For as well as the Cubs have been playing the last few weeks, the last two days really hurt. The Cubs are by no means a good team this season, but Houston is much worse and to quote Carlos Zambrano they resemble a Triple-A team. Tuesday’s loss was painful because they blew a three-run lead in the ninth and today wasn’t as painful but still tough to swallow as the Cubs left 12 men on base and dropped the series finale 4-3.
The Cubs got off to an early lead when Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer to left in the third inning. The lead wouldn’t last long though as Tuesday’s hero Brian Bogusevic tied things up with a two-run double. The Cubs regained the lead in the fourth thanks to a solo homerun by Geovany Soto. Houston would take the lead for good in the bottom half of the fourth when Matt Downs drove home the winning runs on a base hit.
Casey Coleman struggled in his return from Triple-A Iowa. Coleman lasted just three and two-thirds innings and allowed four runs on ten hits. The Cubs young righty fell to 2-5 on the season.
Houston’s Bud Norris pitched just well enough to earn the win. Norris went five innings and allowed three runs on six hits. The Astros righty improved to 6-8 on the season. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season.
The Cubs will return home to Chicago and have an off day Thursday before opening a series Friday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals.