Not pretty, but Cubs pick up first victory

ATLANTA - Before Thursday night's series finale with the Braves, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said that with an 0-2 record to start the season, "you're six feet under."

The Cubs didn't exactly come back from the dead a little later in the evening with their 2-0 shutout, but they certainly were a much more lively bunch for it.

"It's huge; it's huge," said center fielder Marlon Byrd, who hit his second home run of the season. "You want to get wins early. You can't fall behind too early. Playing catch-up is no fun."

The Cubs' first victory of the season may not have been a whole lot of fun for Piniella to watch. His team has managed only 16 hits in three games and is hitting .176.

"Nerve-racking" might have been the more operative word, as Piniella watched starting pitcher Randy Wells get help from 3 double plays to work out of trouble.

The bullpen, which faltered in Wednesday's 3-2 loss, came through Thursday, with Carlos Marmol finishing with 11/3 innings for his first save.

"It's good to win one," Piniella said. "We've got to pick it up hitting-wise."

Piniella rotated some new faces into the lineup Thursday, including rookie outfielder Tyler Colvin, who started in left field. The move looked good in the second inning when Colvin crushed a 2-1 pitch from Tommy Hanson for his first major-league home run.

"That was great, definitely against that pitcher, too," said Colvin, the Cubs' leading hitter in spring training. "Tommy's a great pitcher."

The big worry about Colvin was whether he could stay hot after having not started since the end of spring.

"As long as I stick with my routine, I should be fine," he said.

Byrd homered in the third inning, and Wells and the Cubs' defense did the rest. The Braves loaded the bases in the third on a double, a walk and a throwing error by Wells, but Wells got Troy Glaus to ground into a 5-3 double play.

Double plays also ended the fifth and sixth, Wells' final inning. He also displayed some emotion on the field after working out of those trouble spots.

"Yeah, those were big double plays," he said. "You never want to put your back against the wall like that, but when you can calm your emotions, make some pitches and get out of it, it's pretty exciting. I never like to do that (show emotion), but sometimes you can't help it."

Sean Marshall, making his third appearance, and Esmailin Caridad kept the Braves at bay in the seventh. John Grabow, who gave up the decisive homer to Chipper Jones on Wednesday, walked a batter with a man on and two outs in the eighth in relief of Caridad before Piniella turned to Marmol.

Marmol made it interesting, but he stranded two in the ninth by getting Eric Hinske to fly out and striking out Melky Cabrera.

"Marmol saved, Caridad got some big outs and Marshall got a couple outs in a short stint," a relieved Piniella said, "and we finally break into the win column."

Cubs scouting reportCubs vs. Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball ParkTV: Channel 9 Friday and Saturday; Comcast SportsNet Plus (CLTV) SundayRadio: WGN 720-AMPitching matchups: The Cubs' Carlos Silva (0-0) vs. Homer Bailey (0-0) Friday at 6:10 p.m.; Carlos Zambrano (0-1) vs. Aaron Harang (0-1) Saturday at 12:10 p.m.; Tom Gorzelanny (0-0) vs. TBD Sunday at 12:10 p.m.At a glance: The Cubs were 10-5 against the Reds last year, 4-2 in Cincinnati. The Reds opened against the Cardinals this week and lost two of three. The Cubs' Derrek Lee has 13 homers at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park; Aramis Ramirez has 12, and Alfonso Soriano has 11. Mike Fontenot is 7-for-18 vs. Harang. Silva makes his Cubs debut in the series opener. Next: Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday <p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p><p class="News">Cubs 2, Braves 0</p><p class="News"><b>Wells grounded:</b> Cubs starting pitcher Randy Wells worked 6 scoreless innings. He struck out only one, but he recorded 13 outs on the ground. </p><p class="News"><b>Running it up:</b> Wells turned in the Cubs' second quality start in two nights. He ran his pitch count to 97 in 6 innings, with counts of 24 in the second inning and 25 in the third. </p><p class="News"><b>Defense, defense:</b> Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot and Jeff Baker combined to turn 3 double plays, and right fielder Kosuke Fukudome ran to the gap in the ninth to hold Yunel Escobar's hit to a single.</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=371929">Marshall go-to guy in bullpen <span class="date"> [X4/8/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>