By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune –
PITTSBURGH — Paul Maholm spent seven years in Pittsburgh pitching for lousy Pirates teams before joining the Cubs this offseason as a free agent.
As luck would have it, the Pirates finally got their act together after Maholm’s departure, while the Cubs are in the early stages of what could be a long and difficult rebuilding program.
“They have a good thing going over there,” Maholm said Tuesday after he and the Cubs 5-1 victory over the Pirates. “I enjoyed my time here (in Pittsburgh), but I’m enjoying my time in Chicago, too. Like I said in St. Louis, I want to come in and kind of spoil some things.”
Maholm (9-6) allowed one run on four hits in eight innings against his former teammates, striking out seven.
He leads the Cubs in victories, and over his last six outings, including a one-inning relief appearance in New York before the All-Star break, Maholm is 5-0 with an 0.94 ERA.
“Paulie is just one of those guys who has been around a long time,” manager Dale Sveum said. “He’s somewhat coming into his own. We forget he had a 3.66 earned-run average last year. The wins weren’t there, but if you have a 3.66 earned-run average, you had a pretty good year. Take his first start away and one other one, and he has been pretty good for most of this year.”
With the Pirates acquiring Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros Tuesday night, Maholm’s chances of being traded back to them probably are gone.
“There are going to be rumors for the next week,” he said. “You have to deal with them. They have a plan over there and they’re doing what they think is best for the team.”
Maholm became the first Cubs left-hander since Hippo Vaughn in 1918 to post five successive starts of throwing six or more innings and allowing one or fewer runs. He said he never heard of Vaughn.
“He’s probably not around to see me,” he said. “He doesn’t know me either. Sorry.”
Starlin Castro and Alfonso Soriano homered for the Cubs, and David DeJesus delivered a two-run single, giving them the series.
Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth, getting a double play grounder to end it after putting two men on.
Garza watch: Matt Garza left the team Tuesday afternoon to be with his wife, who is expecting their fourth child in a couple of days.
Sveum said Garza won’t pitch this weekend against the Cardinals, but wouldn’t rule out starting him Monday against the Pirates at Wrigley Field, one day before the trade deadline. He has not thrown since suffering triceps cramping during Saturday’s start.
“If on Friday he can throw, we’ll go from there,” Sveum said.
