It seemed surprising heading into Wednesday's game, but the Cubs began the night with the same record (18-14) as they had after 32 games last year. The Cubs finished the 2008 season with 97 wins.
This season, the Cubs have dealt with injuries to all members of the middle of their lineup, a disabled-list stint for their ace pitcher and myriad bullpen problems. "It's amazing," manager Lou Piniella said of the matching records. "I didn't know that. So when you look at the problems we've had from a physical standpoint, a slow start by some of our players, you got to feel fortunate where you're at. Just got to continue. Continue to win some baseball games."
The Cubs are getting healthier. Despite third baseman Aramis Ramirez being on the DL, first baseman Derrek Lee is back in the lineup. Right fielder Milton Bradley seemingly is over the groin problem that hobbled him. More important for the Cubs, Bradley is swinging the bat well, and they'll need him to pick up some of the slack left by Ramirez's absence.
Piniella was pleased with the work of late-inning relievers Aaron Heilman, Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg in Tuesday's series-opening win over the Padres. One of the main things helping the Cubs is their starting pitching. The Cubs entered Wednesday with 18 quality starts, tied for third best in the majors. Ted Lilly gave them their 19th in Wednesday's 6-4 victory.
CUBS 6, PADRES 4 (7 1/2 innings): SS Ryan Theriot hit two homers, and LF Alfonso Soriano and C Geovany Soto added one apiece. LHP Ted Lilly turned in his third quality start, going 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. RHP Carlos Marmol earned his third save when the game was halted due to rain.
