Weird week ends with Hill posting 1st win by Cubs lefty

A cougar in the city?

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake?

A Cubs left-hander actually picking up a victory?

What the heck's going on?

In a week full of firsts, Cubs pitcher Rich Hill, fresh off his release from a week in purgatory thanks to a tepid outing in Pittsburgh on April 10, found redemption Friday by picking up his first win -- and the first by a Cubs lefty this season -- in a 3-2 decision over the Pirates in front of 39,118 at Wrigley Field.

The win was the fourth straight for the Cubs (10-6) over the Pirates this young season, but just as important, it may have provided the kick-start Hill admitted he needed after coming into the game with a 9.00 ERA.

"It wasn't anything mechanical, it was approach," Hill said of his struggles. "I always talk about staying aggressive and attacking, and the game previous to this one, against the same team, I wasn't doing that.

"It's almost to prove something to yourself to go out there and pitch like you know how to pitch."

"It was a start in the right direction for him," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella. "Like I told him, he needs to build on this now."

As does fellow lefty Ted Lilly, whose record fell to 0-3 with a 9.16 ERA after Thursday's 9-2 loss to the Reds. Last season, the two Cubs lefties combined for 26 victories. Now they have 1 total win, probably thanks in part to Piniella's decision to pull Hill after just 5 innings with the Cubs nursing a 3-1 lead.

"I thought he could go a little more, but look, let's build a foundation, let's get a base in place," Piniella said. "And how do you do that? By giving a young pitcher a chance to win a baseball game."

The Cubs did just that with some solid defense (see Reed Johnson's over-the-shoulder catch in center), some great pitching (four relievers allowing 1 run over the final 4 innings) and timely hitting (a 3-run fourth inning with key RBI from Mark DeRosa, Johnson and Eric Patterson).

"More than anything else it was confidence that did it (for Hill)," said catcher Geovany Soto. "He never stopped. He kept pushing."

"That's big for him to get his win and get it out of the way," said Kerry Wood, who closed out the ninth for his fourth save. "Now he can just go out and pitch."

And perhaps equal or better his 11-win mark from a year ago?

Hey, stranger things have happened.

Cubs 3, Pirates 2

At the plate: It was a day of firsts as Kosuke Fukudome recorded his first triple as a Cub, and Eric Patterson got his first RBI in the bigs. Ryan Theriot (triple) and Reed Johnson led a 9-hit attack with 2 hits each.

On the mound: Starter Rich Hill went 5 innings to pick up his first win of the season. He was followed by Jon Lieber and Sean Marshall, who combined for an inning; Carlos Marmol, who went 2 innings; and Kerry Wood, who came on in the ninth to record his fourth save.

-- Mike Spellman