Cubs take series finale from Cardinals

Marshall makes pitch to secure spot in rotation

By Paul Sullivan | Tribune staff reporter

10:01 PM EDT, July 6, 2008

ST. LOUIS - In a 35-day stretch that ended Sunday on a steamy afternoon at Busch Stadium, the Cubs survived two West Coast trips, two City Series, a day trip from Toronto to Cooperstown to Tampa Bay, manager Lou Piniella's Tropicana Field homecoming and injuries to their ace, their leadoff man and their center fielder.

And after Sunday's 7-1 victory over St. Louis, the Cubs even managed to survive an oral assault from Henry Blanco, whose singing in the shower was as jarring as a car alarm going off at 3 a.m.

Instead of racking up some frequent-flier miles while going 17-15 in a stretch that included 23 road games since they began the run June 2 in San Diego, the Cubs gained a game in the standings on St. Louis, taking a 31/2-game lead into a day off Monday.

The only thing Piniella could do after the long, grueling stretch ended was lean back in his chair with a cold one and be thankful it was over.

"I'm going to enjoy my day off, and I'm sure the players are too," Piniella said. "This has been a tough month for us, not only from an injury standpoint but from a travel standpoint. We went all over the place."

The schedule gets a lot easier starting Tuesday, when the Cubs begin a six-game homestand against Dusty Baker's Reds before the All-Star break.

"We had to go at it full blast," shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "I thought we played good baseball. Obviously we would've liked to have played better, but hopefully it'll be a little easier next month. We'll have some more games at home. And then you look at September, and we're on the road again."

Sean Marshall, who was pitching at Triple-A Iowa when the stretch began, ended it on a high note with six solid innings against the Cardinals, allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts. Marshall earned his first win since August, when he was demoted to the bullpen for the stretch run after the Cubs acquired Steve Trachsel, who was quickly gone.

Now Marshall is trying to show the Cubs he's strong enough to stick in the rotation for the entire second half and that they don't have to acquire a veteran starter before the July 31 trading deadline.

"I had a good start [June 29] against the White Sox, and that was a big confidence boost for me," Marshall said.

Piniella called it the best start he has seen from Marshall in his two seasons as Cubs manager, and he has been adamant about wanting a second left-hander in the rotation to join Ted Lilly.

"Anything I can do to help the team win and keep us in first place, that's what makes me happy," Marshall said. "If they need me to do anything else … I wish I could just get a couple pinch-hits or some hits while I'm pitching."

Marshall's bat wasn't needed Sunday. The Cubs knocked out 16 hits against ex-Cub Todd Wellemeyer and three relievers, with Theriot and Derrek Lee notching three apiece, Aramis Ramirez driving in three runs and Geovany Soto hitting his 15th home run.

Now they have only one more road series outside the division until mid-August, and should gradually be able to recover from the toughest part of their 2008 schedule.

"It was tough, especially as injured as we were, as vulnerable as we were," Piniella said. "We got through it."