MIAMI – Panic, Cubs fans.

The Cubs’ grip on the NL Central lead became shaky Wednesday night, when they were shut out over the final 5 2-3 innings and lost for the second night in a row to the last-place Florida Marlins, 7-4.

Chicago began the night with a two-game lead over second-place Milwaukee, which played St. Louis. The Cubs’ magic number for clinching the division remained at four with four games left in the regular season.

A two-out RBI single in the fifth inning by backup catcher Matt Treanor put the Marlins ahead to stay. Miguel Cabrera added a two-run homer, his 34th.

In the wake of the Cubs’ loss Tuesday, players patiently endured a fresh round of questions about the franchise’s history of collapses. Then they failed to build on an early lead against rookie Daniel Barone, who remained winless in six starts but left with the score 4-all.

The series is reminiscent of 2003, when Florida rallied from a three-games-to-one deficit and beat the Cubs in the NL championship series. One difference: The 2007 Marlins began the night tied with Pittsburgh for the league’s worst record.

Florida beat Chicago for the ninth game in a row over the past two seasons. That tied for the longest active streak between two major league teams.

The announced crowd was 19,051, with at least two-thirds cheering for the Cubs. They were mostly quietly in the late innings because seven Florida relievers combined for 5 1-3 scoreless innings.

Matt Lindstrom (4-4) pitched a perfect seventh. With closer Kevin Gregg nursing a sore forearm, Lee Gardner finished for his second save in two chances.

Jason Marquis (12-9) lost for the first time since Aug. 26. He allowed five runs, four earned, in five innings.

Jacque Jones drove in three runs with a single and a sacrifice fly for the Cubs, who came from behind twice before their offense stalled. Mark DeRosa hit a double and triple and scored twice, and Derrek Lee hit his 21st homer.

The Marlins’ Jeremy Hermida improved to 5-for-8 in the series. He hit a two-run single in the first, and after he doubled leading off the seventh, Cabrera homered off Carlos Marmol for a 7-4 lead.

For the second night in a row, breaks went against Chicago. Hermida’s run-scoring single landed barely fair, and just before Lee’s homer, the Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano was doubled off first on a close call they disputed. DeRosa and pinch hitter Matt Murton flied out to the warning track with runners on.

The Cubs also hurt themselves: A throwing error by second baseman DeRosa led to an unearned run in the second, when the Marlins scored three times.

Marquis retired the first two batters in the fifth before Florida broke a 4-all tie. Todd Linden doubled, and after Cubs manager Lou Piniella paid a visit to the mound, Marquis gave up an RBI single to Treanor.

Florida scored in the first when Hanley Ramirez led off with a single, stole second and came home on Cabrera’s single. Chicago took the lead in the second with a walk, a double by DeRosa and a two-run single by Jones.

Notes: Barone has an ERA of 8.53 in six starts, and his ERA in 10 games as a reliever is 1.15. … Soriano threw out Hermida and Treanor trying to stretch run-scoring hits to left into doubles.

AP-ES-09-26-07 2205EDT