It worth the wait for Scales

There was a bottle of champagne and a card waiting for Bobby Scales at his locker Tuesday.

The card read, "All the hard work paid off. Congrats. Brian Sweeney."

Sweeney was an old minor-league teammate of Scales, who made his major-league debut Tuesday for the Cubs at age 31 and after more than 10 years in the minor.

Scales, who was called up Monday, fielded the first chance of the game at second base and threw out Fred Lewis. His first big-league hit came in the fifth a solid single to left field against Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum of the Giants. A Giants infielder tossed the ball to the Cubs dugout, but it bounced into the stands. A considerate fan gave the ball right back.

Scales also made a diving play on Bengie Molina's grounder for an out in the sixth.

"It was outstanding," said Scales, who went to spring training with the Cubs this year and last and who always seems to be a popular teammate wherever he goes. "The way it worked out, I got the first ball of the game. It couldn't have worked out any better, honestly. Go ahead and get it out of the way. You don't want to get a hot shot in the eighth.

"By the end of the game, I honestly felt fine. Maybe I was a little fatigued."

Scales was modest about getting the hit.

"A fastball is a fastball, and he gave me a heater, and I swung at it," he said. "Fortunately, it found some grass."

Wells a visitor: The Cubs brought pitcher Randy Wells to Wrigley Field for a workout. They'll activate him to start Friday's game in Milwaukee in place of the injured Carlos Zambrano. Wells was not allowed to dress for the game.

At Iowa, he is 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA in 5 starts. He went 3 innings Monday night.

"I didn't know," said Wells, who pitched briefly for the Cubs last year. "I had no idea what was going on. I started, came in at the third inning, got ready to hit and they told me I was going up. I was kind of surprised.

"It's very exciting. Last year was great to get my feet wet. I spent a long time in the minors to finally break in last year. Now I'm getting a start. I'm not hiding in the bullpen anymore. You've got to be ready. This ain't for fun anymore. It's playing for keeps. The other team wants to win. I want to win. I have to go out and pitch a game."

Speaking of Zambrano, he threw from the outfield grass Tuesday morning.