PITTSBURGH - It's not that Matt Clement has anything against making history.

But this wasn't what he had in mind.

The Chicago Cubs pitcher hit three Pittsburgh batters in the bottom of the fifth inning in the first game of Friday's doubleheader at PNC Park, tying a major league record for most hit batsmen in one frame.

The Butler native became the 21st major league hurler to do so.

The right-hander left the game after 4

innings trailing 4-1 and ended up not factoring into the decision in Pittsburgh's 9-5 victory. It was his first no-decision of the season.

Clement's record remains at 6-3, while his ERA was raised to 3.05.

"I just got into a rut and did a horrible job getting out of it," Clement said. "You just can't let an inning get away from you like that."

The erratic fifth frame followed a commanding performance by Clement in the first four innings, when he allowed just two base runners and struck out four Pirates in a row at one point.

He ended the night with six strikeouts and one walk.

The Cubs entered the bottom of the fifth with a 1-0 advantage.

Randall Simon's leadoff single was followed by Clement's beaning of Bobby Hill.

Tike Redman's single to right loaded the bases, before Simon scored on a wild pitch.

Jason Kendall and Craig Wilson were also hit by Clement pitches. After Wilson took first base, Cubs manager Dusty Baker pulled Clement in favor of former Pirate Jimmy Anderson.

"I don't know what happened out there," Baker said of Clement's sudden control problems. "That's the first time I've seen that from him."

"It wasn't one pitch that kept getting away from me," said Clement. "To Hill, it was a cutter, then I hit Kendall with a fastball and with Wilson, it was a slider. So they were three different pitches."

Clement, who entered the game leading the Cubs' pitching staff with six wins, was let off the hook when teammate Michael Barrett hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the seventh to put Chicago up 5-4.

Mackowiak won it for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the ninth with a grand slam of his own.

"To have Michael pick me up like that, and for the game to end like it did - it stinks," said Clement.

It was Chicago's third loss in a row, marking the first time this season that the team has lost as many as three straight.

That string was extended to four games with a 5-4 loss in the second game of Friday night's doubleheader.

Two key members of the Cubs starting rotation, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, are currently on the disabled list.

Prior has been plagued all season by an inflamed Achilles tendon and a sore right elbow. He could be back as early as next weekend.

Wood, who is fighting tendinitis in his right arm, will not be back until at least mid-June.

"I'm not putting any more pressure on myself because they're out," said Clement. "It would do no good to do that.

"You want to perform well every game, regardless of who else is in the rotation," added Clement.

"Matt can only do what Matt can do," Baker said. "But this was the first time I've seen him come unraveled like that."

Notes:

Before Friday night, the last Cubs pitcher to hit three batters in one inning was Walter Thornton in 1898. … Los Angeles' Kaz Ishii had been the last major league pitcher to shoulder the dubious feat (2003). … Clement entered the doubleheader in eighth place in the National League in earned run average (2.69). … The outing was Clement's second shortest of the season and broke a string of eight straight starts in which he lasted at least six innings.