacks pounded Kevin Tapani and the Chicago Cubs, 13-3.

The Diamondbacks also set a franchise record with 17 singles in the game and had 19 hits overall. Luis Gonzalez, Jay Bell and Danny Bautista each had three hits.

Gonzalez, who raised his batting average to .355, drove in three runs with a double and two singles. Seven players had at least one run batted in for Arizona.

Sammy Sosa had a run-scoring double and Rondell White extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games with a run-producing single for the Cubs.

Nick Bierbrodt (1-0) got the victory in his second major league start.

The 23-year-old left-hander from Long Beach Millikan High, the first player ever selected by the Diamondbacks in the amateur draft, gave up three runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out six--five in the first two innings--and walked two.

In his big-league debut last Thursday, Bierbrodt lasted only two innings, giving up six runs, five hits and three walks.

Tapani (8-2) was pounded for eight runs and 10 hits in two innings after giving up only five earned runs in his previous four starts. The Diamondbacks tied a club record with eight singles in the second inning.