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Cubs RHP Cherry gets first career win in suspended game

May 2, 2007 - 7:37 PM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Rocky Cherry earned his first major league win in a game that lasted two days.

The rookie righthander needed just two pitches to retire two batters in the sixth inning on Tuesday night and became the winning pitcher on Wednesday when the Chicago Cubs closed out an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the completion of a suspended game.

The Cubs scored four runs in the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead before the game was suspended on Tuesday due to rain.

The game was completed before Wednesday afternoon's scheduled contest.

Chicago was trailing, 5-2, when Cherry (1-1) entered Tuesday's game with two runners on base and two outs in the sixth. He promptly retired Ronny Paulino and Jose Castillo on fielder's choice grounders.

"Cherry gets his first win with two pitches," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "But you know what, they were both strikes."

"It's got to be about as easy as a win comes up here," said the 27-year-old Cherry. "I was thinking about it last night, 'Man, tomorrow (Wednesday) I may get a victory and not even have to do anything.'"

Bobby Howry pitched a scoreless seventh inning when play resumed on Wednesday.

The Cubs then scored a run in the eighth inning and another in the ninth to increase their lead to 8-5.

Jacque Jones led off the eighth inning with a double and scored from second on a two-out infield single by Matt Murton. Third baseman Jose Bautista made a backhand stab of a chopper down the line by Murton, but his throw to first was late. Jones rounded third and scored easily on the play.

Ryan Theriot doubled in the ninth and scored on a single by Derrek Lee. It was the fourth hit of the game for Lee.

Ryan Dempster yielded an RBI double to Chris Duffy in the ninth, but struck out Jason Bay with a runner on base for his fifth save.

The win was the fourth in five games for the Cubs.

"It's very fair," Piniella said of the suspended game rule. "You have a big inning like we did and it's taken away really for no reason except weather. With the rule as it is now, you just pick up the game which is what it should be. Now if the home team had hit in their bottom half of the seventh and got their three outs, that game would have been complete last night."

Pittsburgh looked like it had this game well in hand after Tony Armas pitched six strong innings, yielding just solo homers to Alfonso Soriano - his 33rd career leadoff homer - and Jones.

But Pirates lefthander John Grabow imploded in the seventh after retiring the first two hitters.

Cesar Izturis singled to right and Murton delivered a pinch-hit double to center field that plated Izturis. Jonah Bayliss (1-2), who got out of a tight spot in Monday's 3-2 triumph, entered and allowed an RBI double to Soriano. Cliff Floyd then drilled a fastball over the right field stands into the Allegheny River for his second blast of the season, giving the Cubs a 6-5 lead.

With the 451-foot blast, Floyd became the 16th different player to reach the river.

Bayliss got out of a seventh-inning bases-loaded jam on Monday, retiring Aramis Ramirez.

"To the kid's credit who was out there (Bayliss), I think a number of times already this year he's walked out there and left runners stranded," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "But it just didn't happen yesterday (Tuesday), that's all."

Ted Lilly, who had allowed as many as three runs just once in his first five starts, yielded three in the first inning. Duffy led off with a base hit to right and Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez followed with bunt singles.

After Bay struck out, Ryan Doumit walked on a close 3-2 pitch to plate the first run. Bautista then grounded into a force play, scoring Jack Wilson, and Sanchez was awarded home when shortstop Izturis' relay throw to first base in attempt to turn a double play got past first baseman Lee.

Pittsburgh tacked on a fourth run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Wilson, but a fifth run was prevented when center fielder Jones threw out Armas at home after a single by Sanchez. Ronny Paulino's second homer of the season in the third increased the bulge to 5-2.

Lilly left after 5 1/3 innings, surrendering five runs - four earned - and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. In his first five starts, the lefthander yielded just nine runs - eight earned - in 33 frames.

Armas allowed two runs and six hits through six innings. After getting pounded for 14 runs in 6 2/3 innings in losing his first two starts, Armas allowed just a run and six hits in five frames against Houston on Thursday.