BY TONI GINNETTI Staff
Reporter
No Cubs rookie starter in the last 15 years has won his first three decisions --
including Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.
But Sean Marshall still has a chance to do what Frank Castillo last
accomplished in 1991, though his third victory eluded him Monday night.
Instead, Bob Howry, who rescued Marshall in the eighth, earned credit for the
2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates thanks to an eighth inning Cubs rally
with two out and one more clutch RBI hit from Matt Murton.
CUBS
2
PIRATES
1
"Any time you have success in a situation, you have confidence,'' Murton
said after his RBI single scored pinch runner Jerry Hairston Jr. with the
tiebreaking run. It was Murton's 17th RBI of the season.
But the bigger hero was Marshall, who threw 91 pitches in 71/3 innings to
help the Cubs end a two-game losing streak. He gave up one hit in his first six
innings, throwing 57 pitches in that span.
"When you see a guy pitch a game like that, the last thing you want to
do is give up his runs,'' said Howry (2-0), who squashed a Pirates eighth inning
threat. "I was glad I could keep it right there.''
Ryan Dempster worked the ninth, walking one but finishing with a game-ending
double play for his seventh save. Reliever John Grabow (0-1) took the loss for
the Pirates, who are 1-13 on the road.
"I was wondering when we'd win a 2-1 game, the way things have been
going,'' manager Dusty Baker said.
A controversial umpire's decision in the seventh led to a run for the Pirates
and a 1-1 score, preventing Marshall from a chance to improve to 3-0.
But Marshall was gutsy in the eighth inning after allowing two Pirates to
reach with no outs. Marshall struck out pinch hitter Chris Duffy before Howry
got the final two outs without a run scoring.
"He pitched an outstanding game, and it's the longest he's gone,'' Baker
said of Marshall. "And he still had something left in the tank, but Bobby
was fresh. And he [Marshall] also saved our bullpen, which was huge.''
The Pirates' run came in the seventh when Jack Wilson scored one play after
the Cubs thought he should have been ruled out for running out of the basepath
from second to third. Wilson was at second and Jason Bay at first when Craig
Wilson grounded to third baseman Aramis Ramirez's left. Ramirez gloved the ball
and attempted to tag Jack Wilson, who dodged to Ramirez's left to avoid the tag.
Ramirez threw to second for the force, but Baker argued unsuccessfully with
second-base umpire Tim Welke that Jack Wilson also should have been ruled out.
Jack Wilson scored on Joe Randa's infield out on the next play.
Marshall considered the night a personal victory even without the W on his
record.
"I was throwing strikes. I threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and that
helped me expand what I'd throw next,'' he said. "It's a win in my book
even if I didn't get credit for it. We played great defense and Bobby picked me
up. It was a good night all around.''
The Cubs seemed ready to give Marshall an early cushion, but three potential
rallies fizzled, one of them when Jacque Jones ran into an unlikely double play.
It came in the fourth when Murton walked and Jones doubled, sending Murton to
third with no outs.
Michael Barrett was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but when John Mabry
followed with a sinking liner to left, Jones took off for third. He was almost
there when left fielder Jason Bay made the catch and easily doubled Jones off
second.
Murton stayed at third and never scored as Marshall struck out to end the
inning.
"When you're not scoring runs, you're always trying to find a way,''
Baker said. "Jacque knows he messed up, though it doesn't matter now.''
Hitting of late has been as much of a problem as pitching for the Cubs.
In the last nine games of April, the team hit .216 compared to .263 in the
previous nine games. In those last nine games, the team also was without Derrek
Lee and went 4-5 compared to 5-4 in the previous nine games.
