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Notes: Ward's slam aided by Maddux?
CHICAGO -- Daryle Ward didn't plan on bringing out his good luck T-shirt on Sunday. He doesn't want it to lose its magic.
Ward, who hit his first home run with the Cubs on Saturday, a grand slam in the 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, has been switching shirts in hopes of finding a lucky one. How many shirts does he have?
"There's a lot of them," he said Sunday. "The one I [had Saturday] was a Greg Maddux shirt. My number was 31. I haven't hit too many home runs without that No. 31. Out of respect for Maddux [who wore No. 31 with the Cubs], me and [Ted] Lilly took different numbers."
Lilly, in case you didn't know, wears No. 30 for the Cubs. Ward doesn't wear the Maddux shirt.
"I just look at it, and see it and think about it -- but that wasn't working," he said. "I just keep it in my locker. I don't know if it's working."
He also doesn't want to get too superstitious about his T-shirts. Does he eat the same thing?
"That's too much," Ward said, laughing.
So, will he check out his Maddux shirt on Sunday?
"No," he said. "I'll save it for when I need it, and then I'll bring it out again. This shirt is put away because it's 1-for-3 with a grand slam. You put it away, and go get it when you need it. You don't want to run the well dry."
He will use the same bat on Sunday that he used Saturday. But that's more of a "feel" thing than anything else. He says he's not superstitious, folks.
"Well, I am just a little bit," Ward said.
Roster move: Cliff Floyd was switched from the bereavement list to the restricted list on Sunday. It's basically a technicality. Players can remain on the bereavement list a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven.
Floyd was placed on the bereavement list one week ago because of the death of his father, but is expected to make the trip to San Francisco and be activated on Tuesday.
Players can be on the restricted list for an indefinite amount of time, but they are not paid.
Penmanship: The Cubs bullpen is set up well heading into the final six weeks of the season, plus they will be able to add some backups on Sept. 1, when rosters expand.
"Next month won't be tough -- we'll have 85 people here," Cubs reliever Scott Eyre said.
He was joking.
"The way I manage, I try to win in nine innings," manager Lou Piniella said. "I don't really like extra innings, if we can avoid it. First of all, you don't get paid any extra for extra innings. You're also using a lot of bullpen to try to win in 12, 13, 14 innings, and that hurts you more than anything else."
One other thing Piniella tries to avoid is getting pitchers warmed up but not getting them in the game. He has done that the last two games with Kerry Wood.
"When I do that, I usually apologize to the pitcher because I don't feel good about it," Piniella said. "Sometimes you just can't help it."
Wood has been able to adjust well to the relief role and said he needs 11-12 pitches to get loose.
"The only one who really gets up and can pitch right off the bench is Scotty," Wood said. "He jumps up and he's ready to go right away."
However, there was the game in Colorado when Wood got up and wasn't called upon. That's because he had about 40 seconds to get ready before he was needed.
Safe at home: Jason Kendall was in the right place at the right time in the sixth inning Saturday. Albert Pujols was on third and tried to score when the pitch by Carlos Marmol got away from Kendall. The ball bounced off the brick backstop and back to Kendall, who threw while on his stomach to Marmol covering at home.
"It ricocheted," Kendall said. "I got a good bounce. I got a lucky bounce. I picked it up, threw it, and it accidently went in the right place."
The Cardinals thought Pujols was safe, but Kendall didn't take advantage of the second rain delay in Saturday's game to look at the replay. Wrigley Field is unique in its backstop.
"Certain places are like that," Kendall said. "Pittsburgh has brick. It's just a matter of where it hits and how it hits, and fortunately it caromed close to me."
Kendall has the best view of the scoreboard at Wrigley but wasn't watching what the Brewers were doing Saturday.
"I'll be honest with you, I don't watch," he said. "I learned -- you take care of yourself. Do you watch? Yeah, I think it's human nature to look at the score, especially when it's right in front of you. Yes, you watch. You've got to take care of your own business. Worry about yourself and not what they do. You can't control what they do."
Extra bases: Ryan Theriot is thriving in the leadoff spot but when Alfonso Soriano returns, he'll be back at the top of the Cubs' order, Piniella said. Soriano's batting practice session on the field Sunday was canceled because of the rainy weather. ... Piniella said he can understand why Cardinals manager Tony La Russa uses his pitcher in the eighth spot but won't change his ways. "Will I do it? Probably not, because I didn't think of it," Piniella said, laughing. ... Carmen Pignatiello had a unique one-pitch strikeout Saturday. He took the mound after the second rain delay, which was 65 minutes long, and faced Chris Duncan. Bob Howry had worked the count to 1-2 before play was halted by rain. Pignatiello threw one pitch, a breaking ball, and Duncan was called out. "I've faced him in the Minor Leagues," Pignatiello said. "I knew I was going to throw a breaking ball the whole time. The whole time I was [in the clubhouse during the delay] I knew what I was going to throw him. ... I've never had a one-pitch strikeout. It's pretty unique."
Minor matters: Jeff Samardzija improved to 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA Double-A Tenessee's 10-4 win over Chattanooga on Saturday. Jeff Samardzija gave up four runs on six hits over five innings and struck out seven. ... Juan Mateo gave up five runs on five hits over four innings in Triple-A Iowa's 7-6 loss to Memphis. Geovany Soto and Scott Moore each homered for Iowa. ... Joel Santo gave up five runs on four hits and seven walks over 4 1/3 innings in Class A Daytona's 9-2 loss to Palm Beach. ... Robert Hernandez gave up four runs on six hits over six innings in Class A Peoria's 4-0 loss to Clinton. ... Dustin Sasser gave up one run over 5 2/3 innings in Class A Boise's 3-0 loss to Spokane.
On deck: Lilly will start Monday in the series finale against Joel Pineiro and the Cardinals. Lilly is 5-1 with a 3.92 ERA since the All-Star break, and 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts against the Cardinals this year. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Comcast Sports Net.
See more at http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com
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