Randy Wells, D-Lee lead Cubs past Braves

Aramis Ramirez didn't seem a bit upset about being upstaged Monday night.

Ramirez returned to the Cubs' lineup after being out almost two months, and the Wrigley Field crowd of 40,042 greeted him with a warm standing ovation.

As it turned out, the Cubs didn't need Ramirez to "save" them against the Atlanta Braves.

First baseman Derrek Lee took care of the offense with his 16th home run of the season, and starting pitcher Randy Wells won his fourth in a row as the Cubs held off the Braves 4-2.

Just consider this the first day of the "rest of the season" for the Cubs, who improved to 41-39. For the first time since Opening Day, they had all eight of their regulars in the starting lineup.

Before the crowd could settle in, Lee gave them a 2-0 lead with a homer to left center, driving in Kosuke Fukudome, who singled to start the inning.

After Milton Bradley lined out, Ramirez stepped to the plate and heard the cheers.

"It feels good for me," said Ramirez, who dislocated his left shoulder on May 8. "I want to go out there and play. That's what I get paid to do, and finally, I'm doing it."

Ramirez grounded out and wound up 0-for-4. The Braves even walked Bradley intentionally to get to Ramirez in the seventh, and Ramirez grounded into a forceout.

Although he played three minor-league rehab games over the weekend, Ramirez knew there'd be some rust.

"Yeah, of course, I hadn't played in two months," acknowledged Ramirez, who said before the game he was at 80-85 percent of full strength. "I went down to the minors and got 9 at-bats, but it's not the same. This is the major leagues. It's different pitching."

Speaking of pitching, Wells won his fourth start in a row, becoming the first Cubs rookie pitcher since Kerry Wood in 1998 to do that.

Wells' two-out single with a man on in the second set the stage for 2 more runs, as Fukudome doubled and Ryan Theriot singled to give the Cubs a 4-0 lead off Jair Jurrjens.

Wells battled through 6 innings, giving up a run in the fourth but leaving the bases loaded. In the fifth, Nate McLouth led off with a homer against Wells, who got relief help from Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg (15th save).

"I can't really put into words or even to have thought to be in this position I'm in when they told me I was going to make a couple starts early in May," said Wells, who is 4-3 with a 2.48 ERA. "I told myself when I got up here (from the minor leagues), 'Just keep doing what you're down there, and don't be afraid of anything and don't be afraid to attack the (strike) zone.'

"I've been doing that, and I've been coming out on top. It's rewarding for me. It's been a long journey."

His teammates have taken notice and seem to have confidence in the rookie.

"It's nice to jump ahead, give Randy a lead," Lee said. "He's been pitching so well. It's almost like you get 1 or 2 runs, you have a good shot of winning. He did another great job tonight."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p> <p class="News"><b>Leading man:</b> Kosuke Fukudome went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored and an RBI in the leadoff spot. He's 5-for-11 since taking over the top spot Saturday. His OBP for the season is .384.</p> <p class="News"><b>Hold it: </b>Carlos Marmol worked a scoreless eighth inning to record his 63rd career "hold," second best in Cubs history since 1957.</p> <p class="News"><b>All's Wells:</b> Starting pitcher Randy Wells recorded his ninth quality start in 11 outings. The Cubs have 52 quality starts this year. The team's record in those games is 32-20, and the starters' ERA is 2.36 in the quality starts.</p>