CHICAGO - Alfonso Soriano tugged at his jersey and raised his arms like a champion during his curtain call. The Chicago Cubs had reason to celebrate - and exhale - on Tuesday.

Soriano hit a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the seventh inning and Chicago rallied after blowing a five-run lead, beating the Houston Astros 11-7 and stopping their four-game win streak.

Soriano’s 20th homer highlighted a five-run burst and sent the National League Central-leading Cubs to their eighth win in 10 games.

“It’s great,” Soriano said. “I work hard for those moments. I like those moments. It’s special today. That’s what I want to do, try to help the team win.”

Besides the dramatic homer by Soriano, the Cubs also got a boost by the return of All-Star closer Kerry Wood. He got a loud ovation and then pitched a scoreless eighth after missing three weeks with a blister on his right index finger.

The late drama came after the Astros beat the Cubs 2-0 in eight innings the previous night. That game was delayed twice by violent storms before finally being called just before midnight because of thunder and lightning.

Soriano drove in four runs.

The Astros had come back from a 6-1 deficit to take the lead.

The Cubs took their big lead into the fifth inning before the Astros rallied against Rich Harden and Bob Howry on homers by Ty Wigginton, Geoff Blum and Carlos Lee.

Wigginton connected off Harden leading off the fifth and Kaz Matsui added an RBI triple to make it 6-3. Hunter Pence led off the sixth with a single and Blum hit a two-run homer. Lee’s 26th homer, a two-run drive off Howry with two outs in the seventh, gave Houston a short-lived 7-6 lead.

Chicago came back in the bottom half. Reed Johnson led off with a single, Mark DeRosa doubled and Kosuke Fukudome hit a tying sacrifice fly.

Chris Sampson (5-4) then intentionally walked pinch hitter Daryle Ward and reliever Wesley Wright struck out pinch hitter Geovany Soto.

Doug Brocail relieved and Soriano, who had singled and doubled, drove a 1-2 slider over the wall in left-center.

“It looked like a damn heater,” said Brocail, who wanted to bounce the pitch. “I missed my spot. He got it.”

The Cubs added a run in the inning when Ryan Theriot scored on Derrek Lee’s single.

Soriano has 18 hits in his last 43 at-bats after going 3-for-5 and has stabilized the lineup after returning from a six-week stay on the disabled list with a fractured finger late last month.

“The most important thing to me is to stay healthy,” said Soriano, who spent time on the DL earlier in the season with a strained right calf. “My health is good. I can do whatever I can to help the team win. I’m very happy I’m back in the lineup.”

So is DeRosa.

“He makes a huge difference,” DeRosa said. “It changes the game. He’s one of the big superstars in the game. I think moreso than his ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark, he loosens us up with his charisma and character before and after the game. He’s a huge part of who we are.”

Harden allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, tying season highs, after four dominant starts for Chicago following last month’s trade from Oakland. He struck out eight and walked one.

Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez had another rough outing. He lasted five innings allowed six runs and nine hits in his second straight start.