Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Paul Maholm pitched into the ninth inning and
the Chicago Cubs beat Houston, 4-0, in the opener of a three-game set.
Maholm (5-6) controlled the game for the first eight innings, only allowing
four Astros to reach base. However, after giving up a pair of hits and running
his pitch count to 98, his day ended with one out in the ninth.
The 30-year-old left-hander ended up allowing four hits and a walk, while
striking out six en route to his first win since May 9.
Maholm was 0-4 with a 6.43 earned run average in his last eight starts heading
into Friday, but he finished two outs short of his fourth career shutout.
Luis Valbuena, Steve Clevenger and Alfonso Soriano hit home runs for the Cubs
to account for all four of their runs. For Clevenger, it was his first career
blast.
Bud Norris (5-5) came off the disabled list on Friday and took the loss. He
gave up all four runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings.
GAME NOTES:
The Sports Network