GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (39-50) at CHICAGO CUBS (44-43)

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

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

BATTERIES: HOU - JASON JENNINGS, CHAD QUALLS (6TH), BRAD LIDGE (7TH), MATT
ALBERS (8TH), TREVER MILLER (8TH) AND ERIC MUNSON

CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO, CARLOS MARMOL (7TH), BOBBY HOWRY
(9TH) AND GEOVANY SOTO

HOME RUNS: HOU - NONE

CHN - NONE</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

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

BATTERIES: HOU - JASON JENNINGS, CHAD QUALLS (6TH), BRAD LIDGE (7TH), MATT
ALBERS (8TH), TREVER MILLER (8TH) AND ERIC MUNSON

CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO, CARLOS MARMOL (7TH), BOBBY HOWRY
(9TH) AND GEOVANY SOTO


WP - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (11-7)
LP - JASON JENNINGS (1-5)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: HOU - NONE

CHN - NONE


TIME: 2:51 ATT: 41,593

PROBABLES: HOU - ROY OSWALT (8-5, 3.53)
CHN - TED LILLY (8-4, 3.67)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (0) VS CHICAGO CUBS (6) - FINAL

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .256
H Pence cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .341
L Berkman 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .261
C Lee lf 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .299
M Loretta ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .317
M Lamb 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .289
L Scott rf 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .223
E Munson c 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 .255
J Jennings p 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .077
C Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .261
M Albers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 0 5 0 3 9 14

a-struck out swinging for B Lidge in the 8th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Munson 2, L Scott 1. Team
LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - M Lamb (7, throw); L Berkman (6, throw); M Loretta 2 (6, ground
ball, throw).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 5 1 2 0 0 3 1 .311
R Theriot ss 4 1 2 0 1 0 3 .280
D Lee 1b 3 0 1 2 2 1 1 .330
A Ramirez 3b 4 0 0 1 1 0 4 .307
C Floyd rf 4 1 2 0 1 0 3 .297
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M DeRosa 2b 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .293
J Jones cf 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .233
G Soto c 5 1 0 0 0 2 5 .000
C Zambrano p 3 1 2 1 0 1 0 .267
C Marmol p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
A Pagan rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 38 6 12 5 5 9 21

BATTING: 2B - A Soriano (25, J Jennings); D Lee (27, M Albers). SF - J Jones.
RBI - J Jones (21), C Zambrano (5), A Ramirez (52), D Lee 2 (44). 2-out RBI - A
Ramirez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Floyd 2, A Ramirez 1, J
Jones 1, G Soto 2, C Marmol 1. Team LOB - 14.

BASERUNNING: SB - R Theriot (15, 2nd base off J Jennings/E Munson).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (M DeRosa-D Lee).


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 000 000 000 -- 0
CHICAGO CUBS - 000 301 02x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings (L, 1-5) 5 1/3 10 4 3 1 7 0 4.15
C Qualls 2/3 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.03
B Lidge 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.27
M Albers 1/3 2 2 2 2 0 0 6.10
T Miller 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.56

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Zambrano (W, 11-7) 6 2/3 3 0 0 3 7 0 3.83
C Marmol (H, 5) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.92
B Howry 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.57

WP - M Albers. IBB - D Lee (by C Qualls), C Floyd (by M Albers).
Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 102-68; C Qualls 20-9; B Lidge 19-11; M Albers
25-10; T Miller 3-2; C Zambrano 115-65; C Marmol 14-9; B Howry 18-14. Ground
balls-fly balls: J Jennings 2-7; C Qualls 1-1; B Lidge 1-0; M Albers 0-1; T
Miller 1-1; C Zambrano 5-7; C Marmol 2-1; B Howry 0-2. Batters faced: J
Jennings 28; C Qualls 4; B Lidge 4; M Albers 6; T Miller 2; C Zambrano 25; C
Marmol 4; B Howry 5.

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

T--2:51. Att--41,593.
Weather: 67 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
HOUSTON 0
CHICAGO CUBS 6 FINAL</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (0) AT CHICAGO CUBS (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: C Floyd singled to center. M DeRosa singled to left
center, C Floyd to third. J Jones hit sacrifice fly to left, C Floyd scored,
M DeRosa to second. C Zambrano singled to left, G Soto scored. A Soriano struck
out swinging. R Theriot flied out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 2 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: G Soto struck out looking. C Zambrano singled to center.
A Soriano doubled to left, C Zambrano to third. C Qualls relieved J Jennings.
R Theriot grounded out to shortstop. D Lee intentionally walked. A Ramirez
walked, C Zambrano scored, A Soriano to third, D Lee to second. C Floyd flied
out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: M Albers relieved B Lidge. A Soriano singled to right.
R Theriot walked, A Soriano to second. A Soriano to third, R Theriot to second
on wild pitch by M Albers. D Lee doubled to deep center, A Soriano and
R Theriot scored. A Ramirez flied out to center. C Floyd intentionally walked.
M DeRosa safe at first on error by shortstop M Loretta, D Lee to third, C Floyd
to second. T Miller relieved M Albers. J Jones grounded into fielder's choice
to first, D Lee out at home, C Floyd to third, M DeRosa to second. G Soto
lined out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 6.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (0) AT CHICAGO CUBS (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Houston Starting Lineups -- C Biggio 2B, H Pence CF, L Berkman 1B, C Lee LF,
M Loretta SS, M Lamb 3B, L Scott RF, E Munson C, J Jennings RHP.

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

Umpires -- Greg Gibson (HP), Larry Vanover (1B), Tony Randazzo (2B),
Charlie Reliford (3B).

Gametime Weather: 67 degrees, Sunny, wind in from right at 7 mph.


HOUSTON 1ST: C Biggio flied out to left. H Pence struck out swinging.
L Berkman walked. C Lee struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano struck out swinging. R Theriot singled to
left. D Lee flied out to left. A Ramirez flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: M Loretta lined out to center. M Lamb struck out looking.
L Scott struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: C Floyd grounded out to first. M DeRosa flied out to
right. J Jones reached on infield single to shortstop. G Soto struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

HOUSTON 3RD: E Munson grounded out to pitcher. J Jennings struck out
swinging. C Biggio grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: C Zambrano struck out swinging. A Soriano struck out
swinging. R Theriot singled to right. R Theriot stole second. D Lee walked.
A Ramirez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

HOUSTON 4TH: H Pence singled to right. L Berkman lined into double play,
second to first, H Pence doubled off first. C Lee grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: C Floyd singled to center. M DeRosa singled to left
center, C Floyd to third. J Jones hit sacrifice fly to left, C Floyd scored,
M DeRosa to second. C Zambrano singled to left, G Soto scored. A Soriano struck
out swinging. R Theriot flied out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 2 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 3.

HOUSTON 5TH: M Loretta lined out to first. M Lamb flied out to left.
L Scott grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: D Lee struck out looking. A Ramirez flied out to left.
C Floyd reached on infield single to first. M DeRosa singled to right center,
C Floyd to third. J Jones grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 3.

HOUSTON 6TH: E Munson singled to center. J Jennings bunted into fielder's
choice to first, E Munson out at second. C Biggio flied out to center.
H Pence struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: G Soto struck out looking. C Zambrano singled to center.
A Soriano doubled to left, C Zambrano to third. C Qualls relieved J Jennings.
R Theriot grounded out to shortstop. D Lee intentionally walked. A Ramirez
walked, C Zambrano scored, A Soriano to third, D Lee to second. C Floyd flied
out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

HOUSTON 7TH: L Berkman struck out looking. C Lee singled to right.
M Loretta walked, C Lee to second. M Lamb lined out to left. L Scott walked,
C Lee to third, M Loretta to second. C Marmol relieved C Zambrano. E Munson
flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: B Lidge relieved C Qualls. M DeRosa struck out swinging.
J Jones struck out looking. G Soto safe at second on throwing error by
shortstop M Loretta. C Marmol grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
1 Error) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

HOUSTON 8TH: O Palmeiro hit for B Lidge. O Palmeiro struck out swinging.
C Biggio grounded out to shortstop. H Pence grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 4.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: M Albers relieved B Lidge. A Soriano singled to right.
R Theriot walked, A Soriano to second. A Soriano to third, R Theriot to second
on wild pitch by M Albers. D Lee doubled to deep center, A Soriano and
R Theriot scored. A Ramirez flied out to center. C Floyd intentionally walked.
M DeRosa safe at first on error by shortstop M Loretta, D Lee to third, C Floyd
to second. T Miller relieved M Albers. J Jones grounded into fielder's choice
to first, D Lee out at home, C Floyd to third, M DeRosa to second. G Soto
lined out to third. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 6.

HOUSTON 9TH: B Howry relieved C Marmol. A Pagan in right field. L Berkman
flied out to left. C Lee reached on infield single to third. M Loretta
singled to center, C Lee to second. M Lamb lined out to left. L Scott struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, CHICAGO CUBS 6.</div>

 

Zambrano stays hot, shuts down Astros

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 6, HOUSTON 0</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Carlos Zambrano was too much for HoustonAstros.


The righthander pitched six-plus strong innings and added twohits and drove in a run on Friday to lead the Chicago Cubs to a6-0 victory over the Astros in the first game of a three-gameseries.


Houston has now lost four of its past six games.


Zambrano (11-7) allowed three hits and three walks whilestriking out seven. The 26-year-old now has won six of his lasteight starts, posting 63 strikeouts in 58 innings over thatspan.


The Astros loaded the bases off Zambrano on a single by CarlosLee and two walks in the top of the seventh inning. However,righthander Carlos Marmol relieved Zambrano and got Eric Munsonto fly to center, ending the inning.


Marmol retired all four batters he faced, and Bobby Howrypitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game.


The Cubs touched Astros starter Jason Jennings (1-5) for threeruns in the fourth inning. Cliff Floyd led off with a single tocenter, then moved to third on a single by Mark DeRosa.

Jacque Jones scored Floyd with a sacrifice fly, then catcherGeovany Soto reached on a throwing error by Houston thirdbaseman Mike Lamb, allowing DeRosa to score. On the play, Sotomoved to third base on a throwing error by first baseman LanceBerkman, then scored on a single to left by Zambrano to make it3-0.


The Astros finished with four errors, including a pair byshortstop Mark Loretta.


Zambrano led off the the sixth with a single off Jennings, thenlater scored the fourth run for Chicago on a bases-loaded walkby Aramis Ramirez off Houston reliever Chad Qualls.

Jennings remained winless over his last four starts. Therighthander pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs - threeearned - and 10 hits and a walk. He also struck out seven.

The Cubs made it 6-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning with atwo-run double by Derrek Lee off Houston righthander MattAlbers.


In his first action since being activated from the 15-daydisabled list, Houston righthander Brad Lidge pitched ascoreless seventh inning, striking out a pair.

 

NL: HOUSTON at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (0) VS CHICAGO CUBS (6) - FINAL

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .256
H Pence cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .341
L Berkman 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .261
C Lee lf 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .299
M Loretta ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .317
M Lamb 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .289
L Scott rf 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .223
E Munson c 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 .255
J Jennings p 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .077
C Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .261
M Albers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 0 5 0 3 9 14

a-struck out swinging for B Lidge in the 8th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Munson 2, L Scott 1. Team
LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - M Lamb (7, throw); L Berkman (6, throw); M Loretta 2 (6, ground
ball, throw).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 5 1 2 0 0 3 1 .311
R Theriot ss 4 1 2 0 1 0 3 .280
D Lee 1b 3 0 1 2 2 1 1 .330
A Ramirez 3b 4 0 0 1 1 0 4 .307
C Floyd rf 4 1 2 0 1 0 3 .297
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M DeRosa 2b 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .293
J Jones cf 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .233
G Soto c 5 1 0 0 0 2 5 .000
C Zambrano p 3 1 2 1 0 1 0 .267
C Marmol p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
A Pagan rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267

Totals 38 6 12 5 5 9 21

BATTING: 2B - A Soriano (25, J Jennings); D Lee (27, M Albers). SF - J Jones.
RBI - J Jones (21), C Zambrano (5), A Ramirez (52), D Lee 2 (44). 2-out RBI - A
Ramirez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Floyd 2, A Ramirez 1, J
Jones 1, G Soto 2, C Marmol 1. Team LOB - 14.

BASERUNNING: SB - R Theriot (15, 2nd base off J Jennings/E Munson).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (M DeRosa-D Lee).


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 000 000 000 -- 0
CHICAGO CUBS - 000 301 02x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings (L, 1-5) 5 1/3 10 4 3 1 7 0 4.15
C Qualls 2/3 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.03
B Lidge 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.27
M Albers 1/3 2 2 2 2 0 0 6.10
T Miller 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.56

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Zambrano (W, 11-7) 6 2/3 3 0 0 3 7 0 3.83
C Marmol (H, 5) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.92
B Howry 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.57

WP - M Albers. IBB - D Lee (by C Qualls), C Floyd (by M Albers).
Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 102-68; C Qualls 20-9; B Lidge 19-11; M Albers
25-10; T Miller 3-2; C Zambrano 115-65; C Marmol 14-9; B Howry 18-14. Ground
balls-fly balls: J Jennings 2-7; C Qualls 1-1; B Lidge 1-0; M Albers 0-1; T
Miller 1-1; C Zambrano 5-7; C Marmol 2-1; B Howry 0-2. Batters faced: J
Jennings 28; C Qualls 4; B Lidge 4; M Albers 6; T Miller 2; C Zambrano 25; C
Marmol 4; B Howry 5.

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

T--2:51. Att--41,593.
Weather: 67 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

Zambrano stays hot, shuts down Astros

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 6, HOUSTON 0</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Carlos Zambrano was too much for theHouston Astros.


The righthander pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and added twohits and drove in a run on Friday to lead the Chicago Cubs to a6-0 victory over the Astros in the opener of a three-gameseries.


Houston has now lost four of its last six games.


"Anytime your No. 1 starter picks it up like he has, it givesyou a big lift as a team," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Zambrano (11-7) allowed three hits and three walks whilestriking out seven. The 26-year-old now has won six of his lasteight starts, posting 63 strikeouts in 58 innings over thatspan.


"I think I've pitched better since I said in early June that Ineeded to pick it up," Zambrano said. "I have my confidenceback, all my pitches are working. I've been able to throw morestrikes and be more aggressive with my pitches."


The Astros loaded the bases off Zambrano on a single by CarlosLee and two walks in the top of the seventh inning. However,righthander Carlos Marmol relieved Zambrano and got Eric Munsonto fly to center, ending the inning.


Marmol retired all four batters he faced, and Bobby Howrypitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game.


The Cubs touched Astros starter Jason Jennings (1-5) for threeruns in the fourth inning. Cliff Floyd led off with a single tocenter, then moved to third on a single by Mark DeRosa.

"I didn't have my real good command today," Jennings said."They fouled off a lot of pitches that cost me later on in thegame. Obviously as a team, we didn't have it together today."

Jacque Jones scored Floyd with a sacrifice fly, then catcherGeovany Soto reached on a throwing error by Houston thirdbaseman Mike Lamb, allowing DeRosa to score. On the play, Sotomoved to third base on a throwing error by first baseman LanceBerkman, then scored on a single to left by Zambrano to make it3-0.


The Astros finished with four errors, including a pair byshortstop Mark Loretta.


"We're going to have some games like that," Astros manager PhilGarner said. "I guarantee you we're not going to play that waymost of the time. If we're going to play winning baseball, youhave to stay away from games like this."


Zambrano led off the the sixth with a single off Jennings, thenlater scored the fourth run for Chicago on a bases-loaded walkby Aramis Ramirez off Houston reliever Chad Qualls.

Jennings remained winless over his last four starts. Therighthander pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs - threeearned - and 10 hits and a walk. He also struck out seven.

The Cubs made it 6-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning with atwo-run double by Derrek Lee off Houston righthander MattAlbers.


"The biggest key for any team is scoring runs," said Lee. "Itdoesn't matter if you do it with a single, double or home run.And it's nice to see that we're getting the job done without theuse of the home run."


In his first action since being activated from the 15-daydisabled list, Houston righthander Brad Lidge pitched ascoreless seventh inning, striking out a pair.