GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: CHICAGO CUBS (73-70) at HOUSTON (62-81)

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
HOUSTON 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0

10 11 R H E
-- -- - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 4 10 0
HOUSTON 0 1 5 10 0 (FINAL 11)

BATTERIES: CHN - JASON MARQUIS, CARLOS MARMOL (6TH), BOBBY HOWRY (8TH), RYAN
DEMPSTER (10TH) AND JASON KENDALL

HOU - BRANDON BACKE, CHRIS SAMPSON (6TH), DAVE
BORKOWSKI (7TH), CHAD QUALLS (8TH), BRAD LIDGE (10TH) AND
HUMBERTO QUINTERO

HOME RUNS: CHN - MARK DEROSA (9) OFF BRANDON BACKE IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

HOU - NONE</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
HOUSTON 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0

10 11 R H E
-- -- - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 4 10 0
HOUSTON 0 1 5 10 0 (FINAL 11)

BATTERIES: CHN - JASON MARQUIS, CARLOS MARMOL (6TH), BOBBY HOWRY (8TH), RYAN
DEMPSTER (10TH) AND JASON KENDALL

HOU - BRANDON BACKE, CHRIS SAMPSON (6TH), DAVE
BORKOWSKI (7TH), CHAD QUALLS (8TH), BRAD LIDGE (10TH) AND
HUMBERTO QUINTERO


WP - BRAD LIDGE (4-2)
LP - RYAN DEMPSTER (2-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHN - MARK DEROSA (9) OFF BRANDON BACKE IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

HOU - NONE


TIME: 3:36 ATT: 33,493

PROBABLES: CHN - RICH HILL (8-8, 4.02)
HOU - MATT ALBERS (4-7, 5.88)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (4) VS HOUSTON (5) - FINAL IN 11 INNINGS

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 5 0 1 0 0 2 4 .293
R Theriot ss 4 0 0 0 2 1 4 .273
D Lee 1b 4 0 1 0 2 1 4 .314
C Floyd rf 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 .286
F Pie pr-cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
c-M Murton ph-rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .270
A Ramirez 3b 5 1 1 0 1 1 4 .319
M DeRosa 2b 5 1 1 3 1 0 3 .287
J Jones cf-rf-cf 6 1 3 0 0 1 3 .275
J Kendall c 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .289
J Marquis p 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .138
C Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-D Ward ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .337
S Fuld pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-M Fontenot ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .288
R Dempster p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 38 4 10 4 10 8 26

a-intentionally walked for C Marmol in the 8th; b-struck out swinging for B
Howry in the 10th; c-walked for F Pie in the 11th.

BATTING: 2B - J Kendall (10, B Backe). HR - M Derosa (9, 3rd inning off B Backe
2 on, 0 Out). S - J Kendall 2, F Pie. RBI - J Kendall (19), M DeRosa 3 (68).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Lee 2, A Ramirez 1, A Soriano 1, J
Jones 2, R Theriot 1. GIDP - R Theriot, M DeRosa. Team LOB - 15.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - A Soriano (H Pence at 2nd base). PB - J Kendall.



HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
H Pence cf 5 0 2 2 0 1 0 .324
C Biggio 2b 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .252
L Berkman 1b 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 .276
C Lee lf 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 .297
M Loretta ss 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 .275
E Bruntlett pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .240
L Scott rf 5 1 2 1 0 2 1 .260
T Wigginton 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .294
H Quintero c 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .217
B Backe p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-J Lane ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .180
C Sampson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154
b-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .240
D Borkowski p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-M Lamb ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
B Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 41 5 10 4 1 9 10

a-singled to left for B Backe in the 5th; b-grounded to first for C Sampson in
the 6th; c-grounded to second for C Qualls in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - C Biggio (29, J Marquis); H Quintero (2, J Marquis); M Loretta
(23, J Marquis). 3B - H Pence (9, J Marquis); L Scott (4, R Dempster). RBI - H
Pence 2 (58), M Loretta (35), L Scott (64). Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - O Palmeiro 1, C Lee 1, L Berkman 1. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: DP: 2 (M Loretta-L Berkman, M Loretta-C Biggio-L Berkman).


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 013 000 000 00 -- 4
HOUSTON - 010 021 000 01 -- 5

One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Marquis 5 8 4 3 0 1 0 4.17
C Marmol 2 1 0 0 0 4 0 1.36
B Howry 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 3.47
R Dempster (L, 2-6) 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 0 0 3.88

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
B Backe 5 6 4 4 4 3 1 5.91
C Sampson 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.59
D Borkowski 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.77
C Qualls 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 2.99
B Lidge (W, 4-2) 2 1 0 0 3 2 0 2.82

J Marquis pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

WP - J Marquis. IBB - D Ward (by C Qualls). HBP - A Soriano (by B Backe).
Pitches-strikes: J Marquis 61-42; C Marmol 34-25; B Howry 23-16; R Dempster
17-9; B Backe 97-53; C Sampson 26-16; D Borkowski 16-10; C Qualls 19-10; B
Lidge 45-26. Ground balls-fly balls: J Marquis 10-4; C Marmol 1-1; B Howry 2-0;
R Dempster 1-3; B Backe 5-7; C Sampson 0-1; D Borkowski 1-1; C Qualls 4-2; B
Lidge 3-1. Batters faced: J Marquis 23; C Marmol 7; B Howry 6; R Dempster 6; B
Backe 25; C Sampson 4; D Borkowski 4; C Qualls 9; B Lidge 10.

UMPIRES: HP--Andy Fletcher. 1B--Mike Reilly. 2B--Jeff Kellogg. 3B--Eric
Cooper.

T--3:36. Att--33,493.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
CHICAGO CUBS 4
HOUSTON 5 FINAL</div>

 

Scott's walk-off triple lifts Astros over Cubs

<h3>HOUSTON 5, CHICAGO CUBS 4 (11 INNINGS)</h3>By Gene Duffey
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs are trying to win theNational League Central, but they can't seem to beat the worstteam in their division on the road.


The Cubs lost their fourth straight to the Houston Astros thisseason at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night when Luke Scotttripled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning offRyan Dempster to shoot down Chicago, 5-4.


Houston swept a three-game series from Chicago here in earlyAugust, although the Cubs did go 6-3 against the Astros thisyear at Wrigley Field.


The Chicago bullpen had been nearly flawless until Scott's hit.Cubs relievers Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry and Dempster gave uponly an infield single and struck out eight from the sixththrough the 10th innings.


Mark Loretta drew a walk from Dempster (2-6) with one out in the11th and Scott tripled in pinch runner Eric Brunlett with thegame-winner.


Brad Lidge (4-2) earned the win with two innings of relief forthe Astros, who received six scoreless innings from theirbullpen.


The Astros trailed, 4-1, until rookie Hunter Pence tripled intwo runs in the bottom of the fifth and Loretta doubled inanother in the sixth to tie it.


Mark DeRosa hit a three-run homer in the third inning for theCubs (73-71), who fell a game behind Milwaukee in the NLCentral. The Brewers (74-70) beat Pittsburgh, 6-1, Tuesdaynight.


It was DeRosa's ninth homer of the season. He entered the gamewith a lifetime .194 average vs. Houston, with only 20 hits andone homer in 103 previous at-bats.


With the game tied at 1-, Cliff Floyd opened Chicago's thirdinning with a walk and moved to third on a single by AramisRamirez. DeRosa then hit a 354-foot line drive over theinvitingly shallow wall in left for a 4-1 lead.


The Cubs nearly won it in the eighth when Ryan Theriot hit adrive to left with two out and runners on first and second. ButAstros left fielder Carlos Lee made a diving catch to end theinning.


Chicago starter Jason Marquis went five-plus innings and waspulled after Lee opened the sixth with a single and Lorettafollowed with a double to tie the game. Marquis allowed eighthits and three earned runs, striking out one and walking none.

Righthander Brandon Backe made his second start for the Astrossince undergoing elbow surgery in September 2006. He lastedfive innings, giving up four runs and six hits while strikingout three and walking four. He had a poor balls-to-strikesratio of 44-53.


Houston's Craig Biggio doubled in the first inning to move intosole possession of fifth place on the all-time list with 666,one ahead of George Brett.


Pence's two-run triple in the fifth set an Astros' rookie recordwith 51 extra-base hits in a season, surpassing Luis Gonzalezand Lance Berkman.


The Astros scored their first run in the second on Scott'ssingle, a groundout, a wild pitch and a passed ball.

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (4) AT HOUSTON (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: M DeRosa flied out to center. J Jones singled to right
center. J Kendall doubled to left, J Jones scored. J Marquis flied out to
left. A Soriano hit by pitch. R Theriot walked, J Kendall to third, A Soriano
to second. D Lee flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1,
HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: M Loretta flied out to center. L Scott singled to center.
T Wigginton grounded out to third, L Scott to second. L Scott to third on wild
pitch by J Marquis. L Scott scored on J Kendall's passed ball. H Quintero flied
out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1, HOUSTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: C Floyd walked. A Ramirez singled to left, C Floyd to
third. M DeRosa homered to left, C Floyd and A Ramirez scored. J Jones
grounded out to first. J Kendall grounded out to shortstop. J Marquis fouled
out to third. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 1.

HOUSTON 5TH: T Wigginton struck out swinging. H Quintero doubled to right.
J Lane hit for B Backe. J Lane singled to left, H Quintero to third. H Pence
tripled to deep right center, H Quintero and J Lane scored. C Biggio grounded
out to shortstop. L Berkman grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 3.

HOUSTON 6TH: C Lee singled to left. M Loretta doubled to deep left center,
C Lee scored. C Marmol relieved J Marquis. L Scott struck out swinging.
T Wigginton reached on infield single to third. H Quintero struck out swinging.
O Palmeiro hit for C Sampson. O Palmeiro grounded out to first. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 11TH: M Murton in right field. J Jones in center field. C Lee
popped out to shortstop. M Loretta walked. E Bruntlett ran for M Loretta.
L Scott tripled to deep center, E Bruntlett scored. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 5.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
HOUSTON 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0

10 11 R H E
-- -- - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 4 10 0
HOUSTON 0 1 5 10 0 (FINAL 11)

BATTERIES: CHN - JASON MARQUIS, CARLOS MARMOL (6TH), BOBBY HOWRY (8TH), RYAN
DEMPSTER (10TH) AND JASON KENDALL

HOU - BRANDON BACKE, CHRIS SAMPSON (6TH), DAVE
BORKOWSKI (7TH), CHAD QUALLS (8TH), BRAD LIDGE (10TH) AND
HUMBERTO QUINTERO


WP - BRAD LIDGE (4-2)
LP - RYAN DEMPSTER (2-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHN - MARK DEROSA (9) OFF BRANDON BACKE IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

HOU - NONE


TIME: 3:36 ATT: 33,493

PROBABLES: CHN - RICH HILL (8-8, 4.02)
HOU - MATT ALBERS (4-7, 5.88)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (4) AT HOUSTON (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicago Cubs Starting Lineups -- A Soriano LF, R Theriot SS, D Lee 1B, C Floyd RF,
A Ramirez 3B, M DeRosa 2B, J Jones CF, J Kendall C, J Marquis RHP.

Houston Starting Lineups -- H Pence CF, C Biggio 2B, L Berkman 1B, C Lee LF,
M Loretta SS, L Scott RF, T Wigginton 3B, H Quintero C, B Backe RHP.

Umpires -- Andy Fletcher (HP), Mike Reilly (1B), Jeff Kellogg (2B), Eric Cooper (3B).

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano struck out swinging. R Theriot walked. D Lee
struck out looking. C Floyd singled to center, R Theriot to third. A Ramirez
flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 1ST: H Pence popped out to second. C Biggio doubled to deep left
center. L Berkman grounded out to first, C Biggio to third. C Lee popped out
to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: M DeRosa flied out to center. J Jones singled to right
center. J Kendall doubled to left, J Jones scored. J Marquis flied out to
left. A Soriano hit by pitch. R Theriot walked, J Kendall to third, A Soriano
to second. D Lee flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1,
HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: M Loretta flied out to center. L Scott singled to center.
T Wigginton grounded out to third, L Scott to second. L Scott to third on wild
pitch by J Marquis. L Scott scored on J Kendall's passed ball. H Quintero flied
out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1, HOUSTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: C Floyd walked. A Ramirez singled to left, C Floyd to
third. M DeRosa homered to left, C Floyd and A Ramirez scored. J Jones
grounded out to first. J Kendall grounded out to shortstop. J Marquis fouled
out to third. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 1.

HOUSTON 3RD: B Backe grounded out to third. H Pence singled to center.
C Biggio hit into fielder's choice to left, H Pence out at second. L Berkman
grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: A Soriano singled to left. R Theriot grounded into
double play, shortstop to first, A Soriano out at second. D Lee walked.
C Floyd flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 1.

HOUSTON 4TH: C Lee grounded out to shortstop. M Loretta grounded out to
shortstop. L Scott grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: A Ramirez grounded out to shortstop. M DeRosa flied out
to left. J Jones struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4,
HOUSTON 1.

HOUSTON 5TH: T Wigginton struck out swinging. H Quintero doubled to right.
J Lane hit for B Backe. J Lane singled to left, H Quintero to third. H Pence
tripled to deep right center, H Quintero and J Lane scored. C Biggio grounded
out to shortstop. L Berkman grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: C Sampson relieved B Backe. J Kendall walked. J Marquis
struck out looking. A Soriano flied out to left. R Theriot struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 3.

HOUSTON 6TH: C Lee singled to left. M Loretta doubled to deep left center,
C Lee scored. C Marmol relieved J Marquis. L Scott struck out swinging.
T Wigginton reached on infield single to third. H Quintero struck out swinging.
O Palmeiro hit for C Sampson. O Palmeiro grounded out to first. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: D Borkowski relieved C Sampson. D Lee lined out to right.
C Floyd singled to right. F Pie ran for C Floyd. A Ramirez struck out
swinging. M DeRosa grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, F Pie out at
second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 7TH: F Pie in center field. J Jones in right field. H Pence struck
out swinging. C Biggio struck out swinging. L Berkman popped out to third.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: C Qualls relieved D Borkowski. J Jones reached on infield
single to second. J Kendall sacrificed to third, J Jones to second. D Ward
hit for C Marmol. D Ward intentionally walked. S Fuld ran for D Ward.
A Soriano popped out to shortstop. R Theriot lined out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 8TH: B Howry relieved C Marmol. C Lee struck out swinging.
M Loretta grounded out to third. L Scott struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH: D Lee singled to center. F Pie sacrificed to third,
D Lee to second. A Ramirez walked. M DeRosa grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, A Ramirez out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 9TH: T Wigginton struck out swinging. H Quintero struck out
swinging. M Lamb hit for C Qualls. M Lamb grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 10TH: B Lidge relieved C Qualls. J Jones singled to left.
J Kendall sacrificed to catcher, J Jones to second. M Fontenot hit for B Howry.
M Fontenot struck out swinging. A Soriano struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 10TH: R Dempster relieved B Howry. H Pence flied out to center.
C Biggio popped out to second. L Berkman grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 11TH: R Theriot grounded out to shortstop. D Lee walked.
M Murton hit for F Pie. M Murton walked, D Lee to second. A Ramirez grounded
into fielder's choice to shortstop, M Murton out at second, D Lee to third.
M DeRosa walked, A Ramirez to second. J Jones flied out to center. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 11TH: M Murton in right field. J Jones in center field. C Lee
popped out to shortstop. M Loretta walked. E Bruntlett ran for M Loretta.
L Scott tripled to deep center, E Bruntlett scored. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 4, HOUSTON 5.</div>

 

Scott's walk-off triple lifts Astros over Cubs

<h3>HOUSTON 5, CHICAGO CUBS 4 (11 INNINGS)</h3>By Gene Duffey
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


HOUSTON (Ticker) - Houston Astros outfielder Luke Scott made aminor adjustment in the 11th innning and it helped end the gameand knock the Chicago Cubs out of first place in the NationalLeague Central.


Scott tripled off Chicago closer Ryan Dempster, scoringpinch-runner Eric Bruntlett from first, to beat the Cubs 5-4 in11 innings Tuesday night.


The Cubs, losing their fourth straight in Houston this season,fell one game behind Milwaukee, which won 6-1 at Pittsburgh.

"I made an adjustment from my two previous at-bats," said Scott,who had struck out in the sixth and eighth innings, the formerwith a runner on second and nobody out. "I made a little moreemphasis on keeping my top hand strong. I got good extension andgot the head of the bat out in front of the ball."

"I made a stupid pitch," Dempster said. "I walked a guy, made astupid pitch and lost the game. That's it."


The Chicago bullpen had been nearly flawless until Scott's hit.Cubs relievers Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry and Dempster gave uponly an infield single and struck out eight from the sixththrough the 10th innings.


"They've got a very good bullpen," Scott said. "Carlos Marmol isone of the best in all of baseball. Howry and Dempster areexcellent."


Mark Loretta drew a walk from Dempster (2-6) with one out in the11th and Scott tripled in pinch runner Eric Brunlett with thegame-winner.


Brad Lidge (4-2) earned the win with two innings of relief forthe Astros, who received six scoreless innings from theirbullpen.


"It's important for me to finish that inning," said Lidge, whothrew 45 pitches in his two innnings. "It's a longer inning thanyou would have liked. They were doing a good job of not(swinging at my slider). Those are my guys on base. I wanted tobe the one who gets out of the inning."


Chad Qualls also pitched two innings of scoreless relief forHouston and Chris Sampson and Dave Borkowski contributed oneeach.


"We wouldn't be talking about winning the game without thebullpen," Cooper said. "(Lidge) made some big pitches tonight.(The guys) have played hard, no matter what the score. That'ssomething I appreciate."


The Astros trailed, 4-1, until rookie Hunter Pence tripled intwo runs in the bottom of the fifth and Loretta doubled inanother in the sixth to tie it.


Mark DeRosa hit a three-run homer in the third inning for theCubs (73-71), who fell a game behind Milwaukee in the NLCentral. The Brewers (74-70) beat Pittsburgh, 6-1, Tuesdaynight.


It was DeRosa's ninth homer of the season. He entered the gamewith a lifetime .194 average vs. Houston, with only 20 hits andone homer in 103 previous at-bats.


With the game tied at 1-1, Cliff Floyd opened Chicago's thirdinning with a walk and moved to third on a single by AramisRamirez. DeRosa then hit a 354-foot line drive over theinvitingly shallow wall in left for a 4-1 lead.


The Cubs nearly won it in the eighth when Ryan Theriot hit adrive to left with two out and runners on first and second. ButAstros left fielder Carlos Lee made a diving catch to end theinning.


"That's a tough one to swallow," said Derrek Lee, who singledand walked twice.


"We had some chances, we left some runners out there. They madesome great defensive plays. We just didn't get it done. We'restill in it. You've got to turn the page, come back and try toget them tomorrow."


Houston tied the game on Hunter Pence's two-run triple in thefifth and Mark Loretta's RBI double in the sixth.


"We fell behind early and struggled to get things going," Coopersaid. "The biggest hit of the night was Hunter Pence's. We werekind of flat for a while."


"I wouldn't say that," Pence said. "Marquis was just pitching agood game. Fortunately, I found a gap."


Chicago starter Jason Marquis went five-plus innings and waspulled after Lee opened the sixth with a single and Lorettafollowed with a double to tie the game. Marquis allowed eighthits and three earned runs, striking out one and walking none.

Righthander Brandon Backe made his second start for the Astrossince undergoing elbow surgery in September 2006. He lastedfive innings, giving up four runs and six hits while strikingout three and walking four. He had a poor balls-to-strikesratio of 44-53.


"I was obviously battling myself, trying to find the strikezone," Backe said. "I had way too many walks. I could notestablish the fastball. I'm not using the surgery as an excuse.I had six rehab starts (in the minors). That should be enough."

Houston's Craig Biggio doubled in the first inning to move intosole possession of fifth place on the all-time list with 666,one ahead of George Brett.


Pence's two-run triple in the fifth set an Astros' rookie recordwith 51 extra-base hits in a season, surpassing Luis Gonzalezand Lance Berkman.


The Astros scored their first run in the second on Scott'ssingle, a groundout, a wild pitch and a passed ball.