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Ward's single lifts Cubs to sweep, fifth straight win

May 7, 2007 - 12:33 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Good things came in twos for Daryle Ward.

Ward singled home the winning run with one out in the 10th inning as the Chicago Cubs completed the sweep of a three-game series with the Washington Nationals with a 4-3 victory on Sunday.

It was second clutch hit in the game for Ward, whose pinch-hit single in the ninth helped the Cubs rally from a 3-2 deficit against Nationals closer Chad Cordero.

After Ryan Theriot's RBI single in the ninth knotted the score at 3-3, Chicago went back to work in the 10th as Matt Murton ripped a line drive over the head of third baseman Ryan Zimmerman leading off.

"We really had some great at bats late in the ball game," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Both Theriot and Murton did a nice job of fighting off some tough pitches."

Zimmerman then robbed Michael Barrett of a potential game-winning hit before Henry Blanco's bloop into right field off Ryan Wagner (0-2) put runners on the corners.

With the Washington outfield drawn in for a play at the plate, Ward lofted a 2-1 pitch from Wagner over the head of left fielder Kory Casto to seal Chicago's fifth straight win.

"I saw the ball coming out of his hand and I knew it was a sinker," Ward said. "When he first let it go it looked like a good pitch to go after. I was just glad I was able to get it up over the outfielder's head."

It was just the fourth hit in 12 at-bats for Ward, who sealed the first one-run win of the season for the Cubs.

"Look, you have to be pleased by the way the team is playing," Piniella said. "We have been getting a great effort and the results have been good. Winning close games is something that we are doing now that we weren't in the past."

Closer Ryan Dempster (1-1) worked around a hit and a walk in 10th for the win, striking out Casto swinging on a 2-2 delivery.

The Cubs grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Nationals starter Shawn Hill temporary lost his control, issuing two straight one-out walks to Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez to load the bases before hitting Jacque Jones.

"I struggled a little bit with command as the game went on," Hill said. "My shoulder is still bothering me a little. I got tired and my mechanics fell apart, that caused me to have some wildness."

Despite the late struggles, the 26-year-old Hill finished with two runs, six hits and three walks in six innings. It was the fifth start in seven allowing two runs or less for the righthander.

However, Chicago could not hold on as pinch hitter Dmitri Young singled up the middle against Bob Howry in the seventh, scoring both Ronnie Belliard and Josh Wilson for a 3-2 edge.

"I went in as a pinch hitter and did my job," Young said. "I wanted the lead to hold up for Shawn Hill. Shawn really gave it all he had for this team today."

Cordero then absorbed his second blown save in his last four appearances as Washington went on to drop its fifth straight game.

"I have had some good games and some bad ones this year," Cordero said. "I went in trying to throw strikes, everything I threw just kept running away."

Called up prior to the game, starter Angel Guzman pitched well for the Cubs, allowing a run and two hits in five innings.

Retiring the first 10 batters he faced, the righthander had one bad stretch in the fourth as the Nationals sandwiched a walk with singles by Ryan Langerhans and Ryan Church to load the bases. Guzman walked Brian Schneider on six pitches to surrender his lone run.

Chicago tied the score up in the bottom half when Mark DeRosa followed a one-out double by Jones with a two-bagger of his own.

Acquired in the trade from the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday after the Atlanta Braves dealt him last Sunday, Langerhans finished with two hits and a run in three at-bats with Washington.

The 27-year-old outfielder had been hitting .059 (3-for-51) prior to Sunday.