• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Soriano homers, leads Cubs past Astros

Aug 5, 2008 - 10:45 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella gave a couple of his starters a day off Monday. The move proved to pay dividends on Tuesday.

Alfonso Soriano hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Cubs recovered after blowing a five-run lead to post an 11-7 victory over the Houston Astros.

Soriano finished with three hits and four RBI while Mark DeRosa also had three hits and drove in three runs for the Cubs, who held a 6-1 lead after two innings.

"He bats in the (leadoff) spot but he could be a No. 1 or 3 hitter," Piniella said of Soriano. "Give the bottom of our lineup credit for giving him a lot of chances."

Piniella rested DeRosa and Derrek Lee, who had four hits and two runs scored, during Chicago's rain-shortened 2-0 loss to Houston on Monday. The duo combined for seven hits and four RBI in Tuesday's game.

"If we can pick our spots and rest our guys especially with the hot weather we are having, it will help in the long run," Piniella said."

Houston rallied with two runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, respectively, capped by Carlos Lee's two-run homer that gave the Astros a 7-6 edge.

But the Astros' advantage would be short-lived, as the Cubs regained control in the bottom half of the seventh.

Reed Johnson led off with a single and moved to third on DeRosa's double before rookie Kosuke Fukudome tied the game at 7-7 with a sacrifice fly to center.

Three batters later, with runners on first and second and two outs, Soriano launched a 1-2 offering from Doug Brocail to left-center field to give the Cubs a 10-7 lead.

"The pitch not only didn't bounce, but came in at 90-91 (miles per hour) which means I overthrew it," Brocail said. "On the video it looks like a heater, I missed my spot and he got it."

Lee had his fourth hit of the game later in the frame, plating Ryan Theriot with a single to right to complete the burst.

"I am not too concerned with myself and sitting out," Lee said. "I was just happy to come back and win today. We needed to win this game to a have a chance to win the series."

Making his first appearance since since July 11, Kerry Wood worked a scoreless eighth inning and Carlos Marmol pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the victory.

DeRosa had a two-run double in the first and had an RBI single in the second, capping a four-run inning that gave the Cubs a 6-1 lead.

"I needed a good game," DeRosa said. "Hopefully, I can continue to contribute and take the pressure off the big guys."

Chicago starter Rich Harden let Houston chip away as he endured his worst start as a member of the Cubs. The righthander allowed five runs - four earned - and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He surrendered a solo home run to Ty Wigginton in the fifth and a two-run blast to Geoff Blum in the sixth.

Bob Howry (4-4) allowed Lee's home run in the top of the seventh but earned the win after Chicago's rally in the bottom half of the inning. He gave up two runs in 1 1/3 innings.

"In the seventh we got the lead, and from there I was ready to take our chances," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "But we didn't make some pitches in the seventh and they came back to haunt us."

The loss was just the second in Houston's last nine games and snapped the Astros' four-game winning streak.

"We're playing hard everyday and that's what we are trying to do right now," Cooper said. "We have made a nice little run here and hopefully it can continue."