Sammy Sosa tied Mark McGwire for the major-league lead in home runs, hitting his 45th and 46th Monday night as the Cubs took a 7-5 lead in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants.
Sosa’s blasts, both solo shots, tied him with the Cardinals’ McGwire, who went homerless as St. Louis lost to the Mets.
After being retired in his first two at-bats, Sosa homered to left field off Giants starter Russ Ortiz, a towering blast that landed just beyond the reach of Barry Bonds. He hit his second off reliever Chris Brock in the seventh.
Sosa’s fifth-inning shot was the first of three straight homers for the Cubs, who hit three homers in a span of eight pitches to take a 6-5 lead. After Sosa’s homer, Mark Grace homered to right field on a 2-1 count, his 13th. Three pitches later, Henry Rodriguez hit his 28th homer to right.
Before the game, Kerry Wood said he doesn’t understand what the fuss is all about.
One day he was cruising along in his usual low-key mode, trying his best to avoid media attention and keep his focus on the task at hand.
The next day Wood admitted his pitching arm was a little tired and that the coaching staff was thinking of having him skip a start. He hasn’t stopped hearing about his “dead arm” since.
“It’s fine,” he said. “Why is everyone so worried about my arm?”
Wood will take the mound Tuesday afternoon against the Giants, a start the Cubs brass had considered him skipping. Wood has thrown 134 2/3 innings in the majors already, and is close to surpassing the most innings of his pro career, 151 2/3 in the minors last year.
