'One big hit can kill you'

HOUSTON -- The Cubs got away from the things they'd been doing well all year.

Pitcher Ryan Dempster got away from his good game plan in one inning.

Cubs hitters reverted to their old, impatient ways throughout the game.

The result was a 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.

Hunter Pence hit a grand slam off Dempster with one out in the fourth inning to erase a 2-0 Cubs lead, and that was it.

"One big hit can kill you, and today it was a grand slam," said Dempster, who fell to 5-2. "It's just a bummer because I felt so good, and I felt stronger as the game was going on. It was unfortunate that he hit a home run with three guys on base. It was enough beat us.

"That was a game I felt I could have won. I felt like I had good enough stuff today. I was throwing the ball well enough to win the game with 1 run, let alone 2."

The Cubs (28-18) saw their mini two-game winning streak stopped. Manager Lou Piniella found little fault with his starting pitcher.

"I thought he pitched well," Piniella said. "The walk to (Geoff) Blum hurt him. And then getting behind in the count with the bases loaded, he had to come in. But, yeah, he competed well, and he threw the ball well."

Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez singled with two outs for the Cubs in the first, but Kosuke Fukudome grounded out.

The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Lee led off with a double to the left-field corner. Ramirez followed with a monster home run to left. It was Ramirez's eighth homer and second in two nights.

Miguel Tejada led off the home fourth with a double. After Lance Berkman walked, Carlos Lee flied out to center, with Tejada going to third and Berkman taking second on a throwing error by Jim Edmonds.

Blum walked to load the bases, and Pence hit an opposite-field drive that just cleared the wall.

"The home run is a home run, whatever," Dempster said. "I threw a 2-0 heater away on the black. It was up a little bit. He hit it in the second row. You tip your cap to him. He went the other way with it.

"It was leading up to the home run that bothered me. Bad inning management. When you're up 2-0 and leadoff double, go ahead, get him over, get him in and make some pitches and get some outs."

The Cubs got away from their patient approach at the plate, allowing Astros pitcher Chris Sampson to throw only 83 pitches over his 6¿ innings and allow only 1 walk.

Alfonso Soriano, who came into this series as one of the hottest hitters in baseball, grounded out in the first inning before striking out in each of his next three times up. Edmonds bounded into a double play in the seventh after Geovany Soto led off with a single.

"It's more like I'm trying to do too much," Soriano said. "You have to be relaxed and wait for my pitch. I swung at some bad pitches. Now, I have to come back tomorrow and be a little more selective at home plate and just do my game."

Astros 4, Cubs 2

At the plate: Aramis Ramirez hit his eighth homer of the season and second in two nights when he connected with a man on in the fourth to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The 2 RBI gave Ramirez 800 for his career. Derrek Lee singled twice and doubled. Alfonso Soriano struck out three times.

On the mound: Ryan Dempster lasted 6 innings, giving up 6 hits and 4 runs, all coming on Hunter Pence's fourth-inning grand slam. Dempster threw 109 pitches, 66 for strikes. Jose Ascanio, just called up from Class AAA Iowa, made his Cubs debut and pitched 2 scoreless innings.

-- Bruce Miles