Houston @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 16, 2011 ) Houston 3, Chi. Cubs 4

THE STORY: The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros may be a combined 67 games below .500, but it doesn’t appear as if either team has quit on the season. After an extra-inning battle in the first game of the series, each team will want to bounce back strong on Saturday. The Astros need a win to hold off the franchise’s first 100-loss campaign while the Cubs are working their way up the standings. Henry Sosa and Rodrigo Lopez will square off in Chicago.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), my20 (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Rodrigo Lopez (5-6, 5.04 ERA) vs. Astros RH Henry Sosa (2-4, 5.02).

Lopez has made it through six innings only once in his last nine outings and has not recorded an out in the seventh over that span. The journeyman righthander managed to secure a win Monday thanks to some strong support as he was knocked out after allowing five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Lopez won at Houston on Aug. 15, surrendering two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He was lit up by the Astros in his Cubs debut at Wrigley Field on May 30, yielding six runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 frames. Sosa had a string of three straight quality starts come to an end Sunday when he was knocked around for five runs and seven hits, including three home runs, in 2 2/3 innings. The rookie righthander is attempting to make a strong impression on management and lock up a spot in next season’s rotation. Sosa lost to Chicago and Lopez on Aug. 15, allowing four runs over six innings.

ABOUT THE CUBS (66-85): Chicago has played two extra-inning games in a row for nearly eight hours of baseball in less than 24 hours. The Cubs fought to force extra innings in Cincinnati on Thursday night only to have Jay Bruce hit a walk-off home run in the 11th to give the Reds the win. It worked in the reverse Friday afternoon as Chicago appeared to have the game in hand with a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning and Matt Garza cruising. But Carlos Lee forced extra innings with a two-run homer and the Cubs battled to pull out the victory in the 12th on Marlon Byrd’s infield single. That snapped a three-game slide for the Cubs, who still have a shot at leaping up and stealing fourth place in the National League Central from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

ABOUT THE ASTROS (51-99): Houston third baseman Chris Johnson made the curious decision to attempt to field a slow roller on the foul line instead of waiting to see if it would go foul in the 12th. With no chance to get Starlin Castro at the plate, the only hope the Astros had was the ball going foul. Mental mistakes from youngsters have been part of the growing pains for this season for Houston, which has begun a full-scale rebuilding effort to mixed results. Lee, one of the lone big-money veterans still around, was responsible for all the Astros’ runs Friday, belting a solo homer in the second and forcing extra innings with his two-run blast in the ninth.

FINAL PITCH: Castro went 0-for-4 with a pair of walks Friday to stay stuck on 193 hits. Castro, 21, is bidding to become the youngest player in Cubs history to reach the 200-hit mark. He is 1-for-3 in his career against Sosa and 5-for-23 against Brett Myers, who is scheduled to start for Houston in Sunday’s series finale.