It was probably a bad omen when a group named Stormy Weather sangthe national anthem Monday night.
And it certainly wasn't a good sign for the Cubs that FrankCastillo, one of their struggling starting pitchers, was already outof the game when Mother Nature provided a 60-minute encore in thethird inning.
But the positives would outweigh the negatives for the Cubs bythe end of this 11-inning marathon as Rick Wilkins crushed his firstcareer grand slam to cap off a 10-6 come-from-behind victory overPhiladelphia at Wrigley Field.
Wilkins homer was his 25th, placing him second behindHall-of-Famer Gabby Hartnett for most homers by a Cub catcher in aseason. Hartnett had 37 in 1930.
"What can I say," Wilkins said. "It's very satifying to reapthe rewards from your hard work."
Before his blast off reliever Roger Mason, Wilkins was 0-for-5at the plate Monday - and 0-for-14 vs. the Phillies this season.
"I didn't have a good night at the plate with the exception ofone swing," Wilkins said. "But I've been doing things (offensively)which I always thought I was capable of."
The Cubs bullpen showed it was more than capable, bailing outCastillo by allowing just three hits in nine innings of shutoutrelief.
The Phillies poured it on Castillo early and often Monday.
Castillo was lifted after giving up hits - includingback-to-back home runs to John Kruk and Dave Hollins - to the firstfour Phillies he faced in the four-run third.
"Frankie was in trouble early," Wilkins said. "He made somemistakes tonight and if you do that, this team is going to poundyou.'
Officially, Castillo gave up six runs on eight hits in twoinnings, including the home run (No. 16) Lenny Dykstra hit tolead-off the game.
After Dykstra sent Castillo's 2-2 pitch into the right-centerbleachers to start the game, Dave Hollins (two-out single) scoredfrom first on Darren Daulton's opposite-field double and the Philliesled 2-0.
But the Cubs came right back and gave Castillo another chance,scoring three runs in the first with three doubles off starter CurtSchilling.
Dwight Smith, who led off with a two-base hit, scored whensecond baseman Mariano Duncan committed an error on Ryne Sandberg'sgrounder. Sandberg scored from first on Mark Grace's double toright, and the game was tied.
Grace, who advanced to third on Derrick May's deep fly to right,scored the go-ahead run on Sammy Sosa's double to center.
Castillo fell apart in the third.
After Castillo gave up a single to Dykstra, a triple to Duncanand the homers to Kruk and Hollins, Lefebvre him in favor of relieverShawn Boskie. Boskie held the Phillies scoreless on one hit in threeinnings.
After cutting the Philadelphia lead to 6-4 in the fifth, whenSmith, who had led off the inning with a single and was balked tosecond, scored on a single by Sandberg, the Cubs tied the game in theseventh with a little help from relief pitcher Dave West.
Grace, who scored Sandberg (lead-off single) with his seconddouble of the night and his 999th career hit, crossed the plate withthe Cubs sixth' run when West threw two wild pitches to Sosa.
May, who kept the Cubs' chances alive when he beat out a two-outinfield hit in the 11th inning, pulled his left hamstring on theplay. He will be re-evaluated today.
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