Former Cub Brian McRae used to say that it didn’t really matter to fans at Wrigley Field whether the Cubs won or lost, as long as Sammy Sosa hit a home run and the beer was cold.
That seemed to be the case again Tuesday night when Sosa connected for his 33rd home run of the year and the Cubs lost 5-4 to Arizona before 39,307 at Wrigley.
The Cubs dropped seven games behind division-leading Houston with their eighth loss in nine games and their 15th loss in their last 20 games.
Sosa took a 3-2 pitch from Alan Embree in the eighth inning and deposited it into the left-field bleachers, extending his major-league record for home runs in a month to 20 on the final day of June.
“I would like to have another month like that,” Sosa said. “It was a pretty good month, but we have to go forward.”
Sosa trails Mark McGwire by four homers in the race to break Roger Maris’ all-time home-run record of 61, but the Cubs are going in another direction. If they continue to lose to teams such as Arizona, Sosa’s homers and Kerry Wood’s strikeouts may be the only things to look forward to in the second half of the season.
Mark Clark (4-8) was rocked early, giving up a three-run home run to Matt Williams in the first. Homers by Henry Rodriguez and Mark Grace made it 4-2, but Andy Fox homered off Clark in the seventh to give the Diamondbacks a three-run cushion.
“I tell myself I have pitched halfway decent,” Clark said. “I just haven’t had the results.”
Sosa’s homer made it 5-4 in the eighth and Rodriguez doubled with two outs, but Gregg Olson retired Kevin Orie on a pop up and had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 11th save.
And on ’70s night at Wrigley, the Cubs were as dead as disco.
