Dempster wins ... with some help from his friends

On the first anniversary of Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter, Ryan Dempster proved to be a bit of a flirt.

Dempster worked 42/3 innings of no-hit ball Monday night before settling for a nice little 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.

There wasn't any no-no for Dempster, but he did work 8 innings of 4-hit ball for his 10th victory of the season.

"Yeah, Ted told me before the game," Dempster said, referring to Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly. "I knew I had one going. I was trying.

"Those are fun, and those are good, but I'm just glad we got a 'W,' and that I can go out there and help do my part."

Dempster got more than a little help from his friends.

Jason Kendall got the first hit, as he singled to center in the fifth. He stole second base and advanced to third on catcher Geovany Soto's throwing error.

Frank Catalanotto then lifted a flyball into medium right-center. Sam Fuld, playing center field, raced over and made a diving catch to save a run.

"Definitely not easy," Fuld said. "To be honest with you, off the bat, I didn't think I had a chance at it. Even when I was about 10 feet away from it, I didn't think I'd get to it. I just laid out, and just enough."

There was more. In the seventh, former Cub Casey McGehee led off with a single. With the infield shifted to the right, Prince Fielder grounded one to the right of second base. Shortstop Ryan Theriot grabbed it and flipped to third baseman Aramis Ramirez covering second. Ramirez threw a little wide of first baseman Derrek Lee, who finished the 6-5-3 double play.

"I'm not a shortstop; that's why I almost got killed there," said a smiling Ramirez.

In the eighth, Ramirez knocked down Felipe Lopez's liner with two outs and men on first and second and threw to first for the final out.

"A lot of good plays," Dempster said. "You work quick and throw strikes, it keeps your defense on their toes. They made some unbelievable plays behind me today."

The Cubs (74-68) got their offense from Derrek Lee's 33rd homer leading off the fifth against Jeff Suppan. Kosuke Fukudome drove in Mike Fontenot in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.

Dempster continued the Cubs' run of good starting pitching with the team's ninth quality start this month. Carlos Marmol earned his 13th save.

"That's why we watch pitch counts so carefully all year so that these pitchers have a finishing kick at the end," manager Lou Piniella said. "That's the reason for it. It's paying off."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker </p> <p class="News"><b>Dempster doings:</b> Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster (10-8) joined John Smoltz as the only pitchers who have recorded at least three straight 20-save seasons followed by consecutive 10-win seasons as starters. </p> <p class="News"><b>He's hot:</b> Derrek Lee extended a hitting streak to seven games. He's batting .444 (12-for-27) during the streak. Lee singled, walked and homered. The Cubs are 20-9 when Lee homers.</p> <p class="News"><b>Another streak:</b> Closer Carlos Marmol converted his 10th straight save, matching Kevin Gregg's team high for this season. </p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=321430">Marmol gains closer job<span class="date"> [9/15/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>