Lilly flirts with a repeat of Big Z's gem

MILWAUKEE - The Cubs made some history Monday at Miller Park.

No, Ted Lilly didn't follow Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter with one of his own, but he gave it a try.

Lilly took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and lost it when Mark Loretta singled to right field after Reggie Abercrombie reached on Aramis Ramirez's fielding error.

That was the only hit for the Houston Astros, as the Cubs swept this two-game "neutral-site" series by winning 6-1 before 15,158, most of whom cheered for the Cubs.

Lilly joked Sunday about the tough act he had to follow, and for a while it looked like his stuff was good enough for the Cubs to make it two no-hitters in two days.

As it was, the Cubs set a major-league record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 1 hit is the fewest allowed by one team over two games in baseball history.

Lilly admitted to thinking about the no-hitter.

"About in the sixth," he said. "I knew even at that point there was a lot of work to do. It doesn't get any easier the closer you get. I had fun out there. I made pitches. Guys made some great plays and made it interesting."

Of greatest interest to the Cubs was the job they did in this makeup series, which became necessary because Hurricane Ike blew through Houston over the weekend.

The Cubs improved to 90-58, putting them at 90 for the first time since the 1998 club needed 163 games to get there. They also increased their lead in the National League Central to 8 games over second-place Milwaukee and reduced their magic number for clinching to 6. That means they could clinch the title this week at home.

On top of that, the Cubs dealt a near-fatal blow to the Astros' playoff chances.

"Houston came in here very, very hot, playing really good baseball, and our pitching, basically, just shut them down," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

"The no-hitter by Zambrano last night, Lilly the 1-hitter today. We got some timely hitting this series, which is what we need to do."

Lilly came out dealing, striking out Reggie Abercrombie and Loretta to start the game. He faced the minimum through six, walking Lance Berkman in the second before Berkman was caught stealing.

Jim Edmonds made a diving catch in center of Brad Ausmus' liner with one out in the sixth.

"I was throwing my slider for strikes," Lilly said. "I think the last couple of starts I've been able to do that more than I have in the past. It was a little sharper."

In the seventh, Abercrombie grounded sharply to Ramirez, who couldn't make the play on the backhand. Loretta followed with his single.

"We won the game, that's all the matters," Ramirez said. "You're not going to throw a no-hitter every day - I don't want to make an error."

In the meantime, Cubs batters were getting the job done. Edmonds hit a solo homer in the fifth to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. They scored 4 in the sixth, with Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto hitting 2-run homers.

Lilly did the rest. He improved to 15-9, giving him 15 victories for the third straight year. Now, the Cubs go home for three against the Brewers and three against the Cardinals, with a chance to clinch their second straight NL Central title.

"Let's get it over with," Lee said. "I know they say sometimes it's better if you're fighting down to the wire. But I'd rather just get it over with."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=235184">Zambrano takes no-hitter in stride <span class="date"> [9/15/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=235180">Pressure's off as Yost-less Brewers unravel <span class="date">[9/15/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=235183">Despite lefty lineup, Fukudome left out again <span class="date"> [9/15/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>