CHICAGO – Dan Uggla homered twice, and Miguel Cabrera and Josh Willingham went deep to lead Florida to a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, but Marlins starter Sergio Mitre left early with a hamstring injury.

Uggla and Cabrera hit solo shots in the first inning, and Uggla added a two-run drive in the seventh off Cubs starter Ted Lilly. Willingham added a two-run homer off Angel Guzman in the eighth, but the good vibe of a three-game sweep was tempered by Mitre’s hamstring injury.

The Marlins built a 3-0 lead, and Mitre had seven strikeouts and a walk. But instead of leaving with his third victory, he hobbled off the field with a cramp in his right hamstring after running out a sacrifice bunt in the fifth.

Randy Messenger (1-1) came on in the bottom of the fifth and pitched two scoreless innings for the win. The Cubs managed only five hits against five Florida pitchers.

The frustration continued to mount for the Cubs, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games and fell a season-high seven games below .500 at 22-29. This one came day after a 9-4 loss that manager Lou Piniella said “might be our worst game of the year.”

This one wasn’t that bad, but it came on a day when the players held a lengthy pre-game meeting and Piniella and team executives had one of their own. Cubs fans repeatedly let their team hear it, too.

Uggla and Cabrera sent shots out to left in the first to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead, and Florida added a run in the second when Aaron Boone, who had doubled, scored from third on a wild pitch.

Uggla made it 6-0 in the seventh with his second homer of the game and team-leading 11th of the year.

Lilly (4-3) allowed six runs – five earned – and seven hits in seven innings.

It was a convincing win – a convincing series – for the Marlins. But they couldn’t feel too good after seeing Mitre leave the field.

A former Cub, Mitre seems to be on his way to having a breakout season, but he can’t escape injuries.

He spent most of last season on the disabled list with a shoulder problem and was on the 15-day disabled list this season with a blister on his right middle finger.

After Lilly hit Boone leading off the fifth, Mitre laid down a bunt. Lilly bobbled the ball before rushing an errant throw toward first, putting runners on first and third. Wes Obermueller came in to run for Mitre.

Notes: Uggla has three multi-homer games this season. … The Marlins had never swept a series of three or more games in Chicago until this one.

AP-ES-05-30-07 2248EDT