Morning Box Score

By Matt Motyka in News on May 18, 2009 3:00PM

Cubs Can't Catch Astros
The Cubs ninth-inning rally fell just short on Sunday as the Houston Astros held on for a 6-5 victory. Trailing 6-3 with one away in the ninth, Alfonso Soriano provided a spark when he took Chris Sampson deep to left field for a solo home run. Chicago then cut the deficit to one when Milton Bradley singled home Kosuke Fukudome four batters later and left the table set for Geovany Soto. With the tying run at second and the winning run on first, Soto hit a laser down the third-base line, but unfortunately right into the glove of Houston's Jeff Keppinger, ending the Cubs' comeback bid. The Cubs had been the first to strike on Sunday, putting two runs on the board in the third when Ryan Theriot and Derrek Lee each hit RBI doubles, but Houston quickly responded by posting a four spot against Rich Harden in the next inning. After Lee reduced the margin to one with a solo shot in the fifth, reliever Jose Ascanio plunked the first two batters he faced in the seventh to set up the Astros for two more runs, giving Houston their 6-3 advantage. Lee proved to be the star at the plate for Chicago with a long-awaited 4-for-5 performance, his first three-plus hit game since April 15. The Cubs take a day off following their split of the rain-shorted series and will focus on putting some distance between themselves and the Cards when they travel to St. Louis on Tuesday.

Jays Slug Sox
The White Sox got off to an encouraging start against the Jays' Roy Halladay with a two-run first inning, but couldn't sustain their offensive output as they fell to Toronto 8-2. Chicago put five men on base in the top of the first and collected the pair of runs on RBI singles from Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko. Halladay would soon find his bearings, however, holding the Sox to only four scattered hits over the next six innings. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays put up six runs in five innings against Gavin Floyd and added two more in the eighth against Bobby Jenks. Five of Toronto's runs came by way of the long ball, including a three-run tater by Adam Lind in the fourth to give his team the lead. Konerko and Scott Podsednik both had respectable days at the dish, with Konerko recording three hits and Podsednik tallying two. Through 36 games Konerko is the only Sox player hitting better than .300, leading his nearest active teammate by 42 points. Chicago will try to avoid a four-game sweep behind Clayton Richard, who is slated to make his second start of the season this afternoon in Toronto.