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	Friday, March 10 Cubs' Sosa sends two into cheap seats
	Associated Press
	MESA, Ariz. -- Sammy Sosa homered twice Thursday, raising his spring total to three, as the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 11-7. Chris Holt pitched three innings and got the win for the Astros. Last year, Sosa hit 14 homers during spring training. This year, he's putting less emphasis on them. "It's not about home runs," said Sosa, who hit 129 regular-season homers the last two years. "I can do a lot of other things. I don't want people to get confused. I want to contribute to this team." New manager Don Baylor wants Sosa to become a more complete player. Before Thursday's game, Sosa worked with hitting coach Jeff Pentland on going to the opposite field. "I was a little bit out of control," Sosa said of his swing. "When you see me going to right field, I'm ready." Sosa's first home run of the game was a solo shot to right-center in the first inning against Russ Ortiz. The Cubs added another run in the inning on an RBI single by Shane Andrews. The Giants' Wilson Delgado hit an inside-the-park homer in the third inning, a liner past center fielder Damon Buford that rolled to the wall. Ricky Gutierrez led off the Chicago third with a single and scored on Sosa's towering homer to left-center, also against Ortiz. The Cubs also got homers from Mark Grace and Corey Patterson. Damon Minor and Pedro Feliz also homered for the Giants. Cubs starter Kevin Tapani allowed four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings, while Ortiz gave up four runs and five hits in three innings. Winner Rick Aguilera allowed one run and three hits in two innings, while loser Miguel Del Toro was tagged for five runs and five hits in two innings. Pirates 2, Blue Jays 1 DUNEDIN, Fla. -- David Wells was perfect in his first start of the spring, retiring six straight batters in Toronto's loss to Pittsburgh. Wells, who pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees in 1998, threw 14 of 19 pitches for strikes. "I just basically went out there and tried to throw strikes," Wells said. "I tried to use all my pitches and, for the most part, I hit my spots." Pittsburgh starter Jason Schmidt went three innings, allowing an RBI double to Alex Gonzalez in the second. Tim Laker singled home a run for Pittsburgh in the fourth against Clayton Andrews, and the Pirates went ahead in the eighth when loser Paul Quantrill walked former Blue Jay Randy Knorr, who scored on Adrian Brown's double. Winner Jimmy Anderson allowed two hits in three scoreless innings, and Marc Wilkins pitched two hitless innings for the save. Diamondbacks 9, Mariners 8 TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jay Buhner homered twice in Seattle's 10-inning loss to Arizona. "I'm feeling great right now, so ride the wave," said Buhner, who hit just 29 homers combined in his past two injury-plagued seasons. "I'm going to be selfish right now. I think I have a lot to prove, not only to the people out there, but to myself, that I'm healthy, that I can get myself ready for the season." Orioles 5, Cardinals 4 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Cal Ripken strained a neck muscle during batting practice before Baltimore's game against St. Louis and was removed from the starting lineup. "I just felt a little strain in my upper (trapezius) muscle that went up to my neck," Ripken said. "I continued to take batting practice, I continued to take ground balls. But when I came in here, things started to stiffen up a little bit." Braves 8, Dodgers (ss) 7 KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Steve Avery accomplished his goals in his first spring outing. "It was pain free and I got three outs," he said after pitching a hitless inning in Atlanta's victory over Los Angeles' split squad. With John Smoltz sidelined for the season, there's renewed focus on Avery, a star for the Braves in the early 1990s who came to camp with a minor league contract. "I felt good. It's a long way from where I want to be," Avery said. "I was telling Chipper (Jones) I was ending up in positions I didn't know I could get into because my mechanics were so off." Phillies 5, Yankees 3 CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Rob Ducey's grand slam off Darrell Einertson keyed a five-run fourth that helped drop the two-time World Series champions to 1-7. Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez, who missed a week this spring with a lower back injury, had a successful debut, limiting the Phillies to one hit and no runs in two innings. Red Sox 8, Rangers 6 PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Gary Gaetti hit a two-run homer off Rick Helling in the first inning and a game-winning single off David Elder in the 11th. Astros 9, Mets 3 KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Ken Caminiti went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. John Nunnally homered for the Mets and has hits in his last eight at-bats, including four homers. Reds (ss) 6, Twins (ss) 5 SARASOTA, Fla. -- Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the second straight game and the third time this spring, a two-run shot in the fourth off Joe Mays. Devil Rays (ss) 2, Reds (ss) 1 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jose Canseco homered for the Devil Rays, who won on Alex Sanchez's two-out, ninth-inning RBI single off John Riedling. Royals (ss) 14, Devil Rays (ss) 2 HAINES CITY, Fla. -- Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer and Carlos Febles a two-run double during a seven-run fourth. Seven Tampa Bay pitchers gave up 15 hits and 12 walks. Royals (ss) 5, Dodgers (ss) 2 VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Joe Randa's two-run homer capped a four-run rally off Alan Mills in the eighth that overcame homers by Adrian Beltre and Todd Hundley. Twins (ss) 5, Indians 1 (ss) FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Cristian Guzman hit his first home run of the spring. Expos 4, Marlins 3 JUPITER, Fla. -- Trace Coquillette tied the score with a solo homer in the eighth off Nelson Lara and won it with a RBI single in the 10th off Claudio Vargas, giving the Expos their fourth straight win. White Sox 7, Padres 1 PEORIA, Ariz. -- Sterling Hitchcock, making his first spring start after being slowed by a bad left ankle, was pounded for five runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings. Angels 7, Brewers 6 TEMPE, Ariz. -- Rookie Mike Colangelo's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth off Mike Rossiter drove in Orlando Palmeiro with the winning run. Athletics 5, Rockies 0 PHOENIX -- Kevin Appier combined with four relievers on a five-hitter. Mike Magnante and Scott Service each threw two scoreless innings, and Terry Burrows and Will Brunson each added a scoreless inning for the A's.		ALSO SEE The Rights (and Wrongs) of Spring Exhibition roundup: Seven games into spring, Yankees win