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Garza just can't catch a break

Every pitching staff seems to have one: the hard-luck starter.

For the Cubs, that guy would be right-hander Matt Garza, who can't seem to buy a victory.

Garza again pitched well Sunday but came away with a no-decision in a 5-4, 10-inning victory over the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field.

For the sixth time this year, Garza left a game with the Cubs ahead only to come away empty. He's now 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA.

Manager Mike Quade said Garza had a lot to do with Sunday's win, and Garza seemed more than happy afterward.

“Every time you contribute, it's a plus,” he said. “There's never really any days off for anybody around here. It was fun. It always is. I'm just going to keep getting ready for the next one.”

Quade said in no way has Garza been a disappointment this season.

“Not everybody's guaranteed run support,” the manager said. “To his credit, he just keeps pitching. He's something. He shows up and is ready to go every day. I don't notice any wear and tear because he's not getting the breaks. He just goes back to pitch and wants to pitch well for his club.

“You guys tell me. If a guy's 7-2 with a 4.50 or 5.00 ERA ... you want to win games, but he can't control, other than what he can do. If you've got a guy who doesn't have a great record but he's leading your starters in ERA, long term you feel like, ‘Give me the guy that's out there every day giving me 7 innings of 3-run baseball or less, and I'll take my chances.' I would say that's totally false (that Garza has disappointed), at least in my estimation.”

Don't sweat it:Mike Quade didn't sound concerned when asked about how his players would handle the trade speculation heading into next Sunday's nonwaiver deadline. #8220;Show up every day focused on who we're playing,#8221; he said. #8220;Everybody deals with stuff surrounding them, whether it's speculation, whether it's reality. I do think especially when I look at the veterans that are here, that this is not their first rodeo. This is not stuff they haven't experienced before, whether it was them personally or whether it was a teammate or whatever.#8220;I expect them not to be distracted.#8221;Quade also cited a positive side to the inevitable speculation.#8220;I would think that any time your name is brought up, that somebody is interested in you, it's a good thing,#8221; he said. #8220;Discerning between reality and speculation is a big deal, too.#8221;Rotation plans: Monday is another off-day for the Cubs, who will head to Milwaukee for three before going to St. Louis and Pittsburgh. Mike Quade will go with a pitching rotation of Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Randy Wells against the Brewers. Matt Garza will open the Cardinals series, followed by Rodrigo Lopez on Saturday. Lopez has not started since July 18. He'll be available out of the bullpen for at least Tuesday's series opener at Milwaukee and possibly for Wednesday. This and that:The Cubs are 5-0 in extra-inning games at Wrigley Field this year. ... Marlon Byrd played in his 1,000th career game and went 4-for-5 with a double and a triple.