Sosa Takes Bucs Not So Very Deep
The key to beating the Chicago Cubs is keeping Sammy Sosa inside the ballpark. Now, even that doesn’t work.
Sosa and Pittsburgh’s Tony Womack hit inside-the-park homers 5 minutes apart in the sixth inning Monday at Pittsburgh, where the Pirates lost 2-1 as three Cubs pitchers combined on a three-hitter.
There had not been two inside-the-park homers in an N.L. game since Lou Brock and Hector Cruz of St. Louis did it against San Diego June 18, 1976. The last time there were two in one inning in the majors was Aug. 27, 1977. Toby Harrah and Bump Wills homered on consecutive pitches for Texas against the Yankees.
Sosa doubled and scored the Cubs’ first run in the fourth on Shawon Dunston’s sacrifice fly before lifting a long fly ball to right-center with one out in the sixth.
Pirates rookie outfielders Adrian Brown and Jose Guillen collided, and Sosa was heading into third by the time Guillen ran down the ball.
In the bottom of the inning, Cubs center fielder Doug Glanville, playing exceptionally shallow, couldn’t make a diving catch of Womack’s fly ball, allowing the Pirates second baseman to score.
Giants 4, Astros 3
San Francisco
Barry Bonds homered to lead off the ninth inning, lifting San Francisco past Houston.
Bonds connected on a 1-0 pitch from Jose Lima, driving it into the right-field bleachers.
Reds 8-8, Phillies 5-4
Cincinnati
Barry Larkin reached base in every plate appearance as Cincinnati swept a doubleheader from Philadelphia and extended its winning streak to a season-high four games.
Larkin reached in all seven plate appearances, extending his streak to 12. The N.L. record is 14 by Pedro Guerrero in 1985. Ted Williams set the A.L. record of 16 in 1957. Frank Thomas of the White Sox had 15 last week.
Rockies 9, Cardinals 7
Denver
Andres Galarraga hit a mammoth two-run home run and Vinny Castilla added a solo shot in the eighth inning as Colorado rallied to defeat St. Louis.
With the Rockies trailing 7-6, Dante Bichette singled with one out and Galarraga followed with a 469-foot shot to left field.
Dodgers 5, Marlins 3
Los Angeles
Eric Karros hit a tiebreaking two-run homer and Todd Zeile and Raul Mondesi hit solo shots as Los Angeles beat Florida for its third straight victory.
Cliff Floyd hit a leadoff homer in the fourth and Kurt Abbott hit a two-run drive in the seventh as Florida lost for only the third time in 13 games.
Mets 4, Expos 3
Montreal
Rey Ordonez drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the eighth inning as New York rallied to defeat Montreal.
Braves 12, Padres 5
San Diego
Michael Tucker drove in three runs on two doubles and a triple and scored twice as Atlanta beat San Diego for the sixth straight time.
The Braves had 16 hits after collecting only 14 in a three-game series last weekend at Los Angeles.
Clearing the bases
Kevin Ritz made his fourth consecutive Memorial Day start for Colorado… . Former Lewis-Clark State College pitcher Steve Reed earned his fifth save for the Rockies… . Teammate Larry Walker has hit safely in 14 consecutive games… . Thirty-four of Houston’s first 50 games have been decided by two runs or fewer… . Chicago’s Sammy Sosa hit his ninth home run in the last 14 games… . An MRI confirmed that Cincinnati’s Reggie Sanders has a severe right ankle sprain and a bruised tibia… . Pittsburgh’s Francisco Cordova has allowed only nine earned runs in his last eight starts.