Marshall, Pie get job done
PITTSBURGH -- As Wednesday dawned, Felix Pie and Sean Marshall seemed on the outskirts of the Cubs' plans.
Marshall was recovering from a day of airport scurrying following his call-up from the minor leagues.
Pie was just looking to hang on to his big-league job.
Funny how things work out sometimes.
As Wednesday was about to turn to Thursday in the Eastern time zone, Pie was hitting a two-out, 2-run single in the 15th inning to put the Cubs ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4, giving them the lead for the second time in extra innings.
Marshall came in from the bullpen and nailed down his first major-league save as he made the 6-4 score hold up.
"This game comes at you in different ways, that's for sure," said Marshall, who officially was recalled from Class AAA Iowa on Wednesday. "The closer role? Woody better watch out. No, I was just joking with him. That's not my gig."
Marshall was referring to Cubs closer Kerry Wood, who suffered a blown save by giving up a leadoff homer to Jason Bay in the ninth inning that tied the game at 2-2.
From there, the teams did nothing until the 14th, when the Cubs' Aramis Ramirez hit a 2-run homer. But Pittsburgh's Adam LaRoche snapped an 0-for-25 skid in the bottom half with a 2-run homer off Kevin Hart.
But Pie, who seemed to be falling out of favor with manager Lou Piniella, made the Pirates pay for walking Alfonso Soriano to load the bases with two outs in the 15th.
Pie hit a single to left-center off Phil Dumatrait to score the go-ahead runs and give the Cubs their second extra-inning victory in two games of this series.
"Pie stroked the ball to left field, and that's really what he has to do," said Piniella, whose team won its fourth straight to improve to 5-3. "We talked about it many times. He stays on the ball, makes some contact, utilizes his God-given talents, which are speed and ability to run the bases. You can't do it pulling off pitches.
"Today, with the situation there, he stayed right on the pitch and lined it over short. Good piece of hitting. That's what he has to do to be a big-league everyday player."
The Cubs and the Pirates battled for 4 hours and 20 minutes after taking 4:47 to play Monday's season opener at PNC Park, which the Cubs won in 12 innings.
A distant memory by the time this one was over was the pitching performance of Cubs starter Ryan Dempster, who looks like he might make this closer-to-start thing work.
Dempster pitched 7 scoreless innings, giving up just 1 hit. He has 12 consecutive scoreless innings over his first 2 starts, and his ERA stands at a minuscule 0.69.
"That's a big win, that's a really big win," Dempster said. "To have the lead a couple of times and to keep fighting away and come back and win, those are the key games you've got to somehow hold on to and keep fighting and claw your way through. That was a big victory for us.
"I'm happy that both games I've started, we've won. That's kind of a goal I set out. Obviously, you want to be consistent. So far, I've been able to do that."
Cubs 6, Pirates 4 (15)
At the plate: Felix Pie made it 6-4 with a two-out, 2-run single in the top of the 15th. Aramis Ramirez hit a two-out, 2-run homer in the 14th inning. The Cubs won despite leaving 15 runners on base.
On the mound: Ryan Dempster turned in his second quality start, working 7 innings of scoreless, 1-hit ball. He walked two and struck out five. Dempster threw 98 pitches, 67 for strikes. Carlos Marmol survived a shaky eighth, giving up a run on 2 hits. Kerry Wood suffered his first blown save of the season as he gave up a leadoff homer to Jason Bay in the ninth. Michael Wuertz worked 2 scoreless innings. Kevin Hart (2-0) gave up a game-tying homer to Adam LaRoche in the 14th. Sean Marshall earned his first career save.
-- Bruce Miles