Post by Fish Troll on May 13, 2007 17:59:41 GMT -5
Lilly sharp as Cubs end losing streak
Left-hander limits Phillies to one run in eight strong innings
By Joseph Santoliquito / Special to MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- A smile darted across Ted Lilly's face at the thought of it. The Cubs' left-handed starter knows he could easily be 6-1 or 7-1 this season. A clutch hit here, a run there, and it's very possible. Lilly knows it's nothing he can completely control.
Instead, he's 3-2, after a performance in which he appeared to have full control over, as he brilliantly stymied the Phillies in a 4-1, three-hit victory before 45,129 at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.
Lilly's victory put a stop to the Cubs' three-game losing streak and inched Chicago back near the .500 mark, at 17-18. Jon Lieber took the loss for the Phils, dropping to 1-2.
Lilly's performance couldn't have come at a more opportune time, after the Cubs dropped the first two games of the series having lost the lead in both games. This game fell under a direct line -- from Lilly to closer Ryan Dempster, who finished off the Phils to notch his eighth save this season.
"Lilly's been very consistent and he had very good stuff today, using his changeup and he had a great curveball, working both sides of the plate," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Lilly gave us eight excellent innings."
Starting with four no-hit innings to begin the game. The only smudge Lilly had in the first four innings was a two-out walk to Aaron Rowand in the first inning. Otherwise, he had the Phillies guessing and missing his curveball and changeup. Abraham Nunez broke up Lilly's no-hit bid with a two-out single to right in the fifth inning. He recorded one-two-three innings in the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings.
"I think the thing that I'm doing much more consistently that I didn't do last year is throw strikes, and keeping the ball near the strike zone and making them swing," said Lilly, who saw his ERA sink from 2.78 to 2.53. "I changed my mechanics since last year, but the changes have been so slight. If I struggled a little bit, I used to make drastic changes. They have a lot of tough outs in their lineup over there and you have to get ahead of all of them. I don't know if I had my best stuff."
The Cubs gave Lilly some support with a pair of runs in the fourth inning, when Matt Murton singled home Daryle Ward, who led off the fourth with a double after he replaced Derrek Lee in the second when Lee left the game with neck spasms. The first baseman is listed as day-to-day.
"The guy is a trooper; he loves to play," Piniella said about taking Lee out. "I had to do it. If you saw him running down first [in the first inning], you would have thought he had a couple of beers. He was running with his head sideways to first."
Cesar Izturis made it 2-0 on an infield single, which scored Aramis Ramirez, who reached base on a Nunez error.
Lilly, meanwhile, kept cruising along. He retired seven straight heading into the eighth, when he was confronted with trouble. Wes Helms and Nunez led off the inning with singles. Michael Bourn, pinch-running for Helms, took third on Nunez's single to right. He eventually scored when Ramirez stabbed a Carlos Ruiz line drive, but threw wide to first in trying to double up Nunez at first.
Lilly then bore down and got pinch-hitter Shane Victorino to line out to center field and Jimmy Rollins to end the inning on a flyout to left.
"That was a crucial spot for Ted," Cubs catcher Michael Barrett said. "He just kept throwing strikes. He went right at Victorino and Rollins and never gave in. He made some great pitches. They're a fastball-hitting team, and with both Helms and Nunez, Ted got the ball up over the plate a little. With Rollins and Victorino, he worked back getting them with his curve and changeup."
The Cubs tacked on a pair of runs in the ninth, when Mark DeRosa walked in a run and Ramirez legged out a possible inning-ending double play that scored another run.
"Ramirez really hustled to beat that play, which led to the fourth run," Piniella said. "Those are the kind of tack-on runs I've been talking about."
Izturis had a solid day, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and one run scored. He ended the series going 7-for-10, with two runs and a double.
"I had a good day yesterday and today at the plate," the soft-spoken shortstop said. "It helps to get more playing time, or at-bats and something will happen."
Alfonso Soriano saw his 20-game hit streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 day, but has now reached safely in all 29 games he has played as a Cub after coaxing a walk in the third inning.
Joseph Santoliquito is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Left-hander limits Phillies to one run in eight strong innings
By Joseph Santoliquito / Special to MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- A smile darted across Ted Lilly's face at the thought of it. The Cubs' left-handed starter knows he could easily be 6-1 or 7-1 this season. A clutch hit here, a run there, and it's very possible. Lilly knows it's nothing he can completely control.
Instead, he's 3-2, after a performance in which he appeared to have full control over, as he brilliantly stymied the Phillies in a 4-1, three-hit victory before 45,129 at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.
Lilly's victory put a stop to the Cubs' three-game losing streak and inched Chicago back near the .500 mark, at 17-18. Jon Lieber took the loss for the Phils, dropping to 1-2.
Lilly's performance couldn't have come at a more opportune time, after the Cubs dropped the first two games of the series having lost the lead in both games. This game fell under a direct line -- from Lilly to closer Ryan Dempster, who finished off the Phils to notch his eighth save this season.
"Lilly's been very consistent and he had very good stuff today, using his changeup and he had a great curveball, working both sides of the plate," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Lilly gave us eight excellent innings."
Starting with four no-hit innings to begin the game. The only smudge Lilly had in the first four innings was a two-out walk to Aaron Rowand in the first inning. Otherwise, he had the Phillies guessing and missing his curveball and changeup. Abraham Nunez broke up Lilly's no-hit bid with a two-out single to right in the fifth inning. He recorded one-two-three innings in the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings.
"I think the thing that I'm doing much more consistently that I didn't do last year is throw strikes, and keeping the ball near the strike zone and making them swing," said Lilly, who saw his ERA sink from 2.78 to 2.53. "I changed my mechanics since last year, but the changes have been so slight. If I struggled a little bit, I used to make drastic changes. They have a lot of tough outs in their lineup over there and you have to get ahead of all of them. I don't know if I had my best stuff."
The Cubs gave Lilly some support with a pair of runs in the fourth inning, when Matt Murton singled home Daryle Ward, who led off the fourth with a double after he replaced Derrek Lee in the second when Lee left the game with neck spasms. The first baseman is listed as day-to-day.
"The guy is a trooper; he loves to play," Piniella said about taking Lee out. "I had to do it. If you saw him running down first [in the first inning], you would have thought he had a couple of beers. He was running with his head sideways to first."
Cesar Izturis made it 2-0 on an infield single, which scored Aramis Ramirez, who reached base on a Nunez error.
Lilly, meanwhile, kept cruising along. He retired seven straight heading into the eighth, when he was confronted with trouble. Wes Helms and Nunez led off the inning with singles. Michael Bourn, pinch-running for Helms, took third on Nunez's single to right. He eventually scored when Ramirez stabbed a Carlos Ruiz line drive, but threw wide to first in trying to double up Nunez at first.
Lilly then bore down and got pinch-hitter Shane Victorino to line out to center field and Jimmy Rollins to end the inning on a flyout to left.
"That was a crucial spot for Ted," Cubs catcher Michael Barrett said. "He just kept throwing strikes. He went right at Victorino and Rollins and never gave in. He made some great pitches. They're a fastball-hitting team, and with both Helms and Nunez, Ted got the ball up over the plate a little. With Rollins and Victorino, he worked back getting them with his curve and changeup."
The Cubs tacked on a pair of runs in the ninth, when Mark DeRosa walked in a run and Ramirez legged out a possible inning-ending double play that scored another run.
"Ramirez really hustled to beat that play, which led to the fourth run," Piniella said. "Those are the kind of tack-on runs I've been talking about."
Izturis had a solid day, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and one run scored. He ended the series going 7-for-10, with two runs and a double.
"I had a good day yesterday and today at the plate," the soft-spoken shortstop said. "It helps to get more playing time, or at-bats and something will happen."
Alfonso Soriano saw his 20-game hit streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 day, but has now reached safely in all 29 games he has played as a Cub after coaxing a walk in the third inning.
Joseph Santoliquito is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070513&content_id=1962705&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
