Pittsburgh ? Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra scratched out a hit and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first time since Opening Day that he has made a major contribution to a Cubs victory.

With a .182 average and four RBIs in 11 games, Garciaparra is off to a slow start in his first full season as a Cub.

“These times happen,” Garciaparra said. “You understand it the more and more you play. Fortunately, I have couple of years under my belt. You just roll with it.”

A career .322 hitter against right-handed pitchers, Garciaparra is 5-for-32 (.156) against right-handers this season, a puzzling slump for one of the game’s most consistent hitters.

“It’s been tough,” Garciaparra said. “It’s something you battle through every day. What pleased me today was getting a guy in from third (with a sac fly).

“That meant more to me than that base hit. You know when you may not feel the most comfortable at the plate, and you’re struggling, you still try to do the little things to help the team.”

No one is too concerned about Garciaparra’s early slump, which has coincided with a team slump since a 23-hit attack on Opening Day.

“I know the guys in here work hard and expect good things out of each other,” Jerry Hairston said. “We know Nomar is around a lifetime .330 hitter, so you know he’s going to hit. Other guys are going to get hot. We’ll be all right.”

Though he’s known as a first-ball fastball hitter, Garciaparra has made some adjustments and worked the count more often over the weekend. Garciaparra was one of the league’s hottest hitters in spring training, but hasn’t been able to carry that over.

Spring training, Garciaparra said, was no indication of how a player would perform when the season started.

“That happens,” he said. “You just keep working hard. The work never stops.”