Wells Keeps Rolling

Cubs right-hander Randy Wells wants nothing to do with any discussion of him being the NL Rookie of the Year.

"I don't want to talk about it," Wells said. "I'm not going to answer this question. It's too early."

Wells won for the seventh time in eight starts Wednesday as the Cubs beat the Astros 12-0. For the season, he's 7-4 with a 2.84 ERA.

Wednesday's performance was an important one because the Cubs needed innings from Wells after two games in which the bullpen was used up.

Wells turned in eight innings, and manager Lou Piniella said he's been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season. The 26-year-old Wells came up from Class AAA Iowa on May 8.

"He's pitched exceedingly well," Piniella said. "Yeah, I wonder where we'd be without him."

Wells has turned in 12 of the Cubs' 62 quality starts.