GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: CHICAGO CUBS (58-54) at HOUSTON (50-63)

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Moehler relieved M Albers.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 2
HOUSTON 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: C Floyd (.287, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 12 1
HOUSTON 0 0 3 0 1 3 1 0 x 8 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO, SCOTT EYRE (6TH), MIKE WUERTZ (6TH), SEAN
GALLAGHER (8TH) AND KOYIE HILL

HOU - ROY OSWALT, DAVE BORKOWSKI (7TH), TREVER MILLER
(7TH), MATT ALBERS (8TH), BRIAN MOEHLER (9TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

HOU - CRAIG BIGGIO (8) OFF CARLOS ZAMBRANO IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
LANCE BERKMAN (20) OFF CARLOS ZAMBRANO IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
BRAD AUSMUS (3) OFF MIKE WUERTZ IN THE 7TH, 0 ON</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 12 1
HOUSTON 0 0 3 0 1 3 1 0 x 8 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO, SCOTT EYRE (6TH), MIKE WUERTZ (6TH), SEAN
GALLAGHER (8TH) AND KOYIE HILL

HOU - ROY OSWALT, DAVE BORKOWSKI (7TH), TREVER MILLER
(7TH), MATT ALBERS (8TH), BRIAN MOEHLER (9TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS


WP - ROY OSWALT (12-6)
LP - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (14-8)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CHN - NONE

HOU - CRAIG BIGGIO (8) OFF CARLOS ZAMBRANO IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
LANCE BERKMAN (20) OFF CARLOS ZAMBRANO IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
BRAD AUSMUS (3) OFF MIKE WUERTZ IN THE 7TH, 0 ON


TIME: 3:07 ATT: 41,655

PROBABLES: MIL - DAVE BUSH (9-8, 5.03)
HOU - JASON JENNINGS (2-7, 6.11)

PROBABLES: CHN - TED LILLY (12-5, 3.53)
COL - UBALDO JIMENEZ (1-1, 5.16)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (2) VS HOUSTON (8) - FINAL

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Theriot ss 5 1 3 1 0 0 3 .286
J Jones cf 4 0 2 0 1 0 1 .251
D Lee 1b 3 0 0 1 2 0 3 .320
C Floyd rf 4 0 1 0 1 1 4 .290
M DeRosa 3b 5 0 2 0 0 0 3 .285
M Fontenot 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .302
M Murton lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 .266
K Hill c 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .159
C Zambrano p 3 0 0 0 0 3 5 .267
S Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Wuertz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-F Pie ph 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .214
S Gallagher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 37 2 12 2 5 4 27

a-grounded into fielder's choice to first for M Wuertz in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - M DeRosa (21, R Oswalt); J Jones (21, D Borkowski). RBI - D Lee
(60), R Theriot (32). 2-out RBI - R Theriot. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - C Zambrano 1, C Floyd 1, D Lee 1, R Theriot 2, M Fontenot 1. GIDP - C
Floyd, M DeRosa. Team LOB - 13.

FIELDING: E - M Fontenot (8, ground ball).


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 5 1 1 1 0 1 0 .244
M Albers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154
B Moehler p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
M Lamb 3b 5 1 1 2 0 0 2 .295
L Berkman 1b 3 2 1 1 2 1 0 .258
C Lee lf 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .307
D Borkowski p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Burke 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .234
L Scott rf 3 0 1 3 2 2 1 .250
J Lane cf 5 0 0 0 0 2 7 .162
E Bruntlett ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .263
B Ausmus c 3 1 1 1 0 1 2 .235
R Oswalt p 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .125
a-O Palmeiro ph-lf 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .241

Totals 35 8 11 8 6 7 12

a-walked for R Oswalt in the 6th.

BATTING: 2B - C Lee (32, C Zambrano); M Lamb (9, C Zambrano); C Burke (13, S
Gallagher). 3B - L Scott (3, C Zambrano). HR - C Biggio (8, 3rd inning off C
Zambrano 0 on, 1 Out), L Berkman (20, 5th inning off C Zambrano 0 on, 0 Out), B
Ausmus (3, 7th inning off M Wuertz 0 on, 1 Out). S - B Ausmus. RBI - C Biggio
(40), L Scott 3 (49), L Berkman (71), M Lamb 2 (34), B Ausmus (21). 2-out RBI -
L Scott 3, M Lamb 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Lane 4, B
Ausmus 1, M Lamb 1. Team LOB - 10.

FIELDING: DP: 2 (C Biggio-E Bruntlett-L Berkman, E Bruntlett-C Burke-L
Berkman).


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 000 000 110 -- 2
HOUSTON - 003 013 10x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Zambrano (L, 14-8) 5 2/3 8 7 7 3 6 2 3.69
S Eyre 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 5.45
M Wuertz 1 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 1 3.54
S Gallagher 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5.25

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
R Oswalt (W, 12-6) 6 6 0 0 4 4 0 3.42
D Borkowski 1/3 2 1 1 0 0 0 5.51
T Miller 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.64
M Albers 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 6.30
B Moehler 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.22

S Eyre pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.

Pitches-strikes: C Zambrano 113-70; S Eyre 15-7; M Wuertz 23-15; S Gallagher
23-12; R Oswalt 108-68; D Borkowski 10-5; T Miller 13-5; M Albers 19-11; B
Moehler 11-7. Ground balls-fly balls: C Zambrano 8-4; S Eyre 0-0; M Wuertz 2-1;
S Gallagher 3-0; R Oswalt 7-7; D Borkowski 1-0; T Miller 1-1; M Albers 2-1; B
Moehler 3-0. Batters faced: C Zambrano 29; S Eyre 3; M Wuertz 5; S Gallagher 5;
R Oswalt 27; D Borkowski 3; T Miller 3; M Albers 6; B Moehler 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Chuck Meriwether. 1B--Rick Reed. 2B--Alfonso Marquez. 3B--Tim
Timmons.

T--3:07. Att--41,655.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
CHICAGO CUBS 2
HOUSTON 8 FINAL</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (2) AT HOUSTON (8) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOUSTON 3RD: R Oswalt popped out to third. C Biggio homered to left.
M Lamb grounded out to first. L Berkman walked. C Lee singled to left,
L Berkman to third. L Scott tripled to deep right center, L Berkman and C Lee
scored. J Lane grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 3.

HOUSTON 5TH: L Berkman homered to center. C Lee grounded out to third.
L Scott struck out swinging. J Lane struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 6TH: E Bruntlett walked. B Ausmus sacrificed to catcher,
E Bruntlett to second. O Palmeiro hit for R Oswalt. O Palmeiro walked. C Biggio
grounded out to shortstop, E Bruntlett to third, O Palmeiro to second. M Lamb
doubled to left, E Bruntlett and O Palmeiro scored. S Eyre relieved
C Zambrano. L Berkman walked. C Lee reached on infield single to first, M Lamb
to third, L Berkman to second. L Scott walked, M Lamb scored, L Berkman to
third, C Lee to second. M Wuertz relieved S Eyre. J Lane grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, L Scott out at second. (3 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 7.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: D Borkowski relieved R Oswalt. O Palmeiro in left field.
R Theriot singled to right. J Jones doubled to right, R Theriot to third.
D Lee grounded out to third, R Theriot scored. T Miller relieved D Borkowski.
C Floyd walked. M DeRosa flied out to left. M Fontenot grounded out to first.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1, HOUSTON 7.

HOUSTON 7TH: E Bruntlett grounded out to third. B Ausmus homered to left.
O Palmeiro flied out to center. C Biggio struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1, HOUSTON 8.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: M Albers relieved T Miller. C Burke at second base.
M Murton reached on infield single to shortstop. K Hill flied out to left.
F Pie hit for M Wuertz. F Pie grounded into fielder's choice to first, M Murton
out at second. F Pie to second on fielder's indifference. R Theriot singled to
center, F Pie scored. R Theriot to second on fielder's indifference. J Jones
singled to center, R Theriot to third. D Lee grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, J Jones out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
HOUSTON 8.</div>

 

Biggio, Scott help Astros break through against Zambrano

<h3>HOUSTON 8, CHICAGO CUBS 2</h3>HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Houston Astros finally broke throughagainst Carlos Zambrano.


Craig Biggio homered and Luke Scott drove in three runs as theAstros completed a three-game sweep with an 8-2 victory onWednesday.


Roy Oswalt threw six scoreless innings to help Astros sweep theCubs for the first time in Houston since taking a three-gameseries in 1999.


Zambrano had dominated the Astros, throwing 23 scoreless framesagainst them, but that all changed in this one.


Biggio got Houston on the board with a solo homer and Scottdrove in a pair with a triple to right-center in a three-runthird.


Lance Berkman homered in the fifth to make the score 4-0 andMike Lamb doubled home a pair in a three-run sixth as the Astroswon for the fifth time in seven games.


Zambrano (14-8) entered the game with a career 10-5 record and2.29 ERA vs. Houston, but he gave up eight hits and seven runsin 5 2/3 innings and suffered his worst start since he allowedseven runs and 13 hits to the Atlanta Braves on June 1.

Ryan Theriot had three hits and an RBI for the Cubs, who have<div class="pre">lost four straight and six out of seven while remaining one</div>game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in theNational League Central.


The Cubs have lost three straight games since Soriano, who leadsthe team with 18 homers, tore his quadriceps on Sunday. Theywent 2-for-33 with runners in scoring position in the series,

Oswalt (12-6) did not make life any easier on them, allowing sixhits and striking out four, including Zambrano three times ashe won his season-high fourth straight start.

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO CUBS (2) AT HOUSTON (8) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicago Cubs Starting Lineups -- R Theriot SS, J Jones CF, D Lee 1B, C Floyd RF,
M DeRosa 3B, M Fontenot 2B, M Murton LF, K Hill C, C Zambrano RHP.

Houston Starting Lineups -- C Biggio 2B, M Lamb 3B, L Berkman 1B, C Lee LF,
L Scott RF, J Lane CF, E Bruntlett SS, B Ausmus C, R Oswalt RHP.

Umpires -- Chuck Meriwether (HP), Rick Reed (1B), Alfonso Marquez (2B),
Tim Timmons (3B).

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: R Theriot grounded out to shortstop. J Jones walked.
D Lee walked, J Jones to second. C Floyd grounded into double play, second to
shortstop to first, D Lee out at second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 1ST: C Biggio flied out to center. M Lamb flied out to center.
L Berkman struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0,
HOUSTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: M DeRosa doubled to left. M Fontenot grounded out to
second, M DeRosa to third. M Murton grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, M DeRosa out at home. K Hill grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: C Lee doubled to deep right center. L Scott struck out
swinging. J Lane struck out swinging. E Bruntlett reached on infield single
to shortstop, C Lee to third. B Ausmus struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: C Zambrano struck out swinging. R Theriot reached on
infield single to third. J Jones lined out to shortstop. D Lee walked,
R Theriot to second. C Floyd flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 3RD: R Oswalt popped out to third. C Biggio homered to left.
M Lamb grounded out to first. L Berkman walked. C Lee singled to left,
L Berkman to third. L Scott tripled to deep right center, L Berkman and C Lee
scored. J Lane grounded out to shortstop. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: M DeRosa singled to right center. M Fontenot singled to
center, M DeRosa to second. M Murton flied out to center. K Hill walked,
M DeRosa to third, M Fontenot to second. C Zambrano struck out looking.
R Theriot lined out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0,
HOUSTON 3.

HOUSTON 4TH: E Bruntlett grounded out to shortstop. B Ausmus grounded out
to shortstop. R Oswalt singled to left. C Biggio grounded into fielder's
choice to second, R Oswalt safe at second on error by second baseman
M Fontenot. M Lamb flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: J Jones popped out to shortstop. D Lee lined out to
right. C Floyd struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0,
HOUSTON 3.

HOUSTON 5TH: L Berkman homered to center. C Lee grounded out to third.
L Scott struck out swinging. J Lane struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: M DeRosa grounded out to first. M Fontenot flied out to
center. M Murton singled to right center. K Hill singled to right, M Murton
to second. C Zambrano struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 4.

HOUSTON 6TH: E Bruntlett walked. B Ausmus sacrificed to catcher,
E Bruntlett to second. O Palmeiro hit for R Oswalt. O Palmeiro walked. C Biggio
grounded out to shortstop, E Bruntlett to third, O Palmeiro to second. M Lamb
doubled to left, E Bruntlett and O Palmeiro scored. S Eyre relieved
C Zambrano. L Berkman walked. C Lee reached on infield single to first, M Lamb
to third, L Berkman to second. L Scott walked, M Lamb scored, L Berkman to
third, C Lee to second. M Wuertz relieved S Eyre. J Lane grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, L Scott out at second. (3 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 0, HOUSTON 7.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: D Borkowski relieved R Oswalt. O Palmeiro in left field.
R Theriot singled to right. J Jones doubled to right, R Theriot to third.
D Lee grounded out to third, R Theriot scored. T Miller relieved D Borkowski.
C Floyd walked. M DeRosa flied out to left. M Fontenot grounded out to first.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1, HOUSTON 7.

HOUSTON 7TH: E Bruntlett grounded out to third. B Ausmus homered to left.
O Palmeiro flied out to center. C Biggio struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 1, HOUSTON 8.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: M Albers relieved T Miller. C Burke at second base.
M Murton reached on infield single to shortstop. K Hill flied out to left.
F Pie hit for M Wuertz. F Pie grounded into fielder's choice to first, M Murton
out at second. F Pie to second on fielder's indifference. R Theriot singled to
center, F Pie scored. R Theriot to second on fielder's indifference. J Jones
singled to center, R Theriot to third. D Lee grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, J Jones out at second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2,
HOUSTON 8.

HOUSTON 8TH: S Gallagher relieved M Wuertz. M Lamb grounded out to third.
L Berkman grounded out to shortstop. C Burke hit a ground rule double to deep
right. L Scott walked. J Lane grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
L Scott out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHICAGO CUBS 2, HOUSTON 8.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH: B Moehler relieved M Albers. C Floyd singled to center.
M DeRosa grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, C Floyd out
at second. M Fontenot grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CHICAGO CUBS 2, HOUSTON 8.</div>

 

Biggio, Scott help Astros break through against Zambrano

<h3>HOUSTON 8, CHICAGO CUBS 2</h3>HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Houston Astros finally broke throughagainst Carlos Zambrano.


Craig Biggio homered and Luke Scott drove in three runs as theAstros completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs with an8-2 victory Wednesday.


Roy Oswalt threw six scoreless innings to help the Astros sweepthe Cubs for the first time in Houston since taking a three-gameseries in 1999.


"Not many people have success against Zambrano," Scott said."He has great velocity and his ball moves all over the place.We were able to capitalize on a few mistakes. Anytime you canget some runs on Zambrano is a good day."


Zambrano had dominated the Astros, not allowing an earned run in24 2/3 innings before Wednesday. But that all changed in thisone.


Biggio got Houston on the board with a solo homer and Scottdrove in a pair with a triple to right-center in a three-runthird inning.


The outburst against the normally stingy Zambrano helped Oswaltrelax.


"Zambrano usually has great stuff and you know it's going to bea close game," Oswalt said. "I was trying not to give upanything. Once Biggio hit that home run, it gave me a littlebreathing room."


Berkman homered in the fifth to make it 4-0 and Mike Lambdoubled home a pair in a three-run sixth to help the Astros winfor the fifth time in seven games.


"That was the swing of the game," Houston's Lance Berkman saidof Scott's triple.


The two previous times Zambrano beat the Astros this season wereboth at Wrigley Field.


"It's different facing him at home," Berkman said. "It's a loteasier to hit the ball at home. He made mistakes and we hitthem. When Biggio hit that home run, it felt like that might beenough with Roy on the mound."


Zambrano (14-8) entered the game with a career 10-5 record and2.29 ERA vs. Houston, but he gave up eight hits and seven runsin 5 2/3 innings in his worst start since allowing seven runsand 13 hits to the Atlanta Braves on June 1.


"I didn't throw the ball where I wanted to," he said. "I made alot of mistakes, and they're a team that makes you pay. Thegood news is, the other team (Milwaukee) also lost and we stillhave a long way to go."


"He was fighting himself today," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said."We had to calm him down a couple of times."


Meanwhile, Oswalt snapped a four-game losing streak againstChicago by limiting them to just six hits in six innings enroute to his season-high fourth straight win.


"I got in a little jam in the first inning," said Oswalt, whowalked two before getting Cliff Floyd to ground into a doubleplay. "I had a few men on (after that) but was able to throwsome quality pitches when I needed them."


Ryan Theriot had three hits and an RBI for the Cubs (58-55), whohave lost four straight and six of seven but remained one gamebehind the Brewers (60-55) for first place in the NationalLeague Central Division.


The Cubs have lost three straight games since Alfonso Soriano,who leads the team with 18 homers, tore his quadriceps onSunday. They went 2-for-33 with runners in scoring position inthe series.