GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (39-52) at CHICAGO CUBS (46-43)

NL: HOUSTON (39-52) at CHICAGO CUBS (46-43)

<h3>Marquis, Cubs look to sweep Astros</h3>



Houston (39-52) at Chicago Cubs (46-43), 2:20 pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) - The Chicago Cubs turn to Jason Marquis tokeep the ball rolling.


Marquis and the Cubs look for their fourth three-game sweep ofthe season when they face the struggling Houston Astros onSunday.


Chicago crushed Houston, 9-3, on Saturday to win its thirdstraight home series. The Cubs received outstandingperformances by starter Ted Lilly (one run, four hits in eightinnings) and Aramis Ramirez (four RBI) as well as a three-runblast by Alfonso Soriano, Chicago's first homer in 11 games.

It was the Cubs' seventh win in 10 games in July and 19thvictory in their last 28 contests. The Astros have lost five ofseven.


To earn their fourth sweep of 2007, the Cubs turn to Marquis(6-5, 3.67 ERA), who has just one victory in the last twomonths. The lefthander earned his sixth win on July 1 againstMilwaukee but hasn't recorded another victory since May 9. Heis 1-4 since then with six no-decisions.


Marquis suffered an 8-4 loss at Pittsburgh on July 6,surrendering six runs and eight hits - two homers - in 4 2/3innings.


The 28-year-old is 7-5 lifetime against the Astros, including aloss on April 10 at Wrigley Field.


Houston turns to Wandy Rodriguez (6-7, 3.87) to help it snap atwo-game losing streak. Rodriguez has won two straight,including a 4-0 shutout of the New York Mets on July 6. In thatgame, the lefthander yielded just four hits while strikingeight while going the distance.


The 28-year-old is 2-3 in five career starts vs. the Cubs, butis 0-2, with an 8.38 ERA, yielding nine runs in 9 2/3 inningshere. The Dominican has also struggled on the road, going 1-5in eight games away from home this season.

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON AT CHICAGO CUBS -- LINEUPS

HOUSTON CHICAGO CUBS
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Chris Burke 2B .235 2 11 Ryan Theriot SS .280 1 25
Hunter Pence CF .336 11 43 Mike Fontenot 2B .343 3 16
Lance Berkman 1B .257 15 57 Derrek Lee 1B .329 6 44
Carlos Lee LF .296 16 73 Aramis Ramirez 3B .314 15 56
Mark Loretta SS .316 2 29 Alfonso Soriano LF .312 16 36
Mike Lamb 3B .289 7 25 Mark Derosa RF .296 7 49
Luke Scott RF .223 10 38 Geovany Soto C .000 0 0
Brad Ausmus C .249 2 18 Angel Pagan CF .267 3 13
Wandy Rodriguez LHP .148 0 1 Jason Marquis RHP .154 1 4
(6-7, 3.87) (6-5, 3.67)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS
WARMUPS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ (6-7, 3.87)
CHN - JASON MARQUIS (6-5, 3.67)

UMPIRES: HP - TONY RANDAZZO
1B - CHARLIE RELIFORD
2B - GREG GIBSON
3B - LARRY VANOVER

WEATHER: 74 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 6 mph, in from right</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS
STARTING BATS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ AND BRAD AUSMUS
CHN - JASON MARQUIS AND GEOVANY SOTO

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C BURKE (.235, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
H PENCE (.336, 11 HR, 43 RBI)
L BERKMAN (.257, 15 HR, 57 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY LANCE BERKMAN SCORED HUNTER PENCE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, L BERKMAN ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1
CHICAGO CUBS 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C LEE (.296, 16 HR, 73 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 1 1 2 0
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ
CHN - JASON MARQUIS

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: R THERIOT (.280, 1 HR, 25 RBI)
M FONTENOT (.343, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
D LEE (.329, 6 HR, 44 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS CHICAGO CUBS (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .234
H Pence cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .338
L Berkman 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .260
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .295
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315
M Lamb 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .223
B Ausmus c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
W Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .148

Totals 5 1 2 1 0 2 2

BATTING: 2B - H Pence (24, J Marquis). RBI - L Berkman (58). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 1. Team LOB - 1.

BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (5, 2nd base off J Marquis/G Soto).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Theriot ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
M Fontenot 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .343
D Lee 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329
A Ramirez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .314
A Soriano lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M DeRosa rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
G Soto c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Pagan cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
J Marquis p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 1 -- 1
CHICAGO CUBS - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
W Rodriguez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.87

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Marquis 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.72

Pitches-strikes: J Marquis 20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: J Marquis 1-0.
Batters faced: J Marquis 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Tony Randazzo. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Greg Gibson. 3B--Larry
Vanover.

Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, in from right.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS
CONFIRMED STARTERS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ
CHN - JASON MARQUIS</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 1 1 2 0
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 1 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ
CHN - JASON MARQUIS

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: M LAMB (.289, 7 HR, 25 RBI)
L SCOTT (.223, 10 HR, 38 RBI)
B AUSMUS (.249, 2 HR, 18 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS CHICAGO CUBS (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .234
H Pence cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .338
L Berkman 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .260
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .295
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315
M Lamb 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .223
B Ausmus c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
W Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .148

Totals 5 1 2 1 0 2 2

BATTING: 2B - H Pence (24, J Marquis). RBI - L Berkman (58). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 1. Team LOB - 1.

BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (5, 2nd base off J Marquis/G Soto).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Theriot ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
M Fontenot 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .339
D Lee 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .331
A Ramirez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .313
A Soriano lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M DeRosa rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
G Soto c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Pagan cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
J Marquis p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 4 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 1 -- 1
CHICAGO CUBS - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
W Rodriguez 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.83

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Marquis 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.72

Pitches-strikes: W Rodriguez 16-10; J Marquis 20-14. Ground balls-fly balls:
W Rodriguez 1-1; J Marquis 1-0. Batters faced: W Rodriguez 4; J Marquis 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Tony Randazzo. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Greg Gibson. 3B--Larry
Vanover.

Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, in from right.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY LUKE SCOTT SCORED MIKE LAMB.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, L SCOTT ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 2
CHICAGO CUBS 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: B AUSMUS (.249, 2 HR, 18 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BRAD AUSMUS SCORED LUKE SCOTT.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, B AUSMUS ON FIRST, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 3
CHICAGO CUBS 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: W RODRIGUEZ (.148, 0 HR, 1 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY LANCE BERKMAN SCORED BRAD AUSMUS AND CHRIS BURKE.

SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, L BERKMAN ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 5
CHICAGO CUBS 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C LEE (.295, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 1 4 5 6 0
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 1 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ
CHN - JASON MARQUIS

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A SORIANO (.312, 16 HR, 36 RBI)
M DEROSA (.296, 7 HR, 49 RBI)
G SOTO (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (5) VS CHICAGO CUBS (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 .234
H Pence cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .337
L Berkman 1b 2 0 2 3 0 0 0 .262
C Lee lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .295
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315
M Lamb 3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .293
L Scott rf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .226
B Ausmus c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .252
W Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .148

Totals 11 5 6 5 1 2 5

BATTING: 2B - H Pence (24, J Marquis); L Scott (15, J Marquis); L Berkman (10,
J Marquis). S - W Rodriguez. RBI - L Berkman 3 (60), L Scott (39), B Ausmus
(19). 2-out RBI - L Berkman 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M
Loretta 1, C Lee 1. Team LOB - 2.

BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (5, 2nd base off J Marquis/G Soto).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Theriot ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
M Fontenot 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .339
D Lee 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .331
A Ramirez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .313
A Soriano lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M DeRosa rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
G Soto c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Pagan cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
J Marquis p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 4 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 14 -- 5
CHICAGO CUBS - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
W Rodriguez 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.83

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Marquis 2 6 5 5 1 2 0 4.02

Pitches-strikes: W Rodriguez 16-10; J Marquis 48-29. Ground balls-fly balls:
W Rodriguez 1-1; J Marquis 2-2. Batters faced: W Rodriguez 4; J Marquis 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Tony Randazzo. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Greg Gibson. 3B--Larry
Vanover.

Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, in from right.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY GEOVANY SOTO SCORED MARK DEROSA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, G SOTO ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 5
CHICAGO CUBS 1 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A PAGAN (.267, 3 HR, 13 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY ANGEL PAGAN (4) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 2ND OFF WANDY RODRIGUEZ SCORED GEOVANY SOTO.
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 5, CHICAGO CUBS 3

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: J MARQUIS (.154, 1 HR, 4 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY DERREK LEE (7) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 2ND OFF WANDY RODRIGUEZ SCORED JASON MARQUIS AND RYAN THERIOT.
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 5, CHICAGO CUBS 6

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A RAMIREZ (.313, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 1 4 5 6 0
CHICAGO CUBS 0 6 6 8 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ
CHN - JASON MARQUIS

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: M LORETTA (.315, 0-FOR-1)
M LAMB (.293, 1-FOR-1)
L SCOTT (.226, 1-FOR-1, RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (5) VS CHICAGO CUBS (6) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 .234
H Pence cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .337
L Berkman 1b 2 0 2 3 0 0 0 .262
C Lee lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .295
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315
M Lamb 3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .293
L Scott rf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .226
B Ausmus c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .252
W Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .148

Totals 11 5 6 5 1 2 5

BATTING: 2B - H Pence (24, J Marquis); L Scott (15, J Marquis); L Berkman (10,
J Marquis). S - W Rodriguez. RBI - L Berkman 3 (60), L Scott (39), B Ausmus
(19). 2-out RBI - L Berkman 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M
Loretta 1, C Lee 1. Team LOB - 2.

BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (5, 2nd base off J Marquis/G Soto).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Theriot ss 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .281
M Fontenot 2b 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .336
D Lee 1b 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 .333
A Ramirez 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .315
A Soriano lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .310
M DeRosa rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .299
G Soto c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .167
A Pagan cf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .274
J Marquis p 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .175

Totals 14 6 8 6 0 1 2

BATTING: 2B - M DeRosa (18, W Rodriguez). HR - A Pagan (4, 2nd inning off W
Rodriguez 1 on, 1 Out), D Lee (7, 2nd inning off W Rodriguez 2 on, 2 Out). RBI
- G Soto (1), A Pagan 2 (15), D Lee 3 (47). 2-out RBI - D Lee 3. Team LOB - 2.



----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 14 -- 5
CHICAGO CUBS - 06 -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
W Rodriguez 2 8 6 6 0 1 2 4.30

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Marquis 2 6 5 5 1 2 0 4.02

Pitches-strikes: W Rodriguez 48-31; J Marquis 48-29. Ground balls-fly balls:
W Rodriguez 2-3; J Marquis 2-2. Batters faced: W Rodriguez 14; J Marquis 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Tony Randazzo. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Greg Gibson. 3B--Larry
Vanover.

Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, in from right.</div>