| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Sammy Sosa must have gotten a good night's sleep. Sosa homered twice to raise his major league-leading total to
45, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 5-1 victory Wednesday over the
San Diego Padres.
|  | | Sammy Sosa had his fifth two-homer game this season and is on pace to finish with 55 homers. |
The Cubs, who outlasted the Padres in a 4-hour 48-minute,
13-inning marathon Tuesday night, won for the fifth time in 19
games and won consecutive games for the first time since a
three-game streak July 29-31.
"It didn't look like he played 13 innings last night," San
Diego manager Bruce Bochy said of Sosa. "He's resilient. He looked
like it was opening day."
Sosa led off the fourth inning against Brian Tollberg with his
first homer since Aug. 21 to break a 1-1 tie. With two outs and two
on in the fifth, Sosa hit a 3-1 pitch from Tollberg into the left
center field bleachers to go ahead 5-1.
"I was just trying to make contact," Sosa said. "(Tollberg)
pitched me great." It was Sosa's fifth two-homer game this season and 44th of his
career. In his last 16 games, Sosa has nine homers and 17 RBIs. He
is on pace to finish with 55 homers.
"I'm not the type of person who looks at the stats," Sosa
said. "I just want to be ready every day. If I do that, the
numbers will be there."
With one on and two outs in the seventh, Tollberg intentionally
walked Sosa, who finished 3-for-3 with a single in the first."He's leading the league in home runs for a reason," Tollberg said.
Jon Lieber (12-7) gave up one run and four hits in eight innings
to set his career high in wins, set in 1997. He struck out seven
and raised his career-high innings total to 209 2-3.
Cubs manager Don Baylor talked to Lieber about going the
distance but pulled him after 112 pitches.
"A complete game was not the most important thing for me,"
said Baylor, who doesn't want to overuse Lieber and plans to give
him extra rest the remainder of the season.
"He pitched great and hit his spots but we didn't," San
Diego's Ryan Klesko said. "When you make mistakes to big hitters,
it's tough. Sosa made us pay both times."
Tollberg (3-3) gave up five runs and 10 hits in eight innings,
striking out four, as the Padres lost for only the fourth time in
the last 11 games.
Damian Jackson tripled with one out in the Padres' first and
scored on Klesko's double. The Cubs answered in the first with Mark Grace's two-out, RBI
double, scoring Sosa who had singled.
Game notes
Sosa has an eight-game hitting streak. He has driven in 122
runs, tops in the NL, and posted his third straight 120 RBI season.
Hack Wilson is the only other Cub to accomplish that feat, driving
in at least 120 runs from 1927-30. "I never met Hack Wilson but I
know who he is," Sosa said. "Hopefully, when I retire people will
remember me like Hack Wilson." Sosa's last multihomer game was
Aug. 18. Sosa has hit 250 homers since Opening Day 1996. ... San
Diego RHP Donne Wall was not available because of a sore shoulder.
His status was day to day. ... Tollberg has walked two or fewer
batters in 10 of his 14 starts. ... After the game, the Cubs
outrighted OF Brant Brown to Class AAA Iowa and purchased the
contract of OF Ross Gload from Iowa. Brown was batting .173.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Diego Clubhouse
Chicago Cubs Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 8
Minnesota 7
Chi. White Sox 8
Oakland 3
Tampa Bay 3
Boston 1
Baltimore 5
Detroit 1
Cleveland 5
Texas 3
Toronto 11
Anaheim 2
NY Yankees 5
Seattle 4
Chicago Cubs 5
San Diego 1
Atlanta 5
Cincinnati 2
St. Louis 4
Florida 2
Arizona 7
Montreal 0
San Francisco 2
Pittsburgh 0
NY Mets 1
Houston 0
Colorado 5
Philadelphia 4
Milwaukee 3
Los Angeles 2
|
