Cubs can't explain Marmol gone wild

Reliever Carlos Marmol endured a second straight shaky outing in Saturday's 11-7 victory over the White Sox, prompting manager Lou Piniella to take action.

Marmol walked three and gave up a run in the eighth inning. At Tampa Bay Thursday, he hit two and walked two, with those being the only batters he faced.

Both Marmol and Piniella insisted that the ace reliever feels fine physically.

"With Marmol today, we brought him in, just trying to get him some work," Piniella said near the top of his postgame news conference. "We've got to figure out what's causing this lack of control. We're going to look at some film and see if we can figure it out.

"Physically, everything's fine."

Marmol went so far as to say he "feels great."

"I don't know," he said. "I guess I need to work it out and get my mind right. I feel great. I have to focus on what I have to do and let's do it. You can see I get madder. That's why I'm all over the plate. It's frustrating for me not to throw a slider for a strike."

Piniella later brought Marmol up again.

"It's not nagging, but it's something that he's been such an integral part of our success," Piniella said. "He's been our go-to guy out there in delicate roles in late innings. We've got to figure out why he's not throwing strikes. I don't know if he's reaching back for too much."

Hill struggling: Lefty Rich Hill struggled badly again for Class AAA Iowa on Friday, lasting just two-thirds of an inning and giving up 3 hits and 6 runs while walking four.

The Cubs are duly concerned.

"Absolutely," general manager Jim Hendry said. "We'd be foolish not to be concerned. He really has not improved since he's been down there. His command is not getting better. So we'll kind of get our heads together the next couple days and decide what to do with him.

"If he needs a break and (have) some mechanical issues worked on … sometimes you get to the point where you work them out in games competing, and sometimes you can't. Obviously, the last 2-3 starts have not gone well."

Ward update: The Cubs sent infielder-outfielder Daryle Ward to Albuquerque on Saturday to meet their Class AAA Iowa team.

Ward has been on the disabled list since May 18 because of a bulging disc in his lower back. GM Jim Hendry said that if Ward is OK, they could activate him Tuesday or Wednesday. They'd like to have him DH next weekend against the White Sox on the South Side.

This and that:ŒEric Patterson singled twice, doubled and stole a base after his recall from Iowa on Saturday. … Jim Edmonds became the first player since Mark Bellhorn (Aug. 29, 2002, at Milwaukee) to homer twice in an inning. Sammy Sosa did it on May 16, 1996 vs. Houston. Those are the only Cubs to do so. … Jason Marquis is 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 4 June starts.