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Lee, Soriano homer as Cubs edge Astros

Apr 6, 2008 - 10:14 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- For a pair of Chicago Cubs sluggers, a lot can change in just a few short days.

Derrek Lee snapped a tie with a solo home run and Carlos Zambrano pitched seven strong innings to lead the Cubs to a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Alfonso Soriano, who began the season 1-for-23, hit his first homer of the season in the fifth inning for the Cubs, who evened their record at 3-3 after beginning the campaign with back-to-back losses.

"I hope that hit will turn things around for me," Soriano said. "I saw the ball really well today. Maybe that will help me get it together now."

Soriano also contributed with his defense, nailing speedster Michael Bourn at the plate with a throw from left field to complete a double play in the first inning.

"I think even when I'm not hitting, I can help my team with my defense," Soriano said. "I really liked throwing the runner out at home plate for a double play in the first inning as much as hitting my first home run."

With the game tied at 2-2 in the seventh inning, Lee took the first pitch he saw from reliever Oscar Villarreal (0-2) over the left-center field wall to put Chicago on top, 3-2.

"Over the last two days, we didn't make any good pitches to Derrek," Houston manager Cecil Cooper said. "When you make mistakes over the plate to an outstanding big-league hitter like him, he will hurt you."

"I really saw the ball well today coming out of (Brandon) Backe's hand," Lee said. "I'm hoping I can continue my recent hot streak in Pittsburgh."

Lee, who went 4-for-4 in Saturday's 9-7 victory, is batting .400 (10-for-25) with three homers so far this season.

"It's funny, people said I was in a slump the first couple of games of this season," Lee said. "Now I'm 6-for-7 (in the last two games). Baseball's not the NFL. We play a lot of games. There will be more peaks and valleys for me and every player during 162 games."

Zambrano (1-0) was sharp in his second start of the season, allowing two runs and seven hits while striking out seven without a walk. The burly righthander threw 72 of 106 pitches for strikes.

"The key for me is concentration," Zambrano said. "My pitching coach (Larry Rothschild) told me just to get the ball over the plate and work on throwing strikes. That worked out for me today."

Zambrano helped his own cause in the second inning, grounding into a double play that allowed Mark DeRosa to come home from third for the game's first run.

After Soriano's blast gave Chicago a 2-1 lead, much-maligned Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada tied the game with a solo homer off Zambrano in the top of the seventh.

"Hitting a home run is a nice feeling, especially off a great pitcher like Zambrano," Tejada said. "You have to be proud of that. Losing the game takes some fun out of it."

But Lee's homer in the bottom of the frame put the Cubs back on top before Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless eighth and Kerry Wood worked a perfect ninth for his third save.

Brandon Backe pitched well for Houston, yielding two runs and six hits in six innings while striking out seven and walking three.

"Brandon pitched a good game for us today," Cooper said. "If he continues to pitch like he did, he will be a big part of what we do this season."

"I was able to pitch out of jams," Backe said. "That's a key for any pitcher. And it was for me today. All you can do is give your team a chance to win. The rest is out of my control."