"Derrek Lee kicked down the door in his first game as a Pirates player, but it wasn't enough to stop the team's recent stretch of misfortune.

Lee hit two home runs, but the Pirates lost, 5-3, Monday to the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. They have lost four in a row, six of seven and nine of their past 12.

"There's ups, there's downs, there's challenges," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We've had our share. We got to play through them."

That doesn't mean ignoring them.

"One of the things I'm enjoying seeing right now is anger," Hurdle said, referring to his club's reaction to the struggles.

"[Ticked] off would be a good word," starter Paul Maholm said. "Obviously it's no fun when you're losing. We had a decent series in Atlanta. Obviously we lost a couple games but we played well. Philly we didn't really play well. [Monday night] we got some hits but they were able to string those hits together in the sixth to make it a big inning."

The Pirates acquired Lee, along with Ryan Ludwick, before the trade deadline to bolster the offense, and the front office watched its plan come together Monday night. Lee hit a solo home run to left field in the fourth to tie the score, 1-1, then hit a two-run shot in the eighth. He became the first to hit two home runs in his Pirates debut since Shawon Dunston in 1997."