Padres 4, Cubs 3

Wow, talk about a well-earned win.

Left-hander Shawn Estes' 100th Major League win came Tuesday night as the Padres beat Chicago at Wrigley Field after more than two years of waiting, of working, of hoping.

Estes suffered a ligament tear in his first Padres start in April 2006 and went through two years of rehabilitaiton before making his second Padres start Tuesday.

Then he fell behind 3-0 in the first two innings. As in his rehab, he didn't buckle under, and he kept the Cubs off the board for the rest of his 5 1/3 innings pitched.

And he scored the go-ahead run as the Padres scored four times in the fourth inning.

"It was never an easy inning today," Estes told reporters in Chicago.

Of course not, not much has come easy for the lefty in recent years. That makes No. 100 all the more impressive.

Kudos, too, to the 1-2-3 bullpen punch of Cla Meredith, Heath Bell and Trevor Hoffman, who preserved that slim lead.

With April behind him, we saw the Hoffman we know. He blew a 1-2 fastball past Reed Johnson. It had plenty of life and was spotted perfectly off the outside corner. With two strikes, Johnson had to offer and he had not chance to do anything with it even if he weren't so late with his swing. Then Hoffman used the change-up to toy with Mike Fontenot, who never had faced him.

Save No. 531. Nice.

So now the Padres have Jake Peavy pitching with the team coming off a win. It's only the second time this season that's happened. Arizona's Brandon Webb prevented Peavy from getting a winning streak going on April 27 at PETCO Park. This time, it's Ted Lilly trying to prevent the Padres and Peavy from getting on a roll.

FJ