Rangers 2, Cubs 1

Hero: Ted Lilly (1-4) did not have his best stuff, but battled through 6 2/3 innings. The veteran left-hander allowed two runs (both earned) on six hits while walking three and striking out four.

Goat: Lou Piniella. Friday's game was one of nine for the Cubs this season with the designated hitter. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to start Tyler Colvin in left and Alfonso Soriano at DH, but Piniella instead elected to go with Xavier Nady (1-for-4) in the DH spot. Soriano misplayed a Josh Hamilton double in the eighth inning and Colvin (now hitting .306) delivered a pinch double in the ninth.

Key Play: Mike Fontenot, playing out of position at third base, and second baseman Ryan Theriot each committed throwing errors on the same play to allow Ian Kinsler, who reached with a leadoff infield single in the fourth, to reach third. It set the stage for a two-run Texas inning.

Comment: The Cubs (19-24) have lost three of their last seven. In each of those losses, they had the tying run at third base in the ninth with two outs and failed to score. On Friday, Kosuke Fukudome stranded Colvin at third when he popped out to Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Next: The Rangers (25-18), winners of five in a row and a season-high seven games over .500, send Derek Holland (2-0, 2.38 ERA) against the Cubs' Randy Wells (3-2, 4.13) on Saturday (Fox, 6:10 p.m.).