Cubs’ rookie catcher Geovany Soto accomplished something tonight that has not been done by a Cub catcher since 1959, which i’ll get to later.

Chicago scored 4 runs in the last 3 innings to break open a close game & beat the Houston Astros 7-2 on Monday night at Minute Maid Park.

Kosuke Fukudome then grounded to 1st base, which advanced Ramirez into scoring position for Geovany Soto.

Soto grounded out to Miguel Tejada at shortstop, unable to advance Ramirez up another 90 feet.

Ramirez did eventually advance to 3rd base on a wild pitch from Moehler during Jim Edmonds’ at-bat. However, Edmonds would end up flying out to Carlos Lee in left field, ending the scoring threat.

The Cubs finally got on the board in the top of the 4th inning on an unusual play. After Aramis Ramirez hit a 1-out single & Kosuke Fukudome walked against Moehler, Geovany Soto did something that hasn’t been accomplished by a Cub player at his position in 49 years.

Soto hit a drive to deep centerfield that appeared to hit the yellow line just above Tal’s Hill before coming back onto the field of play. Ramirez & Fukudome both scored easily on the play, which left Soto as the deciding factor on a possible inside-the-park homer.

Cubs 3rd base coach Mike Quade gave Soto the green light to score from 3rd base, as he beat the relay throw to make him the 1st Cubs catcher to hit an inside-the-park home run since Cal Neeman did it on June 17th, 1959.

Overall, it is Soto’s 9th home run of the season.

Soto also became the 1st Cub to hit an inside-the-park home run since fellow teammate & 1st baseman Derrek Lee did it last season on August 26th, 2007 during a 5-4 loss to Arizona.

The Astros were able to scratch across a run in the bottom of the 4th inning after Miguel Tejada hit a 1-out double off Cubs starter Ted Lilly.

2 batters later, Carlos Lee hit an RBI single to score Tejada from 3rd base (Tejada stole 3rd during Lance Berkman’s at-bat, who struck out swinging) to make it a 3-1 Cub lead.

Jim Edmonds also showed off his Gold Glove ability in centerfield as he robbed Hunter Pence of an extra-base hit with an outstanding over-the-shoulder grab in deep centerfield as he ran onto the shallow part of Tal’s Hill to make the catch.

Lilly got into more trouble in the bottom of the 5th inning after Ty Wigginton hit a lead-off double. Brad Ausmus then grounded out to 2nd base, which advanced Wigginton to 3rd with just 1 out.

2 batters left, Michael Bourn hit an RBI single to score Wigginton from 3rd base & made it a 3-2 Cub lead.

Houston actually had a chance to take the lead after Kaz Matsui’s infield groundout to put runners at 2nd & 3rd for Miguel Tejada.

However, Tejada foul-tipped the 3rd strike into Geovany Soto’s mitt for the 3rd & final out to end the inning.

The Cubs got an insurance run in the top of the 7th inning after Ryan Theriot hit a 1-out double off Astros reliever Fernando Nieve.

Derrek Lee then followed with an RBI single to score Theriot from 2nd base & give the Cubs a 4-2 lead.

Chicago almost let another insurance run slip away in the top of the 8th inning, but Ryan Theriot delivered with an RBI single off Astros reliever Dave Borkowski to score Mark DeRosa (who hit a 1-out single) from 2nd base & give the Cubs a 5-2 lead.

The Astros made one final scoring threat in the bottom of the 8th inning after Michael Bourn hit a lead-off single against Cubs reliever Michael Wuertz.

Houston skipper Cecil Cooper then called for a hit & run, which worked to perfection as Kaz Matsui singled to put runners at the corners with nobody out.

Chicago skipper Lou Piniella then called on Carlos Marmol to try & work out on this jam & limit Houston’s scoring damage.

Marmol got Miguel Tejada to pop out to Ryan Theriot in shallow left center field for the 1st out, which was unable to advance any runners. (Matsui stole 2nd base during Tejada’s at-bat.)

Marmol then struck out Lance Berkman, who entered Monday’s game ranked 1st in the NL with 16 home runs & 2nd in the NL with a .399 batting average.

Carlos Lee then grounded out to 3rd base to end the scoring threat.

The Cubs were able to put a big exclamation point on this game in the top of the 9th inning , which started with a lead-off double from Derrek Lee off Borowski.

Aramis Ramirez then followed with a 2-run homer (7th of season) to left field to give the Cubs a 7-2 lead.

Cubs reliever Bob Howry pitched a perfect 9th inning & struck out 2 of the 3 batters faced to close the door on the win.

Ted Lilly (5-4) gets the win for the Cubs & is now over .500 for the first time this season after pitching 5 1/3 innings & allowing 2 runs on 4 hits.

Lilly has now won each of his last 4 starts & is now starting to look more & more like the pitcher who tied a career-high with 15 wins last season.

Brian Moehler (1-1) takes the loss for the Astros after allowing 7 hits & Geovany Soto’s inside-the-park homer in his 5 innings of work.

The Cubs can try & win their 1st road series since early April with a win on Tuesday evening against the Astros at 7:05 PM cst from Minute Maid Park, as righthander Ryan Dempster (5-1, 2.35) will be opposed by Chris Sampson (2-3, 6.46).

Dempster is coming off his most stellar start of the season on May 15th against San Diego, as he pitched 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball & struck-out a career-high 12 batters.

Dempster will be looking to beat the Astros for the 1st time as a starter since April 8th, 2003 when he pitched a complete game while allowing just 1 run on 7 hits as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

Sampson is currently sporting a 15.75 ERA in 3 home starts this season with an 0-2 record. Overall, Sampson has not won a home game since June 2nd, 2007 when he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings pitched during the Astros’ 8-3 win over St. Louis.

The Cubs placed reliever Chad Fox (ulnar neuritis) on the 15 day DL after Monday’s win & re-called righthanderJose Ascanio from Triple-A Iowa.

Ascanio has not pitched in a major-league game since September 30th, 2007 & was part of the deal that sent former Cub reliever Will Ohman to the Atlanta Braves last December.

Signing off for now,