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Cubs aim to avoid rare three-game home skid

Sep 1, 2008 - 1:59 PM Houston (71-66) at Chicago (85-52) 4:05 pm. EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs look to avoid a rare third straight home loss on Monday against the Houston Astros.

Chicago, which has the second-best home mark (51-21) in baseball, is coming off a 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday. The Cubs left 19 runners on base in losing the final two games of the series.

It is only the third time Chicago has lost two straight at home this season. It has not lost three straight at the "friendly confines," of Wrigley Field since August of last season.

The Cubs, who lead Milwaukee (80-56) by 4 1/2 games in the National League Central, will try to rebound against Roy Oswalt (12-9, 4.11 ERA). Oswalt, who spent time on the disabled list with a hip injury, is 8-3 with a 2.84 ERA in his last 13 starts. He is 11-11 with a 4.09 ERA in 25 career games vs. Chicago.

The Cubs counter with Jason Marquis (9-7, 4.52), who unlike the rest of his teammates, has not had a lot of success at Wrigley this season. The righthander is 4-4 with a 5.76 ERA in 14 starts here. Marquis allowed five hits in seven innings of a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

He will have his hands full with Ty Wigginton, who has sparked the Astros during their five-game winning streak. Wigginton hit a two-run homer in Sunday's 3-0 win over St. Louis, and is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with five homers and eight RBIs during the winning streak.