GAME THREAD: NL: CHICAGO CUBS (43-41) at PITTSBURGH (38-47)

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: K Hill hit for M Wuertz.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, R THERIOT ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 4
PITTSBURGH 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: K Hill (.167, 1 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 6 1
PITTSBURGH 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 1 x 8 12 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - JASON MARQUIS, SEAN GALLAGHER (5TH), SCOTT EYRE (7TH), MIKE
WUERTZ (8TH) AND ROB BOWEN

PIT - PAUL MAHOLM, SHAWN CHACON (8TH), DAMASO MARTE
(9TH) AND RYAN DOUMIT

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

PIT - FREDDY SANCHEZ (2) OFF JASON MARQUIS IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
XAVIER NADY (14) OFF JASON MARQUIS IN THE 3RD, 0 ON</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 6 1
PITTSBURGH 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 1 x 8 12 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - JASON MARQUIS, SEAN GALLAGHER (5TH), SCOTT EYRE (7TH), MIKE
WUERTZ (8TH) AND ROB BOWEN

PIT - PAUL MAHOLM, SHAWN CHACON (8TH), DAMASO MARTE
(9TH) AND RYAN DOUMIT


WP - PAUL MAHOLM (5-11)
LP - JASON MARQUIS (6-5)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

PIT - FREDDY SANCHEZ (2) OFF JASON MARQUIS IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
XAVIER NADY (14) OFF JASON MARQUIS IN THE 3RD, 0 ON


TIME: 2:51 ATT: 27,868

PROBABLES: CHN - TED LILLY (7-4, 3.84)
PIT - JOHN VAN BENSCHOTEN (0-2, 4.35)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (4) VS PITTSBURGH (8) - FINAL

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .306
M Fontenot 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .360
D Lee 1b 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .332
A Ramirez 3b 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 .307
M DeRosa rf 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .286
A Pagan cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .275
R Theriot ss 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .271
R Bowen c 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .220
J Marquis p 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .154
S Gallagher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-C Izturis ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .242
S Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Wuertz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-K Hill ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .164

Totals 28 4 6 3 4 5 9

a-struck out swinging for S Gallagher in the 7th; b-lined out to shortstop for
M Wuertz in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - A Pagan (6, P Maholm); R Bowen (9, P Maholm). S - J Marquis. SF -
M DeRosa , A Ramirez , A Soriano. RBI - A Soriano (32), A Ramirez (51), M
DeRosa (47). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Pagan 1. GIDP - R
Bowen. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: CS - A Pagan (1, 3rd base by P Maholm).

FIELDING: E - M Fontenot (6, ground ball). DP: 1 (S Eyre-R Theriot-D Lee).


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N McLouth cf 4 1 1 0 1 0 2 .239
F Sanchez 2b 4 2 2 2 1 0 2 .297
A LaRoche 1b 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 .238
D Marte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
X Nady rf 4 3 3 2 1 0 0 .292
R Doumit c 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 .307
J Bay lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 6 .253
J Bautista 3b 4 0 2 1 0 1 2 .261
J Wilson ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .262
P Maholm p 3 0 1 2 0 1 1 .156
S Chacon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
J Phelps 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429

Totals 35 8 12 8 5 6 18

BATTING: 2B - R Doumit (16, J Marquis); J Bautista (22, J Marquis); X Nady (15,
S Gallagher); N McLouth (8, M Wuertz); F Sanchez (19, M Wuertz). HR - F Sanchez
(2, 3rd inning off J Marquis 0 on, 0 Out), X Nady (14, 3rd inning off J Marquis
0 on, 1 Out). S - P Maholm. RBI - P Maholm 2 (4), F Sanchez 2 (32), X Nady 2
(49), R Doumit (21), J Bautista (32). 2-out RBI - P Maholm 2, J Bautista, X
Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Doumit 1, J Wilson 1, F
Sanchez 1, N McLouth 1, J Bay 2. GIDP - P Maholm. Team LOB - 9.

FIELDING: E - J Bautista (10, ground ball). DP: 2 (J Wilson-A LaRoche, J
Wilson-F Sanchez).


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 002 000 020 -- 4
PITTSBURGH - 022 021 01x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Marquis (L, 6-5) 4 2/3 8 6 6 3 3 2 3.67
S Gallagher 1 1/3 1 1 0 2 1 0 7.71
S Eyre 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.60
M Wuertz 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.40

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
P Maholm (W, 5-11) 7 5 4 4 3 5 0 4.76
S Chacon 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.70
D Marte 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.71

P Maholm pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

WP - P Maholm. Pitches-strikes: J Marquis 89-51; S Gallagher 30-19; S Eyre
9-6; M Wuertz 18-13; P Maholm 109-70; S Chacon 16-11; D Marte 14-9. Ground
balls-fly balls: J Marquis 4-7; S Gallagher 1-2; S Eyre 2-1; M Wuertz 1-0; P
Maholm 14-2; S Chacon 0-3; D Marte 1-1. Batters faced: J Marquis 25; S
Gallagher 8; S Eyre 3; M Wuertz 5; P Maholm 29; S Chacon 4; D Marte 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Ron Kulpa. 2B--Adrian Johnson. 3B--Dan Iassogna.

T--2:51. Att--27,868.
Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, out
to left.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
CHICAGO CUBS 4
PITTSBURGH 8 FINAL</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (4) AT PITTSBURGH (8) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PITTSBURGH 2ND: X Nady singled to center. R Doumit singled to center,
X Nady to second. J Bay struck out swinging. J Bautista flied out to center.
J Wilson walked, X Nady to third, R Doumit to second. P Maholm singled to
center, X Nady and R Doumit scored, J Wilson to third. N McLouth grounded out
to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, PITTSBURGH 2.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: R Bowen doubled to deep left center. J Marquis
sacrificed into fielder's choice to pitcher, R Bowen to third. A Soriano hit
sacrifice fly to center, R Bowen scored, J Marquis to second. M Fontenot
grounded out to first, J Marquis to third. J Marquis scored on P Maholm's wild
pitch. D Lee walked. A Ramirez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
D Lee out at second. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: F Sanchez homered to left. A LaRoche flied out to center.
X Nady homered to left center. R Doumit flied out to left. J Bay flied out to
right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 4.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: A LaRoche struck out looking. X Nady walked. R Doumit
doubled to left, X Nady scored. J Bay popped out to shortstop. J Bautista
doubled to deep center, R Doumit scored. S Gallagher relieved J Marquis.
J Wilson flied out to left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
PITTSBURGH 6.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: P Maholm struck out swinging. N McLouth lined out to
first. F Sanchez walked. A LaRoche safe at first on error by second baseman
M Fontenot, F Sanchez to second. X Nady doubled to left, F Sanchez scored,
A LaRoche to third. R Doumit walked. J Bay grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, R Doumit out at second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
PITTSBURGH 7.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: A Soriano singled to center. M Fontenot singled to
center, A Soriano to second. S Chacon relieved P Maholm. D Lee walked,
A Soriano to third, M Fontenot to second. A Ramirez hit sacrifice fly to left,
A Soriano scored, M Fontenot to third. M DeRosa hit sacrifice fly to left,
M Fontenot scored. A Pagan lined out to right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, PITTSBURGH 7.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: M Wuertz relieved S Eyre. N McLouth hit a ground rule
double to deep left center. F Sanchez doubled to left, N McLouth scored.
A LaRoche struck out swinging. X Nady grounded out to third, F Sanchez to third.
R Doumit struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4,
PITTSBURGH 8.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (4) AT PITTSBURGH (8) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicago Cubs Starting Lineups -- A Soriano LF, M Fontenot 2B, D Lee 1B,
A Ramirez 3B, M DeRosa RF, A Pagan CF, R Theriot SS, R Bowen C, J Marquis RHP.

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- N McLouth CF, F Sanchez 2B, A LaRoche 1B, X Nady RF,
R Doumit C, J Bay LF, J Bautista 3B, J Wilson SS, P Maholm LHP.

Umpires -- Wally Bell (HP), Ron Kulpa (1B), Adrian Johnson (2B), Dan Iassogna (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind out to left at 10 mph.


CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano grounded out to shortstop. M Fontenot grounded
out to pitcher. D Lee grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 1ST: N McLouth flied out to left. F Sanchez lined out to left.
A LaRoche grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0,
PITTSBURGH 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: A Ramirez grounded out to shortstop. M DeRosa struck out
looking. A Pagan doubled to deep left center. R Theriot walked. A Pagan
caught stealing third, pitcher to third.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, PITTSBURGH 0.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: X Nady singled to center. R Doumit singled to center,
X Nady to second. J Bay struck out swinging. J Bautista flied out to center.
J Wilson walked, X Nady to third, R Doumit to second. P Maholm singled to
center, X Nady and R Doumit scored, J Wilson to third. N McLouth grounded out
to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, PITTSBURGH 2.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: R Bowen doubled to deep left center. J Marquis
sacrificed into fielder's choice to pitcher, R Bowen to third. A Soriano hit
sacrifice fly to center, R Bowen scored, J Marquis to second. M Fontenot
grounded out to first, J Marquis to third. J Marquis scored on P Maholm's wild
pitch. D Lee walked. A Ramirez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
D Lee out at second. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 2.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: F Sanchez homered to left. A LaRoche flied out to center.
X Nady homered to left center. R Doumit flied out to left. J Bay flied out to
right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: M DeRosa grounded out to shortstop. A Pagan struck out
looking. R Theriot struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 4.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: J Bautista struck out swinging. J Wilson singled to
shallow left center. P Maholm sacrificed to first, J Wilson to second.
N McLouth walked. F Sanchez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
N McLouth out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: R Bowen flied out to right. J Marquis grounded out to
second. A Soriano grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 4.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: A LaRoche struck out looking. X Nady walked. R Doumit
doubled to left, X Nady scored. J Bay popped out to shortstop. J Bautista
doubled to deep center, R Doumit scored. S Gallagher relieved J Marquis.
J Wilson flied out to left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
PITTSBURGH 6.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: M Fontenot struck out looking. D Lee grounded out to
shortstop. A Ramirez walked. M DeRosa singled to center, A Ramirez to second.
A Pagan grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
PITTSBURGH 6.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: P Maholm struck out swinging. N McLouth lined out to
first. F Sanchez walked. A LaRoche safe at first on error by second baseman
M Fontenot, F Sanchez to second. X Nady doubled to left, F Sanchez scored,
A LaRoche to third. R Doumit walked. J Bay grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, R Doumit out at second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
PITTSBURGH 7.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: R Theriot safe at first on error by third baseman
J Bautista. R Bowen grounded into double play, shortstop to first, R Theriot out
at second. C Izturis hit for S Gallagher. C Izturis struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 7.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: S Eyre relieved S Gallagher. J Bautista singled to center.
J Wilson flied out to left. P Maholm grounded into double play, pitcher to
shortstop to first, J Bautista out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 7.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: A Soriano singled to center. M Fontenot singled to
center, A Soriano to second. S Chacon relieved P Maholm. D Lee walked,
A Soriano to third, M Fontenot to second. A Ramirez hit sacrifice fly to left,
A Soriano scored, M Fontenot to third. M DeRosa hit sacrifice fly to left,
M Fontenot scored. A Pagan lined out to right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, PITTSBURGH 7.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: M Wuertz relieved S Eyre. N McLouth hit a ground rule
double to deep left center. F Sanchez doubled to left, N McLouth scored.
A LaRoche struck out swinging. X Nady grounded out to third, F Sanchez to third.
R Doumit struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4,
PITTSBURGH 8.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH: D Marte relieved S Chacon. J Phelps at first base.
R Theriot singled to center. R Theriot to second on fielder's indifference.
R Bowen grounded out to shortstop. K Hill hit for M Wuertz. K Hill lined into
double play, shortstop to second, R Theriot doubled off second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, PITTSBURGH 8.</div>

 

Nady powers Pirates over Cubs

<h3>PITTSBURGH 8, CHICAGO CUBS 4</h3>PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Xavier Nady reached base four times andPaul Maholm tossed seven-plus innings to lead the PittsburghPirates to their fourth consecutive win, 8-4 over the ChicagoCubs on Friday night.

Nady, who finished a triple short of the cycle, drove in tworuns and scored three as the Pirates won for the eighth time in11 games.

The hot hitting was nothing new for Nady, who over the past 13games is hitting .377 with three homers, five doubles, seven RBIand 11 runs.

Maholm (5-11) surrendered four runs on five hits with fivestrikeouts. It was the fifth consecutive start that he haslasted at least seven innings. Not coincidentally, three of hisfive wins have come in those five starts.

Maholm also did it with the bat, knocking a two-out two-runsingle to center field in the second inning to give the Piratesa 2-0 lead.

Nady and Ryan Doumit led off the inning with back-to-backsingles off Chicago starter Jason Marquis (6-5). Jack Wilsondrew a two-out walk to load the bases for Maholm, who deliveredwith his fifth hit of the season, doubling his RBI total on thecampaign to four.

Maholm, however, had a direct hand in the Cubs tying the scorein the next half-inning. The Cubs' No. 8 hitter, Rob Bowen, ledoff with a double, snapping an 0-for-22 slump, and Marquisattempted to sacrifice Bowen to third.

After fielding the bunt, Maholm attempted to make an out atthird but the throw was too late, putting runners at thecorners.

Alfonso Soriano followed with a sacrifice fly to center field,scoring Bowen and advancing Marquis to second base. Marquisadvanced to third on Mike Fontenot's groundout and scored whenMaholm uncorked a wild pitch to Derrek Lee to make it 2-2.

The Pirates took the lead for good in the next inning whenNational League All-Star Freddy Sanchez homered into the firstrow of seats in left field - his second blast of the year.

One batter later, Nady blasted his team-leading 14th home run tothe deepest part of PNC Park in left-center field to again givethe Pirates a two-run cushion.

Nady was at the heart of another rally in the fifth when he drewa one-out walk and scored on Doumit's double. Doumit scored onJose Bautista's double to make it 6-2.

That hit chased Marquis, who went 4 2/3 innings, giving up sixruns on eight hits. It was just the second time in 18 startsthis season that Marquis failed to go at least five innings.

It didn't matter who was pitching when Nady was at the plate. Hestruck again in the sixth with a double off Cubs reliever SeanGallagher that scored Sanchez, who had drawn a one-out walk. Itgave Nady 49 RBI for the season.

Sanchez reached base four times, had two RBI and scored twice.The Cubs pulled closer in the eighth when Soriano and Fontenotled off with back-to-back singles, chasing Maholm.

Shawn Chacon came on in relief and walked Lee to load the bases.Ex-Pirate Aramis Ramirez and Mark DeRosa each delivered asacrifice fly to make it 7-4.

 

Nady powers Pirates over Cubs

<h3>PITTSBURGH 8, CHICAGO CUBS 4</h3>PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Xavier Nady reached base four times andPaul Maholm tossed seven-plus innings to lead the PittsburghPirates to their fourth consecutive win, 8-4 over the ChicagoCubs on Friday night.

Nady, who finished a triple short of the cycle, drove in tworuns and scored three as the Pirates won for the eighth time in11 games.

The hot hitting was nothing new for Nady, who over the past 13games is hitting .377 with three homers, five doubles, seven RBIand 11 runs.

"I'm not really worried about how I'm doing," Nady said. "Towin and to play in October is everyone's goal in here. At theend of the year, everyone's going to have their own individualstats. "It's encouraging to see the way we've been playing andthe way guys have been swinging the bats and hopefully we'llcontinue to improve."

Maholm (5-11) surrendered four runs on five hits with fivestrikeouts. It was the fifth consecutive start that he haslasted at least seven innings. Not coincidentally, three of hisfive wins have come in those five starts.

"The consistency between starts has been good (lately) and Ithink that's the main key," Maholm said. "I've been aggressive,getting ahead of hitters and letting them beat it into theground. And hopefully I can continue that and pick it up in thesecond half and help the team get on a roll."

Maholm also did it with the bat, knocking a two-out two-runsingle to center field in the second inning to give the Piratesa 2-0 lead.

Nady and Ryan Doumit led off the inning with back-to-backsingles off Chicago starter Jason Marquis (6-5). Jack Wilsondrew a two-out walk to load the bases for Maholm, who deliveredwith his fifth hit of the season, doubling his RBI total on thecampaign to four.

"You swing and hope you get lucky," Maholm said. "You don'twant to be an automatic out but you're not expected to get awhole lot of hits. But you see a fastball and you swing andhopefully you put it in the right spot."

Maholm, however, had a direct hand in the Cubs tying the scorein the next half-inning. The Cubs' No. 8 hitter, Rob Bowen, ledoff with a double, snapping an 0-for-22 slump, and Marquisattempted to sacrifice Bowen to third.

After fielding the bunt, Maholm attempted to make an out atthird but the throw was too late, putting runners at thecorners.

Alfonso Soriano followed with a sacrifice fly to center field,scoring Bowen and advancing Marquis to second base. Marquisadvanced to third on Mike Fontenot's groundout and scored whenMaholm uncorked a wild pitch to Derrek Lee to make it 2-2.

"I kind of felt like I gave them two runs back when I needed togo out there and put up a zero," Maholm said.

The Pirates took the lead for good in the next inning whenNational League All-Star Freddy Sanchez homered into the firstrow of seats in left field - his second blast of the year.

One batter later, Nady blasted his team-leading 14th home run tothe deepest part of PNC Park in left-center field to again givethe Pirates a two-run cushion.

"Over the last few days, balls are being driven, we're hittinghome runs, we're taking great at-bats and we're giving ourselvesa very good chance to hit a ball hard because of the approachthat we're taking at the plate," Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracysaid. "It all adds up and as a result of that, one hand feedsthe other."

Nady was at the heart of another rally in the fifth when he drewa one-out walk and scored on Doumit's double. Doumit scored onJose Bautista's double to make it 6-2.

That hit chased Marquis, who went 4 2/3 innings, giving up sixruns on eight hits. It was just the second time in 18 startsthis season that Marquis failed to go at least five innings.

"I just wasn't making pitches when I needed to," Marquis said."I felt like I was getting ahead of hitters pretty decenttonight and I was just giving them too many good pitches to hitin the middle of the plate. I didn't make the adjustment like Iwanted to and put my team in a hole and obviously it didn'tturn out for the good."

"He was up with the ball today, he didn't have real good sink,"Chicago manager Lou Piniella said of Marquis. "Usually when hehas good sink, he gets some hard ground balls. He wasn't doingthat today."

It didn't matter who was pitching when Nady was at the plate. Hestruck again in the sixth with a double off Cubs reliever SeanGallagher that scored Sanchez, who had drawn a one-out walk. Itgave Nady 49 RBI for the season.

"What else could you ask of him at this point?" Tracy said.

Sanchez reached base four times, had two RBI and scored twice.The Cubs pulled closer in the eighth when Soriano and Fontenotled off with back-to-back singles, chasing Maholm.

Shawn Chacon came on in relief and walked Lee to load the bases.Ex-Pirate Aramis Ramirez and Mark DeRosa each delivered asacrifice fly to make it 7-4.