Cubs 8-7, Pirates 6-1

Cubs flip calendar, switch

Turning it around as April turns to May

By Paul Sullivan | Tribune staff reporter

9:55 PM CDT, May 2, 2007

PITTSBURGH - The Cubs finished a 4-1 trip Wednesday with a sweep of Pittsburgh in a quasi-doubleheader that took nearly 24 hours.

First they held on to beat the Pirates 8-6 to complete Tuesday night's suspended game. Then Jason Marquis shut down Pittsburgh 7-1 in the regularly scheduled game.

The Cubs returned home with a 12-14 record, starting May on the right foot after a disappointing April.

"We're starting to see some positive things," manager Lou Piniella said. "If we continue to swing the bats and start taking advantage of our opportunities, yeah, you can see it start coming together."

In the continuation of Tuesday's game, the Cubs added to a 6-5 lead and called on Ryan Dempster to slam the door. He didn't exactly do any slamming, giving up one run in 1 1/3 innings, but he gained his fifth save.

Marquis allowed one run on four hits over eight innings in the second game, improving to 4-1 and reducing his ERA to 2.09. He has won his last four starts and has thrown six or more innings in every one. It was Marquis' first start since the death of former Cardinals teammate Josh Hancock.

"Physically I feel great," Marquis said. "The tragedy that happened this past week obviously was not a good thing. Josh is in my prayers and in my thoughts. But when you step between the lines, it's almost like a safe haven. You go out there and concentrate on what you have to do."

The suspended-game victory could be the most important of the young season for the Cubs, who came in with an 0-8 record when trailing after the sixth inning. If not for a four-run seventh that gave the Cubs a 6-5 lead before a rainstorm struck, the game would have been called with the Pirates being credited with the victory.

The major-league rule book states that a weather-delayed game is to be suspended if it's an official game and "is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead."

Said Piniella: "This is the first time I've ever been involved in a format like that."

Did he like it?

"We won, so obviously I do," he replied. "No, it's very fair."

Rocky Cherry posted his first major-league victory, though he had to wait a day for it to become official. It was in stark contrast to his first outing, in which he served up a game-winning home run.

"I've given up so many home runs and been in situations that count so many times, to me it was just another outing," Cherry said of his debut.

In the regularly scheduled game, back-to-back doubles by Ryan Theriot and Derrek Lee handed the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first, and Alfonso Soriano's homer in the third gave them a 2-1 lead. It was Soriano's second homer in two games in May after zero in April.

Pirates starter Ian Snell (2-2) melted down in the fifth, walking four and allowing one run to score on a wild pitch and another when he hit Cliff Floyd near the right knee with the bases loaded. Floyd left the game as a precaution, but Piniella said he was probably OK to play Friday.

The Cubs added three more in the ninth to break it open and head back to Chicago in a positive frame of mind.

At 8-5 on the road and 4-9 at home, the Cubs are looking to be as consistent at Wrigley Field as they are elsewhere.

psullivan@tribune.com

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