PITTSBURGH Manager's faith in Goodwin is paid back with solo homer

The Pirates lost for the 13th time in their last 18 games.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Tom Goodwin knew he still could play even after being released by the Giants last year. The challenge was making someone else think the utility outfielder's career wasn't over.
Dusty Baker was that man.
Baker had just changed jobs, leaving the NL champion Giants to manage the Cubs. He reassured Goodwin he would try to find a spot for him in Chicago.
Given a chance
"We talked in the off-season and he told me if things worked out, I would have a chance to make the team," Goodwin said. "That meant something, coming from a man like Dusty."
Baker's confidence paid off Thursday night as Goodwin's solo homer in the ninth inning carried the Cubs past the Pirates 3-2.
"I've got a lot of faith in him. He did a good job for me," Baker said of Goodwin, whose three-hit night lifted his average from .147 to .205. "And what a way to win a game, his first homer as a Cub."
Goodwin started Thursday only because right fielder Sammy Sosa is on the disabled list and Troy O'Leary got the night off.
Goodwin figured in all of the Cubs' scoring. He and pitcher Matt Clement singled ahead of Corey Patterson's two-run double in the third against Kris Benson.
Goodwin's homer off reliever Scott Sauerbeck (0-4) was only his 24th in 14 seasons and his fourth against a left-hander. It also was his first since July 21, when he homered off the Dodgers' Giovanni Carrara.
The Cubs won even as Clement remained winless in five starts since beating the Pirates 7-2 on April 18. Given the 2-0 lead, Clement gave up solo homers to Reggie Sanders leading off the third and Brian Giles to start the fourth.
Anemic
But the Pirates had only two hits over the final five innings, with Mike Remlinger (3-0) pitching a scoreless eighth and Joe Borowski finishing up for his eighth save in 10 chances.
Benson limited the Cubs to two runs in eight hits despite yielding 11 hits, but the Pirates lost their 13th in 18 games overall and their 17th in 24 home games.
Still, center fielder Kenny Lofton echoed manager Lloyd McClendon's recent promise the Pirates appear ready to turn their season around. Lofton doubled in four at-bats to run his hitting streak to 20 games and made an excellent running catch of Goodwin's drive into the left-center gap in the eighth.
"The guys are starting to swing the bats, the pitchers are throwing well, we're getting better," Lofton said.