Calmer Lilly pitches Cubs to 3-1 win over Arizona
The most emotion Ted Lilly showed last season came in Game 2 of the division playoff series when the Cubs lefty angrily slammed his glove to the mound after giving up a three-run homer to Chris Young as the Arizona Diamondbacks put up six runs in less than four innings.
Lilly let his emotions show again Friday, but it wasn't after Young's solo homer in the first. This time it was a hand slap with first-base coach Ivan DeJesus after Lilly's RBI single to center in the fifth broke the ice for the Cubs in an eventual 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field.
(AP)
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Cubs 3, Diamondbacks 1
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Was he thinking about Arizona's sweep of the Cubs last October?
''Maybe a little,'' said Lilly, whose tying hit was followed by an Alfonso Soriano double that gave the Cubs the lead. ''I don't want to admit to it too much. You try to let it go.
''I'm pretty pumped up. I wanted to win for a number of reasons. We lost our last one [Wednesday, ending a 2-4 road trip]. This [Arizona] team is the best in the National League, and I figured a guy like Dan Haren is tough to score runs on.''
Haren, who came from Oakland in a big offseason trade, already has shown that in his new league. But the Diamondbacks, who had scored an average of 7.48 runs for Haren before Friday, had to deal with an improving Lilly (3-4).
''We're seeing steady improvement every time out, and he's pitching like he did last year when he was going well,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''He's mixing his pitches, changing speeds.''
That led to 10 strikeouts in seven innings, with Lilly's only mistake the homer by Young. The Diamondbacks, the NL's highest-scoring team, had only two other hits off Lilly.
''I just felt I was making better pitches and wasn't trying to rely solely on my fastball,'' said Lilly, who is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in his last two home starts after beginning the season with three losses, a no-decision and a 9.16 ERA. ''I felt confident I would [turn around] and knew I had to. I expect myself to contribute to the club. We have a pretty good team, and I have to do my part to help us win games.
''They have some good fastball hitters, Young being one of them. I don't think I've gotten a fastball by him. Maybe I'm a little hard-headed that way, but we're competing and that's the joy of it.''
Even Young was an eventual victim, striking out in his next two at-bats against Lilly.
''He was phenomenal today,'' catcher Geovany Soto said. ''He was using all his pitches -- backdoor slider, curve -- and keeping their offense off balance.''
Hours after being named NL rookie of the month for April, Soto had a big hand -- literally -- in helping his battery mate in the eighth as he tried to throw out Augie Ojeda stealing second. Eric Byrnes' bat touched Soto on his follow-through as he struck out, and plate umpire Ted Barrett immediately called Ojeda out on Byrnes' interference.
But Lilly will get credit for his own best assist.
''One thing I've realized is it is important to put the bat on the ball,'' said Lilly, who pitched in the American League for seven seasons before joining the Cubs last year. ''At least make contact. It's something we all spend a lot of time on. I have to keep up because we have a staff that can swing the bat pretty well.
''That was fun,'' he added, giving in to a smile. ''[Haren] threw it right into my swing.''
