The sudden pitching shortage could force the Cubs to go back to the minors to get either Frank Castillo or Turk Wendell.
Castillo is 3-2 with a 3.57 earned-run average at Triple-A Iowa.
Wendell (8-3) has an ERA just under 3.00 and a five-game winning streak, including three complete games in his last five starts.
Amazing: The game-winner Mark Grace hit Tuesday off loser Mark Dewey (2-1) was the first home run Grace has hit on the road this year. It also extended his hitting streak to 12 games, longest by a Cubs this year.
Quick starts: The home run that Shawon Dunston hit off Zane Smith on the third pitch of the game was the ninth time this season a Cub batter has led off the game with a homer. Dunston has done it three times. Sammy Sosa did it twice and Tuffy Rhodes did it four times.
Three’s company: Rick Wilkins also homered, his sixth of the year, on the first pitch after he was knocked down by a high inside throw by Ravelo Manzanillo. It was the seventh time the Cubs have had three or more homers in a game this year.
Bad vibes: Think Wrigley Field is hostile to the Cubs this year? How about Three Rivers Stadium? Even after Tuesday night’s victory, the Cubs are 68-141 at Three Rivers.