Ted Lilly leads Cubs over Diamondbacks 3-1 in first meeting since playoffs
By RICK GANO | Associated Press | May 9, 08 4:24 PM CDT in
Sports
Ted Lilly kept his glove on his hand this time.
Lilly gave up another homer to Chris Young, but instead of throwing a tantrum on the mound the left-hander led the Chicago Cubs over Arizona 3-1 Friday in the first meeting between the teams since the Diamondbacks' first-round sweep in last year's playoffs.
Young homered off Lilly in Game 2 last October in Phoenix during Arizona's 8-4 win, prompting the Lilly to slam his glove on the pitcher's mound in frustration, a move seen more often among Little Leaguers than big leaguers.
This time Lilly surrendered a first-inning solo homer to Young, then gave up just two hits over the next six innings. Lilly (3-4) struck out 10 against the team with the best record in the majors (23-13) and also drove in the tying run off Dan Haren with a fifth-inning single.
Carlos Marmol got out of the eighth with the help of a strange double play when Arizona's Eric Byrnes was called for interference when his backswing apparently struck catcher Geovany Soto. Kerry Wood pitched the ninth for his sixth save in nine chances. On a chilly 46-degree day at Wrigley Field, the Cubs won for just the fifth time in 14 games.
Dan Haren (4-2), Arizona's big offseason acquisition in a trade with Oakland, yielded two runs and five hits in seven innings.
Mark DeRosa hit a liner off Haren's glove in the third and when the Diamondbacks' right-hander chased the ball behind the mound, DeRosa beat his throw with a slide for an infield single _ Chicago's only hit in the first four innings.
Chicago didn't get another until the fifth, when DeRosa doubled with two outs.
After the Diamondbacks intentionally walked Reed Johnson to get to Lilly _ a .124 career hitter entering the game _ he smacked a 1-0 pitch up the middle for an RBI single. Struggling Alfonso Soriano, who'd been booed after grounding out in his previous at-bat, followed with an RBI double past third for a 2-1 lead.
Derrek Lee, in a 4-for-28 slump, homered off reliever Juan Cruz to make it 3-1 in the eighth.
Notes:@ Diamondbacks 2B Orlando Hudson sat out with a sore right hamstring but could play this weekend. ... 1B Connor Jackson, who had to leave Wednesday night's game against the Phillies after a collision at first left him with a headache, returned to the lineup. ... In a start at Wrigley Field for St. Louis on June 10, 2004, Haren allowed 10 hits and 10 runs in 3 2-3 innings. ... The Cubs activated LHP Scott Eyre (sore left elbow) from the disabled list and optioned LHP Sean Marshall to Triple-A Iowa. ... Lilly reached double digit strikeouts for the 11th time in his career. His most in one game was 13 against the Red Sox in 2004 when he pitched for the Blue Jays.
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