Cubs 2, Astros 1
Bryan LaHair belted a solo homer and Rodrigo Lopez pitched six strong innings as the Chicago Cubs handed the visiting Houston Astros their 100th loss of the season with a 2-1 triumph on Saturday afternoon.
Tony Campana stole a base and scored and Darwin Barney added a pair of hits for the Cubs, who pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Pittsburgh Pirates for fourth place in the National League Central.
The Astros’ previous franchise high for losses had been 97, reached three times.
Both teams scored in errors in the first inning. LaHair, who forced his way to the majors this month after hitting 38 homers in the minors, blasted his second in the majors in the fourth inning when he took a fastball from Henry Sosa (2-5) out to center.
Lopez (6-6) struck out a season-high seven and yielded just an unearned run on four hits to secure his second straight win.
Regular closer Carlos Marmol pitched two innings in Friday’s game, so Sean Marshall got the save opportunity for Chicago.
The lefthander loaded the bases with one out on two hits and an intentional walk, but struck out Jose Altuve and got Humberto Quintero to ground out to second for his fifth save.