Seiya Suzuki homered in the first and third innings to help the Cubs build an early 5-1 advantage.
The Cubs, who took a 6-1 lead after four innings at Houston on Wednesday, dropped their fifth straight when the Astros stormed back by scoring 2 runs in the eighth and 4 in the ninth to claim a 7-6 victory.
Mark Leiter Jr. let the Astros get within 6-3 in the eighth by yielding an RBI double to Alex Bregman and an RBI single to Jose Abreu. The meltdown makes one wonder: Why not allow Smyly to throw another inning? Or two? He only threw 84 pitches and there are plenty of managers who give their starters a chance to hit 95, 100 or even 105 -- especially when the bullpen is struggling and/or overtaxed.
But where's the superstar production that Hoyer envisioned when he said:"We've talked a lot about building the next great Cubs team. We signed Seiya to a five-year contract because we believe he'll play a significant role in that success now and that success in the future." This season? The numbers were nearly identical before Wednesday, with Suzuki hitting .266 with a .347 OBP. He had 3 home runs and 14 RBIs in his first 30 games.
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