Grand Sam!
Sosa ties McGwire at 63 with 3rd bases-loaded HR of year
Posted: Thursday September 17, 1998 02:39 AM
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Padre pounder: Sosa has hit 22 career homers against San Diego, including three this season AP |
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Sammy Sosa
matched Mark
McGwire in grand slammin' style.
Sosa hit his 63rd home run, a dramatic tiebreaking grand slam in the
eighth inning, and drove in all of Chicago's runs as the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 6-3
Wednesday night.
"It was something exciting, I have to say, especially with the game on
the line," Sosa said of his 434-foot shot. "I never thought I would get No.
63 with the bases loaded."
Sosa and McGwire, tied for the most home runs in a season, each have nine
games left. Sosa said he didn't care who wins the thrilling race for the
single-season homer record.
"I got to the point that everybody wanted me to go, and whatever happens
from now on is a gift. Now I want to go to the playoffs."
Sosa, who hit a bases-loaded double in the seventh, helped the Cubs hold
their half-game lead over New York in the NL wild-card race.
"Right now, I feel great," he said. "The game tonight was unbelievable."
With flashbulbs popping and most of the crowd of 49,891 on its feet, Sosa
drove a 93 mph fastball from Brian
Boehringer into the second deck in left field with two outs.
"I tried to go inside, but I left it ...," said Boehringer, who then asked
reporters if they saw where the pitch was. "It went off the bat too quick,"
Boehringer said.
The right-hander wasn't worried about his place in history.
Mr. MVP: Sosa has smashed 54 home runs since May 25 AP | |
"Nobody's going to remember it when he hits 69," Boehringer said.
Only 22 home runs have been hit to that level, including seven this year -
yes, McGwire hit one of them. The St. Louis slugger parked his 43rd homer
458 feet from home plate on July 20, also off Boehringer.
Fabian Perez Mercado, 32, of Tijuana, Mexico, ended up with the ball. He
was at the game with his pregnant wife and two children. He is expected to
present the ball to Sosa before Thursday afternoon's game, the Padres said.
Sosa had tied McGwire at 62 Sunday when he connected twice in a stunning
performance at Wrigley Field. That gave him four homers in three days.
McGwire went back ahead when he hit his 63rd when he pinch-hit for the
Cardinals in ninth inning of the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday
night.
The crowd went wild when Sosa's ball settled inside the foul pole, setting
off a mad scramble for the souvenir, and he was summoned back onto the
field for a curtain call. Mark Grace
stepped out of the batter's box and Boehringer stepped off the mound during
the ovation.
The cheering continued after the inning ended, and Sosa doffed his cap
to the crowd when he went to right field.
Sosa tied a career high with six RBIs in a game, and took over the major
league lead with 154 RBIs this season.
The Padres, who clinched the NL West title on Saturday night, were bitter
about the fan reaction.
"Everyone in this clubhouse feels like we have our road uniforms on,"
slugger Greg
Vaughn said in profanity-laced remarks to reporters. "Hell, let's play
all of our playoff games on the road.
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Late-game lightning: Sosa has hit 13 homers this season in either the eighth or ninth inning AP |
"Don't get me wrong, everybody in this clubhouse loves Sammy," Vaughn
said. "But how are we supposed to take it? What happens when they leave
town on Thursday? Are we supposed just to take them (the fans) back with
open arms?"
Sosa hit the third grand slam of his career, all of them this season. None
of his first 246 homers in the majors were slams - of his last 24 home
runs, three have come with the bases loaded.
"We needed that and Sammy came through for us," winning pitcher Terry
Mulholland said. "It was probably one of his bigger home runs for us,
considering the time of year."
Sosa put the Cubs ahead 2-0 in the seventh. He finished 3-for-5 with six
RBIs as Chicago won its second in a row and fourth in five games. He had
been 1-for-9 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the series.
Sosa also came up with the bases loaded and none out in the seventh,
lining a pitch from Joey Hamilton
to left field to score Mulholland (5-5) and Lance Johnson,
both of whom singled.
Sosa hit an infield single in the first.
Sosa came into the series hitting .353 lifetime against the Padres, and
his 22 homers against them are now his most against any team.
San Diego tied it in the bottom of the seventh when Steve Finley's
grounder scored Ken Caminiti,
who hit a leadoff double, and Carlos
Hernandez homered to left-center with two out, his ninth.
Finley hit an RBI single in the ninth before Rod Beck got two
outs for his 48th save, tying a career high.
Dan Miceli
(10-5) allowed two runs and two hits in one-third of an inning.
Notes: Sosa's 154 RBIs are the third-highest single-season total in
Cubs history. He passed Rogers Hornsby, who had 149 RBIs in 1929. ...
Padres rookie Stan Spencer will make his fifth big league start on Thursday
against Sosa and the Cubs. Spencer has allowed four homers in 23 innings.
The Cubs counter with Mike Morgan, who
gave up McGwire's 61st homer on Sept. 7 to tie Roger Maris' 1961 record.
... Boehringer allowed his first earned run in 18 innings spanning 11
innings.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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