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Sunday, Jul. 23 2:20pm ET
Valdes, Cubs tip Brewers | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- All Ismael Valdes needed to cure his recurring blisters was a large bucket of rice. Valdes won for the first time in eight starts, and Eric Young and Mark Grace each drove in two runs Sunday to spark the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Young hit a two-run single and Grace hit a two-run double in a five-run second inning as the Cubs won for the 10th time in 13 games. They've won four of their last five series. "I want to play two more weeks like this," Cubs manager Don Baylor said. Valdes (2-4), who has been bothered by blisters all season, won for the first time since May 19 when he beat Cincinnati, 4-1. He is treating his problem by plunging his hand into a giant tub of uncooked white rice and opening and closing his fingers every day. It's one of about 100 remedies that Valdes has tried, Baylor said. So far, so good -- and Valdes may attract more interest as the July 31 trading deadline approaches. "As long as I'm here, I'll give it my best effort," Valdes said. "I don't pay attention to (rumors). I'm on the Chicago Cubs and if I'm here, I'm going to do my best." Valdes gave up two runs on five hits and three walks over seven innings. It was only the fourth time in 12 starts that he has pitched beyond the sixth inning. "This is not an audition that I know about," Baylor said. "I'm sure there's interest. Starting pitching is hard to come by." Rick Aguilera pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 28 chances, and tied Rich "Goose" Gossage for ninth place on the all-time saves list with 310. Tom Henke is eighth with 311. "When you think of relievers, you think of Goose," said Aguilera, who met Gossage in Colorado earlier this year. Jamey Wright (5-4), beaten by the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, took the loss. He gave up five runs, four hits and four walks over six innings. "I should have dominated. I had the stuff but I didn't do it," Wright said. "You get excited, you start rushing, the adrenaline gets flowing and you forget everything you worked on. I've got to learn to find it right away. One bad inning killed me." Sunday's game was the sanest involving the two teams, who had averaged 3 hours, 41 minutes in nine previous games this season and four extra inning affairs. "A lot of times when the wind blows in, it brings a little normalcy to the Cubs-Brewers," Grace said. With runners at second and third and one out in the Brewers second, Jose Hernandez hit a two-run single over a drawn-in infield for a 2-0 lead. The Cubs batted around in the second. With two out, Chicago loaded the bases when Willie Greene was hit by a pitch and both Jeff Reed and Valdes walked. Young singled home two runs, Ricky Gutierrez hit an RBI single and then Grace doubled for a 5-2 lead. "To give up five runs right after you put two on the board, it's demoralizing," Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "I know (Wright's) not trying to do it, it's just unacceptable." After the second, Wright settled down and allowed only one hit -- a leadoff single by Gutierrez in the fifth -- over the next four innings. Geoff Jenkins hit an RBI triple in the Brewers eighth off Todd Van Poppel and scored on Charlie Hayes' sacrifice fly. Game notesLopes was ejected by home plate umpire Ian Lamplugh for arguing after a called third strike on Hernandez that ended the eighth. ... Grace has a seven-game hitting streak. ... Sammy Sosa went 0-for-4 to end his hitting streak at 15 games, longest by a Cub this season. During the stretch, he batted .344 with eight homers and 17 RBI. ... Milwaukee broadcaster Bob Uecker was the guest conductor during the seventh-inning stretch. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Milwaukee Clubhouse Chicago Cubs Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 1 Chi. White Sox 0
Chicago Cubs 5
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