|
|
|
|
 |
|
Scores Schedules Standings Statistics Transactions Injuries: AL | NL Players Weekly Lineup Message Board Minor Leagues MLB Stat Search Clubhouses |
| Sport Sections |
|
|
| |
Wednesday, Jul. 19 8:05pm ET
Cubs come back against Phils in ninth | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Cubs are trying to move on, and Sammy Sosa says he'd be happy to help. Sosa tied the game with an eighth-inning homer and Brant Brown won it in the ninth by scoring on a wild pitch as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Wednesday night. "I'm happy right now, and when I'm happy, I play my best," said Sosa, who hit his eighth homer in his last nine games. "I'm not wasting at-bats and I'm going where the pitch is. "We just gotta keep playing the way we've been playing, and we will go over .500." The win was the Cubs' seventh in nine games, but they're still 13 games under .500 at 40-53. A few hours before the game, Cubs team president Andy MacPhail accepted general manager Ed Lynch's resignation. MacPhail will assume the GM duties himself, and Lynch will stay with the team as a scout. Sosa wasn't so happy when the subject of Lynch arose before the game. "It's sad and I feel bad for him," Sosa said. "The time he was here for me, he was a great guy. There is nothing bad I can say about him." Sosa's homer, his 29th, tied the game at 3-3. Damon Buford, who went 4-for-4, followed two outs later with his 13th homer to put Chicago up 4-3. The Cubs have dealt with a poor record, overwhelming Sosa trade rumors and now must get past feelings of responsibility for the firing of Lynch. "To win in dramatic fashion takes some sting away from what happened to Ed," said Mark Grace, who was batting when the winning run scored. "He's been on my mind." Ron Gant tied the game off Cubs closer Rick Aguilera with a leadoff homer in the ninth. In the bottom of the inning, Brown singled off reliever Mark Holzemer (0-1), Eric Young sacrificed him to second and Ricky Gutierrez blooped a single to center to put runners on the corners. Holzemer wild-pitched Gutierrez to second, but the ball didn't bounce far enough away from catcher Tom Prince for Brown to advance. Two pitches later, however, Holzemer threw the ball to the backstop and Brown scored easily. "I crossed him (catcher Prince) up," Holzemer said. "I threw a slider, he thought it was going to be a fastball away." Two outs after Gant's 18th homer, Aguilera walked Gary Bennett and hit Doug Glanville with a pitch. Manager Don Baylor removed Aguilera, who blew his seventh save in 26 chances and was booed vehemently by the remaining Wrigley Field fans. Felix Heredia (4-3) struck out Kevin Jordan to end the threat. Scott Rolen hit an RBI groundout in the first and Bobby Abreu hit another in the third to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Glanville snuffed a Cubs rally in the fourth by throwing out Gary Matthews Jr. at the plate with a two-hop throw from about 300 feet. Matthews collided violently with Gary Bennett, but the catcher held on for the out. Arias, a .188 hitter coming in, homered in the seventh to make it 3-0. Glenallen Hill hit an RBI groundout in the seventh to make it 3-1. Game notesMatthews Jr. is the son of former Cub and Phillie outfielder Gary Matthews. ... Reliever Wayne Gomes, on the DL since July 7 with right elbow tendinitis, had an MRI on Monday that came back negative. ... Pitcher Robert Person is expected to be activated from the DL prior to his next start Saturday at Pittsburgh. ... NFL Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach and fellow QB Drew Brees of Purdue sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Philadelphia Clubhouse Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Sammy is staying, but Lynch gone as Cubs GM
RECAPS Kansas City 10 Cleveland 5
Chicago Cubs 5
| |||||