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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Sammy Sosa is calm, content and playing
well again.
Sosa hit a pair of two-run home runs Sunday night, passing Joe
DiMaggio on the career list and leading the Chicago Cubs past the
Kansas City Royals 10-7.
"I'm the type of person, I like to play happy," said Sosa,
who has hit six home runs and driven in 11 runs during a nine-game
hitting streak.
| | Sammy Sosa is congratulated by Henry Rodriguez and Ricky Gutierrez after hitting his second homer Sunday. |
Earlier in the season, Sosa was feuding with manager Don Baylor
and talking about being traded. However, since he reconciled his
differences and decided to remain in Chicago for the rest of the
year, he has been hitting the ball with the fury that produced 129
home runs the previous two seasons.
"I was feeling bad for a long time. I went to the All-Star Game
and did everything I'm supposed to do there. I found myself," he
said after homering for the third straight day.
"I was kind of lost. Right now I feel great. When I'm good is
when I'm playing happy."
Sosa, who has 27 home runs and 80 RBI, homered in the first on
an 0-2 pitch by Dan Reichert (3-6) for a 2-0 lead. Then he
connected in the third on a 3-2 delivery for another two-run homer,
cutting Chicago's deficit to 5-4.
Sosa has 363 homers, moving into sole possession of 50th place
on the career list, two ahead of DiMaggio.
"When he hit that first one, I think everybody's shoulders
dropped," Reichert said. "I know my shoulders dropped. When he
hit the second one, I just felt that my confidence level dropped."
The crowd of 36,815, the second-largest of the year at Kauffman
Stadium, booed Reichert when he walked Sosa in the fifth.
"It's good to be loved," said Sosa, who also struck out and
grounded out. "I feel great when I see them cheer even though I
play for the visiting team. That's why baseball is so great.
"As a human being, it makes me very proud of myself."
Kerry Wood (4-6) won for the first time in four starts since
June 21 against Atlanta, giving up seven runs, 10 hits and three
walks in five innings. He struck out two.
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That's gotta hurt |
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A streaker jumped onto the field at
Kauffman Stadium during Sunday night's Cubs-Royals game and wasn't caught until he tried to jump over the
right-field fence.
The nude man appeared to come out from near the dugout seats on
the third-base side of the field. He made a belly-first slide into
second base, then was cornered by three security guards at the
right-field wall as play was held up in the top of the seventh
inning.
While trying to climb the wall, he was wrestled to the ground
and held until another security guard arrived with a towel
to cover him. He was led away into the Royals' bullpen.
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"He was all over the place," Cubs manager Don Baylor said.
Rick Aguilera got three outs for his 18th save in 24 chances.
Reichert allowed eight runs, six hits and six walks in 4 1/3
innings.
Kansas City took a 4-2 lead in the first on RBI singles by Mike
Sweeney and Mark Quinn, and Todd Dunwoody's soft two-run single to
center.
Cubs shortstop Ricky Gutierrez fumbled Sweeney's second-inning
grounder, allowing Johnny Damon to score.
Joe Randa, who went 4-for-5, homered for a 6-4 lead in the
third, but Henry Rodriguez and Glenallen Hill chased Reichert in a
five-run fifth, and Willie Greene's two-run triple off Jay Witasick
put the Cubs ahead 8-6. Joe Girardi followed with an RBI single.
Dunwoody's bloop RBI single pulled the Royals to 8-7 in the
bottom half, before Gutierrez hit a run-scoring single in the
eighth.
Game notes The Cubs scored in double digits for the first time since
May 14, when they lost 16-15 at Montreal. ... Sosa has homered in
33 different stadiums, and has homered in three straight games 17
times. ... He has 41 multihomer games, including two this season.
... Ralph Kiner is 49th on the home-run list at 369. ... In 54
previous at-bats in Kauffman Stadium, Sosa was batting .222 with no
home runs. ... Damon's two stolen bases increased his
league-leading total to 27. ... Royals 2B Luis Ordaz made a nice
play in the second on Greene's popup into shallow right field,
making a basket catch with his back to the infield. ... Kansas
City's major league-leading total of home runs allowed climbed to
152. ... The Royals' wives collected 9,562 pounds of food for needy
Kansas City residents in their annual drive.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Chicago Cubs Clubhouse
Kansas City Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 5 Montreal 2
Houston 5 Cleveland 1
Detroit 6 Cincinnati 2
NY Yankees 9 Philadelphia 8
Toronto 7 NY Mets 3
Atlanta 6 Tampa Bay 4
Baltimore 9 Florida 5
Chi. White Sox 11 Milwaukee 5
Minnesota 5 St. Louis 2
San Francisco 6 Texas 4
Seattle 6 Arizona 3
San Diego 6 Anaheim 5
Oakland 0 Colorado 0
Chicago Cubs 10 Kansas City 7
Los Angeles 7 Pittsburgh 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
Sammy Sosa has hit a groove since the All-Star Game.
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