Gorzelanny bright spot on dismal day

Tom Gorzelanny never wanted to be sent to the bullpen in the first place.

If he keeps pitching like he did Wednesday against Pittsburgh, he won't have to worry about that for a while.

With Carlos Zambrano "on assignment" until at least the all-star break, Gorzellany made his first start since late May one to remember, tossing 5 innings of shutout ball.

"I felt like I did a pretty good job," Gorzellany said. "I wanted to get five innings in and that's what I did."

"He battled for us and did a really good job," catcher Koyie Hill said. "He gave us 5 strong innings and put us in a good spot. We didn't give him much support."

After the game, manager Lou Piniella uttered the words Gorzelanny was no doubt dying to hear.

"He's staying in the rotation," Piniella said. "We'll build up his arm strength, and probably in another start or two he'll be able to go over 100 pitches."

Still believe: Despite their wretched play of late, Cubs players still remain upbeat about the future, thinking it's only a matter of time before they turn things around.

"We believe in each other - big time," catcher Koyie Hill said. "We all support each other. It's one of the better teams, actually (in that department). It's as good as any team that I've been on."

Said Alfonso Soriano: "I can believe in this team because we have a lot of great players ... and teammates also."

Young blood: The Cubs have used nine rookies this season, including two position players (Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin) and seven pitchers (Justin Berg, Esmailin Caridad, Andrew Cashner, Jeff gray, James Russell, Brian Schlitter and Jeff Stevens).

Not Wrigley Stadium: NASCAR driver and die-hard Cubs fan Kurt Busch was a pregame visitor in the Cubs locker room where he chatted up a few players and signed a few autographs. Busch, who is sixth in the Chase standings, was in town to promote the upcoming race at Chicagoland Speedway.

He said it: Cubs catcher Koyie Hill on his team's struggles against the Pirates: "Anybody's guess is as good as mine. It's baseball. It's a beautifully designed game and anyone can win on any given day."