Hunter Pence belted his 23rd home run to back Brett Myers and lift the Astros to a 4-0 victory Wednesday night over the Cubs to take the three-game series.

Cubs pitcher Sean Marshall was recognized before Wednesday's series finale with the Astros as the team's nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.

Cubs pitcher Tom Gorzelanny, sidelined with a hairline fracture under the nail of his left pinkie finger, will throw a bullpen session this weekend.

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was back in the Cubs' lineup Wednesday after sitting two games as disciplinary action by manager Mike Quade.

After injuries derailed too previous potential callups to the big leagues, Cubs outfielder Brad Snyder -- who struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in Tuesday's 7-3 loss -- has finally arrived.

Chicago lost for the second time in six games this month and dropped to 9-5 under Mike Quade, as Carlos Silva endured a shaky return from the DL.

About 1,400 people came out to cheer pitcher Jim-Young Kim at Wrigley Field, and the 18-year-old right-hander was merely set to throw in the bullpen.

Billy Williams' sweet swing will live forever on the corner of Addison and Sheffield streets outside Wrigley Field, where a bronze statue of the Hall of Famer was unveiled on Tuesday.

The Cubs added five on Tuesday, recalling Jeff Samardzija, Sam Fuld and Justin Berg and selecting the contracts of Bobby Scales and Brad Snyder.

Cubs pitcher Sean Marshall doesn't have one specific cause he supports, but prefers to do as much as he can for as many people as he can. The left-hander is the Cubs nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy.

Mark Hamilton homered with two outs in the ninth inning to lift Memphis to a 7-6 victory over Triple-A Iowa on Monday, ending the I-Cubs' season.

Geovany Soto smacked a solo homer with two outs in the eighth to lift the Cubs to a 5-4 victory Monday over the Astros.

Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez did not start Monday so that he can receive treatment on a sore right quad. His status was day-to-day.

Cubs manager Mike Quade decided to sit the Starlin Castro on Monday and Tuesday for a little mental health break.

Billy Williams drove by the corner of Addison and Sheffield streets outside Wrigley Field on Monday as he always has. And once again, he was tempted to stop the car and peek under the blue cloth hiding the bronze statue of the Hall of Fame outfielder, which will be officially unveiled on Tuesday.

Instead of picking up his 100th win on Sunday, Ryan Dempster was handed his 100th loss. Ruben Tejada drove in five, Ike Davis belted a two-run homer and Jon Niese helped himself by hitting two RBI singles to lift the Mets to an 18-5 victory over the Cubs.

Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez notched his 1,600th career hit with an RBI single in the first inning Sunday and picked up No. 1,601 with a two-run homer in the third.

In the eighth inning Saturday, the Cubs had runners on first and second and none out against the Mets, and rookie Starlin Castro was at the plate.

All Xavier Nady needed was more playing time. Nady has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games, batting .373, and in 20 of his last 21 starts since Aug. 8, hitting .350 in that stretch.

Cubs starting pitchers may be pulled a little earlier in games in the final four weeks of the season to give the bullpen more opportunities.