Bats fail Lilly, Cubs fall to Nationals

Once-hot Cubs stumbling into matchup with Brewers

By Paul Sullivan | Tribune staff reporter

9:50 PM EDT, April 27, 2008

WASHINGTON - After winning 14 of 17 games and looking as if they were about to separate themselves from the pack in the Central Division, the Cubs came back to earth on their five-game trip to Colorado and Washington.

After the lowly Nationals handed them a 2-0 loss on a dreary Sunday at Nationals Park, the Cubs finished the trip with three losses in their last four games.

They have Monday off to regroup before Milwaukee comes to Wrigley Field. It's way too early to call it a big series, but if the Cubs want to establish themselves as the team to beat in the division, they have to rebound against their new archrival.

"You can't win 'em all, but you hate to lose several in a row, so we have to put a stop to that as soon as possible and get back to winning," reliever Kerry Wood said. "We know what kind of team we've got here, and we'll see how we bounce back."

Ted Lilly (1-4) pitched well in a six-inning outing, allowing only two second-inning runs. But Washington rookie left-hander John Lannan (2-2) kept the Cubs off-balance all day, throwing seven shutout innings and extending his scoreless streak to 19 innings.

"This has kind of been our first little bump in the road, this road trip," Mark DeRosa said. "Today we squandered a great pitching performance by Ted. He threw the ball really well, and I know he was looking for a boost in his confidence. For him to throw the ball well and for us not to hit is kind of deflating.

"But we've been playing well at home. I don't think the opponent matters as much as worrying about ourselves."

On the bright side, Lilly appears to be back in gear after a rough start to the season. He has allowed only three runs in his last two starts after giving up 19 over 121/3 innings in his first four outings.

"It's not the results you're looking for ultimately," Lilly said. "What you're trying to do is win, and I got beat."

But Sunday's loss must be pinned on the offense, which again blew some prime scoring opportunities.

"I think we're going to have a few more before the year's over, too," manager Lou Piniella said. "You capitalize, you don't lose. You don't capitalize, you lose."

The Cubs' best scoring opportunity came in the fifth, when they loaded the bases with one out. But Ryan Theriot hit a soft grounder up the middle to shortstop Cristian Guzman, who stepped on second and threw to first for an inning-ending double play. Theriot, who is hitting .222 with runners in scoring position, blamed himself for failing to come through in the clutch.

"I didn't hit it well," he said.

The Cubs had another chance in the sixth when Nationals left fielder Wily Mo Pena misjudged Kosuke Fukudome's fly ball, turning it into a double to put runners on second and third with one out. But DeRosa hit a comebacker to Lannan, and Ronny Cedeno grounded to second to end the threat. The Cubs had only one more runner over the final three innings, going down without much of a fight.

"That was the story of the ballgame," Piniella said.

psullivan@tribune.com