Cubs 7, Astros 2: Disastrous first inning dooms Houston to third straight loss

CHICAGO — Each new series presents the Astros a chance to initiate the turnaround they seek. An off day let them renew the effort afresh Tuesday. To wreck it required one inning.

Two swings against J.P. France in the first produced a five-run lead that the Cubs never relinquished. The Astros fell 7-2 in their series opener at Wrigley Field to extend a miserable month.

Houston is 7-17. It is 10 games under .500 for the first time since May 2016. Its 5.16 team ERA is highest among American League teams. Its up-and-down offense has scored 18 runs in its past seven games.

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Its lineup scattered seven hits against left-hander Jordan Wicks and three Cubs relievers. Three were for extra bases. The Astros took four at-bats with a runner in scoring position, mustering one hit.

Chicago hit three home runs, two by right fielder Mike Tauchman, who had zero in 59 plate appearances entering the day. Houston did not advance a runner past first base after the fifth inning.

One bad inning

The Cubs hit France hard in the first inning. Nico Hoerner struck a 103.8 mph groundout. Ian Happ then lined a 108.6 mph double off the right-field wall. France's first-pitch cutter to Cody Bellinger arrived at 91 mph over the plate. Bellinger crushed it 428 feet to right field.

France is among Houston pitchers who have struggled to put hitters away. Hitters were 7-for-22 against him entering Tuesday in at-bats that ended when they were behind in the count. That issue arose again. Christopher Morel fell behind 1-2 and walked on a close pitch. Dansby Swanson singled on a 1-2 curve.

It hurt when France threw a 2-0 cutter that Tauchman drove for an opposite-field three-run homer. France showed frustration with plate umpire Andy Fletcher’s strike zone as he left the mound after the first. No runner reached second base in his final four innings, but the damage against him was done.

France has a 7.46 ERA in five starts. He has allowed 31 hits and 12 walks in 25⅓ innings. He managed to give the Astros five innings Tuesday despite sitting at 56 pitches after the second. The only hit against him after the first was Miguel Amaya’s fourth-inning single. France struck out six and threw 96 pitches.

A little punch

Wicks retired 10 of his first 11 hitters. In the fourth, Kyle Tucker skied a fly ball to deep center field. Bellinger appeared not to track it off the bat, and it carried over his head for a double, ending a peculiar drought for Houston’s lineup. The Astros had gone 115 plate appearances without an extra-base hit dating to the second inning Friday at Washington.

Two batters later, Yainer Diaz sent a drive to center that ricocheted off Bellinger’s glove and the ivy wall and back into Bellinger’s glove. He held it up signaling a catch, to no avail. Diaz’s double drove in Tucker. Jeremy Peña struck out to strand him. Jake Meyers turned on a first-pitch fastball in the fifth inning for a 375-foot home run, his third of the season and Houston’s first on this road trip.

Hallowed grounds

The teams met Tuesday on the 110th anniversary of the first game played at Wrigley Field. It marked the Astros’ first visit since June 2013. Jose Altuve is the only holdover on either team’s roster who played in that series.

“It’s exciting to play here but also presents challenges,” Astros manager Joe Espada said pregame. “The wind blows out. There are tricky corners. So we went over … not only to get ready for the Cubs but how to play in this ballpark.”