A few breaks finally fall Cubs' way

The way things have gone for the Cubs, they'll gladly take anything another team wants to give them.

So after blowing a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning, they were more than happy to take the 2 errors and 1 unearned run the Detroit Tigers gave them in the eighth to escape with a 4-3 interleague victory Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

“It's nice to get the breaks once in awhile,” said Cubs manager Dale Sveum, whose team won its second in a row to improve to 21-40.

“Definitely, things went in our favor tonight in that last inning there.”

A pair of throwing errors by Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta enabled the go- ahead run to score in the eighth.

The Cubs scored a run in the second and 2 in the sixth, but after starting pitcher Paul Maholm allowed the first two Detroit batters to reach in the seventh, Casey Coleman suffered the blown save by allowing the tying run to score.

Maholm was charged with 2 runs in 6 innings. He also got a little help from a favorable wind.

“I think the last time we were here, I said the wind was bogus because I've given up a bunch of home runs into it,” said Maholm, who has not won a decision since May 9.

“I said they had to hit it higher, so today, they hit it a little higher, and the wind held it up.”

Patience, please: Although much has been made about shortstop Starlin Castro being an overly aggressive hitter at the plate, he also hits for a high average. Team president Theo Epstein said that even with the change in hitting coaches Tuesday from Rudy Jaramillo to James Rowson, the Cubs would not try to turn out #8220;cookie-cutter#8221; hitters.#8220;Starlin is an aggressive hitter, and he's a really good hitter,#8221; Epstein said. #8220;You tend to see hitters develop some patience naturally as they get more experience at the big-league level. He's a very accomplished hitter, but he's still relatively inexperienced. I think there's a good chance you're going to see his on-base totals continue to increase as he works towards his prime.#8221;Rizzo OK after scare:First-base prospect Anthony Rizzo suffered a bruised right knee Tuesday. Rizzo, who has 22 home runs for Class AAA Iowa, slid into the protective fence in front of the dugout in Des Moines while trying to make a play on a pop foul. The Cubs said X-rays checked out fine and that Rizzo is day to day. Monday marked the second game in a row he hit 2 homers in a game. Soto rehabbing: Catcher Geovany Soto is rehabbing at Iowa as he recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Soto was 1-for-4 as the DH Tuesday and his 1-for-6 at Iowa overall. #8220;It's just a matter of getting at-bats and getting my timing back,#8221; Soto told the Des Moines Register. #8220;Hopefully I'll get there soon.#8221;Dale Sveum said the Cubs likely would discuss Soto's situation Thursday. He's been on the disabled list since May 19 (retro to May 17). The Cubs may want to give him a full week of games at Iowa.