The Houston Astros started off their three-game set against the Chicago Cubs with a 7-1 loss on Monday night at Wrigley Field. Houston could not get anything going against Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija (8-10), who struck out 11 batters in seven innings and gave up just four hits and one earned run.
Astros starter Armando Galarraga (0-3) didn't have the same success. In five innings, he gave up seven hits and five runs.
Darwin Barney opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the second inning for Chicago. Anthony Rizzo added an RBI single in the third, and Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer of his own in the fifth.
Houston's lone run came on a Brandon Barnes solo homer in the sixth. Welington Castillo's RBI single in the seventh and Josh Vitters' sac fly in the eighth made it 7-1.
Game 2 starts Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. ET at Wrigley.
Head over to The Crawfish Boxes for more Astros coverage, and check out Bleed Cubbie Blue for more on the Cubs. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more MLB news and analysis.