Cubs Win Sixth in Row

Glendon Rusch pitched eight strong innings, Moises Alou drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs defeated the Houston Astros, 5-4, on Thursday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

Rusch (4-1) gave up only two runs and four hits and struck out seven. He was 1-12 with Milwaukee last season and spent most of this spring in Texas’ camp before signing a minor league contract with the Cubs on April 1.

“I guess you’d say he has had as good a turnaround as you could find anywhere,” Cub Manager Dusty Baker said. “He was kind of at the end of his rope it seemed. But he has been great for us.”

The Astros might have helped Rusch with their anemic hitting. Houston has scored only 23 runs its last 10 games, and five of those came in one victory.