The Chicago Cubs took game one of their three-game series with the Houston Astros Monday, winning by a final score of 7-1
Jeff Samardzija pitched seven strong innings to get the win. He allowed just one run and four hits while striking out 11. The 11 strikeouts tie Samardzija's career high set last month against the Braves.
The Cubs offense gave Samardzija plenty of early run support, including two runs in the second inning on a Darwin Barney two-run home run. Chicago added another run in the third inning before a two-run Alfonso Soriano home run in the fifth inning made it 4-0.
The lone bright spot for the Astros was a pinch-hit solo homer by Brandon Barnes. It was Barnes' first Major League home run after being called up from Triple-A last week.
The two teams will meet in game two of the series Tuesday night at 8:05 p.m. ET.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of this series, visit Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue and Astros blog Crawfish Boxes. And for more news and notes from around baseball, check out Baseball Nation.