Rockies Fouled By Sosa Homer

National League

The baseball went off the bat of Sammy Sosa and soared toward the left-field foul pole.

Over the fence? Absolutely. The ball was destined for Waveland Avenue, well outside Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Fair or foul? Sosa and the rest of the Chicago Cubs thought it went fair, just over the pole. The Colorado Rockies thought it hooked foul.

Because third base umpire Mark Hirschbeck agreed with the Cubs, Sosa had a two-run homer and Frank Castillo made the first-inning lead stand Monday for a 2-0 victory.

“The umpire made the call right away and that’s what he’s there for,” said Sosa, who has homered in each of his last five games against Colorado. “He made the right call because it was a fair ball.”

Giants 2, Expos 1

San Francisco

Carlos Perez pitched 6-2/3 no-hit innings for Montreal, but Barry Bonds had an RBI double and San Francisco rallied for two runs in the ninth.

David McCarty won the game with an RBI single, his first N.L. hit.

Dodgers 5, Phillies 1

Los Angeles

Raul Mondesi hit a two-run homer and Eric Karros and Brett Butler had sacrifice flies as Los Angeles regained first place in the N.L. West with a victory over Philadelphia.

The Dodgers have a one-half game lead over the Colorado Rockies.

Braves 6, Cardinals 5

Atlanta

Marquis Grissom singled with one in the ninth to drive in the winning run in Atlanta’s victory over St. Louis.

Atlanta led 5-4 entering the ninth, but Mark Wohlers (7-3) ended a string of 21 consecutive successful save opportunities.

Marlins 7, Pirates 3

Miami

Gary Sheffield’s third home run in four games since coming off the disabled list highlighted a six-run first inning as Florida beat Pittsburgh.

Sheffield, who was activated Friday after 82 days on the disabled list with a torn ligament in his right thumb, hit his ninth homer in his first at-bat in front of the home fans since June 10.

Reds 6, Astros 1

Houston

Cincinnati moved within two games of its first season sweep since the turn of the century, beating Houston behind fourth-inning homers by Ron Gant and Benito Santiago.

The Reds are 11-0 against Houston, which has never been shut out in a season series, although the 1962 team lost 17 in a row to Philadelphia before winning the final meeting of the season.

Padres 2, Mets 1 (10)

San Diego

Scott Livingstone hit a bases-loaded single with one out in the 10th to lift San Diego over New York.