ATLANTA -- On June 2, Juan Pierre was 3-for-7 in the Cubs' 5-4, 14-inning win over St. Louis. It was the seventh straight game in which the center fielder got a hit, but, more important, it was the start of a successful stretch.

In the first two months of the season, Pierre batted .240. He's the first to admit he didn't play well. Since the beginning of June, he's hitting .318 and was tied for first among the National League leaders in hits entering Sunday's action.

Pierre has had to adjust to Wrigley Field. The thick grass will swallow up balls he doesn't hit well, and it has been tough to find a gap. The difference now?

"I think it's more that my swing got better than the field," Pierre said Sunday. "The ballpark doesn't change. It's more my swing and hitting the ball harder and taking aggressive swings. A couple balls, the grass eats them up [at Wrigley], but I've been hitting them hard enough to get through now."

On Sunday, Pierre recorded his 55th multi-hit game of the season. Over the last 50 years, only 20 Cubs have had 55 or more multi-hit games. Pierre also has 18 games with three or more hits. Over the last 50 years, only one Cub -- Bill Buckner -- has had more than 19 games with three or more hits.

Sammy Sosa leads the list of Cubs with the most multi-hit games with 66 in 1998. Billy Williams had 62 in 1970, 60 in 1965 and 59 in 1969. Ron Santo had 58 in 1963, and seven players reached 57: Ernie Banks in 1958, Santo in 1964, Buckner in 1980, Andre Dawson in 1988, Ryne Sandberg in 1990, Mark Grace in 1996 and Sosa in 2000.

If Pierre finishes the season leading the National League in hits, the Cubs would have the league hit leader in back-to-back seasons for the second time ever. Derrek Lee was the league leader lsat season. Abner Dalrymple and Cap Anson topped the National League in hits in 1880 and 1881, respectively.

But Pierre doesn't like to talk about numbers. He is just trying to survive the last month of a disappointing first season in Chicago.

"This is about the toughest I've been around," he said of this month. "It seems like every day you get a lead or get good pitching and you don't score runs. It seems like something happens every game to break the game for us. It's tough. It's almost like, as a team, we're waiting for it to happen instead of going out there and playing. It's like we're playing, and then, 'Uh oh, it's going too good.' It's tough."

Like in the first inning Sunday, when Pierre was safe on an infield hit, but one out later, Aramis Ramirez lined out to Atlanta's Adam LaRoche at first base, who stepped on the bag for a double play.

Want another example? How about when Pierre was thrown out at third base trying to steal in the eighth last Tuesday against Pittsburgh for the second out of the inning.

"It's one of those things -- you try to get to third with less than two outs," said Pierre, who has the green light. "I was trying to take pressure off whoever was behind me [Ryan Theriot]. It's one of those things -- every time you try to do something, it looks like it backfires now. You have to keep playing through. It'll make everybody better if they go about it right and not give up."

The young Cubs players can learn a lot by watching Pierre. He's usually the first at the ballpark, and makes a point of checking out the dirt around first base, the outfield, the wall. He's diligent in his work habits.

"I'm not [very] vocal, but how I go about my business, maybe they can pick up on it and see things," Pierre said. "We're just young. These are mistakes you'd see in a Double-A game. That's not saying they're not good, but they've been pushed along. I know you see what the Marlins guys and other young guys are doing, but guys figure it out at different times. Look at [Philadelphia's] Ryan Howard; he's 26 years old. It's not like he's 22.

"Guys figure it out at different times," Pierre said. "If they use it as a stepping stone to help them and not get discouraged, that's the thing. You get young guys up too early they might lose that confidence and that edge that got them here."

Will Pierre be around next year to continue his tutoring? He's a free agent after this season, and his status, as well as that of Cubs manager Dusty Baker, is uncertain. Baker is in the last year of his contract.

"I haven't really thought about it yet," Pierre said. "I haven't sat down and thought about it. If Dusty's not back, [my decision is based] more on who are they going to bring in. It might be a manager who doesn't like to run. There are some managers like that. That would affect my decision making.

"I don't want to go to a team where I can't maximize my abilities," he said. "Some teams it doesn't do you any good to run because the lineup is so stacked. I still believe I still should run. I don't know any big guy who doesn't like a guy in scoring position with less than two outs. But sometimes the manager or the organization doesn't like guys to run."