THREE UP ... 

Heck of a tuneup

Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly put manager Lou Piniella in a sticky situation by holding the Brewers hitless through six innings. But then Lilly made it easy on his boss in the seventh by giving up two straight hits, which allowed Piniella to pull him after 80 pitches in his last start before the playoffs this week. 

Over the top

The crowd of 45,288 -- pretty evenly divided between Cubs and Brewers fans -- was the fifth largest crowd of the season and pushed the Brewers over the 3 million mark in attendance for the first time in franchise history. ''I sure wish there is going to be 43, 44,000 Brewers fans (Sunday),'' manager Dale Sveum said. ''Obviously, that wish can't come true.''

Another good effort

The Brewers bullpen trio of Mark DiFelice, Dave Bush and Manny Parra combined for 5.2 innings of two-hit shutout relief after Sveum removed starter Ben Sheets. 

... THREE DOWN

Sheets' swan song

With free agency looming this off-season, right-hander Ben sheets may have made his last appearance for the Brewers. Sheets said his ailing right elbow will likely keep him from pitching any more games if the Brewers reach the postseason. 

Standing in the shadows

Despite the clear skies and a 76-degree temperature at game time, the roof at Miller Park was closed because of what a Brewers official termed a ''players request.'' The afternoon shadows are notorious here and worse at this time of the year as the sun's angle changes the deeper we get into fall. Didn't do the Brewers any good, though, against Lilly. 

Torres concerns

Ten days ago, Torres was on the wrong end of the Cubs' four-run rally that led to an extra-inning victory for Chicago and a depressing loss for the Brewers. This time he gave up three runs, two of which came on a home run, in the ninth. He was unable to contain the 4-3 deficit.