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Brewers' slide continues as Cubs rally in seventh

Aug 29, 2007 - 4:46 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Jeff Suppan did everything he could to end his 11-start winless streak. Scott Linebrink did nothing to halt the drought.

Linebrink was tagged for three runs in the seventh inning in relief of Suppan as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 5-3 victory over the struggling Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a crucial three-game series on Tuesday.

Winless since defeating the Kansas City Royals on June 22, Suppan carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh before hitting leadoff batter Cliff Floyd with a pitch. Milwaukee manager Ned Yost then elected to remove Suppan, who had thrown 56-of-82 pitches for strikes.

Yost called upon Linebrink (4-6), who provided anything but relief. Mark DeRosa greeted the righthander with an infield single and Jacque Jones followed with a two-run double to center field, tying the game at 3-3.

"It's great when you can pick everybody up," said Jones, who went 2-for-4. "Guys are limping and hurting out there and battling."

Jason Kendall flied out and, after an intentional walk to pinch hitter Daryle Ward, Jones advanced to third on a fly ball by Alfonso Soriano. With the chance to avoid further damage, Linebrink then made a miscue that ultimately cost the Brewers the game.

Ryan Theriot hit a chopper back toward the mound. Instead of waiting for the ball to come down, Linebrink elected to jump up, and the ball bounced off his glove for an error, allowing Jones to score the go-ahead run.

"It was a tricky play and the ball hung up longer than I thought it would," Linebrink said. "The play was going to be bang-bang, and I rushed things too much."

Derrek Lee followed with a single to left, plating pinch runner Felix Pie and giving the Cubs a 5-3 advantage.

"That is one of the best games Suppan has pitched in a long time," Yost said. "Supp got us a 3-1 lead, but things went the way they have for us of late. We just couldn't hold it."

Seth McClung came on to get the final out of the inning, but it was too little, too late for Milwaukee (65-66), which fell 2 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago (67-63) in the National League Central Division.

"The time for us is now," Linebrink said. "There is only a month left in the season and we have to go to work. This is a big series for us and we still have a chance to win it."

The rally was enough for Rich Hill (8-7), who allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings. The 27-year-old lefthander also hit a batter but struck out nine without issuing a walk.

"I felt like I was throwing the ball well," Hill said. "The guys came back and helped me win the game."

Bobby Howry tossed a scoreless eighth, getting pinch hitter Gabe Gross on a popout with runners on first and second to escape unscathed. Ryan Dempster struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 22nd save.

"The 12-pitch at-bat by Gross was a huge out for Bobby," Dempster said. "Everybody did their job. It was a nice victory for us."

Suppan worked six-plus effective innings, allowing two runs and six hits with four strikeouts. The veteran righthander is just 1-6 in his last 16 outings.

"The Cubs have a strong offense, so I just kept trying to change speeds," Suppan said. "I tried to stay out of big innings and stick with the game plan. That's how things pretty much turned out."

Hill helped his own cause with an RBI single for Chicago, which celebrated manager Lou Piniella's 64th birthday by winning for just the second time in five games.

"This is an important series for us," Piniella said. "If you win the first game, you put yourself in good position."

J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 and scored twice and Corey Hart drove in all three runs for the Brewers, who have lost five in a row and 15 of 20.

"Right now, things are just not going our way," Hardy said. "We put ourselves in a position to win the game. It just didn't work out."