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Final Score: Pittsburgh 1 - Chicago Cubs 5

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Ted Lilly tossed 6 1/3 frames of one-run ball and Geovany Soto knocked in two runs, as the Chicago Cubs dispatched of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1, in the middle contest of a three-game set from Wrigley Field.

Lilly (11-6) gave up six hits and three walks while fanning five to pick up the win and Reed Johnson chipped in with a 3-for-4 game with two runs scored for Chicago, which dropped the first game of this series after winning five straight.

"It's one thing to go out there making good pitches and guys get hits," Lilly explained. "Or maybe there's some close plays here and there, some broken-bat hits. Those things are going to happen. The idea as a pitcher is to try to control the damage and not create those situations on your own."

Chicago currently holds a four-game lead on Milwaukee and a five-game lead over St. Louis for first place in the NL Central. Chicago swept the Brewers in a four-game set earlier this week.

Ryan Doumit was 3-for-4 with a run scored while Paul Maholm (7-7) was roughed up for five runs on eight hits and two walks to receive the loss. The left- hander had allowed two runs or less in five of his last six starts for Pittsburgh, which were winners in three of their last four entering the game.

Pittsburgh loaded the bases in the second on a Doumit double and a pair of walks from Lilly before Maholm helped his own cause with an RBI dribbler to short, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

"He's a gutsy kid," Cubs manager Lou Pinella said. "He doesn't back off. He gets after it. And it shows. Even though early in the game at times he wavers a little bit, boy, he just collects himself, digs in and does a heck of a job."

The Cubs erased the Bucs brief lead in the bottom half putting runners at the corners courtesy of an Aramis Ramirez double and a Johnson single. A wild pitch from Maholm put Johnson on second before Soto plated a run with a ground out and Ronny Cedeno lined an RBI single to center.

Chicago then took a 4-1 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Johnson and Mark DeRosa started things with back-to-back singles and executed a double steal before Soto drove an RBI single to right and Cedeno plated a run with on a double-play ball.

Alfonso Soriano doubled leading off the fifth and scored an insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Derrek Lee.

The Pirates got leadoff singles in the sixth and seventh but stranded both runners. Jack Wilson then started the eighth with a single and moved to third on a double to right from Doumit but Bob Howry came back to get Andy LaRoche on a ground out and Steve Pearce popped out to end the inning.

Carlos Marmol came on in the ninth and worked around a two-out walk to Jason Michaels to close it out.