Cubs finish off Braves, increase lead

Result: Cubs 11, Braves 7. The Cubs improved to 74-47, 4.5 games ahead of the Brewers, who finally lost a game -- to Jake Peavy and the Padres. St. Louis is 7.5 back.

What happened: The Cubs roughed up Tom Glavine, much to the delight of El Hijo, and overcame a near-miss bench-clearing brawl and Mark Kotsay hitting for the cycle. Repeating a recent pattern, the Cubs jumped ahead early, scoring two in the first. They went ahead 5-1 on Aramis Ramirez's three-run homer off Glavine in the third. Soriano added a two-run homer later. Ramirez left the game after scoring a run in the fifth. Kotsay lost a Geovany Soto fly ball in the high Atlanta sky, and Ramirez raced home from second. The relay throw was up the third-base line, causing Aramis to slide and land awkwardly. He laid on the dirt around home plate for a couple of long minutes before being helped up and walking off the field on his own. We'll see. Lilly didn't have his best stuff but once again benefited from unreal run support to pick up his 12th win. He drilled Yunel Escobar in the 6th and both benches emptied, but no punches were thrown, nor was anyone ejected. Good to see Lilly protecting his teammate (Soriano, whose head was thrown at Wednesday), no matter what he tells the media.

Concerns: Obviously, Ramirez's health is a potential season-changing event. The Cubs probably can't win the pennant without him. Now the word is that it may just be a hip-pointer type injury, and not the feared "oblique strain." ... Bob Howry's struggles continued, giving up a three-run bomb to Jeff Franceour, thereby letting Atlanta get back in the game. Fortunately, with Kerry Wood healthy for now, the Cubs are flush with quality relievers. Carlos Marmol came in to put out the fire, getting four outs on 11 pitches. Wood pitched a scoreless ninth.

Up next: Cubs at Florida, tonight at 6. Carlos Zambrano has been awful in August. Can he bounce back tonight? Josh Johnson goes for the Marlins, who have PWNT the Cubs in recent years, especially in Miami.