Missed opportunities in series finale with Houston cost Cubs

Derrek Lee admitted the Cubs were getting a little greedy.

As it turned out, they weren't quite greedy enough Sunday in a 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs had one early chance to blow the game open and a late chance to rally, but they failed to deliver the knockout punch each time. As a result, the North Siders' winning streak ended at five, and they finished the homestand 4-1.

"We were getting a little greedy - we wanted the one today," said Lee, the Cubs' first baseman who went 4-for-5 and saw his average go from .198 to .226. "But it was a great homestand."

The Cubs looked ready to blow Astros starting pitcher Brian Moehler (1-2) off the mound in the third inning, when the first four batters reached on 4 hits, including RBI doubles by Ryan Theriot and Lee.

But with runners on second and third and nobody out, Milton Bradley popped out, Geovany Soto flied out to short right (with Hunter Pence making a nice catch), and Mike Fontenot lined out to center.

"At least we swung the bats well," said manager Lou Piniella, whose team fell to 21-15 heading into a St. Louis-San Diego road trip that begins Tuesday.

On the other side of the ball, starting pitcher Rich Harden saw his own winning streak end at four.

Harden's downfall came in the fourth, when he gave up doubles to Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada. Geoff Blum singled home a run, and Ivan Rodriguez made it 4-2 Houston with the 300th home run of his career, a drive to left-center.

"Just one inning, and I guess that's how it's kind of been with me in my starts," said Harden, who gave up 6 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings. "It's just been one inning where it's cost me. Couple pitches. A two-strike pitch and one to Pudge (Rodriguez) that was up. I felt really good early. I was throwing my off-speed for strikes. It seems that one inning, it just got away from me."

Lee's homer in the fifth brought the Cubs within a run, but reliever Jose Ascanio hit the first two batters he faced in the seventh, gave up a run-scoring single and uncorked a wild pitch.

"I don't what happened to Ascanio," Piniella said. "I just don't know. ... I've never seen that. First two pitches, two hit batters and then a wild pitch a few pitches later. Then he settled down."

The Cubs gave it a go with 2 in the ninth. Alfonso Soriano hit his 12th homer with one out. After Theriot lined out, the Cubs bunched singles by Kosuke Fukudome, Lee and Bradley before Soto lined out to end the game.

"Derrek Lee had a great game," Piniella said. "The ball off the ivy in left-center early in the ballgame and then the home run. And then some two-strike hitting there in the bottom of the ninth. That's a big thing for us."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p> <p class="News"><b>Running it up:</b> Cubs starting pitcher Rich Harden threw 112 pitches over 6 innings. His big innings were the first, when he threw 24, the fourth (24), the fifth (20) and the sixth (22).</p> <p class="News"><b>Getting back:</b> Derrek Lee had hit first multihit game since May 1. Lee went 4-for-5, including his fourth homer.</p> <p class="News"><b>No quiet Riot:</b> Ryan Theriot doubled in the third inning. Of his last 14 hits, 10 have gone for extra bases (4 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs).</p> <p class="News"><b>Getting on:</b> Bobby Scales has walked in three consecutive games and has reached base in all eight of his games since coming up from Iowa. </p>