Standing-room-only tickets for three-game series on sale now Pirates Headlines ? Snell picks up first win since April ? Bullington's long layoff a concern ? ? Capps' first blown save leads to loss ? Pirates keep reaching for .500 mark ? More

His last appearance came in a five-inning start for Triple-A Indianapolis on May 25. For a while, both manager John Russell and general manager Neal Huntington assuaged concerns about Bullington's lengthy layoff. The intrigue of seeing how the

'That's what he's made of,' manager John Russell said. 'That's the kind of guy that he is.' In his pregame session with the media, Russell had said that he would be wary to go to Capps again on Wednesday. By no means was it a lack of confidence in his

with bids due back next month, according to the people who asked not to be identified because the owner, Tribune Co., is trying to keep details of the process confidential. Two sets of books went out. One contains information on the Cubs, Wrigley Field

PITTSBURGH (AP)Washington infielder Ronnie Belliard was in the lineup at second base Tuesday night for a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the day after he was activated from the disabled list after Monday nights home game against San Francisco.

But the key at-bat in the Cubs' 10-5 win over the Atlanta Braves may have come in the eighth, when Scott Eyre came in to pitch. The lefty reliever had to face one batter, Gregor Blanco, but there were two on, two outs, and the Braves had pulled within

PITTSBURGH (AP)The Washington Nationals anemic offense found a way to come to life when they needed it most. Ronnie Belliard hit two homers and Lastings Milledges two-run shot with two outs in the ninth lifted the Nationals to a wild 7-6 win over the

Soriano had four stolen bases in his past 10 games, including one on Tuesday night in the Cubs' win over the Atlanta Braves. He's been caught stealing once this year, and that also was Tuesday in the first inning. On Wednesday, the left fielder

X-rays revealed a minimally displaced fracture of his left fourth metacarpal, the team said. Soriano's finger will be in a splint for three weeks, and team officials said they will have a better idea after that as to when he can return. However, he is

PITTSBURGH (AP)A day after going face-to-face in a somewhat heated argument in the dugout, Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta said there was no rift between him and young outfielder Elijah Dukes. Thats yesterdays news and was for yesterdays paper,