Dempster earns 100th win as Cubs beat Brewers 1-0
MILWAUKEE - Ryan Dempster has done a little bit of everything as a major-league pitcher.
He's started. He's come back from Tommy John surgery. He's closed. He's started again.
On Saturday night, he reached a nice milepost with his 100th victory in the big leagues as the Cubs shut out the Milwaukee Brewers for the second straight night, this time 1-0.
"What a great win for your 100th win," said Dempster, who is 100-100 for his career and 50-45 as a Cub. "You go out there. Your team throws a shutout, great job by all the guys in the bullpen."
Dempster worked 7 innings of 3-hit ball and got help from relievers Andrew Cashner, Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 30th save.
The only run came on Xavier Nady's sixth homer of the year, a high drive off Randy Wolf in the seventh. The ball hit the left-field foul pole.
"Couple of milestones, huh?" said manager Mike Quade, who improved to 11-6 as skipper. "Thirty for Marmol and 100 for Demp. And the boys got through the eighth for him. That's good. That's a ballgame."
Dempster threw 105 pitches, walking two and striking out eight. He became only the fourth Canadian pitcher to record 100 big-league victories, joining Fergie Jenkins, Kirk McCaskill and Reggie Cleveland. For this season, he's 13-10 with a 3.62 ERA.
"It's a weird feeling," he said. "Just to get to the big leagues is one thing. To win 100 games, it's a special thing, it really is. It means a lot, especially coming from Canada.
"There's not a lot of people who've done it. Really, it gives me a greater appreciation for those guys out there that have won 300 games.
"I feel like I've been pitching for a long time, and I got 100 wins. It really does give you a sense of appreciation for the people who have done it year in and year out and accumulated that many wins."
The first hit the Brewers got was an infield single by Casey McGehee in the fourth. The only real trouble for the Cubs came in the eighth, when Cashner hit pinch hitter Joe Inglett. Pinch runner Carlos Gomez stole second base, and Cashner struck out Rickie Weeks before walking Corey Hart.
Cashner recovered to strike out Ryan Braun before Marshall struck out Prince Fielder on a fastball, setting the table for Marmol.
The Cubs outhit the Brewers 4-3, with Nady's being the biggest, as it barely stayed fair.
"You know what, when I actually hit it, I thought it was going to be foul by 10 or 15 feet," Nady said. "It was almost to the point where I wasn't even going to run to first; I thought I pulled it that far foul. I obviously didn't stand there long enough to get the full angle, but I was fortunate enough to get enough."
<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Cubs 1, Brewers 0</b></p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">More quality: Ryan Dempster gave the Cubs their second straight scoreless outing by a starter with 7 innings. The Cubs are 46-34 when their pitcher gives them a quality start, with the starters' ERA being 2.16 in those starts. Dempster improved to 15-3 with a 2.60 ERA lifetime against the Brewers.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">O, Canada: Dempster recorded his 100th big-league win. He joined Fergie Jenkins (284), Kirk McCaskill (106) and Reggie Cleveland (105) as Canadian-born pitchers with at least 100 wins.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Shakin' Bake: Jeff Baker led off and went 2-for-4. He is 47-for-131 (. 359) against left-handed pitching this year. In his last nine games with an at-bat, Baker is 13-for-27.</p>