Chicago, IL – David DeJesus belted a pair home runs among his four hits as the Chicago Cubs crushed the Houston Astros, 7-2, in the finale of a three-game set Wednesday at Wrigley Field.
DeJesus finished with three RBI, while Starlin Castro added three hits, including a two-run shot, to help the Cubs wrap up a seven-game homestand at 3-4.
Justin Germano (2-2) allowed two runs on five hits and one walk over 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts to earn the victory.
Jose Altuve registered three hits and Scott Moore crushed a solo homer and scored both runs for the Astros, who lost for the third time in their last four games.
Bud Norris (5-10) was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs on eight hits and three walks before a grounder back to the mound struck him in the left foot and forced him from the game with one out in the fourth.
Houston struck first in the top of the second as Moore belted a leadoff homer into the bleachers in left-center field to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.
The Cubs responded in the bottom half of the frame when Castro singled, moved to second on a groundout and then found third on Norris' wild pitch.
Brett Jackson followed with his first career triple into the gap in right- center field and Castro trotted home to knot the game at 1-1 before Chicago tacked on three runs in the third on a pair of home runs to take control.
DeJesus got things started with a leadoff blast over the wall in right to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.
Norris retired the next two batters, but issued a walk to Alfonso Soriano before Castro launched a two-run shot into left-center field, extending Chicago's lead to 4-1.
"Starlin is a guy who goes up there and is ready to hit all the time," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "Some day if he learns to really get a good pitch to hit consistently all the time, you'll see a lot more consistency."
In the fourth, Germano worked a one-out walk and DeJesus followed with his second homer of the day into straightaway center field as the Cubs grabbed a 6-1 lead.
Josh Vitters' infield hit off Norris forced the right-hander from the game as he was replaced by Chuckie Fick.
"It really squared up my foot pretty good," Norris said. "It was a ringing sensation in my foot. I just tried to let it calm down, but I knew my landing foot wasn't going to be pretty. I'm just glad I came out because I didn't want to hurt any worse than it was."
Jackson led off the sixth with a double, moved to third on Germano's bunt and scored three batters later on a passed ball charged to Jason Castro, pressing the margin to 7-1.
Moore then scored his second run of the game in the seventh, but the Astros would get no closer as Shawn Camp and Carlos Marmol held the Astros scoreless over the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
Game Notes
Norris is 0-9 in 13 starts since his last win on May 21 against the Cubs. The Astros are 1-12 in his last 13 starts ... Chicago went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base ... Houston failed on its two attempts with men in scoring position and stranded four.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.