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Thursday, Apr. 20 7:05pm ET
Sosa cleans up Cubs' 4-game losing streak | |||||
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- Sammy Sosa broke out of a slump in a big way. Sosa hit a grand slam and tied his career high with six RBI as the Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos 10-6 on Thursday night, ending their four-game losing streak.
"I never panic. I believe in myself. I know how it's going to go. I'm not playing for one or two weeks. I'm a player for seven months, so hopefully I'll just keep going out there." Sosa, batting cleanup for only the third time this year, had a two-run double in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, he hit his fourth career slam against Miguel Batista. It was Sosa's fifth homer of the season. "I got a great hit today," Sosa said. "I'm not going to lie to you, and hopefully I can go to New York and get hot again so I can help the ballclub. And I know I can do it." This was the fourth time Sosa had six RBI in a game. He last did it Sept. 16, 1998, the same day he hit his previous grand slam. Brian Williams (1-0) pitched a perfect fifth for his first win of the season. Glenallen Hill had a pinch-hit, two-run double off Batista to ignite the Cubs' six-run rally in the sixth. Matt Blank (0-1) took the loss. "We finally put some runs on the board and got some hits in a timely fashion," Cubs manager Don Baylor said. "We haven't been able to do that. We were down 5-1 and it kind of looked very bleak because we haven't scored runs." Sosa, who usually bats third, also started in center field for the first time this season. After Sosa's two-run double in the fifth drew the Cubs within 5-4, Chicago took the lead the next inning. Jeff Reed singled to lead off and slid in ahead of Blank's throw to second on Damon Buford's sacrifice. Hill's double put the Cubs ahead, and two walks loaded the bases for Sosa. Sosa fouled off an 0-2 pitch before recovering to drive a 2-2 offering over the left-field wall for his first grand slam since he connected off San Diego's Brian Boehringer. "Batista is a great pitcher," Sosa said. "He has a great fastball and good breaking pitch, so I was just trying to make contact after he got two strikes on me right away. He threw me a nasty slider that I fouled off. I took a couple of pitches and he threw me one right there, and I made contact." Batista didn't regret his approach with Sosa. "What would have been worse would be walking him," Batista said. "I don't want to be like (Kenny) Rogers, going home and knowing you lost one of the most important games of your life because you walked a guy. You challenge a guy, and if he hits it, he hits it." Rondell White had an RBI single in the Montreal ninth. Eric Young hit an RBI single in the Cubs third. Montreal responded with five in the fourth, including Michael Barrett's three-run double over Sosa's head. Scott Downs, making his third career start, allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings. Expos starter Jeremy Powell went 2-for-2, including a run-scoring single in Montreal's five-run fourth.
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Montreal Clubhouse RECAPS Minnesota 9 Kansas City 7
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