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Cubs 8, Rockies 5

CHICAGO (AP) -- When he signed with the Chicago Cubs in the offseason, hometown guy Cliff Floyd envisioned joining a high-powered offense on the North Side.

The last two games at Wrigley Field were what Floyd had in mind.

Floyd hit a two-run homer and the surging Chicago Cubs held off another late Colorado rally to win their fifth straight, 8-5 over the Rockies on Tuesday.

"This is the team we all thought we'd be with in spring training," said Floyd, who is hitting .357 in his last 28 games to boost his average to .310. "I'm just happy things are looking good for us right now and I hope we continue to play good baseball."

Floyd's fourth homer sparked a three-run first inning that put Chicago on top to stay. The Cubs added four runs in the fifth, highlighted by Koyie Hill's two-run double.

"We did a lot of good things out there today," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We're starting to score more runs, we're starting to get timelier hits and we're starting to make more contact with men in scoring position."

The Rockies have dropped five straight after a torrid run starting in late May that pushed them into the NL West race.

"We've lost five in a row and it's obviously something we have to turn around," said Rockies infielder Jamey Carroll, who drove in three runs. "I'm just hoping we can figure it out as soon as we can and get back to where we had been."

A night earlier, the Cubs led Colorado 8-3 before a ninth inning bullpen collapse gave the Rockies a 9-8 lead. The Cubs won it in the bottom of the inning 10-9.

The Rockies got it going in the ninth again but couldn't come all the way back against a Cubs bullpen missing injured closer Ryan Dempster.

"We got into a position to do something and we came up short tonight," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.

Cory Sullivan made it 8-5 in the ninth with an RBI single off Carlos Marmol, who struck out Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday after allowing the first three batters to reach. Will Ohman finished it, getting Todd Helton to pop out with runners on first and second for his first career save.

"Two pitches," Ohman said. "It was about as cheap as you can get, but it still counts."

Chicago starter Ted Lilly (6-4) gave back much of Chicago's early lead, with Carroll's two-run double cutting the lead to 4-3 in the fourth. But the left-hander hung in for six innings, allowing four runs and six hits, with five and five strikeouts.

"I definitely didn't have my best stuff," Lilly said. "This was one of those games where you battle, but fortunately some of our guys made unbelievable plays."

"His curveball wasn't as sharp today as I've seen it on other days," Piniella said. "But he battles, and when he had to make some pitches, he did."

Alfonso Soriano led off the first with a single and stolen base and scored on Aramis Ramirez's double. Floyd followed with a shot to right off Rodrigo Lopez (4-1), who left in the fifth and lost for the first time in nine starts. The right-hander gave up eight runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

"Tonight he wasn't able to make the big pitch," Hurdle said.

With two outs in the fifth and Mike Fontenot on second, Lopez intentionally walked Floyd. Mark DeRosa followed with an RBI single and Hill doubled to make it 7-3. Felix Pie drove in DeRosa with a broken bat single that trickled past Tulowitzki at shortstop.

Carroll, hitting .181 with four RBIs going into the game, went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a solo home run.

Soriano doubled to lead off the third and Fontenot followed with an RBI double to deep center, as each player extended his hitting streak to nine games.

Game notes

The Cubs put Dempster on the 15-day DL with a strained left oblique and transferred RHP Wade Miller to the 60-day DL (back spasms). RHP Billy Petrick was called up from Double-A to shore up the bullpen. ... Fontenot made his first start at shortstop. He had made 15 starts at second base. ... Floyd was intentionally walked twice after his home run. ... Soriano got his 10th outfield assist -- tops in baseball -- and third in the last four games, when he threw out Tulowitzki trying to stretch a single to a double in the third inning. ... Lilly threw 114 pitches. ... Carroll started at second in the place of Kaz Matsui, who made a key error in the ninth Monday. ... Cubs RHP Kerry Wood's bullpen session was postponed because of rain. He is on the 60-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis.