Slammin' Sammy
Sosa belts No. 49 as Cubs rally to beat Giants at Wrigley
Posted: Saturday August 22, 1998 05:54 PM
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Sosa's 49th home run put him seven behind Hack Wilson, who holds the Cubs' single-season record of 56 AP |
CHICAGO (AP) -- Sammy Sosa
doesn't appear weary from his home run race with Mark McGwire.
But his bat? Well, that's a different story.
So Friday he decided to borrow one and wrap his fingers around a fresh
piece of wood.
The result? His 49th homer.
"I was using a white bat before and probably that white bat was a
little tired right now. So I had to change it," Sosa said after the Chicago Cubs rallied with
two ninth-inning runs off Robb Nen to beat
the San Francisco
Giants 6-5.
"I went to a black bat. I went to Glenallen
Hill's bat to tell you the truth. So I used his bat and, hey, it came
through," Sosa said.
Hill had hit a pinch-hit grand slam Thursday to pace a
come-from-behind win over the Giants.
On Friday it was Jose
Hernandez who delivered a game-winning single off Nen, the Cubs' third
hit of the ninth off the Giants' relief specialist.
"I was just praying it would get on the line and with Mark Grace on
third I knew we had a chance to win. I was just trying for a fly ball or a
hit," said Hernandez.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Sosa singled with one out off
Nen (7-4) and Grace walked. Henry
Rodriguez then lofted a broken-bat single to right to drive in Sosa and
tie the game.
Hernandez singled down the right-field line over a drawn in infield as
Nen blew his fourth save in 35 opportunities.
"Sosa's ball was where I wanted it and Rodriguez's ball was, too," Nen
said. "They were good pitches and it just didn't happen. It's part of the
game but not the best part of the game. You hate to blow a save like that,
especially after the guys fought so hard."
Felix
Heredia (1-3) got two outs for the victory.
Sosa moved within two of McGwire's major league home run lead. His 49
homers tie Andre Dawson for second most in club history, a mark Dawson set
in 1987.
The club and National League record is 56 set by Hack Wilson in
1930.
McGwire entered Friday's play with 51 after hitting two Thursday
against the Mets. He hit two homers to Sosa's one when the Cardinals and
Cubs played Wednesday.
Sosa said he watched both of McGwire's homers Thursday.
"I'm pulling for Mark and I hope he breaks the record," Sosa said. "I
know I have a lot of opportunities myself but I'm not thinking about it.
Whatever happens, happens. I'm in a different situation.
"And today besides the home run, I hit two bloopers and I appreciated
it very much, one for an RBI and one in the last at-bat which was a key.
I'll take anything."
Entering the game, the Cubs trailed the Mets by a half-game in the NL
wild-card race. The Giants are now four games back of the Cubs.
Trailing 4-3 the Giants took the lead in the eighth as Barry Bonds
walked and Jeff
Kent singled off reliever Terry
Mulholland. After a sacrifice by Ellis Burks, Charlie Hayes
hit a two-run double to right-center off Matt Karchner
to make it 5-4.
Sosa hit an RBI single in the third to break a 1-1 tie. In the fifth
after Lance
Johnson singled and Mickey
Morandini forced him at second, Sosa drove a 3-2 pitch from Orel
Hershiser into the bleachers in left-center field.
Kerry Wood, without a victory in four starts since July 31, allowed
five hits and three runs in six innings and gave up Kent's two-run homer in
the sixth, his 21st of the season.
Wood walked three and struck out three, his lowest strikeout total
since striking out two on April 24 against the Dodgers.
Bonds went 1-for-4 and is still one homer shy of becoming the first
player in major league history to have 400 homers and 400 stolen bases.
San Francisco scored first on Brian
Johnson's third-inning double and an RBI single by Rich
Aurilia.
Johnson hit a two-out RBI single in the third and scored on Sosa's hit
for a 2-1 lead. Notes: Giants first baseman J.T. Snow didn't
start because of tendinitis in his right shoulder, but he played first base
in the ninth inning. ... Gary Gaetti made
his first start with the Cubs at third after signing Wednesday. He scored
Chicago's first run after walking in the third, coming home on Johnson's
RBI single. He's expected to start at first Saturday when the Cubs face Randy Johnson
and the Astros. ... Hernandez is 10-for-15 with three doubles and a homer
in the first four games of the Cubs' homestand.
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