CHICAGO, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs hit five solo home runs Thursday, including back-to-back shots from Corey Patterson and Mark Bellhorn on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning, and avoided a four-game sweep with a 6-4 victory over the Houston Astros.
Prior to the game, Chicago interim manager Bruce Kimm held a team meeting to remind his team to act in a professional manner after closer Antonio Alfonseca was caught sleeping in the clubhouse during Wednesday night's game.
With the Cubs holding a three-run lead, Alfonseca got into Thursday's contest and recorded his 14th save, but not before giving up two hits and a run in the ninth.
Moises Alou, Fred McGriff and Sammy Sosa also homered, giving the Cubs 21 in their last six games. They recently set a National League record with 15 homers in a three-game span.
McGriff hit his 475th career homer, tying Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 21st on the all-time list.
The Astros were trying to complete a four-game sweep in Chicago for the first time in franchise history. But rookie Kirk Saarloos (5-3) had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark on a windy day at Wrigley Field, giving up four homers.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Saarloos (5-3), who was 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA in his previous five starts, allowing just 10 earned runs in 31 1/3 innings.
The home runs by Patterson and Bellhorn gave the Cubs a 5-3 lead. Sosa capped the scoring with a blast into the center field bleachers off Brandon Puffer in the eighth.
Bellhorn hit his 19th homer, breaking the Cubs record for switch hitters set by Augie Galan in 1937.
Jeff Fassero (5-6), who struck out Geoff Blum with the bases loaded for the final out in the top of the seventh, got the win.
Cubs rookie starter Mark Prior yielded three runs -- one earned -- and five hits over six innings with 12 strikeouts. Prior tied a Cubs mark with seven straight strikeouts in the second through fourth innings.
