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Lilly, Lee lift Cubs over surging Brewers

Apr 26, 2007 - 1:40 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Ted Lilly finally received some run support from Derrek Lee and the rest of the Chicago Cubs.

Lilly pitched seven strong innings and Lee had a season-high four hits on a chilly afternoon at Wrigley Field to lead the Cubs to a 9-3 triumph over the Milwaukee Brewers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Signed to a four-year, $40 million contract in the offseason, Lilly had lost each of his previous two starts despite allowing just three runs in 13 innings over that span.

"There was no way I could go out there thinking every pitcher we faced was going to have the game of his life against our lineup," Lilly said. "I just knew it wasn't going continue very long."

But Lilly (2-2) got plenty of offensive help Wednesday from the Cubs, who pounded out 16 hits. The lefthander yielded two runs - one earned - and six hits with no walks and three strikeouts to win for the first time since April 4.

"I am being a little more consistent with my delivery," Lilly said. "It is making it easier for me to throw strikes and I am trying to stay committed to every pitch I throw."

Lilly had a much better day than Brewers starter Ben Sheets, who lasted just three innings before leaving the game with a strained right groin. The righthander appeared to suffer the injury at the end of the third, walking gingerly off the field after inducing Lee to ground into an inning-ending forceout.

"I didn't feel the pain grab me on the pitch," Sheets said. "It seemed to grab me after I threw the ball and turned to see what happened on the ground ball."

Sheets, who has battled an assortment of injuries since the beginning of the 2005 campaign, yielded four hits and no walks with one strikeout.

"I wasn't out there dominating Sheets said. "I was keeping the ball down though and putting up zeros, which is what you want to do on a day like this."

With the hard-throwing Sheets out of the ballgame, the Cubs pounced on reliever Elmer Dessens (1-1), scoring five unearned runs off the righthander in the fourth.

"I feel bad for the bullpen having to (pick) up six innings after I came out," Sheets said. "Having to warm up quickly, like Elmer had to do on a day like this is tough."

Aramis Ramirez opened the frame with a walk and advanced to second when Milwaukee shortstop J.J. Hardy misplayed Jacque Jones' grounder. Mark DeRosa ripped an RBI single to make it 1-0 and rookie Felix Pie followed with a bloop hit to load the bases with one out.

After Lilly struck out, Ryan Theriot prolonged the inning by reaching out and slapping a two-run single to right field. Cliff Floyd capped the outburst with a two-run double down the right-field line.

"That inning was definitely important," Floyd said. "It is tough to play at home when you aren't playing well, dinner will taste good tonight and hopefully we can keep it going on the road."

Milwaukee drew within 5-2 in the fifth on an RBI hit by Tony Graffanino and a run-scoring groundout by Tony Gwynn.

But Chicago answered in the bottom of the frame when Lee crushed his first home run of the season, a long solo shot over the wall in left field. The slugging first baseman had gone 81 at-bats without a homer.

"It was good to hit one and get that zero off my total," said Lee, who got the silent treatment from his teammates upon his return to the dugout. "They had been razzing me pretty bad about not hitting one. This is how they finished off the joke, I thought it was pretty funny."

The Cubs added insurance runs in the seventh when Michael Barrett lined a single to plate Floyd and Lee, pushing the lead to 8-2.

Floyd had a season-high four hits while Theriot, Barrett and Pie each had two for Chicago, which snapped a three-game skid and concluded a 2-4 homestand. The Cubs improved to just 4-9 this season at Wrigley Field.

"It was a long homestand and we needed to finish it on a winning note," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Our bats came alive today, we got hits with runners in scoring position."

Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks blasted a solo homer in the eighth, his fifth of the season. Prince Fielder and Johnny Estrada both had two hits for the Brewers.

"We hit a lot of balls on the nose today," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "If the wind wasn't blowing straight in the score would have been different."

The start of the game was delayed 71 minutes due to inclement weather.