Pirates fall to Cubs again

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Maholm pitched eight strong innings Tuesday night to win his fifth straight start and lead the Chicago Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1.

Moments after the final out, the contending Pirates announced they had acquired pitcher Wandy Rodriguez in a trade with Houston.

Maholm gave up one run and four hits in handing the Pittsburgh its first back-to-back home losses since May 22-23. He struck out seven and walked one.

Maholm has allowed just four earned runs in 38 1-3 innings during his winning streak. The left-hander spent his first seven seasons with the Pirates before signing with the Cubs as a free agent last winter.

Starlin Castro and Alfonso Soriano each homered off James McDonald (10-4), who had his career-high five games winning streak snapped.