(My Sportsbook) - Nobody had an answer for the red hot Philadelphia Phillies heading into Wednesday night. The Cubs had suffered through back-to-back excruciating 4-3 losses at Veterans Stadium, allowing the Phillies to push their season-high winning streak to seven.

Chicago appeared to be destined to become just another victim on the Phils' route to the top of the NL East. The one man standing in Philly's way of winning its fifth straight series was starting pitcher Matt Clement, who had taken three of his last four decisions.

Philly understandably wasn't shaking in its boots, considering it had already posted Mark Prior's season-high allotment for hits on Tuesday. Prior and Kerry Wood typically garner all the headlines for the Cubs, while Clement toils in the shadows. Unlike his days in Florida, Clement is one of the least heralded starters in the rotation.

So when Clement went to the hill Wednesday, the Phillies expected to get to him. It didn't happen, as he used an assortment of off-speed pitches and well- placed fastballs en route to taming the Philadelphia lineup. Clement pitched without a bit of run support through seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to David Bell.

He permitted a season-high six walks, but they came at the right time. None of the free passes ended up hurting the Butler, PA native, who also struck out five.

"That's the closest to where I want to pitch," said Clement, who tossed 104 pitches. "I walked more than I have in any game all year, but what I liked was that I was very aggressive. I can start seeing stuff coming together a little, and this is a good time to peak for me.

"It's a big win for us, because we've been scuffling a little bit, so hopefully, we can build on this one. We've been playing a number of hot teams, but we've been fortunate that no one in our division is hot."

Clement was pulled after seven innings and was left to hope that the bullpen could come through in the clutch for the first time in a while. Relievers Mark Guthrie, Kyle Farnsworth (3-0) and Joe Borowski combined to twirl two spotless innings.

Sammy Sosa provided the big blast for the Cubs in the ninth, as he belted a solo homer to snap the scoreless tie and give them a 1-0 win. The long ball was Sosa's 11th of the season.

"It was great for us to win a game like that," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "Matt Clement gave us a tremendous boost, along with Sammy Sosa's home run, and Borowski's save. One-run games is how we usually win things around here, because we don't blow anybody out. But it starts with one. Everything starts with one."

The Cubs timed their win over the Phillies just right, as both St. Louis and Houston suffered losses. For the time being, Chicago has pulled into a three- way tie for the top spot in the Central. The Cubs have still won just two times in their last eight contests.

WHO'S HOT

First baseman Eric Karros has been terrific at the plate in the last three games, going 8-12 (.666) with four doubles and two runs scored. Karros has lifted his batting average 26 points to .318.

WHO'S NOT

Moises Alou hasn't been at his best in his past four games, registering only one hit in 15 plate appearances. Alou's only hit was homer on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox. The outfielder was given the night off on Wednesday.

COMING UP

After finishing up its set against the Phillies tonight, the Cubs head home for a huge three-game series versus arch-rival St. Louis. Following Thursday's contest, Chicago won't have another road tilt until after the All-Star break.