CHICAGO - The ball jumped off Ryan Theriot's bat and in a flash, his teammates engulfed him. Finally, the Cubs had something to celebrate.

Theriot drove in Derrek Lee with a bases-loaded single with one out in the ninth, and Chicago beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, yesterday to snap a four-game losing streak.

After Carlos Marmol (2-1) escaped a jam in the top of the ninth, the Cubs pulled it out in the bottom half and avoided a three-game sweep.

"We're trying to tell ourselves to stay positive," Lee said. "We're still right there. That's all that matters."

Lee started the winning rally with a one-out single off Jesse Crain (2-3) and moved to third on a base hit by Geovany Soto, barely beating the throw.

After Soto took second, the Twins then intentionally walked Mike Fontenot to bring up Theriot, who lined a single past second baseman Nick Punto and then got mobbed by his teammates. Yet, the key play in his mind wasn't necessarily the winning hit. It was Lee taking third.

"What an amazing baserunning play he made," Theriot said.

Clearly, the Cubs needed this.

Chicago had little luck against Scott Baker but another solid start by Ted Lilly kept the Twins - who were without the injured Joe Crede (lower back), Michael Cuddyer (right index finger), and Denard Span (dizziness) - in check. Neither figured in the decision. Both pitchers allowed two runs and did not walk a batter.

Baker gave up just five hits and struck out five in seven innings.

"We should feel pretty good," he said. "We had a chance to sweep the series."

Minnesota 010 001 000 – 2 9 0

Chicago (N) 010 100 001 – 3 8 1

Minnesota AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Chicago (N) AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Tolbert 3b 4   0   0   0   .175      A.Soriano lf 4   0   0   0   .229

Mauer c 5   0   3   0   .414      Fukudome cf 4   0   0   0   .266

Morneau 1b 5   0   0   0   .329      Bradley rf 4   1   1   0   .227

Kubel rf 4   0   1   0   .312      D.Lee 1b 4   2   2   0   .278

B.Harris ss 4   0   0   0   .284      Soto c 4   0   3   1   .223

Delm.Young lf 4   0   1   0   .252      Fontenot 3b 3   0   0   0   .236

Gomez cf 4   2   2   1   .227      Theriot ss 3   0   2   2   .283

Punto 2b 4   0   2   1   .211      Miles 2b 3   0   0   0   .200

S.Baker p 3   0   0   0   .000      Marmol p 0   0   0   0   ---

Ayala p 0   0   0   0   ---      Lilly p 2   0   0   0   .100

a-Buscher ph 0   0   0   0   .192      A.Blanco 2b 1   0   0   0   .212

Crain p 0   0   0   0   ---      Totals 32   3   8   3      

Totals 37   2   9   2      

One out when winning run scored.a-walked for Ayala in the 9th. E: Miles (2). LOB: Minnesota 10, Chicago 6. 2B: Gomez (7), Bradley (5), Soto 2 (6). HR: Gomez (1), off Lilly. RBIs: Gomez (9), Punto (13), Soto (16), Theriot 2 (25). SB: Gomez (5). SF: Theriot. RLSP: Minnesota 3 (B.Harris, Gomez, Morneau); Chicago 2 (Miles, Theriot). RA: D.Lee.

Minnesota walks (2): Tolbert, Buscher.

Chicago walk (1): Fontenot.

Minnesota strikeouts (7): Tolbert 2, B.Harris 2, Delm.Young, Punto, S.Baker.

Chicago strikeouts (6): Fukudome, Soto, Fontenot, Theriot, Lilly, A.Blanco.

Minnesota IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

S.Baker 7   5   2   2   0   5   98   5.30

Ayala 1   0   0   0   0   1   22   3.99

Crain (L) 1/3   3   1   1   1   0   11   8.15

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Lilly 72/3   9   2   2   0   6   111   2.94

Marmol (W) 11/3   0   0   0   2   1   28   3.26

W: Marmol, 2-1. L: Crain, 2-3.

IR-S: Marmol 2-0. IBB: off Crain (Fontenot). Umpires: Home, Phil Cuzzi; first, Tom Hallion; second, Mike Estabrook; third, Dan Bellino.

T: 2:44. A: 40,814 (41,210).

White Sox 5, Brewers 4

MILWAUKEE - A.J. Pierzynski singled with two outs in the ninth inning off previously perfect Trevor Hoffman to lift Chicago over Milwaukee.

Hoffman (0-1) came in with a string of 18 straight scoreless innings. But Pierzynski singled through the right side to score pinch-runner Clayton Richard.

Chicago (A) 001 300 001 – 5 11 0

Milwaukee 101 101 000 – 4 8 0

Chicago AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Milwaukee AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Podsednik lf 5   0   2   1   .311      McGhee 2b-3b 4   2   3   1   .338

Al Ramirez ss 5   0   1   0   .252      Hardy ss 4   0   0   0   .207

Pierzynski c 5   0   3   1   .303      Braun lf 4   0   1   0   .313

Konerko 1b 4   0   1   0   .294      Fielder 1b 4   0   1   1   .290

1-Fields pr-1b 1   0   0   0   .228      M.Cameron cf 4   0   0   0   .257

Wise rf 4   0   0   0   .133      Hart rf 3   2   2   2   .253

Bri.Anderson cf 2   1   0   0   .230      Hall 3b 3   0   0   0   .208

Getz 2b 4   1   2   0   .249      McClung p 0   0   0   0   .000

Beckham 3b 4   1   1   2   .114      Hoffman p 0   0   0   0   ---

Buehrle p 2   1   1   1   .500      c-Ctalanotto ph 1   0   1   0   .250

a-J.Nix ph 1   0   0   0   .221      Kendall c 3   0   0   0   .227

Gobble p 0   0   0   0   ---      d-Gamel ph 1   0   0   0   .220

Dotel p 0   0   0   0   ---      Looper p 2   0   0   0   .050

Thornton p 0   0   0   0   ---      Counsell 2b 2   0   0   0   .286

b-Thome ph 0   0   0   0   .256      Totals 35   4   8   4      

2-Richard pr 0   1   0   0   .500

Jenks p 0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 37   5   11   5      

a-flied out for Buehrle in the 7th. b-walked for Thornton in the 9th. c-singled for Hoffman in the 9th. d-struck out for Kendall in the 9th.1-ran for Konerko in the 8th. 2-ran for Thome in the 9th. LOB: Chicago 8, Milwaukee 5. 2B: Beckham (2), McGehee (6), Braun (14). HR: Buehrle (1), off Looper; McGehee (1), off Buehrle; Hart 2 (8), off Buehrle 2. RBIs: Podsednik (13), Pierzynski (15), Beckham 2 (4), Buehrle (1), McGehee (10), Fielder (56), Hart 2 (28). SB: Ramirez (10). RLSP: Chicago 3 (Pierzynski, Getz, Fields); Milwaukee 1 (M.Cameron). RA: Buehrle. GIDP: Getz. DP: Milwaukee 1 (Hardy, Counsell, Fielder).

Chicago walks (2): Anderson, Thome.

Milwaukee walks (1): Hart.

Chicago strikeouts (3): Konerko, Fields, Wise.

Milwaukee strikeouts (9): Hardy 2, Braun, Fielder, M.Cameron 2, Hall, Kendall, Gamel.

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Buehrle 6   7   4   4   1   5   114   3.43

Gobble 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   2   6.10

Dotel 1   0   0   0   0   2   11   2.88

Thornton (W) 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   8   1.85

Jenks (S) 1   1   0   0   0   1   15   3.68

Milwaukee IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Looper 6   7   4   4   0   2   105   4.62

McClung 2   2   0   0   1   0   31   2.45

Hoffman (L) 1   2   1   1   1   1   26   0.47

W: Thornton, 4-1. L: Hoffman, 0-1. S: Jenks, 14.

HBP: by Looper (Anderson). Umpires: Home, Angel Hernandez; first, Scott Barry; second, Tim McClelland; third, Andy Fletcher.

T: 2:46. A: 41,586 (41,900).

Pirates 6, Tigers 3

PITTSBURGH - Dontrelle Willis fought with his control for the third consecutive start by walking eight in 32/3 innings, leading to all of Pittsburgh's scoring.

Willis (1-4) left after throwing only 43 of 88 pitches for strikes, giving up six hits and six runs.

Detroit 000 100 200 – 3 5 0

Pittsburgh 300 300 00x – 6 9 1

Detroit AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Pittsburgh AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Kelly lf 3   0   2   2   .333      McCutchen cf 3   2   2   0   .327

N.Robertson p 0   0   0   0   ---      An.LaRoche 3b 5   0   1   0   .289

Zumaya p 0   0   0   0   ---      F.Sanchez 2b 4   2   2   1   .315

Santiago 2b 1   1   0   0   .286      Monroe lf 3   1   0   1   .213

bPolanco ph-2b 1   0   0   0   .261      Morgan lf 0   0   0   0   .265

J.Anderson rf 3   0   1   0   .250      Delw.Young rf 4   1   3   0   .358

d-Raburn ph-rf 0   0   0   0   .243      Hinske 1b 1   0   0   1   .279

Mi.Cabrera 1b 4   0   0   0   .320      R.Diaz c 4   0   1   3   .288

Granderson cf 3   0   0   0   .259      Ja.Wilson ss 5   0   0   0   .259

Inge 3b 4   0   0   0   .264      Ohlendorf p 2   0   0   0   .038

Laird c 3   1   1   0   .219      S.Jackson p 0   0   0   0   ---

Everett ss 3   1   0   0   .266      S.Burnett p 0   0   0   0   .000

Willis p 1   0   0   0   .000      c-Moss ph 0   0   0   0   .243

Miner p 1   0   0   0   .000      Grabow p 0   0   0   0   ---

a-Thames ph-lf 2   0   1   0   .310      Capps p 0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 29   3   5   2         Totals 31   6   9   6      

a-singled for Miner in the 7th. b-flied out for Santiago in the 7th. c-was hit by a pitch for S.Burnett in the 7th. d-walked for J.Anderson in the 8th. E: Ohlendorf (1). LOB: Detroit 6, Pittsburgh 14. 2B: Kelly (1). RBIs: Kelly 2 (2), F.Sanchez (25), Monroe (16), Hinske (10), R.Diaz 3 (13). SB: McCutchen (2). S: Santiago. SF: R.Diaz. RLSP: Detroit 4 (Mi.Cabrera 2, Polanco, Inge); Pittsburgh 8 (Ja.Wilson 2, F.Sanchez, Ohlendorf 2, R.Diaz, Monroe 2). RA: Granderson, An.LaRoche 2. GIDP: Granderson, Everett, F.Sanchez. DP: Detroit 1 (Inge, Santiago, Mi.Cabrera); Pittsburgh 2 (Hinske, Ja.Wilson), (Ja.Wilson, F.Sanchez, Hinske).

Detroit walks (5): Kelly, Santiago, Raburn, Granderson, Laird.

Pittsburgh walks (11): McCutchen 2, F.Sanchez, Monroe 2, Delw.Young, Hinske 4, Ohlendorf.

Detroit strikeouts (3): Mi.Cabrera, Miner, Thames.

Pittsburgh strikeouts (4): McCutchen, Monroe 2, Hinske.

Detroit IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Willis (L) 32/3   6   6   6   8   1   88   7.49

Miner 21/3   2   0   0   1   2   40   4.35

N.Robertson 1   1   0   0   1   0   28   6.20

Zumaya 1   0   0   0   1   1   13   3.00

Pittsburgh IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Ohlendorf (W) 6   2   1   1   2   2   91   4.56

S.Jackson 2/3   3   2   2   1   0   28   6.43

S.Burnett (H) 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   3   2.93

Grabow (H) 1   0   0   0   1   0   18   3.72

Capps (S) 1   0   0   0   1   1   15   4.98

W: Ohlendorf, 6-5. L: Willis, 1-4. S: Capps, 16. H: Grabow, 11. H: Burnett, 5. IR-S: Miner 3-2, S.Burnett 2-0. IBB: off N.Robertson (F.Sanchez). HBP: by N.Robertson (Moss), by Ohlendorf (Everett). Umpires: Home, Gerry Davis; first, James Hoye; second, C.B. Bucknor; third, Mike Everitt.

T: 3:05. A: 27,565 (38,362).

Giants 7, Athletics 1

SAN FRANCISCO - Nate Schierholtz hit an inside-the-park three-run homer, Matt Cain pitched a four-hitter for his seventh straight win, and San Francisco beat Oakland for a three-game sweep.

Cain (9-1) ended a four-start losing streak against the A's. He retired 15 straight at one point, struck out a season-high nine and walked none in his third complete game of the season and second in three starts. He struck out Jason Giambi with his 119th pitch to end the 2-hour, 9-minute game.

Oakland lost its fifth game out of the last six.

Oakland 100 000 000 – 1 4 1

San Francisco 303 000 10x – 7 10 1

Oakland AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      San Fran AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Kennedy 2b 4   0   0   0   .313      Torres cf 4   2   3   0   .313

Cust rf 4   1   2   1   .233      Renteria ss 3   1   1   1   .254

Holliday lf 4   0   0   0   .274      Winn lf 3   0   0   1   .273

Giambi 1b 4   0   0   0   .207      B.Molina c 4   0   0   0   .257

K.Suzuki c 3   0   0   0   .271      Sandoval 1b 3   2   1   2   .325

Hannahan 3b 3   0   1   0   .227      Aurilia 3b 4   1   2   0   .221

O.Cabrera ss 3   0   1   0   .232      Schierholtz rf 4   1   2   3   .253

R.Davis cf 3   0   0   0   .213      Burriss 2b 3   0   0   0   .242

Bre.Anderson p 1   0   0   0   .000      Cain p 3   0   1   0   .240

a-Crosby ph 1   0   0   0   .194      Totals 31   7   10   7      

E.Gonzalez p 0   0   0   0   ---

b-Garciaprra ph 1   0   0   0   .255

A.Bailey p 0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 31   1   4   1      

a-struck out for Bre.Anderson in the 5th. b-reached on error for E.Gonzalez in the 8th. E: Holliday (1), Burriss (7). LOB: Oakland 3, San Francisco 3. 2B: Cust (9), O.Cabrera (10), Torres (2), Cain (1). 3B: Torres (2). HR: Cust (11), off Cain; Sandoval (6), off Bre.Anderson; Schierholtz (1), off Bre.Anderson. RBIs: Cust (34), Renteria (26), Winn (25), Sandoval 2 (29), Schierholtz 3 (8). SB: Renteria (4). SF: Renteria, Winn. RLSP: Oakland 2 (R.Davis, Holliday); San Francisco 2 (Renteria, Schierholtz). GIDP: Burriss. DP: Oakland 1 (O.Cabrera, Giambi).

San Francisco walk (1): Sandoval.

Oakland strikeouts (9): Cust, Giambi 2, K.Suzuki, Hannahan 2, R.Davis, Bre.Anderson, Crosby.

San Francisco strikeouts (9): Torres, Renteria 2, B.Molina 2, Sandoval, Burriss, Cain 2.

Oakland IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Bre.Anderson (L) 4   8   6   6   1   6   85   5.77

E.Gonzalez 3   1   1   1   0   1   24   4.24

A.Bailey 1   1   0   0   0   2   16   2.52

San Francisco IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Cain (W) 9   4   1   1   0   9   119   2.39

W: Cain, 9-1. L: Anderson, 3-7.

Umpires: Home, D.J. Reyburn; first, Tim Welke; second, Angel Campos; third, Bill Welke.

T: 2:09. A: 37,728 (41,915).

Rockies 7, Mariners 1

DENVER - Garrett Atkins and Todd Helton had three hits each as Colorado beat Seattle, matching the franchise record with its 11th straight win.

Brad Hawpe doubled twice, and Clint Barmes had two hits for Colorado, which has swept three straight series and is 13-4 under interim manager Jim Tracy.

Ahead by 2-1 after four, the Rockies blew it open in the fifth.

Seattle 100 000 000–1 6 1

Colorado 011 050 00x–7 14 0

Seattle AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Colorado AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

I.Suzuki rf 4   1   2   0   .360      Fowler cf 4   0   1   1   .255

Branyan 1b 4   0   0   0   .313      Barmes 2b 5   1   2   0   .289

Beltre 3b 4   0   1   0   .265      Helton 1b 4   1   3   1   .318

Jo.Lopez 2b 3   0   1   1   .247      Atkins 3b 4   1   3   0   .204

Griffey Jr. lf 3   0   0   0   .207      Embree p 0   0   0   0   ---

Y.Betancourt ss 4   0   0   0   .237      c-S.Smith ph 1   0   0   0   .282

Quiroz c 3   0   1   0   .286      Jo.Peralta p 0   0   0   0   ---

F.Gutierrez cf 3   0   0   0   .251      Hawpe rf 4   2   2   1   .337

Vargas p 2   0   1   0   .500      Spilborghs lf 4   0   1   0   .258

Corcoran p 0   0   0   0   ---      Tulowitzki ss 2   1   0   1   .241

a-Balentien ph 1   0   0   0   .218      Iannetta c 4   1   1   3   .220

Batista p 0   0   0   0   ---      Hammel p 3   0   1   0   .056

Totals 31   1   6   1         Fogg p 0   0   0   0   .000

bQntnilla ph-3b 1   0   0   0   .208

Totals 36   7   14   7      

a-flied out for Corcoran in the 7th. b-popped out for Fogg in the 7th. c-flied out for Embree in the 8th. E: Branyan (6). LOB: Seattle 5, Colorado 9. 2B: Fowler (15), Barmes (15), Hawpe 2 (21), Iannetta (6), Hammel (1). RBIs: Jo.Lopez (39), Fowler (15), Helton (45), Hawpe (47), Tulowitzki (22), Iannetta 3 (22). SB: Beltre 2 (8). SF: Jo.Lopez, Tulowitzki. RLSP: Seattle 2 (Griffey Jr., I.Suzuki); Colorado 5 (Hammel, Spilborghs 2, Barmes 2). GI DP: Y.Betancourt, Hawpe. DP: Seattle 1 (Jo.Lopez, Y.Betancourt, Branyan); Colorado 1 (Tulowitzki, Barmes, Helton).

Seattle walk (1): Griffey.

Colorado walks (3): Fowler, Helton, Tulowitzki.

Seattle strikeouts (6): I.Suzuki, Branyan, Beltre, Griffey, Quiroz, F.Gutierrez.

Colorado strikeouts (5): Fowler, Barmes 2, Hawpe, Spilborghs.

Seattle IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Vargas (L) 42/3   12   7   7   2   4   99   3.56

Corcoran 11/3   1   0   0   1   0   25   6.30

Batista 2   1   0   0   0   1   19   3.16

Colorado IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Hammel (W) 51/3   5   1   1   0   6   75   4.10

Fogg 12/3   0   0   0   1   0   35   1.69

Embree 1   0   0   0   0   0   11   5.71

Jo.Peralta 1   1   0   0   0   0   7   1.93

W: Hammel, 4-3. L: Vargas, 2-2.

IR-S: Corcoran 1-0. IBB: off Vargas (Tulowitzki). Umpires: Home, Gary Darling; first, Bill Hohn; second, Bruce Dreckman; third, Paul Emmel.

T: 2:35 (Rain delay: 0:55). A: 38,614 (50,449).

Astros 8, Diamondbacks 3

PHOENIX - Hunter Pence ended an 0-for-12 slump with a homer, and Lance Berkman also homered to help Houston beat Arizona.

The Diamondbacks have lost five of seven and are 0-5-1 in six homestands under A.J. Hinch, who took over for the fired Bob Melvin on May 8.

Houston 301 002 200 – 8 8 0

Arizona 200 100 000 – 3 7 0

Houston AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Arizona AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Bourn cf 3   2   1   1   .290      F.Lopez 2b 4   0   1   0   .305

Tejada ss 4   2   2   2   .344      Byrnes lf 3   1   1   0   .216

Pence rf 3   2   1   1   .323      J.Upton rf 3   0   0   0   .306

Berkman 1b 3   1   1   2   .256      S.Drew ss 4   1   1   2   .255

I.Rodriguez c 3   0   0   1   .247      Reynolds 3b 4   1   2   1   .281

Michaels lf 4   0   1   1   .189      C.Young cf 4   0   0   0   .189

Kata 2b 4   0   1   0   .235      Whitesell 1b 3   0   0   0   .212

Maysonet 3b 4   1   1   0   .333      Snyder c 3   0   1   0   .220

Moehler p 2   0   0   0   .000      Buckner p 2   0   1   0   .167

a-R.Ortiz ph 1   0   0   0   .250      Boyer p 0   0   0   0   .000

Fulchino p 0   0   0   0   .000      Rauch p 0   0   0   0   ---

c-Erstad ph 1   0   0   0   .117      b-Montero ph 1   0   0   0   .225

Valverde p 0   0   0   0   ---      Zavada p 0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 32   8   8   8         Qualls p 0   0   0   0   .000

Totals 31   3   7   3      

a-fouled out for Moehler in the 7th. b-grounded into a double play for Rauch in the 7th. c-grounded out for Fulchino in the 9th. LOB: Houston 1, Arizona 4. 2B: Tejada 2 (23), Byrnes (11), Reynolds (15), Buckner (1). HR: Berkman (13), off Buckner; Pence (8), off Buckner; S.Drew (4), off Moehler; Reynolds (17), off Moehler. RBIs: Bourn (14), Tejada 2 (36), Pence (26), Berkman 2 (37), I.Rodriguez (26), Michaels (4), S.Drew 2 (23), Reynolds (45). SB: Bourn 2 (22), Pence (8), Berkman (2). SF: I.Rodriguez. RLSP: Houston 1 (Kata); Arizona 2 (C.Young, S.Drew). RA: Tejada, J.Upton. GIDP: Kata, Moehler, Byrnes, Montero. DP: Houston 2 (Moehler, Kata, Berkman), (Kata, Tejada, Berkman); Arizona 2 (Buckner, S.Drew, F.Lopez), (F.Lopez, S.Drew, Whitesell).

Houston walks (3): Bourn, Pence, Berkman.

Arizona walks (3): Byrnes, J.Upton, Whitesell.

Houston strikeouts (8): Bourn, Pence, Berkman, I.Rodriguez, Michaels 2, Maysonet, Moehler.

Arizona strikeouts (6): F.Lopez, J.Upton, Reynolds, C.Young, Whitesell, Snyder.

Houston IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Moehler (W) 6   6   3   3   2   2   89   6.66

Fulchino 2   1   0   0   1   1   27   2.57

Valverde 1   0   0   0   0   3   15   4.82

Arizona IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Buckner (L) 5   5   6   6   3   5   84   7.36

Boyer 1   1   0   0   0   0   16   6.10

Rauch 1   2   2   2   0   0   20   5.28

Zavada 1   0   0   0   0   2   11   0.00

Qualls 1   0   0   0   0   1   6   3.86

W: Moehler, 3-4. L: Buckner, 2-3.

Buckner pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. IR-S: Boyer 3-2. WP: Rauch. Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; first, Jim Reynolds; second, Brian Knight; third, Dana DeMuth.

T: 2:41. A: 26,937 (48,652).