Derrek Lee slid home safely with the go-ahead run on the first of two run-scoring groundouts in the 9th inning and the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Thursday night to end a three-game losing streak.
Lee led off with a single off Cla Meredith (1-2) and went to third on a single by Aramis Ramirez. Cliff Floyd then hit a two-hop grounder to second baseman Marcus Giles, who threw home to try and get Lee. But Lee did a hook slide around catcher Josh Bard to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.
The Cubs loaded the bases on Michael Barrett’s bunt single. After Heath Bell replaced Meredith, pinch-runner Angel Pagan scored on Ryan Theriot’s groundout.
Bob Howry (2-3) pitched a perfect eighth for the win. Ryan Dempster got his 10th save in 11 chances by working a perfect ninth.
Lee, the NL batting leader at .370, got his first hit in 12 at-bats since he returned to the Cubs’ lineup on Tuesday.
Jason Marquis allowed one run on five hits over seven innings. He walked three and had five strikeouts.
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CUBS BITS
Greg Maddux was talking to Jason Marquis after the 2006 season when he recommended that he go see Larry Rothschild to correct a mechanical flaw. Marquis has been lights-out since joining the Cubs, so perhaps an assist should go to Maddux for getting the two together.
– Cesar Izturis is going back to L.A. on Friday for the first time since being traded to the Cubs for Maddux in July. “My new home is here, but I still keep in touch with those guys,” he said. After hitting .200 in April, Izturis came into Thursday with a .322 average.
