Cubs 5, Dodgers 4: Alfonso Soriano drove in a pair of runs and Paul Maholm tossed six strong innings as the host Cubs held off Los Angeles.

The Dodgers cut a three-run deficit to one in the eighth inning when Matt Kemp tripled in a run and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andre Ethier, but Rafael Dolis worked around one baserunner in the top of the ninth to record his second save.

The Cubs took the lead for good in the first inning on RBI singles by Starlin Castro and Soriano. A David DeJesus triple in the fourth plated another run, and Joe Mather made it a 4-1 game with a pinch-hit solo homer in the sixth. Soriano drove Castro in for the second time when he doubled in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Maholm (3-2) allowed just three hits, striking out four without a walk. The Dodgers’ lone run against him came on a home run by Jerry Hairston Jr. in the third inning. Hairston tripled off James Russell in the seventh to drive in another Los Angeles run.

Chad Billingsley (2-2) worked six innings in defeat, yielding four runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Newly acquired Bobby Abreu made his Los Angeles debut as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, striking out against Shawn Camp to end the inning with two runners on base. He stayed in the game, lining out to right for the final out in the ninth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cubs left the bases loaded in the seventh inning ... Hairston and DeJesus each fell one hit short of the cycle, with Hairston missing the double and DeJesus missing the home run.