Cubs can't catch up // Castillo loses 14th as team loses ground //

Astros 8 Cubs 3

Two teams are responsible for the Cubs' season-long sub-.500doldrums.

"Atlanta and Houston," manager Jim Riggleman said Friday beforethe Cubs opened an important three-game weekend series with theCentral Division-leading Astros. "They've kept our record at what itis."

The Braves are 4-1 against the Cubs, with the next meeting intwo weeks.

The Astros' edge is bigger, growing to 6-2 and their divisionlead to six games over the Cubs after an 8-3 victory Friday before37,139 at Wrigley Field, the first of three expected sellout crowds.

Attendance might be inspired by last year's season-endingdramatics between the two wild-card-chasing clubs. Several of thosegames featured comebacks by the Cubs, who stayed alive in thewild-card race until the second-to-last day of the year.

There was no magic revival Friday, though, and no change in theyearlong trials of Frank Castillo.

"I've given up two runs in (each of) my last three starts, andI'm 0-2 to show for it," he said after falling to 5-14, first in theleague in losses.

"You feel like giving up two runs in five innings is good enoughto win, but (the news reports today) will say `Castillo loses 14thgame.' You get tired of seeing it and hearing it and reading it."

The latest of Castillo's losses was less his fault than theresult of failures by the Cubs bullpen and a fine defensive day forthe usually defenseless Astros.

Castillo left trailing 2-0, but the Astros feasted on KentBottenfield, who gave up a double, triple and two singles beforegetting an out, and Terry Adams, who started the eighth with a walk,two singles and a double.

"They've done such a good job for us all year, we've gottenspoiled," Riggleman said. "But they're not going to throw zeroesevery time. The bullpen hasn't been as effective in the last fourdays. Today, if we left the ball out to be hit, the Astros jumped onit."

Castillo wouldn't criticize the bullpen.

"Everyone goes through a time when they can't get anyone out,"he said. "Hitters go through slumps, and starters, and I think (therelievers are) in a stretch now. But we've been riding on theirbacks all year."

Houston pounded 15 hits, 11 of them in the fifth througheighth innings, including Craig Biggio's solo home run (12th) offBottenfield.

The Cubs were hitting, too - just not as effectively.

Starter Mike Hampton (10-7) worked seven innings and allowed tworuns on nine hits before Xavier Hernandez pitched the final twoinnings, yielding three hits, one of them Ozzie Timmons' solo homerun (second) in the eighth.

"We swung the bats well (12 hits), but they made good defensiveplays," Riggleman said.

One came in the third when Brian McRae (4-for-5) singled toshort right but was immediately thrown out when second basemanBiggio threw to Jeff Bagwell, who tagged McRae after he turned thentried to dive back to the bag.

"That was just a good defensive play by Biggio," Riggleman said.

"I saw him," McRae said. "I just turned a little too far off.I thought I was where I could get back to the bag."

The Astros, ranked 12th in the league in team defense, pulledoff another gem in the seventh when right fielder Derek Bell racedto the wall and grabbed Mark Grace's deep drive. The catch endedthe inning after McRae had doubled and pinch hitter Dave Magadan(single) scored on Ryne Sandburg's grounder.

"That's happened a lot this year," Riggleman said. "It seemsGrace's best drives have been when the wind was blowing in."

The Cubs - first in the league in defense - made great plays,too, including running backhand catches by Timmons and Sammy Sosa, aheads-up pickoff of Orlando Miller (double) at second by catcherScott Servais and an over-the-shoulder catch of a Bagwell bloop incenter field by Sandberg.

But the Cubs seem to need perfection against the Astros.

"It does get frustrating," Castillo said. "It eats at you."