Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Houston 5, Chi. Cubs 1
When: 8:05 PM ET, Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Tim Tschida, 1B - Jeff Nelson, 2B - Bill Welke, 3B - Chris Guccione
Attendance: 18732

Astros 5, Cubs 1:
Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven strong innings and host Houston completed a three-game sweep of Chicago, handing the Cubs their first nine-game losing streak in a decade.

Houston has won six of eight after notching its first home sweep of Chicago since August 2007.

Rodriguez (4-4) scattered eight hits while striking out five and walking none. Brandon Lyon fanned two in the eighth to preserve the 2-1 lead before Houston plated three in the bottom half.

Jeff Samardzija (4-3), who went six innings, was the hard-luck loser in his first career start against Houston.

After Reed Johnson’s first-inning solo homer put the Cubs on top, J.D. Martinez - who had the game-winning RBI on Tuesday - tripled in two runs in the fourth.

Martinez added an RBI single in the eighth, Matt Downs followed with a bases-loaded walk and another run crossed after Jose Altuve was hit by a pitch.

That was more than enough offense against Chicago, which has scored 11 runs in its last five games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cubs get Thursday off before visiting the Pirates for a three-game series. ... Houston starts a seven-game trip Friday in Los Angeles. ... Astros first baseman Carlos Lee went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, raising his average to .306.

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Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Chi. Cubs   Houston
Jeff Samardzija Player Wandy Rodriguez
Loss W/L Win
6.0 IP 7.0
4 Strikeouts 5
6 Hits 8
3.00 ERA 1.29
Hitting
Chi. Cubs   Houston
Reed Johnson Player Carlos Lee
2 Hits 3
1 RBI 0
1 HR 0
5 TB 3
.500 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Chi. Cubs 10 1 15 .286 19 8 1 0 1 0
Houston 9 0 12 .273 14 5 5 4 0 0